EG4 6k - need help with wiring diagram

[Micah123456]

Solar Assistant (https://solar-assistant.io) is a third-party app that costs about $60. It loads on a Raspberry Pi and connects to the EG4 inverters with micro USB cables. It can pull data down to the second, and is light years ahead of the SolarPower mobile app recommended by EG4. I still need to the SolarPower app to make changes to the inverter settings if I don't want to lay hands on the console, but otherwise, it's got little value.

With the software cost and RPi, you are into Solar Assistant for maybe $125-150, but it just crushes the SolarPower mobile app. Not to mention, local data gathering if you hook it up to Home Assistant, so no cloud access needed.

I am not affiliated in any way with Solar Assistant. I was merely looking for a way to get the data published into Home Assistant (an open source home automation software), and it's speed, graphs, and other details were a surprise bonus.

do you know how you connect it? I have the eg4 3000 unit, it has usb B connector on it. I don't see any microUSB on it. How to connect it to solar assistant?

 

[ohsolar]

I know that @Subdood was active in this other thread, but for others that may read this thread in the future, see these posts about the ground/neutral situation:

Signature Solar's new EG4 6000 120/240V inverter

I am not a certified electrician, but have been wiring stuff for 30+ years, including several remodels and my current house. I understand NEC specs and requirements, I read 1 gauge wire as being 130 amp rated with 75C insulation rating. each EG4-6000 unit can charge at a maximum of 120amps, so...

diysolarforum.com

Signature Solar's new EG4 6000 120/240V inverter

I am not a certified electrician, but have been wiring stuff for 30+ years, including several remodels and my current house. I understand NEC specs and requirements, I read 1 gauge wire as being 130 amp rated with 75C insulation rating. each EG4-6000 unit can charge at a maximum of 120amps, so...

diysolarforum.com

Signature Solar's new EG4 6000 120/240V inverter

I am not a certified electrician, but have been wiring stuff for 30+ years, including several remodels and my current house. I understand NEC specs and requirements, I read 1 gauge wire as being 130 amp rated with 75C insulation rating. each EG4-6000 unit can charge at a maximum of 120amps, so...

diysolarforum.com

Signature Solar's new EG4 6000 120/240V inverter

If I understand the test correctly, I need to hook up incoming AC power, but have batteries and solar off, and then a single 120V load connected? Then you want to see what the current is on the incoming neutral? How could I not have current on the neutral with a single output? Are you...

diysolarforum.com

This video talks about mid-point transformers.. starting @ 3:28 (growatt 5k). Should be similar, right?

 

[thanhrodke]

do you know how you connect it? I have the eg4 3000 unit, it has usb B connector on it. I don't see any microUSB on it. How to connect it to solar assistant?

good point there!

you can use a USB-A to USB-B cable and it will work the same way.

it just happens that my EG4 6000 uses the micro USB connector.

if folks think that a tutorial is needed, I can likely build one up over the next few weeks and post it to youtube.

 

[Micah123456]

good point there!

you can use a USB-A to USB-B cable and it will work the same way.

it just happens that my EG4 6000 uses the micro USB connector.

if folks think that a tutorial is needed, I can likely build one up over the next few weeks and post it to youtube.

Thanks ive been trying a usb a b cable and it wont connect. Tried a couple cables. Just printer cables. Solar assitant support says we should use sumry inverter from dropdown, not voltronic, and use a usb a to rs232 rj45 cable basically. Cant test that yet though, what settings did you use! The 6000 may be based off different hardware

 

[thanhrodke]

Thanks ive been trying a usb a b cable and it wont connect. Tried a couple cables. Just printer cables. Solar assitant support says we should use sumry inverter from dropdown, not voltronic, and use a usb a to rs232 rj45 cable basically. Cant test that yet though, what settings did you use! The 6000 may be based off different hardware

well dang. It certainly won't hurt to try setting it to voltronic. It's just trying to make a USB connection.

