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MrGary69

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Jun 13, 2024
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Florida USA
Please help, I live in a condo in central Florida. I had a new electrical panel installed with a generator lock and a ev plug. my service is 100amp. I have a 12,000w pulsar generator. my generator lock is for 50amps, I recently bought a build your own 15kw battery kit from Jenny wu on alibaba, (still waiting for delivery) at this time I'm not going to install solar panels (although their allowed) because of the age of my roof shingles.(over 10 yrs) I'm looking for an inverter that I can charge my battery on generator only that I can wire to my 50amp generator plug. also with a full 15kw battery how long can I expect it to last running my home. Dumb questions I know, but I'm new to solar, and am not an electriction. retired on Social Security so I can't make a mistake choosing an inverter.
 
Assume you mean 15kWh battery? Also, can't know how long a battery will last without knowing the loads you are running.

There are a lot of resources to help you plan and design a system up in the "resources" tab, but the first thing you should do before buying anything is an energy audit to try and get a better idea of your daily loads.

diysolarforum.com

System Energy Audit and Sizing Spread Sheet

To get the spreadsheet, click on the orange button at the top of this page. This sheet is intended to help you plan your system. Fill it out down to the last decimal place, look at the results..... and then make your best guess;) Notes...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com
 
thank you for your response, my reference to Jenny Wu was because she was highly recommended by (Ray builds cool stuff) his recommendation was for buying batterys from alibaba and not getting ripped off. Docan Tech does not sell inverters. trying to research inverters I run into low or high frequency inverters. I don't know if I should buy 2 5000w hybrid offered or 1 10kw or a 12kw. what brands are decent. should I buy on alibaba to try to save some money? also this inverter is for emergency use so I don't have to listen to a generator 24/7
 
yes I bought 16 hythium 280ah cells for 42.00 each and a build it yourself vertical box, total cost with shipping was about 1600.00usd
 
Ok, so you have a 48 volt battery, that means you want a 48 volt inverter. Do you have any 240 volt loads? A small to medium AIO will probably work for you but without a power audit, it's just speculation.
 
what is AIO ... yes 2ton central air, range, water heater, dryer but I know I can't run every thing at once I can turn on or off breakers as needed
 
I came across 2 eco-worthy 5,000w hybrid inverters on sale until June 17 for 1069.00 free shipping on eBay should I disregard or should I take a chance with this cheep 10k inverters
 
MrGary69 said:
what is AIO ... yes 2ton central air, range, water heater, dryer but I know I can't run every thing at once I can turn on or off breakers as needed
Click to expand...
AIO - Inverter, AC charger, solar charge controller, All In One box. The EAsun and Eco-worthy look like they're 120 volt units, you'd need two of them and I'm not too sure about the quality. The air conditioning is a large load, and electric range is a really large load. Both will drain your battery quickly, you'll be running the generator a lot. I have a one burner induction cooktop for backup, it plays well with my inverter and batteries although it's still a significant load. I assume your goal is to have some power in the house to give the generator a break overnight so you don't piss off the neighbors? The EG4 6000XP would probably be a good fit for your needs.
 
without replacing main incoming wiring yes, we have a shared meter bank and no room for a disconnect. but I replaced a small breaker box with one with extra space so that I could add ev breaker and generator lock out plus extra spaces for the future. I only live in a 800sf condo so its plenty.
 
Brett V said:
AIO - Inverter, AC charger, solar charge controller, All In One box. The EAsun and Eco-worthy look like they're 120 volt units, you'd need two of them and I'm not too sure about the quality. The air conditioning is a large load, and electric range is a really large load. Both will drain your battery quickly, you'll be running the generator a lot. I have a one burner induction cooktop for backup, it plays well with my inverter and batteries although it's still a significant load. I assume your goal is to have some power in the house to give the generator a break overnight so you don't piss off the neighbors? The EG4 6000XP would probably be a good fit for your needs.
Click to expand...
thank you for your recommendation, the eco-worthy is 2 5kw inverters for 1079.00 until June 17th on eBay, 20% off. I know they are cheep, but are they too cheep to consider
 
Recovering EE said:
I'm surprised that you replaced your main panel with only 100A capacity. Is that all that the utility feed would support?
Click to expand...
without replacing main incoming wiring yes, we have a shared meter bank and no room for a disconnect. but I replaced a small breaker box with one with extra space so that I could add ev breaker and generator lock out plus extra spaces for the future. I only live in a 800sf condo so its plenty.
 
