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I Can't Afford So-Called "Tier 1" Equipment. What's Good at Tier 2?

Also have to take into consideration people will place different value on different attributes for a system which in their minds will change what tier they think a product is in. I for one would consider anything that has to have a fan running full blast constantly an automatic "tier 2/3".
 
Vibe said:
Sungoldpower has an ad running for (2) stackable 5048 inverters for $1650. That's about the best price I've seen lately for 10kw. Not many reviews to be found yet though.

sungoldpower.com

10000W 48V Solar Charger Inverter (2 Units Parallel)

No Tax Free Shipping 12 Months Warranty Hightlight: ★ All-in-one solar charge inverter : 5000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter Combined with 80A MPPT solar Charging and 40A AC battery charging, Max 5000W 500V PV Array. ★ Stable AC output : Pure Sine Wave off grid solar inverter for home 110V AC...
sungoldpower.com sungoldpower.com
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And another 10% off this month it looks like so 20kw can be had for 3 grand. Compelling
 
Vibe said:
And 2 of them is slightly less than the Sungold. About $50 on a pair. Even less for the refurbished.
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The growatts are 230v only though and will need an autotransformer for u.s and even then it's frowned upon because it can cause issues
 
I wonder what the OP ended up deciding? This has been an interesting thread with four pages of comments, recommendations, and discussion, but I don't think he as replied once to any of them. Oh well, it has still been a good thread!
 
OP statement was "I can't afford Tier 1 ..." It might be restated as "can I afford not to go Tier 1"?

In my case, I was replacing (filling the void of) a utility company that wanted $30k to bring the power to my site. That wasn't happening, so I had to become the utility, and the power had to be RELIABLE ... the chosen unit had to work all the time, and there really is no good in struggling with crappy warranty, reliability, support, etc. ... you just have to take over the role of being your own support, and you have to "choose wisely" vs "poorly".

If you are in a "building code monopoly" game (code developers and enforcers own the board and the bank), and you can't change the rules of the game (choose not to) in your favor (one or more get out of jail cards), it's also tough to thread the needle (UL, yes or no) ... how I'd do it (parallel systems) isn't how many others would do it. It sidesteps 'UL required" bs ... which it really isn't required, unless you are trapped in the game and choose, for whatever reasons, to remain in it.

For reliability, I chose an LF inverter/charger/mppt (an integrated "precursor" to an AIO), over 5 years ago, w/ a 5-year warranty (magnum 4024 prewired unit) for about $5k ... still running, past its warranty period. One of the few "good" choices I've made ... plenty of bad ones all around it in terms of other components or systems, due to manufacturing or system integration woes, but its getting there.

There are now other AIO's on our site, but they serve minor test roles, while I try to figure out if an AIO can last beyond its 12-month warranty; I'm looking at HF AIO's at the moment. I'm not sure these are ready for prime-time to replace the LF inverter. If they do, the redundancy thing will be critical. An LF AIO might make the cut, but I haven't gotten there in my testing yet.

With the state of manufacturing (not made in the country the item is used in), I think we're going to have to give up on warranties & support and such, and spend more time on research to find the best quality and componentry, to get the best possible chance of something that will keep running for 5 years or more. At least until the manufacturing problem is fixed. And, be your own support.

UL is a nice-to-have label, in support of building codes ... but the presence of it would increase system costs by a factor of 10, which just makes it unworkable. It isn't happening on my site, and I will do everything in my power (mortgage-free, self-insure, etc.) to keep it off my site. If manufacturing changes, perhaps this would change as well.

I think an LF (whether AIO or not) is (still) the future, and it might be replaceable with HF+redundancy, but will still require self-supporting ...

Lots of rambling, but hopefully something of value in there for others trying to thread the needle ...
 
I had 2 pairs of the EG4 6500EX's installed, one was a replacement pair that was to have the quirks fixed such as the light flicker. That replacement pair had a new quirk, lights that would glow with the light switch off. SS did take them back and issued a refund.

While the first pair was sent back and before replacements arrived 3 weeks later after I contacted Ben thru the forums, I had installed a pair of LV6548's and split my array down for the 250V VOC limit. These worked flawlessly during that time and I have been using the LV6548's since returning the second pair of EG4 6500EX's.

