New NHX 12 killowatt

[JohnGyver]

Why would you isolate the grounds? Seems to me that grounds can be connected without any issue and there's no prohibition on multiple ground paths. I also think it is weird to have any ground wires left floating, it will freak out future persons looking at your setup.


What is the behavior when the battery reaches 100% SoC?

On the 10K version I have in service, it constantly charges a bit, then discharges, then charges, etc, switching in 10s of seconds between them. This is not particularly healthy for the battery to be constantly top charge.

I noticed this first by observing the battery data on the inverter (touch the battery on the main screen) and looking at the battery current readout. I confirmed it by clamp meter.

How I think it should work is to reach 100% SoC, then stop charging or discharging until SoC falls to, say, 98% or something, and then do a top charge again. Top charging would happen only every month or so, maybe less, not 100 times per hour. This lets+ the batter relax away from the top end charge high voltage. The battery degrades fastest at high voltage and high temperature, so avoiding that end of the operating envelope is good.

It would also work to have the inverter stop charge at, say, 99% or something and simply avoid going all the way to 100% SoC. I kind of did that artificially by setting up a Solar Assistant automation that changed battery charge current to 1 amp (lowest it would allow me to set) when it reaches 97% SoC. My batteries have been holding at 98% SoC for a week now, which feels good. My SA automation which also includes a softer charge if we get really low SoC:

View attachment 268134

Downside to this strategy is that if SA ever goes offline, it could leave the inverter configured to 1 amp charging and thus you wouldn't recharge the battery if it goes down during use. You can always manually reset the charge power, of course, and SA is pretty reliable.

The other annoyance I had was I could not configure the unit to only charge battery on PV and not grid in battery priority mode. There are settings to disable grid charging and select PV charging only, but those don't work except in some more exotic modes. Something to be aware of.

Mike C.

Mike C. - Sorry, been slow going due to pneumonia... and still having to go full days into work. Time and my energy levels have been short. Thank you for your feedback!

I isolated my Neutral & Ground as a precaution. The system is wired as it is intended to be by Megarevo. I was wanting to have a semiautomated switching system for easy conversion from critical loads panel back to a normal sub panel. After discussing wit Ian @ Watts247 I just went ahead and manually bypassed it as a precaution. I do not want to mess up the inverter due to a wiring issue. Manually converting it back is a 10 minute job "if" I even need to do it, so no biggie.

I have setup my inverter to work in TOU mode, with the guidance and help from Adam De Lay. We have a rate plan that offers free electricity after 9pm until 7am. We use this rate plan to charge both out EV's overnight, plus in summer time the AC is constantly running all night here in the Houston Texas region. Since we have that rate plan I have adjusted the inverter to charge the battery between 9pm and 7 am... then use the battery from 7am until 9pm with solar taking over the middle of the day. I just did this TOU adjustment last night... so I am waiting to see how it works. I am hindered monitoring wise by the Solarman app as I watch it from work. I do plan on getting Solar Assistant down the road. I am new to all of this so "I am learning on the fly" and trying to find the best settings for my needs. I am only knowledgeable enough to be dangerous right now. I hope to learn a few things in the coming weeks and see what further adjustments can be done and what other capabilities the inverter has that may better suit our needs.

I agree, I do not want the battery throttling in its charging/usage management. My ideal scenario is to charge the battery/batteries up to 100% then let them ride down to 10%, offsetting energy purchasing from the POCO... then recharge either by solar production, or in my case overnight "free electricity" taking advantage of our current rate plan.

To All- I cannot stress enough how this forum and it's many members have played a huge role in everything that I have done. From choosing equipment, prep work, installation, programming, all of it. Thank you all for being such a great community of enthusiasts in the home energy independence world!

Happy New Year everyone!
John

 

[JohnGyver]

I took these pictures for HungFish who is in Cali. I am posting these for anyone who is considering the NHK-12K and is required to meet specific grid connection parameters. These are the maintenance menu pics of all related screens, in order. These are also the factory settings that came with my unit, unchanged. To get into this menu the code is 12121 on the unit.



I hope this helps anyone out there needing answers for their PoCo and to their local grid specific requirements.

Best regards all,

John

 

[Hungfish]

I took these pictures for HungFish who is in Cali. I am posting these for anyone who is considering the NHK-12K and is required to meet specific grid connection parameters. These are the maintenance menu pics of all related screens, in order. These are also the factory settings that came with my unit, unchanged. To get into this menu the code is 12121 on the unit.

View attachment 270361View attachment 270362View attachment 270363View attachment 270364View attachment 270365View attachment 270366

I hope this helps anyone out there needing answers for their PoCo and to their local grid specific requirements.

Best regards all,

John

thank you John

 

[Bj1973]

I have a vestwood that is doa on arival new. I was refunded if anyone is interested. It powers on but will not read any voltage. It just stays in standby mode. will not turn on. I was able to get the wifi working and was able to control it from the solarman app but nothing else. I cannot fix it so its gotta go.
SK-8LNA-A

 

[menchelke]

Ahh I came back to revisit this, and I must have some how disabled updates, you guys all move faster than me. I have had 5 back surgeries and have chronic pain, nerve damage etc, I get about 30 minutes done a week if I am doing well that week. I finally getting some holes dug for the container footings, and I got one fully wired.

