Growatt 3000 LVM possible inverter issues

[Repro]

I did not have a high load draw. This Growatt model is rated at 3000W. Before I took the Growatt offline, I had only a fridge and an upright freezer running for two days with a load of maximum 500-600 watts. I still had the flickering. It is my belief that the Growatt model I had has issues with two inductive motors running at the same time creating feedback/noise that caused the issue. Low or high load, the flickering was there, and the longer the fridge compressors ran, the worse it got. This was problem was easily reproduceable once we knew what it was.

I still have a Giandel 2200W inverter running till I find something to replace the Growatt. The Giandel is running two fridges very stable, no wild voltage or frequency fluctuations like the Growatt.

 

[740GLE]

what’s the PF of those fridges? Remember the power triangle, if it’s 500w but at pf of .6 that’s a tough load for a high frequency inverter. Big toroidal coil of a proper inverter are worth the cost. The growwatt seems to be a great all in one unit, but at the price point it’s obviously not the highest quality.

 

[rogerramjet]

I have been intensely engaged with my solar hobby for over a year, and I have learned a lot. I have made SOOOO many mistakes, and paid for them dearly. Maybe some of my other posts will save people from having the same problems.

I have a Growatt 3000 LVM 24V inverter. I have been so happy with it until recently. I may have pinpointed an issue I have been having. Just a quick overview of my system:

2000W array
Growatt 3000 LVM 24V
4 200AH LiFePO4 batteries (2S/2P) for 24V
AC input is on an isolated 20A circuit
AC output to a 6 space sub panel wired to four 20A outlets with breakers at the moment.

What am I running:
Two full size refrigerators
Front loader wash machine (ran 2-3 times/week)
Two 1.5 HP sump pumps (run for 5-7 seconds maybe twice a day)
One outlet in my garage for two battery tenders
It is my intention to install a switch to run my furnace in winter during outages (8A draw)

Problem: Since I installed the Growatt system, my refrigerator lights flicker badly when both fridges run at the same time, We have gone over the wiring multiple times, shortened the wiring runs as much as possible and have tried multiple configuration parameters on the Growatt. I have called the dealer for support, did a factory reset and reconfigured. The only explanation was that the two refrigerators might be causing fluctuations. Another suggestion was to change the wattage of light bulb (It has LED's). In the short time the system has been running, my upstairs one year old refrigerator is now broken. You could hear the compressor running funny when the lights flickered. It is just my opinion, but I think the Growatt is the culprit.

The load on the inverter was ridiculously low. Seldom did it see over 1000W at one given time during the course of the day. See chart attached. So why can't the inverter in the Growatt handle this? I have ran these two refrigerators on two different portable units that I built with no flickering or issues for weeks at a time doing tests. One has a Ginadel 2200W inverter, and the other has a GoPower Industrial 1500W inverter (both pure sine wave). Never once did I experience flickering or the compressors running strangely.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I do not want to sound so negative, but I have ran into so many issues over the course of installing this Growatt system from zoning, permitting, inspections and now this, that I am about ready to pack it in. Total frustration!!!!!!!!! I hope that an answer can be found. If I am right, stay away from Growatt. Another expensive mistake that cost me a fridge, and now another inverter investment.

 

[rogerramjet]

I have been intensely engaged with my solar hobby for over a year, and I have learned a lot. I have made SOOOO many mistakes, and paid for them dearly. Maybe some of my other posts will save people from having the same problems.

I have a Growatt 3000 LVM 24V inverter. I have been so happy with it until recently. I may have pinpointed an issue I have been having. Just a quick overview of my system:

2000W array
Growatt 3000 LVM 24V
4 200AH LiFePO4 batteries (2S/2P) for 24V
AC input is on an isolated 20A circuit
AC output to a 6 space sub panel wired to four 20A outlets with breakers at the moment.

