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Problems with Eg4 6500ex buyer beware.

I don't want that crap. lol
They are getting shipped out, they agreed to take them back. I have to give them credit for that, I've rode them hard here in the forum but always kept any correspondence civil and nice. They are treating me right on this and I just might try that high PV voltage SCC they have. Only buy one at first and see if it holds up.

They have done right by me, even if they dropped the ball on support on occasion. Even when support called me, we discussed a plan to move forward to see if it would correct the problem. I really wanted for these to work out as it made things simple for a SCC and inverters.
 
They are getting shipped out, they agreed to take them back. I have to give them credit for that, I've rode them hard here in the forum but always kept any correspondence civil and nice. They are treating me right on this and I just might try that high PV voltage SCC they have. Only buy one at first and see if it holds up.

They have done right by me, even if they dropped the ball on support on occasion. Even when support called me, we discussed a plan to move forward to see if it would correct the problem. I really wanted for these to work out as it made things simple for a SCC and inverters.
I'm glad that you are getting fair treatment.
I'm just not interested in the 2 inverters to create split-phase configuration. I prefer redundancy with multiple units, instead of dependency on multiple units. And all loads to be equally carried by all units.
 
I'm glad that you are getting fair treatment.
I'm just not interested in the 2 inverters to create split-phase configuration. I prefer redundancy with multiple units, instead of dependency on multiple units. And all loads to be equally carried by all units.

Too bad, he's already shipping them to you now, UPS probably already came and picked them up :p
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Zwy
I must say, with all the stuff Zwy is trying, I am interested in how the eg4 500v SCC stand alone units will work in conjunction with the LV's. Looks like Zwy may be taking us for another ride here soon!
 
Finally got my two 6500ex’s going on the shop. Received them Aug 2022. I was powering everything just fine with two 12k’s. What pos ex’s are. I guess I got what I paid for.

My 2 ton package hp with soft start (31A Inrush at 238VAC) and my small refrigerator compressors both sound like krap starting up in the morning before pv starts coming in good. The LED’s flicker like crazy when the compressors start up and it continues for several minutes.

I guess I better update them, now that I ordered and received the other half of the cord that they didn’t send with these pieces of junk.

If solar is not coming in at all, everything starts/runs fine on 64kWh of LFP. If solar is coming in full blast 11-2, all fine. When solar is just picking up to finally start charging batteries, that’s when they do strange things.
 
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Finally got my two 6500ex’s going on the shop. Received them Aug 2022. I was powering everything with two 12k’s. What pos they are. I guess I got what I paid for. My 2 ton package hp with soft start and my refrigerator compressors both sound like krap starting up in the morning before pv starts coming in good. The LED’s flicker like crazy when the compressors start up and it continues for several minutes. I guess I better update them now that I ordered and received the other half of the cord that they didn’t send with these pieces of junk to update firmware.
Can you post pictures of your refrigerators? And everything else you're running and the labels on the side? Those inverters push harder than most in my shop. I'm surprised they sound like that because that has not been my experience with massive inductive loads. It can even power my car lift
 
Finally got my two 6500ex’s going on the shop. Received them Aug 2022. I was powering everything with two 12k’s. What pos they are. I guess I got what I paid for. My 2 ton package hp with soft start and my refrigerator compressors both sound like krap starting up in the morning before pv starts coming in good. The LED’s flicker like crazy when the compressors start up and it continues for several minutes. I guess I better update them now that I ordered and received the other half of the cord that they didn’t send with these pieces of junk to update firmware.

Do you mean the 12k are pos or the 6500EX are pos?

How many batteries you have hooked up to your system? (the setup that works better once the PV starts coming in good) Is the battery voltage dropping a lot on surge? (like the voltage seen right at the inverter terminals)

Assuming you ruled out bus bar and cable gauge sizing or connection issues...
 
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The remedy could be as easy as firmware. So I would definitely try that first.
I’ll do that because SS has put out a lot of updates that should have been done during their own testing instead of having customers be their guinea pigs. Reminder to self: Never buy from SS or a new to the market product ever again. Just bought a Morningstar 600V SCC from Eco Direct. It’s been around almost 10 years, so should be good. I like companies that don’t come out with a “new product” every month and forget about the old ones. You can’t get parts, updates, tech support or any other type of customer service once they move on to the next best thing from China. Sound familiar?
 
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I found an LED bulb type that flickers only when my Harvest Right freeze drier is running.
Not to derail but I'm really curious about freeze drier use on of grid solar.

We too have one... just building a home now & are on off grid solar. We really want to use the FD when compete. With 21kw of bifacial panels I'm not worried about producing enough juice to run it...during the day. I am wondering how much battery storage I'm going to need. I have 4 EG4 Lifepower4's now (NOT enough) & planned on adding 6-8 more...or 2 of the new PowerPros.