MrGary69 said:
thank you for your recommendation, the eco-worthy is 2 5kw inverters for 1079.00 until June 17th on eBay, 20% off. I know they are cheep, but are they too cheep to consider
Click to expand...
Thats a good price. They are more than likely made by SRNE and are the older HF model, maybe the newer HYP model. You can get a 10Kw split phase ASF or ASP for about the same price and have split phase output out in one box. I'd recommend the ASP from the get go since it can be paralleled for additional output.

The most important question is, are you planning to do this behind the scenes or will it be inspected?

Welcome to the forum.
 
42OhmsPA said:
Thats a good price. They are more than likely made by SRNE and are the older HF model, maybe the newer HYP model. You can get a 10Kw split phase ASF or ASP for about the same price and have split phase output out in one box. I'd recommend the ASP from the get go since it can be paralleled for additional output.

The most important question is, are you planning to do this behind the scenes or will it be inspected?

Welcome to the forum.
Click to expand...
I looked and was thinking the layout looked familiar. Since he’s planning to charge the battery only with a generator, getting something that plays nice with a questionable power source is key. I know from experience the Growatt offerings can be picky about how clean a generator is.
 
What are your goals for the battery without solar? Backup? How unreliable is your power? How much electricity do you use each month?
 
MrGary69 said:
without replacing main incoming wiring yes, we have a shared meter bank and no room for a disconnect. but I replaced a small breaker box with one with extra space so that I could add ev breaker and generator lock out plus extra spaces for the future. I only live in a 800sf condo so its plenty.
Click to expand...
42OhmsPA said:
Thats a good price. They are more than likely made by SRNE and are the older HF model, maybe the newer HYP model. You can get a 10Kw split phase ASF or ASP for about the same price and have split phase output out in one box. I'd recommend the ASP from the get go since it can be paralleled for additional output.

The most important question is, are you planning to do this behind the scenes or will it be inspected?

Welcome to the forum.
Click to expand...
behind the scenes, I'm working on a system I can take with me if I move.
 
MrGary69 said:
behind the scenes, I'm working on a system I can take with me if I move.
Click to expand...
I'm doing the same thing. I have over 5.5MWh trouble free through my ASF and to ASPs hanging on the wall waiting to be commissioned.

There are lots of good options out there for 2what you are trying to accomplish, I know I have no regrets with my purchase.
 
42OhmsPA said:
I'm doing the same thing. I have over 5.5MWh trouble free through my ASF and to ASPs hanging on the wall waiting to be commissioned.

There are lots of good options out there for 2what you are trying to accomplish, I know I have no regrets with my purchase.
Click to expand...
Lol 5.5MWh is 6% of what Thailand hopes to produce over the period of 8 years from residential solar.
 
Just to be clear @42OhmsPA it's currently at 22MWh after 2 years which must be alot of installs since there's a 5kw cap on single phase and a 10kw cap on 3 phase inverters.
 
ThaiTaffy said:
Just to be clear @42OhmsPA it's currently at 22MWh after 2 years which must be alot of installs since there's a 5kw cap on single phase and a 10kw cap on 3 phase inverters.
Click to expand...
It will take me a while to get there. When I get an EV I'm sure I could do it in 2 years.
In ~8.5 months I've generated ~5.5MWh, it would be closer to 10 if I were selling back to grid or had something else to dump excess power to.
 
DIYrich said:
What are your goals for the battery without solar? Backup? How unreliable is your power? How much electricity do you use each month?
Click to expand...
currently about 1000kw per month, my elect bill is not too bad about 160.00mo. we live in Pasco co fl. when we do lose elect I have a 12,000w generator but who wants to hear that thing run 24/7 I bought a 280ah 48v battery so looking to run on battery most of the day and charge it up in the mornings on generator
 
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