What am I running:
Two full size refrigerators
Front loader wash machine (ran 2-3 times/week)
Two 1.5 HP sump pumps (run for 5-7 seconds maybe twice a day)
One outlet in my garage for two battery tenders
It is my intention to install a switch to run my furnace in winter during outages (8A draw)

Problem: Since I installed the Growatt system, my refrigerator lights flicker badly when both fridges run at the same time, We have gone over the wiring multiple times, shortened the wiring runs as much as possible and have tried multiple configuration parameters on the Growatt. I have called the dealer for support, did a factory reset and reconfigured. The only explanation was that the two refrigerators might be causing fluctuations. Another suggestion was to change the wattage of light bulb (It has LED's). In the short time the system has been running, my upstairs one year old refrigerator is now broken. You could hear the compressor running funny when the lights flickered. It is just my opinion, but I think the Growatt is the culprit.

The load on the inverter was ridiculously low. Seldom did it see over 1000W at one given time during the course of the day. See chart attached. So why can't the inverter in the Growatt handle this? I have ran these two refrigerators on two different portable units that I built with no flickering or issues for weeks at a time doing tests. One has a Ginadel 2200W inverter, and the other has a GoPower Industrial 1500W inverter (both pure sine wave). Never once did I experience flickering or the compressors running strangely.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I do not want to sound so negative, but I have ran into so many issues over the course of installing this Growatt system from zoning, permitting, inspections and now this, that I am about ready to pack it in. Total frustration!!!!!!!!! I hope that an answer can be found. If I am right, stay away from Growatt. Another expensive mistake that cost me a fridge, and now another inverter investment.

The problem with refrigerators is low run amps vs high start up amps. If a frig runs at 10A then its start amps is about 40A. If frig a is running at 10A and frig b is trying to start at 40A guess what. 10A + 40A = 50A on an inverter rated at 25A output. Any inductive unit will have to figured into an inverters total output. Fix; larger inverter or second inverter in parallel.

 

[Repro]

The problem with refrigerators is low run amps vs high start up amps. If a frig runs at 10A then its start amps is about 40A. If frig a is running at 10A and frig b is trying to start at 40A guess what. 10A + 40A = 50A on an inverter rated at 25A output. Any inductive unit will have to figured into an inverters total output. Fix; larger inverter or second inverter in parallel.

Thanks for your reply. I replaced the Growatt temporarily with my 2200W Giandel inverter and the problem disappeared. The Growatt inverter was returned earlier this year. After lots of troubleshooting, there was no resolution. I ended up purchasing a system based on Victron Energy components, and everything works perfectly. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

 

[Zwy]

The problem with refrigerators is low run amps vs high start up amps. If a frig runs at 10A then its start amps is about 40A. If frig a is running at 10A and frig b is trying to start at 40A guess what. 10A + 40A = 50A on an inverter rated at 25A output. Any inductive unit will have to figured into an inverters total output. Fix; larger inverter or second inverter in parallel.

I forgot all about this thread but see it has come back to life. Which might be a blessing as it gives time to think about what is occurring as we gain experience and knowledge about these systems.

One thing that comes to mind in all of these smaller systems is many people are installing these 120V output units singularly. You don't hear of these type of problems with parallel units. (But I have heard of a couple flicker problems; very low loads however with cheaper LED bulbs, didn't matter what brand inverter, complete opposite situation)

Why? Possibly it is due to phasing when operating units in parallel combined with large inductive loads, unlike a single unit operating multiple inductive loads on 120V.

 

[Kornbread]

I thought this flickering issue was a fairly common issue with some Growatts? Several threads/videos/posts about it. Generally occurs when the unit is under light load. Mentioned in this vid.

 

[coolbz]

My Growatt 3000 48v system is having issue in inverter mode as well.

My sound system receiver has been having humming noise and is sending out smoke and lots of heat today. I had to turn it off. These issues only happens when using power from Growatt in inverter mode, not AC bypass.

I suspect Growatt inverter have quality issue of not producing pure wine wave.

