diy solar

diy solar

EG4-6500EX Multiple Problems Unable to reach Signature Solar for Support for over 6 weeks

So far I'm not really impressed with the EG4 inverters.

I keep getting electrical brown outs when ever i introduce a load to my system.

The other day I was using my dewalt hand held circular saw that plugs into the wall and every time I puled the trigger to cut wood the lights and everything connected would fade and almost black out.

The EG4 inverters can't even handle a circular saw without causing a brown out electrical effect.

Anyone else having this kind of a problem?

Is there a fix?

I have no issues running any of my big power tools.

What mode was the unit in when this happened?

What is your solar and battery setup?
 
You're reading all this information through solar Assistant- I have mpp solar lv1012, nothing fancy just 306whr batteries (sok) no comms other than Bluetooth.

What I have learned from I having solar Assistant since 7/1/22 is that the information may be off based on what it reads from your inverter it may not keep all the data in the right time format, it may exclude data and it is very particular about how it is wired ie I had to contact just like you did my supplier Watts247 (great support) provided replacement communications components because SA would not communicate correctly over the USB protocol

Take all the data with a grain of salt until verified as with my solution my load power is always off from the grid power and PV power by 10 seconds. I could fight with either the supplier or SA but it's not even worth the fight because of the end of the day the numbers work out to the same thing it's just garbage support for garbage software and hardware.
 
I've started having another strange problem with one of my electrical circuits in the house. My hallway bathroom GFCI keeps tripping. It seems to happen when there is a change in the load, eitehr rapidly going up or going down. I'm trying to track the exact times and compare with SA data, but regardless, why would a GFCI trip, and not all of them? I've repalced the GFCI outlet and it's still doing it once or twice a day.
 
I've started having another strange problem with one of my electrical circuits in the house. My hallway bathroom GFCI keeps tripping. It seems to happen when there is a change in the load, eitehr rapidly going up or going down. I'm trying to track the exact times and compare with SA data, but regardless, why would a GFCI trip, and not all of them? I've repalced the GFCI outlet and it's still doing it once or twice a day.

Yeah that's not good. You gotta get with SS and have all your setup details for them.
 
I've started having another strange problem with one of my electrical circuits in the house. My hallway bathroom GFCI keeps tripping. It seems to happen when there is a change in the load, eitehr rapidly going up or going down. I'm trying to track the exact times and compare with SA data, but regardless, why would a GFCI trip, and not all of them? I've repalced the GFCI outlet and it's still doing it once or twice a day.
Get rid of your GFCI. I find that you have to make compromises with these inverters. Some are extreme but no other choice because SS or the manufacturer can't fix anything I've thrown at them. I've only thrown one thing at them btw.
 
So to add further issues to the long list here...I've noted that when we are running from battery only my lights are flickering about once per second for several hours per day. When we are running from battery AND solar, or on GRID bypass, the lights do not flicker. And to reiterate, a couple of times a day I have a GFCI outlet trip in my bathroom and that circuit also has a timer on it so I know exactly when it looses power, which happens to coincide with either a load coming online or the inverter switching from all battery to all GRID. And last week a $180 coffee maker fried in our kitchen. Last Friday went to turn off the water heater breaker and the dryer breaker right next to it was hot. And I mean hot to the touch where I couldn’t hold my finger on it longer than a second. I removed the breaker and the sides of it were even hotter and the bus bar connection underneath was discolored from heat. I replaced it and made sure I put anti-oxidant on the connection. Since then I have checked it several times and it doesn't seem to be getting hot. It may have simply been a 30 year old faulty breaker, and the dryer breaker may be unrelated to the issue but somehow I’m beginning to doubt it. My Solar assistant only logs in 10 sec intervals and I dont have anything monitoring voltage on a circuit by circuit basis other than a couple of UPS power supplies for computer and networking equipment. When i checked one of the UPS today i could see in it's log that it has had 255 events where the UPS kicked in. After further experiements, the UPS kicks in everytime the inverter switchs from GRID/BATTERY or the opposite. The UPS also engages for a few seconds when the inverters are on battery and one of two laser printers plugged into the same circuit as the UPS kicks on to print. The UPS does not engage when printing if the inverters are on grid power. And now that i recall i had to replace a UPS on this same circuit last month. And as of the writing of this post we have now fried a second $180 coffee pot. Bottom line is that I’m having a lot of electrical issues all of a sudden, fried two coffee pots and one UPS totaling over $500, dryer breaker so hot it discolored (but does not appear to have physically damaged) the busbar connection and I never had any of these issues simply using grid power. I emailed Signature Solar Tier 2 about 24 hours ago and didn't get a response, and that delay in response is why i'm posting here @BenFromSignatureSolar. Hate to be a complainer but i do expect a little more than what i've been getting so far from SS.
Question: Is there any way to reduce or alter the automatic transfer switing cycle time when the inverter switches from Battery/Solar to Grid so that my lights don't flicker and my UPS systems don't engage? I see that setting 3 is for INPUT voltage setting between appliance and UPS conditions, but does that affect the actual transfer time when it's not an input voltage problem?
 