My batteries from china arrived, and so when I finally hang my NHX, I will have 2x of the ruixu lithi-2-16s I will also have 2 Enikol (damien new energy) 300 ah batteries, that I will hopefully be posting some pics or short video of the guts soon. By the time I am done, you speed runners can maybe help me get that solar assistant up and running if I need it. I am usually pretty good at scrounging the tubes for information I need. Anyway, nice stuff so far, I think. I am only on page 2 of this thread.

 

[Kornbread]

If I can get SA running, anyone can.

 

[Hungfish]

I took these pictures for HungFish who is in Cali. I am posting these for anyone who is considering the NHK-12K and is required to meet specific grid connection parameters. These are the maintenance menu pics of all related screens, in order. These are also the factory settings that came with my unit, unchanged. To get into this menu the code is 12121 on the unit.

View attachment 270361View attachment 270362View attachment 270363View attachment 270364View attachment 270365View attachment 270366

I hope this helps anyone out there needing answers for their PoCo and to their local grid specific requirements.

Best regards all,

John

@JohnGyver
Just to report back that my PoCo accepted the specs you provided.
Thank you... Once more

 

[JohnGyver]

If I can get SA running, anyone can.

And I am proof of that Korn! If Korn can do it, and I can do it... then anyone should be able to!

I took off the Solarman (it should be called "Slowerman") and installed the Solar Assistant quicker than I thought it would take. I did like the Solarman "map view" dashboard that showed the connections of each component and which direction energy was flowing... but the data would update like every 5 minutes or so... it was just too slow.

My only wish so far for the Solar Assistant is to have a similar "system working dashboard system map" as the Solarman and the NHX inverter screen. I like that functioning map view. Otherwise it is operating very close to real-time with a lot of data being accumulated. In the future this will be helpful as I build up my system and my historical usage data.

 

[JohnGyver]

@JohnGyver
Just to report back that my PoCo accepted the specs you provided.
Thank you... Once more

Very nice Hungfish! Congrats on taking the next step!

Now the real work begins! Start stretching your back and have plenty of Ibuprofen on hand for the next stage!

If you have any questions post back... I am sure we can help along the way.

 

[Hungfish]

Very nice Hungfish! Congrats on taking the next step!

Now the real work begins! Start stretching your back and have plenty of Ibuprofen on hand for the next stage!

If you have any questions post back... I am sure we can help along the way.

@JohnGyver
not so fast John. My application passed PoCo and now need to go thru the City. it took so long that the solar panel on the application is all sold out :-( but I am rolling with the application and will deal with it when the application is all the way thru. Knowing how my local building department works... I have plenty of time to wait for costco coupon on Ibuprofen

 

[menchelke]

M

Thread 'Enikol / Damien New Energy Technology Battery review'

Feb 1, 2025

Hey all, so I ordered 2x 300ah 48v batteries from Enikol / Damien New Energy Technology (shenzhen) Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.
POC was Iris Huang, and out the door was $3200 US Dollars., I ordered back in November. (Who knows what the new tarriff in town will make it)
Each battery was $1010 with bluetooth functionality and active balancing features. $1200 Shipping DDP. Adding more batteries shipping was basically the same. I think I could have gotten 4 of these for basically 5500. But I opted to get to ruixu lithi 2-16s (ordered 3, but neighbor bought 1 off me and I used that money to buy...

• menchelke
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Vendor Review Corner

 

[JohnGyver]

Hello all!

I have an update to my NHX-12k system build... the second Ruixu Lithi2 battery is officially installed on the inverter! And the shed is coming together (looking more organized)... along with the AC unit that @Kornbread highly recommended that I should get! Which I did not think it would be a big deal but when we went from sub freezing temps down here in the Houston region to the mid 80's a week later... I felt that inverter cranking out the heat! It did so without any crying... but the AC system will now help the solar system "stress less" and run more efficiently over the coming years... and the inverter and batteries should last longer too because of the temperature control. It's the smallest AC you can buy... 5,000 BTU's for a 150 sqft room. I can barely tell that its even running since its power consumption is minimal. It was well worth the $150 price tag and the minimal added load to the solar system.

I also added the Victron Lynx Power In M8 bus bar. I am very impressed with this bus bar and is a plug and play with the standard wiring of the Ruixu Lithi2 batteries. No additional cables or parts are needed to attach it to the Victron Lynx bus bar.

Here is the latest pic for any NHX-12k or Ruixu fans out there.



I still have a long way to go but with the second battery installed and a second 4.8kw solar pergola in the works... it is starting to shape up!