I have not looked closely at the EG4 3000, but I just snagged a screenshot of the bottom, and that USB-B style port is definitely labeled RS485, which is a serial protocol. my bad on that one. you mentioned that it was a USB-B, and I incoccerctly made the assumption that it was USB protocol as well.

the RJ45 connector is the RS232 though, and that cable would have likely been supplied with the inverter. if you have that cable, get it connected, then try each of the other models available in the drop down to see if SA will connect.

it's like this: https://solar-assistant.io/shop/products/voltronic_rs232

good luck!

 

[Micah123456]

well dang. It certainly won't hurt to try setting it to voltronic. It's just trying to make a USB connection.

I have not looked closely at the EG4 3000, but I just snagged a screenshot of the bottom, and that USB-B style port is definitely labeled RS485, which is a serial protocol. my bad on that one. you mentioned that it was a USB-B, and I incoccerctly made the assumption that it was USB protocol as well.

the RJ45 connector is the RS232 though, and that cable would have likely been supplied with the inverter. if you have that cable, get it connected, then try each of the other models available in the drop down to see if SA will connect.

it's like this: https://solar-assistant.io/shop/products/voltronic_rs232

good luck!

thanks. ya fits a usb b end. and the manual suggests its also regular usb for pc connection but i haven't found a combo that works yet. Still need the rj45 to usb i guess that SA suggested. Its on order so can't confirm until i get it.

 

[ohsolar]

Does anyone know the distance(width) between the mounting holes on eg6k? I know side to side is around 14 inches

 

[thanhrodke]

Does anyone know the distance(width) between the mounting holes on eg6k? I know side to side is around 14 inches

I can get this for you this evening.

 

[thanhrodke]

Does anyone know the distance(width) between the mounting holes on eg6k? I know side to side is around 14 inches

I get right about 7-1/16”, so I'm guessing that's 180mm.

Total unit is just shy of 15" side to side counting the air intake vents on each side.

Height is right at 25" give or take a smidge from the top of the lift handles to the button of the case.

 

[ohsolar]

I get right about 7-1/16”, so I'm guessing that's 180mm.

Total unit is just shy of 15" side to side counting the air intake vents on each side.

Height is right at 25" give or take a smidge from the top of the lift handles to the button of the case.

Thank you @thanhrodke ..that will help a lot

 

[ohsolar]

New Video: eg6k 6k by Will

 

[thanhrodke]

Having two of these running for about a month now, I can confidently say that a single unit won't even come close to starting a 5HP compressor. A single unit won't even start my 3hp 60 gallon 2-stage upright compressor. The end result was that the breaker tripped. You might be able to get one to kick on if you can get the initial compression stroke.

I just tested this capability last night after watching Will's video on it. I'm guessing that one unit would be able to easily start a decent-sized direct drive oiless compressor that very often comes with overzealous "peak HP" labeling claims. That style of compressor has a significantly lower startup demand, plus they come up to speed much faster, so the demand time is much shorter.

I also tested against a cyclone dust collector with a 5hp Leeson motor that has a pretty long startup cycle due to the mass of the impeller (a couple of seconds). The motor tried really hard, but once the initial kick of the motors capacitor was done, the speed up of the impeller was really slow for a couple of seconds and this resulted in the protection circuit of the inverter kicking in, and it proactively shut down the AC output to prevent damage.

All that said, with two units running, the pair will start either the air compressor or the dust collector just fine, although both units beep steadily when the dust collector is spinning up. They will also start up the other tool once the first tool is fully up and running.

So bottom line, a single unit won't start even a 3hp load if it takes a ton of startup current. Two units will do it all day, and more.

 

[ohsolar]

Having two of these running for about a month now, I can confidently say that a single unit won't even come close to starting a 5HP compressor. A single unit won't even start my 3hp 60 gallon 2-stage upright compressor. The end result was that the breaker tripped. You might be able to get one to kick on if you can get the initial compression stroke.

I just tested this capability last night after watching Will's video on it. I'm guessing that one unit would be able to easily start a decent-sized direct drive oiless compressor that very often comes with overzealous "peak HP" labeling claims. That style of compressor has a significantly lower startup demand, plus they come up to speed much faster, so the demand time is much shorter.

