208v 60hz 3p inverter

[SeaCove]

Has anybody set up 3p systems to drive ~5hp pumps? Are there any 3p inverters other than VFD's?
If I go the VFD option I need ~300VDC battery
This is an off grid installation that is currently powered by generator alone. Goal is to reduce generator hours during the summer months.

 

[bwinzey]

I know there's some solar "pump controllers" which are literally reprogrammed VFD's that just take the 300-400vdc directly from panels coded with an MPPT algorithm.

Now if you need to run it without sun then yes, you will need a way to store the energy therefore a battery, but I PRESUME those solar VFD's work sort of like the solar pool pumps which just work when they have enough power to even pump a little bit and when there's no sun just stop trying. You'd probably just need the 300-400v of solar, which at 5hp you would need something like 7-10kw of panels to be able to run full tilt, in perfect conditions.

But yeah 5hp is a huge pump, I wasn't able to find any 'comercially' available inverters, but on Alibaba there's quite a handful of ones that seem to fit the bill. Something like https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...1600091603730.html?mark=google_shopping&seo=1
Would work, as long as you don't mind having no pump during night and a very variable pump speed, as you'll only really get 5hp worth out of the pump when the panels are perfectly aligned and theres no clouds.

 

[bwinzey]

US $98.90 14%OFF | Solar water pump inverter DC to AC 0.75kw-11kw 220V or 380V Output Variable frequency speed controller for water pump https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPBjthk
Found these on AliExpress. Looks like they fit the bill and are actually quite cheap. Literally like I mentioned earlier just a VFD programed to accept a wide input voltage range. They have a little video of it in action looks pretty neat.

 

[Warpspeed]

All you really need are three single phase transformer inverters, arranged to run with a 120 degree phase difference.
Then it could all run from a much lower battery voltage.

 

[SeaCove]

bwinzey, warpspeed,
Thanks for the tips,
Right now leaning towards the 3 inverter topology, the LV6548 looks very interesting as it supports up to 250VOC PV strings. Alternate may be the Quattro series with standalone MPPT CC's