The system has been running about a month now, and less than a month on our electric bill cycle, so no real data yet billing wise. Watching the Solar Assistant app it appears that we are using very little power from the grid during "power at a cost" periods, which is 7am until 9pm. With the help from @Adam De Lay I was able to program my NHX-12k inverter to work the follow way daily;

7 am until sun is cranking (about 11 am) - Running off batteries, no grid power purchased
11 am until around 5 pm - running on solar when sun is out, running on combination of available solar and batteries otherwise (no grid power purchased)
5 pm until 9pm - running on batteries until my 10% battery threshold is hit (Rarely grid power is purchased, most notably on heavy rain or snow days... and yes, snow was a thing in Houston recently!!!)
9 pm until 7 am - Free charging on our free nights rate plan, batteries fully charged at no cost.

Due to that rate plan being available in our area as well as the NHX-12k harnessing solar power during the day, we are mostly able to stay off the grid at the POCO cost. This programming capability of the NHX-12k has made our little "baby steps" system extremely impactful right out of the gate! The second battery which was added yesterday will help us stay off the grid even longer every day... and in about 3 weeks I should have a second 4.8kw array hooked up and adding to our daily solar production to help even more!

Adam De Lay really took the fear out of firing up the NHX-12k... and the programming made it work flawlessly at this point. If you have not visited Adam's YouTube channel you need to check it out and see if any of his content can help your solar projects! https://www.youtube.com/@AdamDeLayDIY

Another notable attribute of this inverter is that I have it set for ZERO EXPORT.... so the inverter's solar production feeds my critical loads panel and charging battery daily as the main priority. Secondary priority is to back feed the main panel, but only if there is available solar or battery. It only feeds the main panel by what the main panel is using.... just that amount of wattage and nothing more. So stuff like the oven, dryer, pool pump, EV charger that I did not deem necessary to be in the Critical Loads panel can still take advantage of available solar, thus reducing your needs of buying power from the grid for non-critical loads. Note, that my EV charger is only used after 9 pm to take advantage of the free nights plan. That EV charger eats 11kw when that thing runs... so I never charge during the day... yet. Once I get all four 4.8kw solar arrays up and running the NHX-12k to max out the 4 MPPT's, I may experiment with EV charging at mid-day when we have excess solar available. Until then, we strictly charge at night both of our EV's.... and my Ford F-150 Lightning just loves that free fuel! My average constant draw when my wife is working from home is about 1500-2500 watts, depending on things turning off and on as needed such as fridges, ceiling fans, well pump, lights and stuff like that... now that it getting warmer add 3500 watts for the 5 ton AC system. Then the range can be around 5000-6000 watts average.... so on a sunny day with four 4.8kw arrays up, I am excited to see what we can generate with that kind of extra power.

EDIT: I did simulate a grid down outage by flipping off the main breaker to the grid at the main panel. The critical loads panel stayed online through the inverter and batteries while the main panel did power down. So in a grid down scenario the inverter will not feed power backward into the main panel like it normally would when the grid is active. It shuts it down completely once the CT's detect the outage.

Due to POCO being "too busy to take my application for grid tie solar agreement due to high solar demand", I have not started the process of selling back, which I wouldn't mind doing so if the terms are decent. But I am waiting on them to respond from a request 9 months ago. Nothing but crickets so far. But now that my solar fired up and my bill will go way down... how much do you want to bet they find some time to come pay me a personal visit! LOL So I expect to cross this bridge at some point in the future. Hopefully it works out, eventually.

I do plan for 2 more batteries down the road and possibly a second NHX-12k to truly take us off the grid 99% of the time... I will post updates as this system continues to expand. I am on the fence about the second inverter due to the first one working so well. I will determine if we truly need the second one once I max out the solar panels and add at least one more battery to it. I will stress test it from there and see where we stand. A lot has also changed as to how we use power since this endeavor started such as looking for efficiency gains like converting from a traditional washer and electric 240v dryer to a new heat pump all-in-one washer dryer combo that negated the need for 240v drying cycles, lowered on peak demand and taking advantage of the 9pm free nights energy plan (EV charging, washing clothes, running pool pump, etc after 9pm). That being said, I am not sure if we need the second inverter or not due to those changes we have already made... and with additional changes to come to how we use power. Our only true beast of a load is that EV charger... outside of that I definitely would not need a second inverter. BUT I want a second NHX-12k, 'just because'... so I will likely get it down the road because I want to really pump out my chest and tell the POCO where they can shove their.... just kidding of course!

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I am trying to learn all that I can to share with you guys, like the many on this board who do so daily. And if I posted anything that needs to be corrected, I am all ears... I am just a student and looking to learn even more!

Best regards everyone!

John

 

[dougbert]

Hello all!

I have an update to my NHX-12k system build... the second Ruixu Lithi2 battery is officially installed on the inverter! And the shed is coming together (looking more organized)... along with the AC unit that @Kornbread highly recommended that I should get! Which I did not think it would be a big deal but when we went from sub freezing temps down here in the Houston region to the mid 80's a week later... I felt that inverter cranking out the heat! It did so without any crying... but the AC system will now help the solar system "stress less" and run more efficiently over the coming years... and the inverter and batteries should last longer too because of the temperature control. It's the smallest AC you can buy... 5,000 BTU's for a 150 sqft room. I can barely tell that its even running since its power consumption is minimal. It was well worth the $150 price tag and the minimal added load to the solar system.

