AIO EG4 or similar vs ?... Quality? Victron.. Charge controller inverter..

[Moretorque]

I am worried about AIO or would need 2 of them for backup? When covid started I talked to people in the biz who told me quality on the products they were selling had been dropping off like a rock. I want reliability with a proven track record on a charge controller and inverter but want to have 2 banks if one goes bad the entire system is not down and I want easy to fix in case we cannot get parts. This is why I bought a C5 corvette for my convertible, it's not the best one by far but it is way easier to fix than the new and source most parts without having to go throgh the dealer to keep it going. I am interested in the same thing. I want it to be electrically simple but have the features you need but at the same time reliable. I don't care even if the stuff is used, like the C5 some of the best stuff they no longer make... I was reading the reviews on Victron and they seemed real good and there are thousands of them.. Just using that for an example... Thanks a mill Scott..

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

Some AIOs you can replace internal components in. I have a cheap "MPP Solar" unit, which is a rebrand of an AIO built by Voltronic. There are a lot of these. They sell replacement main boards, fans, etc.

That said, I would say that it would be easier to buy a second one to keep on hand, or to run in parallel than to try to keep a bunch of parts around.

Alternatively, buy something like Victron that's more expensive but has a proven track record of being reliable in the long-term.

 

[ericfx1984]

I don't think there's anything wrong with AIO

I've installed quite a few of them for people with no serious issues

In fact most of the time I find that the issue is not an issue with the unit but rather a perceived issue by the owner not understanding how the system works... I suppose that's my fault to some extent for not explaining it as well as I could have to them

There's a lot of advantage to all in one units...

I have yet to see an all-in-one unit fail... But if the MPPT fails on your all-in-one unit there's nothing that says you couldn't just simply install an external MPPT...

And I guess since the charger and inverter are the same component you do have a risk there... If the inverter fails the charger also fails which means you wouldn't even be able to charge the batteries to the system

But I guess if the inverters down it doesn't really matter if you can't charge it

A lot of all-in-ones also have somewhat higher idle power consumption... Oh really small system this is a big deal... But you can easily mitigate the difference in idle power consumption by adding a panel or two

You get a lot for your money out of an all-in-one...

I mean think of it this way You can get an EG4 6,000 XP which is a fantastic all-in-one... 6,000 Watts, 120 amps MPPT charging and 120 amps plug-in charging... Not to mention it comes with pre-installed breakers

Kind of hard to beat for 16 to 1700 dollars

But you'll spend a hell of a lot more with individual components

The individual components are probably going to be more reliable overall... But the question is how big of a deal is that... Only you can really decide how big of a deal that is for you

If my all-in ones go down... I will run off my generator for a few days to a few weeks while I wait for a replacement

Or since I'm running four units in parallel when the house is done... I'll just cut down to two units in parallel The odds of all four failing are pretty slim

At the end of the day it's a pretty darn good deal for what you get and they're a hell of a lot easier to hook up

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

This is a perennial question, choosing AIO (usually HF) or individual (usually top-tier, LF) components ...

With AIO, I'd tend to have two on hand, installed (up on the wall or whatever), with one in-line and operating, and the other off but near-line and ready to spring into action if needed. Just move the wires over ...

With anyone's top-tier, LF-based unit, these things last forever (compared to AIO), and they usually start off with 3- or 5-year or more warranty period. That's an indicator of quality right there, and you must compare warranties when researching or buying anything.

The things to investigate as you make your own choice:

- warranty ... 1-year or less? really? it varies wildly, but it's up to you to check this out
- return/repair policy ... do they have it, do you understand what will happen, and how long it will take?
- support dept ... do they even have one, or is it a web form or email address alone? do they have reams of helpful support online, or not?
- reputation ... search this and other forums, and see how the product stacks up in real-world use ... if complaints are high ...
- dealer/vendor ... consider who you buy from, as well as the product manufacturer ... I'd consider CurrentConnected, or similar, for their expertise and willingness to go out of their way to help you out.

And so on ... it isn't easy doing all this research, on top of your constraints and color-choices ... remember, if you don't buy victron, you can always spray-paint your chosen device in near victron-blue, as some do on this forum!

Hope this helps ...

 

[hwy17]

Field serviceable and repairable is almost not a thing in solar equipment. I have seen it claimed that some Outback equipment is repairable but probably only if you are an installer with access to support.

If you value high quality reliable equipment then you would probably be interested in the high quality component based systems. Schneider, Outback, Victron, Midnite.

 

[Moretorque]

Some AIOs you can replace internal components in. I have a cheap "MPP Solar" unit, which is a rebrand of an AIO built by Voltronic. There are a lot of these. They sell replacement main boards, fans, etc.

That said, I would say that it would be easier to buy a second one to keep on hand, or to run in parallel than to try to keep a bunch of parts around.

Alternatively, buy something like Victron that's more expensive but has a proven track record of being reliable in the long-term.

Victron is cheap compared to some of the other stuff, That is what I want, I want to have spars I can cannibalize for parts. I am thinking about buying another C5 for this reason. I know this is off topic but guy's are getting these old LS1 cars to get 40 miles to a gallon and they will go 180 MPH and the motors will go easy 500 thousand if you take care of them and all the electronics are plug and play ( NO ENCODING BY THE DEALER ). That is what I want to build... Thanks alot!