The problem has been the lower VOC rating and I have my array 420 feet away. As SS did stand behind the 6500EX's and refunded me, I did purchase a pair of the EG4 charge controllers and I'm in the process of installing them. I just redneck wired up one to get half the array back up to full power and start comparing how much the higher PV voltage affects the yield. I'll report further on this as time goes on.

I'd highly recommend the LV6548's. I recorded some videos of the power quality from the 6500X's compared to the LV6548's. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/e...led-and-replacement-6500exs.63575/post-795679
 
NCislander said:
Mine as well. Very satisfied with the Growatt 5000 units. I recently bought a pair and have had no issues. They just work. For me, good value, great performance.
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Yup
When I chose them. There wasn't a better value for the money. And I am pleased that I still haven't found one, yet.
Usually I make a decision on a product, right before a better option comes along. lol
 
EastTexCowboy said:
Even though my 6548s are doing pretty well, I'm a little under powered. I'm looking to upgrade sometime in the next year to two of the EG4 18kpv.
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What would you gain with the EG4 18Kpv?

I dug into the spec sheet, and asked James questions he is ignoring. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/the-effect-of-competition-sol-ark-15k-down-to-7k.64833/post-814612

It seems the 18Kpv is really rated at 12Kw on continuous output. Beware is all I can say, it has those surge 5 minute and 10 minute ratings for marketing purposes. Your pair of LV6548's are rated at 13Kw output continuous, I've seen very close for extended time frames by my official test manager.


EastTexCowboy said:
Are they Tier 1? Well, they are actually LuxPower relabeled so maybe they are. Certainly not junk.
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Used to be plenty of Tier 1 snobs around........ not so many lately.

EastTexCowboy said:
My two cents, FWIW.
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Zwy said:
What would you gain with the EG4 18Kpv?

I dug into the spec sheet, and asked James questions he is ignoring. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/the-effect-of-competition-sol-ark-15k-down-to-7k.64833/post-814612

It seems the 18Kpv is really rated at 12Kw on continuous output. Beware is all I can say, it has those surge 5 minute and 10 minute ratings for marketing purposes. Your pair of LV6548's are rated at 13Kw output continuous, I've seen very close for extended time frames by my official test manager.
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One by itself would not be an upgrade, other than maybe because it's a single 240v output inverter. If I do it I'll go with two, then I'm almost doubling the output and amps while also getting a LOT more PV input potential. And maybe just as important to me, if I hang two of them on the wall and one dies I'm not down while I try get it repaired or replaced. I love the LV6548s but if one dies I lose all 240v capability. Think A/C units in Texas. With a wife. Redundancy is a big deal.

But I'd like to see the grid export issue resolved and tested for awhile.

I have noticed a reduction in snobbery it seems.
 
EastTexCowboy said:
One by itself would not be an upgrade, other than maybe because it's a single 240v output inverter. If I do it I'll go with two, then I'm almost doubling the output and amps while also getting a LOT more PV input potential.
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I'd add more LV6548's if I needed more output, cost $2099 for a pair. As for PV, one could simply add another SCC for about $400 if you need the higher voltage, however I will report what I find running a higher voltage PV input gains. It isn't that great, early results show maybe 2.4% at peak output. Paralleling strings would be more difference (that is power loss) but if you simply double the amount of panels in series it is only the 2.4% at peak output. Most of the time it is less than 2%.

EastTexCowboy said:
And maybe just as important to me, if I hang two of them on the wall and one dies I'm not down while I try get it repaired or replaced. I love the LV6548s but if one dies I lose all 240v capability. Think A/C units in Texas. With a wife. Redundancy is a big deal.
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$2099 to add to your existing vs $5600 x 2= $11,200

You must have an oil well in the back yard. :)

EastTexCowboy said:
But I'd like to see the grid export issue resolved and tested for awhile.

I have noticed a reduction in snobbery it seems.
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(y)
 
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Zwy said:
I'd add more LV6548's if I needed more output, cost $2099 for a pair.
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The advantage of the MPP LV6048 model over the 6548: units can be added individually, ie going from two units to three while keeping output on both legs equal; loss of one unit does not affect 120/240 output since each unit does both. Two units = 13kW output, Three is 18kW output, $943 USD each! (no oil well required!)
 
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