 

[iamrich]

With my LV2424 my LED lighting only flickers when there is very little load on the system. I have 9 led cans (100w total) and if I turn my laptop or radio on the lights flicker, but if I turn one more thing on it goes away. It is really odd...

 

[Zwy]

I thought this flickering issue was a fairly common issue with some Growatts? Several threads/videos/posts about it. Generally occurs when the unit is under light load. Mentioned in this vid.

I watched about 16 mins and couldn't take it anymore. 16 mins of my life I won't get back.

He found his flicker was due to his inverter mini split running.

I won't get into the lack of battery capacity or PV. I think he made some poor planning and decisions, then blames the GW for it.

 

[Kornbread]

I watched about 16 mins and couldn't take it anymore. 16 mins of my life I won't get back.

He found his flicker was due to his inverter mini split running.

I won't get into the lack of battery capacity or PV. I think he made some poor planning and decisions, then blames the GW for it.

Poor planing or not, apparently, it's not only him having the issue. Is what he says about the waveform true?

 

[sparrowhawk]

I watched about 16 mins and couldn't take it anymore. 16 mins of my life I won't get back.

He found his flicker was due to his inverter mini split running.

I won't get into the lack of battery capacity or PV. I think he made some poor planning and decisions, then blames the GW for it.

Well the flickering my not seem like a problem to you when it's caused by using an a mini split but it's also can be caused be using a refrigerator. I don't know where the battery capacity or pv comes in either, and the planning??

Did you catch the part where his GW doesn't start charging unless he has at least 200 watts being generated by his panels. I supposed you blame that on his lack of pv? Well I'm over paneled by about 2000 watts and sometimes it takes over 400 watts before one of my inverters will begin charging, while the other only takes a fraction of a watt. It sucks because on a cloudy day I could lose a few thousand watts of charging if the power generated doesn't make it above the 400 watt mark which has happened.

You really just sound like a GW fan boy. I can tell you from experience that not all GWs perform as well as they should and I have multiple problems with mine besides the charging & flickering issue.

I have 2x24 volt 3000watt GWs in split phase with 6000 watts of solar and 26 kilowatts of battery, is that enough solar & battery for you? Or did I poorly plan also?

 

[Zwy]

Poor planing or not, apparently, it's not only him having the issue. Is what he says about the waveform true?

He should use his Oscilloscope and check sine on grid power. He will probably see the exact same thing. Why? Because of the inductive load from his inverter mini split. Inverter compressors in mini splits, refrigerators, freezers use a DC converter comprised of transistors that switch on/off for phasing of the DC motor. While inductors and capacitors will help with electrical noise on the power supply, there still will be some noise.

As for LED flicker, you missed the part where the Victron also had LED flicker. The flicker can be due to cheap LED lighting, if you look at the videos DMI has out, he had flicker, moving to a higher quality LED light solved his.

You can find many different factors can cause the flicker from N-G bonding issues, poor power connections; basically anything in the house can cause it. Inductive loads will create it and with inverters of small Kw capacity, it will be more pronounced.

 

[Kornbread]

As an aside, I own a 6k split phase GW. Not up and running yet, but I purchased it knowing it is built to meet a very competitive price point.

Admittedly, it's been a while since watching that particular vid. Anyhow, what about the frigs supposedly ko'd by the GW? Are there other AIOs having similar issues? I'm in the camp that a product released into the wild should be able to 'cleanly?' power the likely equipment it will be associated with, without issue.

Shrug ... which leads back to that first statement ... knowing it is built to meet a very competitive price point.

 

[Bo_Hunter]

I own an MPP Solar PIP 2424LV-MSD that is completely off grid and have been troubleshooting this same flickering / voltage variance. Like @iamrich states, the issue comes in when there is low load on my system. The specific trigger is going from 300 watts of load or more down to 95 - 150 watts of load. When this happens suddenly (turn off the light switch, the AC shuts off, etc.) the inverter goes wonky and starts ranging the output voltage from ~105v to 130v ... sometimes (70% yes / 30% no). When this is happening, the problem goes away once a heavy load is put back on.