I also added the Victron Lynx Power In M8 bus bar. I am very impressed with this bus bar and is a plug and play with the standard wiring of the Ruixu Lithi2 batteries. No additional cables or parts are needed to attach it to the Victron Lynx bus bar.

Here is the latest pic for any NHX-12k or Ruixu fans out there.

View attachment 276903

I still have a long way to go but with the second battery installed and a second 4.8kw solar pergola in the works... it is starting to shape up!

The system has been running about a month now, and less than a month on our electric bill cycle, so no real data yet billing wise. Watching the Solar Assistant app it appears that we are using very little power from the grid during "power at a cost" periods, which is 7am until 9pm. With the help from @Adam De Lay I was able to program my NHX-12k inverter to work the follow way daily;

7 am until sun is cranking (about 11 am) - Running off batteries, no grid power purchased
11 am until around 5 pm - running on solar when sun is out, running on combination of available solar and batteries otherwise (no grid power purchased)
5 pm until 9pm - running on batteries until my 10% battery threshold is hit (Rarely grid power is purchased, most notably on heavy rain or snow days... and yes, snow was a thing in Houston recently!!!)
9 pm until 7 am - Free charging on our free nights rate plan, batteries fully charged at no cost.

Due to that rate plan being available in our area as well as the NHX-12k harnessing solar power during the day, we are mostly able to stay off the grid at the POCO cost. This programming capability of the NHX-12k has made our little "baby steps" system extremely impactful right out of the gate! The second battery which was added yesterday will help us stay off the grid even longer every day... and in about 3 weeks I should have a second 4.8kw array hooked up and adding to our daily solar production to help even more!

Adam De Lay really took the fear out of firing up the NHX-12k... and the programming made it work flawlessly at this point. If you have not visited Adam's YouTube channel you need to check it out and see if any of his content can help your solar projects! https://www.youtube.com/@AdamDeLayDIY

Another notable attribute of this inverter is that I have it set for ZERO EXPORT.... so the inverter's solar production feeds my critical loads panel and charging battery daily as the main priority. Secondary priority is to back feed the main panel, but only if there is available solar or battery. It only feeds the main panel by what the main panel is using.... just that amount of wattage and nothing more. So stuff like the oven, dryer, pool pump, EV charger that I did not deem necessary to be in the Critical Loads panel can still take advantage of available solar, thus reducing your needs of buying power from the grid for non-critical loads. Note, that my EV charger is only used after 9 pm to take advantage of the free nights plan. That EV charger eats 11kw when that thing runs... so I never charge during the day... yet. Once I get all four 4.8kw solar arrays up and running the NHX-12k to max out the 4 MPPT's, I may experiment with EV charging at mid-day when we have excess solar available. Until then, we strictly charge at night both of our EV's.... and my Ford F-150 Lightning just loves that free fuel! My average constant draw when my wife is working from home is about 1500-2500 watts, depending on things turning off and on as needed such as fridges, ceiling fans, well pump, lights and stuff like that... now that it getting warmer add 3500 watts for the 5 ton AC system. Then the range can be around 5000-6000 watts average.... so on a sunny day with four 4.8kw arrays up, I am excited to see what we can generate with that kind of extra power.

EDIT: I did simulate a grid down outage by flipping off the main breaker to the grid at the main panel. The critical loads panel stayed online through the inverter and batteries while the main panel did power down. So in a grid down scenario the inverter will not feed power backward into the main panel like it normally would when the grid is active. It shuts it down completely once the CT's detect the outage.

Due to POCO being "too busy to take my application for grid tie solar agreement due to high solar demand", I have not started the process of selling back, which I wouldn't mind doing so if the terms are decent. But I am waiting on them to respond from a request 9 months ago. Nothing but crickets so far. But now that my solar fired up and my bill will go way down... how much do you want to bet they find some time to come pay me a personal visit! LOL So I expect to cross this bridge at some point in the future. Hopefully it works out, eventually.

I do plan for 2 more batteries down the road and possibly a second NHX-12k to truly take us off the grid 99% of the time... I will post updates as this system continues to expand. I am on the fence about the second inverter due to the first one working so well. I will determine if we truly need the second one once I max out the solar panels and add at least one more battery to it. I will stress test it from there and see where we stand. A lot has also changed as to how we use power since this endeavor started such as looking for efficiency gains like converting from a traditional washer and electric 240v dryer to a new heat pump all-in-one washer dryer combo that negated the need for 240v drying cycles, lowered on peak demand and taking advantage of the 9pm free nights energy plan (EV charging, washing clothes, running pool pump, etc after 9pm). That being said, I am not sure if we need the second inverter or not due to those changes we have already made... and with additional changes to come to how we use power. Our only true beast of a load is that EV charger... outside of that I definitely would not need a second inverter. BUT I want a second NHX-12k, 'just because'... so I will likely get it down the road because I want to really pump out my chest and tell the POCO where they can shove their.... just kidding of course!

