GROWATT AXE C-1 battery.

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Inconsistent is the best words I can use for this.
Looks cool. Sounds great. Performs terribly. In a singular configuration.
I only have one.
I have a 6KW inverter and a 5KWH battery that should work?
Correct me if I’m wrong! Please!

I learn more and more about how much these batteries…

I found out an older model growatts bms can get locked in a potentially dangerous situation and only a growatt engineer can unlock it!
How convenient.
I went to bed last night with %50 SOC.
I was pulling 50 watts from the battery from 12-8
Total 8 hours.
400wh should’ve been depleted from the battery when I woke up if my math is correct.

The growatt axe is a 5KWH battery @ %50 SOC= 2.5KWH?
Right?!?

In theory I should’ve woken up with say %37?

I woke up and everything was off and I’m back to square one.
Pre charge circuit issue?
Bms locked?


I called Signiture solar whom in purchased the battery from and they told me they have absolutely nothing to help me.

Q-do you have a way to access the battery monitoring system? rs485-usb?
A=no
Q-so no one can actually see what’s going on inside this battery.
A=growatt hasn’t provided us with any trouble shooting for this battery.
Q-can you forward me to the return department.
A=yes

I told them I’d like to return the battery.

They said okay lemme call you back.

Never did…?

It’s been a wild ride so far with the growatt battery. I don’t know if it’s battery error or user error? No way to confirm ?
Wasn’t even shipped with a manual?

I’m about to buy two eg4 batteries instead and I’m excited to see how that goes.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Actually maybe there is hope for this little battery.

It says right there.
Remote firmware upgrades?
Why wouldn’t anyone say hey you might need to update that battery.
I’m just trying to keep the lights on

 

[Koldsimer]

Your inverter is starting and running, so the pre-charge is not your issue.

My guess is your bms is reporting an inaccurate soc. Try charging to 100% and see if you get better results. Sometimes these batteries need a few cycles to get calibrated properly.

If you plan on returning the battery, be prepared to pay for shipping it back and up to a 40% re-stocking fee. Check their return policy.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Your inverter is starting and running, so the pre-charge is not your issue.

My guess is your bms is reporting an inaccurate soc. Try charging to 100% and see if you get better results. Sometimes these batteries need a few cycles to get calibrated properly.

If you plan on returning the battery, be prepared to pay for shipping it back and up to a 40% re-stocking fee. Check their return policy.

It only turns on occasionally.
It’s inconsistent.
Last night it turned on for maybe 4 hours and turned off.
I think you could be correct about the SOC.
I couldn’t get the battery to charge to %100 ever actually.
It’s only gone to %99 according to the inverter.
There’s definitely SOMETHING occurring.
I wasn’t aware that the re-stocking fee would apply to me because this is indefinitely defective.
Without any way to diagnose and trouble shoot…it’s garbage.
If I can fix it then I won’t be returning.
It’s not my fault that it won’t work autonomously.
Growatt says you can use ONE of these batteries with the 6k off grid growatt inverter without issues.
I’m finding that to be false

 

[Kornbread]

Did you add in the load the inverter itself draws along with the 50watt load? Measurements look like my spf6k low freq draws around 150watt at idle.

 

[Koldsimer]

Did you add in the load the inverter itself draws along with the 50watt load? Measurements look like my spf6k low freq draws around 150watt at idle.

Excellent point. I forgot how much some of those growatt inverters consume. 200w x 12 hours gives us 2.4kw. There's the nearly 50% of use of a 5kwh battery.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Hey y’all I think we’re on to something.

I turned my generator on.
Ac input breaker on.
Growatt switch on.

Waited a few minutes and the battery came out of protection mode.

I’m just confused about this because the generator won’t charge the battery to %100 I’m trying as I type.
Maybe it will.
Battery reads %46 SOC
I don’t understand why it would shut off at %46 SOC

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Excellent point. I forgot how much some of those growatt inverters consume. 200w x 12 hours gives us 2.4kw. There's the nearly 50% of use of a 5kwh battery.

I didn’t account for that if it’s not shown on the loads screen!

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Your inverter is starting and running, so the pre-charge is not your issue.

My guess is your bms is reporting an inaccurate soc. Try charging to 100% and see if you get better results. Sometimes these batteries need a few cycles to get calibrated properly.

If you plan on returning the battery, be prepared to pay for shipping it back and up to a 40% re-stocking fee. Check their return policy.

I think you’re right good sir and I appreciate you.

I’m having trouble getting to %100
Any reason why?
I’m also having trouble getting down low to %30 which is what sig solar told me to make my cutoff.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Does this look normal?

 

[Koldsimer]

What are your charge voltages set at? I can't speak to if that screen is correct- i don't own any growatt stuff. What does stand out is that it shows power being exported from the grid. Or at least that's how it looks to me. If you are 100% off grid an not connected to any utilities, it shouldn't show power coming in from grid.

 

[Koldsimer]

What generator are you using?

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

What generator are you using?

Generator is a Honeywell 6500 240v output @ 30A

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

What are your charge voltages set at? I can't speak to if that screen is correct- i don't own any growatt stuff. What does stand out is that it shows power being exported from the grid. Or at least that's how it looks to me. If you are 100% off grid an not connected to any utilities, it shouldn't show power coming in from grid.

I think charge voltages are pre set in lithium ion settings? Am I wrong?

 

[Koldsimer]

I think charge voltages are pre set in lithium ion settings? Am I wrong?

You need someone who knows growatt inverters- i don't wanna start guessing and send you in the wrong direction. I know @timselectric has a growatt inverter and he knows his stuff. Maybe he can help?

 

[Koldsimer]

I think charge voltages are pre set in lithium ion settings? Am I wrong?

IIRC there is a "user" setting that allows you to set voltages wherever you want.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

IIRC there is a "user" setting that allows you to set voltages wherever you want.

I’m sorry I’ve always wondered what IIRC means

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

You need someone who knows growatt inverters- i don't wanna start guessing and send you in the wrong direction. I know @timselectric has a growatt inverter and he knows his stuff. Maybe he can help?

Tim where ya at!

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Charging via generator for 1 hour 52 minutes so far.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Sorry other photos didn’t load. I’m in the woods.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Voltage seems to be going down slowly? Still at %99

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Now battery is at %100 but charger light hasn’t shut off yet

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Pics

 

[Kornbread]

IMO, over ~54.7v or so, is starting to rise into the knees and around ~ +95% capacity. If the axe is like the bms in the basic eg4, it will push the inverter to charge close to 58v, which is way up into the knees. Not a lot of power up there. Not that good on the battery either. Why the inverter is reading different voltages at the same %soc, don't know. Maybe flaky data connection? Have you confirmed the voltage reading with a multimeter?

In post #10, you are importing power from the grid, or in this case, a generator.

If it were mine, it would be going back to SigSolar.

 

[Mannfamilywoodworks]

Maybe this explains what it’s doing? I just don’t really understand. Can anyone explain what is going on?