I have done several tests to find the above trigger and feel confident in what I have found. I can repeat the trigger / issue with ~70% success rate of triggering it on the first try.

I have @150 watts of overhead LED lights and a window A/C unit (~350 - 500 watts while running) along with a 12 cu ft upright freezer (~98 watts continuous) and a 7cu ft chest freezer (~55 watts continuous) all on the same 20 amp circuit. With all of these powered up and running, everything is super stable. If the A/C AND the overhead lights are both running, you can shut off either on and the problem will never happen. If you are only running one or the other and the freezers, about 70% of the time when the lights or A/C turn off, the inverter cannot properly adjust from the higher load to the lower load and goes into the voltage ranging issue. The only way to get back out of it is to either turn everything off and do a complete cold start, or to add a significant load back onto the inverter and it will then drive up to the new load and stabilize. I have taken the freezers out of the mix and put a 100 watt incandescent bulb in their place and have successfully repeated the trigger with both shutting off the AC (no overhead lights) and shutting off the overhead lights (no AC running) and the 100 watt incandescent bulb will flicker and the voltage output on the solar charge controller shows output voltage ranging from 105v to 130v rapidly.

This is where I am at with discovery. Just now starting to research online and found this thread first. Also see several other threads related to this topic. So, I'm clearly not the only one seeing this issue and MPP Solar is not the only manufacturer with this issue.

Again, this system is completely off-grid and is not fed by nor tied to any utility power. Full system details below.
Solar Panels: 6 Rich Solar 200w panels - 2 banks of 3 for a total VOC of 135v (just at the max for the 2424LV and sometimes over the max if I am not drawing power from the panels and have to do a cold start in full sunshine.
Two 8s 24v 120AH LiFePO4 battery banks with OverKill Solar BMS units. These packs are in parallel and
MPP Solar PIP 2424LV-MSD - above solar panels coming into PV in, the 2 battery banks are paralleled and coming into the battery connectors.
The output from the solar charge controller is going to a small breaker box with 2 circuits in it. One circuit feeds the A/C and the other feeds everything else. (So, the A/C and the lights are on different "circuits" if you will - but not really).

 

[Repro]

I own an MPP Solar PIP 2424LV-MSD that is completely off grid and have been troubleshooting this same flickering / voltage variance. Like @iamrich states, the issue comes in when there is low load on my system. The specific trigger is going from 300 watts of load or more down to 95 - 150 watts of load. When this happens suddenly (turn off the light switch, the AC shuts off, etc.) the inverter goes wonky and starts ranging the output voltage from ~105v to 130v ... sometimes (70% yes / 30% no). When this is happening, the problem goes away once a heavy load is put back on.

I have done several tests to find the above trigger and feel confident in what I have found. I can repeat the trigger / issue with ~70% success rate of triggering it on the first try.

I have @150 watts of overhead LED lights and a window A/C unit (~350 - 500 watts while running) along with a 12 cu ft upright freezer (~98 watts continuous) and a 7cu ft chest freezer (~55 watts continuous) all on the same 20 amp circuit. With all of these powered up and running, everything is super stable. If the A/C AND the overhead lights are both running, you can shut off either on and the problem will never happen. If you are only running one or the other and the freezers, about 70% of the time when the lights or A/C turn off, the inverter cannot properly adjust from the higher load to the lower load and goes into the voltage ranging issue. The only way to get back out of it is to either turn everything off and do a complete cold start, or to add a significant load back onto the inverter and it will then drive up to the new load and stabilize. I have taken the freezers out of the mix and put a 100 watt incandescent bulb in their place and have successfully repeated the trigger with both shutting off the AC (no overhead lights) and shutting off the overhead lights (no AC running) and the 100 watt incandescent bulb will flicker and the voltage output on the solar charge controller shows output voltage ranging from 105v to 130v rapidly.