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I am trying to learn all that I can to share with you guys, like the many on this board who do so daily. And if I posted anything that needs to be corrected, I am all ears... I am just a student and looking to learn even more!

Best regards everyone!

John

looking really good and good work


but be aware: The Victron Power In - a great unit - is not UL listed and your inspector might not approve. I am putting a M10 Power In coupled with a Power In Class T unit. Nice with 1000 amp bus. just be aware, I describe in my thread

 

[JohnGyver]

looking really good and good work

Thank you! This is a project of passion... and turning into a bonified personal hobby.

but be aware: The Victron Power In - a great unit - is not UL listed and your inspector might not approve. I am putting a M10 Power In coupled with a Power In Class T unit. Nice with 100 amp bus. just be aware

Good to know, thank you! I have plans to put a Class T fuse between the inverter and bus bar. Which after a lot of research came to the conclusion yesterday that a Class T would be the real safety-net of the system in a catastrophic event. Researching fusing, especially the right fuse for larger 48v power banks, can be confusing and even misleading. After watching a couple of key videos and heavy discussion with Adam, a Class T appears the only way to go with my system. I just need to figure out how to add in that Class T in an already very tight wiring environment!

The good thing is that the NHX has a breaker on the battery inputs plus each Ruixu has a 250A fuse internally and a 250A breaker on the side. For now, I think I am safe... but that Class T safety-net will be coming ASAP.

I think here in Texas I might be safe with the Victron bus bar not being UL rated. I feel like if there is a state that might not care it is likely Texas, as long as everything looks like its sound and not a fire hazard. I am trying to make it look professional as possible so nothing triggers them to look for any code violations or anything like that. Fingers crossed!

Thanks Doug!

John

 

[Kornbread]

Hello all!

I have an update to my NHX-12k system build... the second Ruixu Lithi2 battery is officially installed on the inverter! And the shed is coming together (looking more organized)... along with the AC unit that @Kornbread highly recommended that I should get! Which I did not think it would be a big deal but when we went from sub freezing temps down here in the Houston region to the mid 80's a week later... I felt that inverter cranking out the heat! It did so without any crying... but the AC system will now help the solar system "stress less" and run more efficiently over the coming years... and the inverter and batteries should last longer too because of the temperature control. It's the smallest AC you can buy... 5,000 BTU's for a 150 sqft room. I can barely tell that its even running since its power consumption is minimal. It was well worth the $150 price tag and the minimal added load to the solar system.

...
John

Good you got all that programming figured out ... so I can get you to help program mine when/if I get it ready to connect to the grid and call on the poco for the thumbs up.

 

[dougbert]

here is my new upgraded DC bus, feeding the dual XW Pro's
this design allows me to add new battery units (BU). My DIY battery has a top soft limit of 300 amps per BU, which is around 13,400 watts

given a second BU I could nearly double that to 26kw load but my DC bus is hefty now, well once I install it

I wish there were 325 amp Class T fuse available, that would be under the contactor limit of 350 amps and above my soft limit of 300

 

[menchelke]

Hello all!

I have an update to my NHX-12k system build... the second Ruixu Lithi2 battery is officially installed on the inverter! And the shed is coming together (looking more organized)... along with the AC unit that @Kornbread highly recommended that I should get! Which I did not think it would be a big deal but when we went from sub freezing temps down here in the Houston region to the mid 80's a week later... I felt that inverter cranking out the heat! It did so without any crying... but the AC system will now help the solar system "stress less" and run more efficiently over the coming years... and the inverter and batteries should last longer too because of the temperature control. It's the smallest AC you can buy... 5,000 BTU's for a 150 sqft room. I can barely tell that its even running since its power consumption is minimal. It was well worth the $150 price tag and the minimal added load to the solar system.

I also added the Victron Lynx Power In M8 bus bar. I am very impressed with this bus bar and is a plug and play with the standard wiring of the Ruixu Lithi2 batteries. No additional cables or parts are needed to attach it to the Victron Lynx bus bar.

Here is the latest pic for any NHX-12k or Ruixu fans out there.

View attachment 276903

I still have a long way to go but with the second battery installed and a second 4.8kw solar pergola in the works... it is starting to shape up!

The system has been running about a month now, and less than a month on our electric bill cycle, so no real data yet billing wise. Watching the Solar Assistant app it appears that we are using very little power from the grid during "power at a cost" periods, which is 7am until 9pm. With the help from @Adam De Lay I was able to program my NHX-12k inverter to work the follow way daily;

7 am until sun is cranking (about 11 am) - Running off batteries, no grid power purchased
11 am until around 5 pm - running on solar when sun is out, running on combination of available solar and batteries otherwise (no grid power purchased)
5 pm until 9pm - running on batteries until my 10% battery threshold is hit (Rarely grid power is purchased, most notably on heavy rain or snow days... and yes, snow was a thing in Houston recently!!!)
9 pm until 7 am - Free charging on our free nights rate plan, batteries fully charged at no cost.

