EG4 Battery and Inverter Power Compatibility - Demo Videos

[Samsonite801]

I’m doing tons to figure this out and so is Signature Solar. Sometimes I’m waiting on a response from an engineer or from the manufacturing so I make a shiny video. I really want to do it all and as fast as possible. I did have a family emergency this week but hope to keep moving forward, I promise I’m not trying to fail.

Hang in there buddy, peace be with you

 

[Koldsimer]

All very nice and shiny sales talk but you still cannot help a customer an hour away from you. I just do not get it.
You have a 32 page thread discussing the issue trying to help, not listening to good technical advice you are getting for free, but you go ahead and spend time on some glossy video sales talk.

It seems to be just an attempt at damage control to ensure they keep selling batteries to anyone and everyone possible. Fact is, the exact inverters listed, do not work in certain applications. And Signature Solar knows this!

The responsible thing for Signature solar to do would have been to solve the problem first, THEN make all the videos you want including special instructions for outlier situations and caveats when necessary. It's clear they didn't put a seconds worth of thought into how this video/thread makes those of us feel who spent thousands of dollars and have batteries that DONT start the listed inverters.

 

[Solar Guy Richard]

It seems to be just an attempt at damage control to ensure they keep selling batteries to anyone and everyone possible. Fact is, the exact inverters listed, do not work in certain applications. And Signature Solar knows this!

The responsible thing for Signature solar to do would have been to solve the problem first, THEN make all the videos you want including special instructions for outlier situations and caveats when necessary. It's clear they didn't put a seconds worth of thought into how this video/thread makes those of us feel who spent thousands of dollars and have batteries that DONT start the listed inverters.

I am totally aware of your issue - but the simple fact is that an out of the box inverter and battery do work. We've actually tested this on site, and contacted several people who have the exact model that you do and verified that they are working. We don't know what is different about your set up or inverter that is causing the problem. We are seeing less than .05% of sales resulting in an issue with these batteries. The number is significantly smaller regarding the exact issue you are experiencing. For most people (99.95+% to be exact), using this battery is as simple as plugging it in. I totally get that there are outliers, such as yourself. And the fact is - the battery is operational in your set up beyond the restart loop that is being caused by your inverter - a problem we are still working to solve, and plan to continue troubleshooting.

Is this an attempt at damage control? I'd say it's more of an ongoing public tool to help people see our product in action. Unfortunately people may be deterred from purchasing the battery due to the forum post you started (one that I've been extremely active in, I might add) when the reality of the situation is they have (much) less than a .05% chance of experiencing the same issue. Again - not to downplay your specific situation - we are showing an out of the box, with no additional equipment, hook up to show people that the battery and inverter work together. And to put it plainly, we started doing this after your post because a lot of people actually asked us "Does the battery work with xxx inverter, I saw online that there was an issue." so we bought the inverters, made the video for the person, and showed them. Then we decided, if this person asked there are probably dozens who wondered but didn't ask and we should put these videos for everyone to see.

So that's the run down of how we decided to start putting these videos out there. That being said, I'm still dedicated to working with you personally to find a solution for your system. Showing default configurations is industry standard in nearly any industry - companies don't often test their equipment or make demo videos using a completely custom set up that won't help the general populace.

 

[Hedges]

We are seeing less than .05% of sales resulting in an issue with these batteries. The number is significantly smaller regarding the exact issue you are experiencing. For most people (99.95+% to be exact), using this battery is as simple as plugging it in. I totally get that there are outliers, such as yourself.

One in 2000 units is giving customer a problem. SS sells batteries for about $2000 each.

SS ought to take the following $500 worth of free advice.

Schneider xw pro 6848 not powering up with eg4 lithium battery

EDIT: CABLE IS DIFFERENT UPON EXAMINATION OF BOTH CABLES. MY MISTAKE. Last Friday, Signature Solar overnighted me a "programming cable". I assumed it must be different than the cable i already had that came with my batteries. I wish Richard would have asked me before sending as I already have...

diysolarforum.com

Try swapping for upgraded unit that seems to not be a problem (you could just ship to customer). If no success, it would cost SS just $1 per shipped unit to give full refund to any customer having problems. Each of those should be resolved within one week. (And the "failed" units may still be OK in a different system. Or could be defective; that failure rate would be understandable.)