This is where I am at with discovery. Just now starting to research online and found this thread first. Also see several other threads related to this topic. So, I'm clearly not the only one seeing this issue and MPP Solar is not the only manufacturer with this issue.

Again, this system is completely off-grid and is not fed by nor tied to any utility power. Full system details below.
Solar Panels: 6 Rich Solar 200w panels - 2 banks of 3 for a total VOC of 135v (just at the max for the 2424LV and sometimes over the max if I am not drawing power from the panels and have to do a cold start in full sunshine.
Two 8s 24v 120AH LiFePO4 battery banks with OverKill Solar BMS units. These packs are in parallel and
MPP Solar PIP 2424LV-MSD - above solar panels coming into PV in, the 2 battery banks are paralleled and coming into the battery connectors.
The output from the solar charge controller is going to a small breaker box with 2 circuits in it. One circuit feeds the A/C and the other feeds everything else. (So, the A/C and the lights are on different "circuits" if you will - but not really).

I have not posted here in a while. My opinion is that the Growatt inverter has stability issues under certain circumstances and loads. My only proof is that as long as the Growatt was in service, I had the problem of severe voltage and frequency fluctuations when my two refrigerators were running at the same time. I did testing on the same wiring and grounding installation with a Giandel 2200W inverter for weeks, a Honda Generator, A GoPower 1500W inverter for weeks, and now I have a Victron Energy 48V Quattro 5000. I never once experienced any voltage/frequency fluctuations like I had with the Growatt.

I went over every possible configuration setup we could think of with help of members in this forum, the dealer where I purchased it from and attempts from Growatt support. We did multiple resets and reconfigurations with no results. Two friends who are certified electricians checked and rechecked the wiring for days and days. They ensured me that the wiring was all correct and that the issue was the inverter.

My sister and her husband want a system like mine to cover certain appliances. She doesn't have the money for an expensive set up and I was thinking about getting her an MPP unit. I will now be doing some investigation before making that decision. Thanks for your posting.

To sum up, simply removing the Growatt resolved my problems. I installed a second smaller separate system with a Victron Energy 24V Phoenix 3000 and it as well runs flawlessly. On that system, I tested out the Giandel and GoPower as well. I never once had any issues like I had with the Growatt. For all of you Growatt fans, I am not posting this to bash Growatt. I am simply posting the facts.

 

[iamrich]

This is where I am at with discovery. Just now starting to research online and found this thread first. Also see several other threads related to this topic. So, I'm clearly not the only one seeing this issue and MPP Solar is not the only manufacturer with this issue.

I never really put any time into figuring this out. Still have the same issue though. If I turn my LED lights on with nothing else, it is fine, but if I add my little boom box or my laptop, the lights flicker. If I add anything else (Fan, AC, heater, etc.) the flickering stops. I am currently building a house next to this garage, so once I move out there, I will have more time to play with the unit to see if I can figure it out. For now, I just turn more things on if I am going to be in the workshop with the lights on. I don't have any data to back this up, but it seems to be in the 100-150w range on mine.

 

[Danny1987]

I have been intensely engaged with my solar hobby for over a year, and I have learned a lot. I have made SOOOO many mistakes, and paid for them dearly. Maybe some of my other posts will save people from having the same problems.

I have a Growatt 3000 LVM 24V inverter. I have been so happy with it until recently. I may have pinpointed an issue I have been having. Just a quick overview of my system:

2000W array
Growatt 3000 LVM 24V
4 200AH LiFePO4 batteries (2S/2P) for 24V
AC input is on an isolated 20A circuit
AC output to a 6 space sub panel wired to four 20A outlets with breakers at the moment.