Due to that rate plan being available in our area as well as the NHX-12k harnessing solar power during the day, we are mostly able to stay off the grid at the POCO cost. This programming capability of the NHX-12k has made our little "baby steps" system extremely impactful right out of the gate! The second battery which was added yesterday will help us stay off the grid even longer every day... and in about 3 weeks I should have a second 4.8kw array hooked up and adding to our daily solar production to help even more!

Adam De Lay really took the fear out of firing up the NHX-12k... and the programming made it work flawlessly at this point. If you have not visited Adam's YouTube channel you need to check it out and see if any of his content can help your solar projects! https://www.youtube.com/@AdamDeLayDIY

Another notable attribute of this inverter is that I have it set for ZERO EXPORT.... so the inverter's solar production feeds my critical loads panel and charging battery daily as the main priority. Secondary priority is to back feed the main panel, but only if there is available solar or battery. It only feeds the main panel by what the main panel is using.... just that amount of wattage and nothing more. So stuff like the oven, dryer, pool pump, EV charger that I did not deem necessary to be in the Critical Loads panel can still take advantage of available solar, thus reducing your needs of buying power from the grid for non-critical loads. Note, that my EV charger is only used after 9 pm to take advantage of the free nights plan. That EV charger eats 11kw when that thing runs... so I never charge during the day... yet. Once I get all four 4.8kw solar arrays up and running the NHX-12k to max out the 4 MPPT's, I may experiment with EV charging at mid-day when we have excess solar available. Until then, we strictly charge at night both of our EV's.... and my Ford F-150 Lightning just loves that free fuel! My average constant draw when my wife is working from home is about 1500-2500 watts, depending on things turning off and on as needed such as fridges, ceiling fans, well pump, lights and stuff like that... now that it getting warmer add 3500 watts for the 5 ton AC system. Then the range can be around 5000-6000 watts average.... so on a sunny day with four 4.8kw arrays up, I am excited to see what we can generate with that kind of extra power.

EDIT: I did simulate a grid down outage by flipping off the main breaker to the grid at the main panel. The critical loads panel stayed online through the inverter and batteries while the main panel did power down. So in a grid down scenario the inverter will not feed power backward into the main panel like it normally would when the grid is active. It shuts it down completely once the CT's detect the outage.

Due to POCO being "too busy to take my application for grid tie solar agreement due to high solar demand", I have not started the process of selling back, which I wouldn't mind doing so if the terms are decent. But I am waiting on them to respond from a request 9 months ago. Nothing but crickets so far. But now that my solar fired up and my bill will go way down... how much do you want to bet they find some time to come pay me a personal visit! LOL So I expect to cross this bridge at some point in the future. Hopefully it works out, eventually.

I do plan for 2 more batteries down the road and possibly a second NHX-12k to truly take us off the grid 99% of the time... I will post updates as this system continues to expand. I am on the fence about the second inverter due to the first one working so well. I will determine if we truly need the second one once I max out the solar panels and add at least one more battery to it. I will stress test it from there and see where we stand. A lot has also changed as to how we use power since this endeavor started such as looking for efficiency gains like converting from a traditional washer and electric 240v dryer to a new heat pump all-in-one washer dryer combo that negated the need for 240v drying cycles, lowered on peak demand and taking advantage of the 9pm free nights energy plan (EV charging, washing clothes, running pool pump, etc after 9pm). That being said, I am not sure if we need the second inverter or not due to those changes we have already made... and with additional changes to come to how we use power. Our only true beast of a load is that EV charger... outside of that I definitely would not need a second inverter. BUT I want a second NHX-12k, 'just because'... so I will likely get it down the road because I want to really pump out my chest and tell the POCO where they can shove their.... just kidding of course!

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I am trying to learn all that I can to share with you guys, like the many on this board who do so daily. And if I posted anything that needs to be corrected, I am all ears... I am just a student and looking to learn even more!

Best regards everyone!

John

Do you think 2 inverters and 4 of those batteries could fit in a 5x10 building? What size is your building?

Your shed looks almost like what I was planning before but I changed my mind. I also have 2 of those ruixu batteries. But I also have 2 of the ones I ordered off Alibaba.

I have some earth friendly building blocks which are basically recycled foam and cement blocks for houses, they are 5ft long 1 ft tall and 10 inches wide.


I was thinking of building a 5x10 building for the 4 batteries, and 1 nhx, and if possible I can add another NHX in future if needed.

What is the cost of that Victron bus bar? Can it handle 4 batteries? I have some bus bars ruixu sent me, and wondering if its worth adding the victron or just using the basic.

 

[JohnGyver]

Do you think 2 inverters and 4 of those batteries could fit in a 5x10 building? What size is your building?

Your shed looks almost like what I was planning before but I changed my mind. I also have 2 of those ruixu batteries. But I also have 2 of the ones I ordered off Alibaba.

I have some earth friendly building blocks which are basically recycled foam and cement blocks for houses, they are 5ft long 1 ft tall and 10 inches wide.


I was thinking of building a 5x10 building for the 4 batteries, and 1 nhx, and if possible I can add another NHX in future if needed.

What is the cost of that Victron bus bar? Can it handle 4 batteries? I have some bus bars ruixu sent me, and wondering if its worth adding the victron or just using the basic.

