Help with mystery wiring

[Sipneat]

Hi all and apologies if this is not the best place for this question... here goes.. I have a PowerJack 6000w 24v inverter. I purchased it some time ago and would like to use it as a "off-grid" backup. I have a small 24v LofePo4 battery charged from solar panels. Normal stuff. The inverter has a hardwire connection and I was going to hook it up to a small panel with a four (4) 15 amp breakers for critical plugs, these will NOT be part of the normal power but in case of emergency stuff. The issue I have, the inverter is marked with a L1, N, and P. Im assuming the P is ground, however when I check the voltage between N and P I get 120v, so L1 and N is 120 and P and N is 120. This seems odd to me but I am not an expert per se.. Looking for some assistance on wiring this to the panel based on the 120v from N to P. Also the voltage from L1 to P is 240... Thank in advance...

 

[DIYrich]

Looks like P is L2. 120v/240v split phase inverter?

 

[FilterGuy]

I could not find a 6000W 24V inverter on the PowerJack website so was not able to get details. Can you link to a manual?

The issue I have, the inverter is marked with a L1, N, and P. Im assuming the P is ground,

You are almost certainly correct. P or PE is Protective Earth and is the common name for ground in other parts of the world.

however when I check the voltage between N and P I get 120v, so L1 and N is 120 and P and N is 120.

This is not surprising. Many no-name inverters leave their output circuits floating. That by itself is not too bad, but far too often the documentation is not sufficient to tell you what to do..... They don't even mention that the output is floating. Technically, that means the line labeled neutral is not a neutral. By definition, a neutral is grounded..... but I digress.

I have dealt with a few inverters like this and it is always frustrating trying to get answers.
Ideally, we would ground the neutral external to the inverter to make it a true neutral, but we need to know if the design of the inverter supports doing that. Trying to get answers from the manufacturer is typically nearly impossible.

One thing to try is to put something like a 120V incandesent light between neutral and ground and then measure the current.... if the current is nearly zero, it may be ok to ground the neutral. If the lightbulb turns on.... you clearly should not ground the neutral.