What am I running:
Two full size refrigerators
Front loader wash machine (ran 2-3 times/week)
Two 1.5 HP sump pumps (run for 5-7 seconds maybe twice a day)
One outlet in my garage for two battery tenders
It is my intention to install a switch to run my furnace in winter during outages (8A draw)

Problem: Since I installed the Growatt system, my refrigerator lights flicker badly when both fridges run at the same time, We have gone over the wiring multiple times, shortened the wiring runs as much as possible and have tried multiple configuration parameters on the Growatt. I have called the dealer for support, did a factory reset and reconfigured. The only explanation was that the two refrigerators might be causing fluctuations. Another suggestion was to change the wattage of light bulb (It has LED's). In the short time the system has been running, my upstairs one year old refrigerator is now broken. You could hear the compressor running funny when the lights flickered. It is just my opinion, but I think the Growatt is the culprit.

The load on the inverter was ridiculously low. Seldom did it see over 1000W at one given time during the course of the day. See chart attached. So why can't the inverter in the Growatt handle this? I have ran these two refrigerators on two different portable units that I built with no flickering or issues for weeks at a time doing tests. One has a Ginadel 2200W inverter, and the other has a GoPower Industrial 1500W inverter (both pure sine wave). Never once did I experience flickering or the compressors running strangely.

Can anyone shed some light on this? I do not want to sound so negative, but I have ran into so many issues over the course of installing this Growatt system from zoning, permitting, inspections and now this, that I am about ready to pack it in. Total frustration!!!!!!!!! I hope that an answer can be found. If I am right, stay away from Growatt. Another expensive mistake that cost me a fridge, and now another inverter investment.

Sounds alot like what was going in with my setup. I will post in detail when I have some time later on. Long story short, my kitchen lights, bathroom lights were flickering while on growatt power. I contacted SigSolar about the issue, they asked for voltage readings. All readings are within spec. I was instructed to remove the chassis ground as it might be creating a loop. I still haven’t tested the inverter without ground chasis.
At the moment on grid power and lights still flicker in bathroom. But not in the kitchen. All lights are LED’s.

 

[Danny1987]

Sounds alot like what was going in with my setup. I will post in detail when I have some time later on. Long story short, my kitchen lights, bathroom lights were flickering while on growatt power. I contacted SigSolar about the issue, they asked for voltage readings. All readings are within spec. I was instructed to remove the chassis ground as it might be creating a loop. I still haven’t tested the inverter without ground chasis.
At the moment on grid power and lights still flicker in bathroom. But not in the kitchen. All lights are LED’s.

I’ve had random voltage drops also.

 

[btnorman]

Same issues from my Growatt SPF3000TL LVM-24P lead me to this post. One of my freezers will cause the voltage and wattage to bounce all over the place. Also, the Growatt does not do N-G bonding when on inverter mode. Working with the company I got it from to do troubleshooting. They now are wanting me to send it back for there own tests. After reading through this and the one about MPP, my hopes of a fix are dwindling.

Grid Bypass -
Everything works perfect

119V Outlet tester (Correct) https://www.dropbox.com/s/wp112wblm8oybwq/IMG_0332.jpg?dl=0
L-N 119V
L-G 119V
N-G 0V



Inverter (Battery Only)-

On inverter - Voltage and wattage bouncing https://www.dropbox.com/s/92diwtp5aghx7oc/Growatt_inverter_issues_1.mov?dl=0
120V Outlet tester (Hot/Neu Rev) https://www.dropbox.com/s/57mjq0rtc815cns/IMG_0333.jpg?dl=0
L-N 120V
L-G 56V Voltage bouncing wildly https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3q9d3vm04xel8s/Growatt_inverter_issues_3.mov?dl=0
N-G 59V


With hair dryer (500W, up to 1800W) - Voltage and wattage leveled out https://www.dropbox.com/s/s02yyh8mqnqxjo1/Growatt_inverter_issues_2.mov?dl=0
120V Outlet tester (Hot/Neu Rev)
L-N 120V
L-G 56V
N-G 59V


With hair dryer and N-G bonded- Voltage and wattage leveled out
120V Outlet tester (Correct)
L-N 120V
L-G 120V
N-G 0V


With N-G bonded - Voltage and wattage bouncing
120V Outlet tester (Correct)
L-N 120V
L-G 120V
N-G 0V