Do you think 2 inverters and 4 of those batteries could fit in a 5x10 building? What size is your building?
Yes, 4 batteries will easily fit in a 5x10 all day long! My "Tiny Shed" is only 56" wide by 34" deep... exterior measurements. That is less than 5x3 feet. Due to available wall space next to my meter and main panel that was my max width for the space... the septic system controls and pump is what really hosed me by 1 foot of space. That was my restriction in the build of the small shed. It's tight inside but it will hold 2 inverters and 4 batteries with standing room only right in the middle... but just barely. A 5x10 shed would be very spacious in comparison.... and would completely make me jealous too!


Your shed looks almost like what I was planning before but I changed my mind. I also have 2 of those ruixu batteries. But I also have 2 of the ones I ordered off Alibaba.
I really like the Ruixu batteries... completely plug and play. I set the first one to Megarevo for the inverter type & IQ Balance for the programming, plugged it into the NHX and it just worked from there. When I added the second one I did the same thing then added the comms cable from battery 2 output to battery 1 input... and it just worked as well. Note that the inverter/Solar Assistant sees the entire battery bank, not the individual batteries. I am also a huge fan of choosing one type of equipment and using the same throughout a system that is designed to work as one bank. I will only use all Ruixu batteries and not mix and match brands, sizes, etc. But that is my logic. Watching Ian's video (Watts247 YouTube channel) where he has every brand of battery being mixed and matched was cool... knowing that the NHX series can work in that environment says a lot about them. So, I don't think that you will have an issue with the other two batteries. My personal OCD would never allow me to do that! LOL So I am sticking with the Ruixu Lithi2 batteries through my system build process. I chose those after looking at every wall battery on the market. I really wanted the EG4 series due to their internal bus bar setup and custom made wire trough conduit boxes, but I ran into spacing issues due to their height. My shed wall space height had a hard limit as you can see in the pic. I was barely able to get the inverter hung up high with a 6x6x24 wire trough under it and the Ruixu battery under that (with the wheels removed). I literally have 3/16 of an inch of space between the battery and the wire trough. My batteries can be removed easily without disturbing the wire trough and inverter since the wiring is on the side, unlike the EG4 batteries. Plus they were cheaper with more AH of storage... so bigger for less... and it is outdoor rated too, which checked off all the boxes for me.


I was thinking of building a 5x10 building for the 4 batteries, and 1 nhx, and if possible I can add another NHX in future if needed.
That is my goal as well... 1 inverter maxed out with four 4.8kw arrays (using 48 pieces in 12-panel arrays of 400/500 watts Hyperion bifacial solar panels), 4 batteries and one inverter with the option to add a second if I deem, we need to after validation testing to see if we have too many limitations with just one inverter. I will likely add the second inverter, but down the road after I get to the 4 arrays and 4 batteries.


What is the cost of that Victron bus bar? Can it handle 4 batteries? I have some bus bars ruixu sent me, and wondering if its worth adding the victron or just using the basic.
The Victron Lynx Power In 1000A bus bar is a key piece when using more than 2 batteries with the NHX-12K inverter. I looked at everything under the sun as far as bus bars is concerned, even the expensive Ruixu 2-piece 800A bus bar setup. For less money, compactness, expandability, modifications to include additional fusing, having 6 bolt taps (for us that would be 4 batteries, and 2 inverters equals 6 tap points).... that Victron Lynx cannot be beat... plus the full protective cover on it adds additional safety from accidental shorting. The one knock that I have heard on that is it is not UL listed. For me, in Texas, I don't think it will be an issue. But in other states it may be something to consider. I bought it off Amazon for $135 plus tax with overnight shipping. So not too bad pricing wise. But in my opinion, no other bus bar setup come close.

Here is the inside of the Victron Lynx Power in - With crude illustration of how the wiring would look like. You can also incorporate addition fusing to each inverter off those tap points which makes this 1000A bus bar truly versatile. See all the YouTube videos about this, including Adam De Lay's video on how to add additional fusing to each battery positive wire inside this bus bar.



Here is a before and after of the space for my solar shed build...




Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks for asking.

Best regards,

John

 

[JohnGyver]

Good you got all that programming figured out ... so I can get you to help program mine when/if I get it ready to connect to the grid and call on the poco for the thumbs up.

For sure! I owe you for all the help that you provided to get me going on my system! Although I do not claim to be an expert... I do know enough to have a solid conversation now.

Good luck with the POCO!

John

 

[dougbert]

FYI, I had to sell my M8 Power In in order to get a M10 Power In that would connect to the Class T Power In, which is new and is only a M10 bolt size. M10 refers to the size of bolts that interconnect the bus between the units

All the cable bolts are M8 still

 

[menchelke]

Ruixu sent me this bus bar x2. I dont see it on their website though. They are big and beefy.

I am sure it can handle the 4 batteries no issue, and I want room to expand to 6. Even with shipping my 2nd set of batteries I got 2 for the price of one ruixu.