 

[Moretorque]

This is a perennial question, choosing AIO (usually HF) or individual (usually top-tier, LF) components ...

With AIO, I'd tend to have two on hand, installed (up on the wall or whatever), with one in-line and operating, and the other off but near-line and ready to spring into action if needed. Just move the wires over ...

With anyone's top-tier, LF-based unit, these things last forever (compared to AIO), and they usually start off with 3- or 5-year or more warranty period. That's an indicator of quality right there, and you must compare warranties when researching or buying anything.

The things to investigate as you make your own choice:

- warranty ... 1-year or less? really? it varies wildly, but it's up to you to check this out
- return/repair policy ... do they have it, do you understand what will happen, and how long it will take?
- support dept ... do they even have one, or is it a web form or email address alone? do they have reams of helpful support online, or not?
- reputation ... search this and other forums, and see how the product stacks up in real-world use ... if complaints are high ...
- dealer/vendor ... consider who you buy from, as well as the product manufacturer ... I'd consider CurrentConnected, or similar, for their expertise and willingness to go out of their way to help you out.

And so on ... it isn't easy doing all this research, on top of your constraints and color-choices ... remember, if you don't buy victron, you can always spray-paint your chosen device in near victron-blue, as some do on this forum!

Hope this helps ...

What is it about Victron ?, it sounds like for someone who is competent which I can be but don't like to be (LOAFER) as I get older separates are the way to go. We don't know how much longer we will be able to get parts for anything, Santa Claus moved his factories to China and he hates us Americans because we've been naughty for trying to break away from the elite masters.. Thanks that was very helpful

 

[Moretorque]

Field serviceable and repairable is almost not a thing in solar equipment. I have seen it claimed that some Outback equipment is repairable but probably only if you are an installer with access to support.

If you value high quality reliable equipment then you would probably be interested in the high quality component based systems. Schneider, Outback, Victron, Midnite.

Thanks alot, You know even the higher end stuff people tell me the quality has been hard to predict. Asian Santa doesn't treat his elfs very well you know and I hear electronic parts are not what they used be unless you are with the war machine taking the planet over..

 

[Moretorque]

EG quality is not as good as Victron?

 

[hwy17]

EG quality is not as good as Victron?

EG4 sells branded and customized versions of hardware that broadly falls into the "Chinese OEM" category. So does Sol Ark for example.

Quality is subjective, their current offerings are generally considered to be high quality compared to their competitors in that market. But they do not fall in the the same western designed component based system philosophy as Schneider, Outback, Victron, or Midnite.

 

[ericfx1984]

EG4 sells branded and customized versions of hardware that broadly falls into the "Chinese OEM" category. So does Sol Ark for example.

Quality is subjective, their current offerings are generally considered to be high quality compared to their competitors in that market. But they do not fall in the the same western designed component based system philosophy as Schneider, Outback, Victron, or Midnite.

I'm pretty sure midnight sells some stuff that would be in the Chinese OEM category as well... But you can definitely tell the difference from a price perspective

 

[hwy17]

I'm pretty sure midnight sells some stuff that would be in the Chinese OEM category as well... But you can definitely tell the difference from a price perspective

Yes, I was almost gonna add an asterisk for that.

 

[Moretorque]

Well yaa, our rulers waited for us to invent most of the stuff then shipped it all off to Asia, they are shutting the West down so I want reliable stuff and from what I have been lead to believe the Chinese stuff quality wise has been going down hill and they provide most of the eletrical parts to the world don't they? That's why I posted I would by used pre Covid just for that reason... Thanks....

 

[ericfx1984]

Yes, I was almost gonna add an asterisk for that.

I did notice that midnight tends to derate the Chinese OEM stuff that they do sell relative to other companies

 

[hwy17]

I did notice that midnight tends to derate the Chinese OEM stuff that they do sell relative to other companies

Yeah, and I trust they are better equipped to judge the internal design. Still a separate category to me though. I want a Rosie.

 

[ericfx1984]

Yeah, and I trust they are better equipped to judge the internal design. Still a separate category to me though. I want a Rosie.

Yeah that's my thought as well... Although I don't know what a rosie is

 

[Moretorque]

Yeah that's my thought as well... Although I don't know what a rosie is

A prostitute with big TITS!

 

[hwy17]

Yeah that's my thought as well... Although I don't know what a rosie is

Midnite's new big in house designed inverter. No regulars on the forum have tried it yet though.

 

[ericfx1984]

A prostitute with big TITS!

I'll stick with my wife

 

[aragonx]

I should probably not talk being a noob myself, so take everything I say with a grain or so of salt.

Victron has an AIO in the EasySolar-II right? So you kinda get the best of both worlds. Be very careful where you buy your Victron stuff from though. I got mine off of Amazon and the retailer there is not big on support. Not Amazon, but the vendor I got the stuff from. I put in a ticket with Victron and got kicked to the vendor (Victron's support policy), who hasn't been all that quick with responses. Good thing the stuff pretty much just runs. And the documentation was way way WAY better than the Renogy stuff I have used. On the other hand, I was able to get ahold of Renogy's support when I needed them. That has to be worth something.