I also tested against a cyclone dust collector with a 5hp Leeson motor that has a pretty long startup cycle due to the mass of the impeller (a couple of seconds). The motor tried really hard, but once the initial kick of the motors capacitor was done, the speed up of the impeller was really slow for a couple of seconds and this resulted in the protection circuit of the inverter kicking in, and it proactively shut down the AC output to prevent damage.

All that said, with two units running, the pair will start either the air compressor or the dust collector just fine, although both units beep steadily when the dust collector is spinning up. They will also start up the other tool once the first tool is fully up and running.

So bottom line, a single unit won't start even a 3hp load if it takes a ton of startup current. Two units will do it all day, and more.

Do you have soft start device on your ac unit?

Some discussion earlier on this thread..

EG4 6k - need help with wiring diagram

Two outside AC units? One each for each floor, if you have a two story house? I still don't know if one of these inverters could start it. Maybe, but I'm guessing no. Look at the LRA current on the units, that's the current required to crank the compressor, usually more than 75A. Soft starters...

diysolarforum.com

 

[ohsolar]

I finally got it up and running with 1 circuit Thanks for ALL your help..pics attached. I still have some issues with config.

Has anyone faced these issues:
1) configs not sticking (especially #32, 33, 95, 96)
2) What exactly does 32 & 33 do? When I change them, the inverter turns off

32 - Scheduled time for AC output on
33 - Scheduled time for AC output off

Took 2 months from permit day. Took exactly 1 month from the day I received the equipment. Hopefully I can turn up other circuits without issues

 

[thanhrodke]

Do you have soft start device on your ac unit?

Some discussion earlier on this thread..

EG4 6k - need help with wiring diagram

Two outside AC units? One each for each floor, if you have a two story house? I still don't know if one of these inverters could start it. Maybe, but I'm guessing no. Look at the LRA current on the units, that's the current required to crank the compressor, usually more than 75A. Soft starters...

diysolarforum.com

Dang, I totally missed your reply here, sorry. The location where my setup it runs two 3-ton Mr. Cool mini-split units. These units are variable speed inverter units, so their startup sequence is quite long (could be 30 seconds or more to come up to full speed. Each will draw about 25-30 amps when running wide open, but that basically never happens, even here in Texas. Once the temp is stable, each draws just a few amps. You can almost count the revolutions of the fan on the outside condenser then they are running slow.

 

[thanhrodke]

I finally got it up and running with 1 circuit Thanks for ALL your help..pics attached. I still have some issues with config.

Has anyone faced these issues:
1) configs not sticking (especially #32, 33, 95, 96)
2) What exactly does 32 & 33 do? When I change them, the inverter turns off

32 - Scheduled time for AC output on
33 - Scheduled time for AC output off

Took 2 months from permit day. Took exactly 1 month from the day I received the equipment. Hopefully I can turn up other circuits without issues

I have not had many issues with values not sticking, but I do know that if I go into another inverter, many of the settings will get pushed to the other inverter. The one that's obvious is the backlight. I can be in one inverter, and turn the backlight setting on or off, and generally within a few seconds, all of the other inverters display will change to the same state.

I can also say that I have gone into a setting on one inverter, edited the value but didn't actually change the value, and when I got out, that value didn't seem to stick. But it also feels like this has happened more often when I am flying through the displays side by side comparing things, whether on the units themselves on in the app. I have no proof of this, but it feels like a slight delay from when I set a setting on one unit, and it gets pushed to the other unit in some kind of fashion that conflicts with second unit that I am trying to set.

I think that you can actually schedule the AC output to turn on and off at certain times of day. I am not 100% sure on this, but I did have one time that I left one of my inverters overnight with the AC output off. And since there was no solar input nor AC output, it put itself into standby mode, and the power draw on it was very low. I may have to do some testing with these settings. For example, I mainly have four inverters so that I can get maximum charging capacity from my panels, but I will rarely ever need the amount of AC power that four units can put out (24kW). I have successfully tested them to more than that, but it was under special testing conditions.