You can show in videos that the paired hardware sometimes works, and you can say it works 99.95% of the time. But taking care of customers where it doesn't is the highest leverage. When it only costs 0.05% extra to do that, SS can afford it.

 

[brasscow]

What is the communication status with Sol-Ark inverters?

 

[ramseyjack]

Richard,
THANK you for the support, and I have had nothing but wonderful results from my EG4 48V battery installs. (4 different installs, various configurations)
I have found using the voltage settings with Sol-Ark, Outback and Victron, the SOC is within 1 point once it gets dialed in (no direct BMS communication with the inverters). Having been in the Solar business for 17yrs, I of course know and plan on the install-configuration shakedown when introducing new product lines into the matrix.

I do have a question on whether I can stack the Lifepower4 (or any of the line), in series and what are the limitations? I have heard only the BMS quits reporting, but I am curious on the voltage limitations. I called sales and heard 16 in series, but that would would be close to 770V, and I think there might be a mistake. Not sure whether the BMS would "quit reporting" or just plain burn up from overvoltage. IE: If the limit is say 200V then I could conceivably put 3 of them in series.
I won't try anything stupid until I get confirmation.

Thanks again,

Jack

 

[Solar Guy Richard]

Richard,
THANK you for the support, and I have had nothing but wonderful results from my EG4 48V battery installs. (4 different installs, various configurations)
I have found using the voltage settings with Sol-Ark, Outback and Victron, the SOC is within 1 point once it gets dialed in (no direct BMS communication with the inverters). Having been in the Solar business for 17yrs, I of course know and plan on the install-configuration shakedown when introducing new product lines into the matrix.

I do have a question on whether I can stack the Lifepower4 (or any of the line), in series and what are the limitations? I have heard only the BMS quits reporting, but I am curious on the voltage limitations. I called sales and heard 16 in series, but that would would be close to 770V, and I think there might be a mistake. Not sure whether the BMS would "quit reporting" or just plain burn up from overvoltage. IE: If the limit is say 200V then I could conceivably put 3 of them in series.
I won't try anything stupid until I get confirmation.

Thanks again,

Jack

Haha, no 16 batteries in series is not correct. You can communicate UP TO 16 batteries (in parallel). Our battery components for any of our units are not designed to exceed 48v. So you could do 2 24v batteries in series, or 4 12v batteries in series.

 

[ramseyjack]

Thanks,... got it... there is market for HV (say up to 360VDC) but having worked with overseas companies for many years, I am aware of the challenges and lead times. Have a great weekend. Thanks again for the great support..

 

[robby]

I am just looking back at the old thread and noticed that Another member was pointing out that the Schnieder Inverter tripped out twice during signature solars testing. It even tripped out with four batteries attached and a washing machine, heater and saw as the load!

 

[Solar Guy Richard]

I am just looking back at the old thread and noticed that Another member was pointing out that the Schnieder Inverter tripped out twice during signature solars testing. It even tripped out with four batteries attached and a washing machine, heater and saw as the load!

Sorry for replying on both threads with the same thing, but I'll go back and retest - the first trip was trying to run a space heater and the dryer at the same time and it was turned on before the other 2 batteries had finished starting up. We did only have 3 batteries turned on at a time. I'll find more info and reset up the test to show it this week again.

 

[Vibe]

Hello everyone! At Signature Solar, we want to make the entire process of purchasing batteries easier - regardless of whether you have purchased an inverter we offer. With that in mind, we have recently begun shooting videos showing our batteries working with inverters from a number of different companies. This post will be updated with each model including a video showing the battery operating the inverter. This compatibility does not include communications, it is simply showing the operation of the inverter using the batteries.

I realize that you are not at SS currently, but the thread is applicable for this, I think. Sungold has a 48v 5k inverter, with an attractive price point for 120vac use, problem is, it won't talk to the EG4 BMS. I was wondering if the EG4 BMS protocol is addressable like the SOK batteries are in this video?