 

[dougbert]

10 MM bolts, hefty 3/8"

10mm = just over 3/8 inch.
11mm = almost 7/16 inch.
12mm = almost 15/32 inch (= almost 1/2 inch)
13mm = just over 1/2 inch.

 

[JohnGyver]

Ruixu sent me this bus bar x2. I dont see it on their website though. They are big and beefy.

I am sure it can handle the 4 batteries no issue, and I want room to expand to 6. Even with shipping my 2nd set of batteries I got 2 for the price of one ruixu.
View attachment 277446View attachment 277448

Those were the ones I was going to go with prior to the Victron purchase. I have a serious space constraint in my shed, so a spread out bus bar system was not a practical route. But is space is not an issue that is a beefy bus bar and should do the job. BUT I am not sure of the rating vs the rating of 6 batteries.

What is the proper way to rate it? 6 batteries at 250A each = 1500 amp rating?

The Victron bus bar @ 1000A rating with 4 batteries in my case is a dead match @ 1000A, Is this the correct way to look at bus bar ratings?

I am thinking that you could take the highest value of all batteries and when paralleled maintain the same 250A rating even with 6 batteries stacked?

Either way, those are one of the few "beefy" bus bars on the market... so you should be good to go!

John

 

[agtcovert]

Those were the ones I was going to go with prior to the Victron purchase. I have a serious space constraint in my shed, so a spread out bus bar system was not a practical route. But is space is not an issue that is a beefy bus bar and should do the job. BUT I am not sure of the rating vs the rating of 6 batteries.

What is the proper way to rate it? 6 batteries at 250A each = 1500 amp rating?

The Victron bus bar @ 1000A rating with 4 batteries in my case is a dead match @ 1000A, Is this the correct way to look at bus bar ratings?

I am thinking that you could take the highest value of all batteries and when paralleled maintain the same 250A rating even with 6 batteries stacked?

Either way, those are one of the few "beefy" bus bars on the market... so you should be good to go!

John

Hopefully it sets your mind at ease: barring a dead short, you'll never put 1000A DC across that bus bar with a 12kw inverter. I've got 20kw of inverting capacity, 5-280Ah batteries. Max I've seen is around 275A DC. Victron t-class power ins, and Victron distributors. They'll handle any normal residential load, and then some.

 

[JohnGyver]

Hopefully it sets your mind at ease: barring a dead short, you'll never put 1000A DC across that bus bar with a 12kw inverter. I've got 20kw of inverting capacity, 5-280Ah batteries. Max I've seen is around 275A DC. Victron t-class power ins, and Victron distributors. They'll handle any normal residential load, and then some.

I am not too worried about my Victron bus bar vs the normal daily load... the Victron is very stout and should take anything that my system can throw at it when operating normally. My concern is more along the lines of a catastrophic failure of one of the batteries, or when coupled together in a large high-capacity bank, what that power can do feeding into the inverter. I know the inverter itself is only producing 12kw and that outbound power is not exactly an earth-shattering amount.... but, this is where "proper fusing" comes into play and what is the absolute best practice is important, in my mind. With 4 to 6 high-capacity batteries get coupled together you start getting into an area that 'in my opinion' proper safety standards are not fully understood by the DIY community.

From my research, the inverter needs to be separated from the entire battery bank by a Class T fuse, just for that potential catastrophic type of event, which all of us hopes never happens. The Class T is the only fuse that extinguishes itself due to being filled with sand inside to prevent an internal DC arcing event.

I did ask Ian @ Watts247 about this.... he said no additional fusing was needed and they blow too easy anyway. My Ruixu Lith2's have an internal 250A fuse and external 250 breaker. The NHX-12k has a 300A breaker at the battery terminals. He said that was enough protection. It may be on a bank of 1-2 batteries.... but do the 'protection needs' change due to higher/stronger values when you couple 4-6 batteries on the inverter?

I am on the fence about adding a Class T to have a 'guaranteed' (as close to one anyway) break point between the battery bank and the inverter. My issues are;

1) The added complexity in my system due to my small shed and extremely limited wall space when factoring in both inverters (one in the future). I just don't have accessible space to do the Victron bus bar and a Victron Class T bus bar, although that is a slick way to do it! Even adding an inline Class T fuse would be tight in a hard to access area.
2) The added cost of expensive T Class fuses that Ian stated as "blow way too easy". If an ANL fuse would work those are cheap... no worries... but those fuses have shown to be problematic; most are cheap Chinese made with inaccurate fuse ratings, will not extinguish a high-amperage arc, often made with plastic that can melt and catch fire. I have seen the name brand Class T fuses in excess of $100 each. Ouch! How many $100 spares do you want laying around just in case one blows for no good reason at all?

I want to take Ian's advice and just accept the Ruixu and NHX inverter breakers are enough... I just have not been convinced that it is.

If there are any experts here that can shed some light on what kind of fusing is required in a 4-6 battery bank system on 1-2 inverters, I would appreciate the enlightenment! Not only am I wanting to learn.... I am also trying to protect the family from any potential solar battery hazards.... you know, because I love them and all!

Thanks for the friendly collaboration guys! Have a great day!

John