 

[ohsolar]

Dang, I totally missed your reply here, sorry. The location where my setup it runs two 3-ton Mr. Cool mini-split units. These units are variable speed inverter units, so their startup sequence is quite long (could be 30 seconds or more to come up to full speed. Each will draw about 25-30 amps when running wide open, but that basically never happens, even here in Texas. Once the temp is stable, each draws just a few amps. You can almost count the revolutions of the fan on the outside condenser then they are running slow.

No worries..I should have opted for variable speed ac unit but that was before I decided on this project?..will have to try soft start sometime in the future

 

[ohsolar]

I have not had many issues with values not sticking, but I do know that if I go into another inverter, many of the settings will get pushed to the other inverter. The one that's obvious is the backlight. I can be in one inverter, and turn the backlight setting on or off, and generally within a few seconds, all of the other inverters display will change to the same state.

I can also say that I have gone into a setting on one inverter, edited the value but didn't actually change the value, and when I got out, that value didn't seem to stick. But it also feels like this has happened more often when I am flying through the displays side by side comparing things, whether on the units themselves on in the app. I have no proof of this, but it feels like a slight delay from when I set a setting on one unit, and it gets pushed to the other unit in some kind of fashion that conflicts with second unit that I am trying to set.

I think that you can actually schedule the AC output to turn on and off at certain times of day. I am not 100% sure on this, but I did have one time that I left one of my inverters overnight with the AC output off. And since there was no solar input nor AC output, it put itself into standby mode, and the power draw on it was very low. I may have to do some testing with these settings. For example, I mainly have four inverters so that I can get maximum charging capacity from my panels, but I will rarely ever need the amount of AC power that four units can put out (24kW). I have successfully tested them to more than that, but it was under special testing conditions.

Hmm..yeah, I just have one unit and am trying to charge battery at a certain time but the system time I am trying to set, does not stick?.. wondering if bug. I guess I don't need 32 & 33 if I can charge battery after a certain time and the system switches to grid on battery voltage drop..nice/funny to see my test circuit (fan) running for hrs on the battery ?

 

[thanhrodke]

I just tested mine, and using both the inverter's control panel and the app, changing the date and changing the AC output start and stop times both stuck. However, setting the AC output time of day settings did occasionally cause a system-wide error 80 communication error that would immediately hit all of my units, and the only way to get things going again was to reboot all four of my inverters.

I had not explored those AC output start and stop settings, so thanks for asking about them. I've set my third and fourth inverters to only have AC output engaged from 6p-11p, which is about the time that I roll in and would charge my car, and based upon other loads, two inverters might not cut it.

Thinking about it, I am now hoping that the inverters will go into standby and I'll save a bit of power on idle load. I'll have to check on them at some point in the night and see what their status shows in Solar Assistant.

 

[ohsolar]

I just tested mine, and using both the inverter's control panel and the app, changing the date and changing the AC output start and stop times both stuck. However, setting the AC output time of day settings did occasionally cause a system-wide error 80 communication error that would immediately hit all of my units, and the only way to get things going again was to reboot all four of my inverters.

I had not explored those AC output start and stop settings, so thanks for asking about them. I've set my third and fourth inverters to only have AC output engaged from 6p-11p, which is about the time that I roll in and would charge my car, and based upon other loads, two inverters might not cut it.

Thinking about it, I am now hoping that the inverters will go into standby and I'll save a bit of power on idle load. I'll have to check on them at some point in the night and see what their status shows in Solar Assistant.

wow! Thanks for testing. I feel there are some other bugs as well

1) when you restart the inverter, the display does not show the correct setting/diagram until you take out the battery communication cable and put it back in(maybe it just take a long time to update)
2) The output wattage does not seem correct and does not change if I add/remove loads
3) is there a firmware update that I need to do? They sent inverter software CD which I could not install since I don't have CD player on my laptop. Where can I download the software from? SS does not seem to be responding to my questions.
4) I have a raspberry pi with a USB-A. I don't see a way to connect to inverter. Do I need a USB-A to micro-usb adapter?


would be good to copy SS on this thread..thought I saw someone copy them but not sure what the handle is.