Yeah that's not good. You gotta get with SS and have all your setup details for them.
They already have detailed pictures of everything from the panel locations, directions, wiring, panels and subpanels...and have had that for months now.
 
Get rid of your GFCI. I find that you have to make compromises with these inverters. Some are extreme but no other choice because SS or the manufacturer can't fix anything I've thrown at them. I've only thrown one thing at them btw.
I honestly can't see why this should be necessary...it's only one single GFCI circuit that is having this problem, and only when running from the inverters. I don't think i should be taking my home electrical wiring out of code compliance for these inverters...
 
Question: Is there any way to reduce or alter the automatic transfer switing cycle time when the inverter switches from Battery/Solar to Grid so that my lights don't flicker and my UPS systems don't engage? I see that setting 3 is for INPUT voltage setting between appliance and UPS conditions, but does that affect the actual transfer time when it's not an input voltage problem?
UPS should speed up the transfer time a little bit. The manual states that the transfer time in UPS mode should be around 10ms, while APP mode is around 20ms. Even in UPS mode, I still have 1 actual UPS that clicks over for a second or two. They're just super sensitive to any power changes. I actually have 3 UPSs that I cannot use because they're constantly switching between battery and line mode when I have my inverters running.
 
UPS should speed up the transfer time a little bit. The manual states that the transfer time in UPS mode should be around 10ms, while APP mode is around 20ms. Even in UPS mode, I still have 1 actual UPS that clicks over for a second or two. They're just super sensitive to any power changes. I actually have 3 UPSs that I cannot use because they're constantly switching between battery and line mode when I have my inverters running.
So those UPS just collect dust now?
 
I honestly can't see why this should be necessary...it's only one single GFCI circuit that is having this problem, and only when running from the inverters. I don't think i should be taking my home electrical wiring out of code compliance for these inverters...
It's odd that it is isolated to just the one. Could there possibly be a loop in the system that is throwing this GFCI?
 
I did another few tests, and it seems that when the solar output is above the load value, the printer will not cause a voltage drop sufficient to kick in the UPS. It's only when the solar output is low enough to require battery input or when only on battery input that the voltage drops low enough to engage the UPS. For reference, this UPS is less than one month old and has 255 events where it has kicked on...
 
It's odd that it is isolated to just the one. Could there possibly be a loop in the system that is throwing this GFCI?
That's what i have wondered. If someone could tell me how to check for an eliminate that as a possibility i'll be glad to do it, but i will say that this was never a problem when we were grid only. It is odd that of all the GFCI circuits i have, kitchen and other bathrooms, this is the only one that trips.
 
That's what i have wondered. If someone could tell me how to check for an eliminate that as a possibility i'll be glad to do it, but i will say that this was never a problem when we were grid only. It is odd that of all the GFCI circuits i have, kitchen and other bathrooms, this is the only one that trips.
Interesting. Let me do some research and I'll get back to you
 
I'm wondering of the flickering is a battery issue and not an inverter issue? Maybe the battery's are not delivering current needed under load changes? If it's only flickering under no other load conditions, either the inverter cannot stabilize at the low demand level, or the batteries are surging and unable to provide smooth current to the inverters.

The GFCI issue sounds like either a ground loop issue or the GFCI is just bad and needs to be replaced. GFCI outlets do go bad. The more they cycle the weaker (more susceptible to trip) they get.
 
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