Has ANYONE used one off grid? What is your set up?
Thx
 
Not to derail but I'm really curious about freeze drier use on of grid solar.

We too have one... just building a home now & are on off grid solar. We really want to use the FD when compete. With 21kw of bifacial panels I'm not worried about producing enough juice to run it...during the day. I am wondering how much battery storage I'm going to need. I have 4 EG4 Lifepower4's now (NOT enough) & planned on adding 6-8 more...or 2 of the new PowerPros.

Has ANYONE used one off grid? What is your set up?
Thx
I had a freeze dried herb/greens business before I went off-grid. Not a harvest right dryer but similar power requirements(actually less). I decided it was not economical to run it off-grid.

Its a major power usage and the investment dollars to get the battery/solar covered may be to high to recover with food cost. It might be cheaper to just sell it and buy freeze dried food depending on how much you want. I would find someone close by with grid power that can host it for you.
 
We have a Harvest Right Home Pro. We love it and we have no issues running it on our solar.

Freeze drying is a energy intensive process. If you're doing it to make money you should do it on the grid. If you're doing it to be self reliant it's a non-issue.

Most people also aren't ready to drop $5k on a personal freeze dryer, so....
 
We have a Harvest Right Home Pro. We love it and we have no issues running it on our solar.

Freeze drying is a energy intensive process. If you're doing it to make money you should do it on the grid. If you're doing it to be self reliant it's a non-issue.

Most people also aren't ready to drop $5k on a personal freeze dryer, so....
and another $5K in batteries to run it over night
 
I had a freeze dried herb/greens business before I went off-grid. Not a harvest right dryer but similar power requirements(actually less). I decided it was not economical to run it off-grid.

Its a major power usage and the investment dollars to get the battery/solar covered may be to high to recover with food cost. It might be cheaper to just sell it and buy freeze dried food depending on how much you want. I would find someone close by with grid power that can host it for you.
Thank you. I hear you...I think we will definitely have to coordinate it's use. Daytime power generation I do not think will be a problem...night-time is the concern considering everything seems to take 36-48 hours.
 
We have a Harvest Right Home Pro. We love it and we have no issues running it on our solar.

Freeze drying is a energy intensive process. If you're doing it to make money you should do it on the grid. If you're doing it to be self reliant it's a non-issue.

Most people also aren't ready to drop $5k on a personal freeze dryer, so....
Thank you. Yes we bought the large HR freeze drier too. We loved it & used it a ton the 8 months before moving off grid. (5th wheel while we build.) We have zero desire to freeze dry for income...just part of the self reliant lifestyle plan. May I ask your system specs? Battery & panel amounts? Thx ? ?
 
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Thank you. Yes we bought the large HR freeze drier too. We loved it & used it a ton the 8 months before moving off grid. (5th wheel while we build.) We have zero desire to freeze dry for income...just part of the self reliant lifestyle plan. May I ask your system specs? Battery & panel amounts? Thx ? ?

My build thread

 
First time posting here. But I’ve definitely gained a lot of knowledge from everyone. I’ve been using a pair of LV6548’s in split phase for 10 months without issue. They are solid units. We are essentially off grid at this point and just use grid as a backup during extended cloudy or rainy weather. I removed my bonding screws on the units after some discussion with Ian at Watts247. I’m pushing the limits of my VOC in the winter so I decided to purchase a pair eg46500’s. They have double the VOC and what looked like some other decent upgrades. I loved having the larger wire terminals for the ac input and output. And the pv connections were also a good upgrade.

The actual inverters performance was disappointing at best. My lights on dimmers were strobing none stop. Some of the LED lights had a shimmer. I checked all my settings and they were the same as the LV’s. It also didn’t seem to matter whether the inverters were under load or not. Seemed to be a problem with inconsistent voltage or a sine wave issue.

I called signature solar tech support, and they informed me that that was “normal” for these inverters. So I explained I have a pair of Lv’s without a problem that I just removed. They informed me that if the lights bother me, to just remove the dimmer switches. In other words, mask the actual problem. Which is something more serious. Eventually, whatever is going on with them will fry sensitive electronics. The only difference I knew of is the bonding screw I removed in the LV’s. So although I wouldn’t think that would be the problem, I asked if I could remove the screws in the EG4’s. They agreed. There isn’t a bonding screw in the new units btw. I sent them a photo of the empty slot, and they seemed genuinely surprised. Which is a bit scary to me that they didn’t know what is inside their own products.

I asked for a return label since i wouldn’t be using the units. They transferred my case to tier 2 tech support. And there I sat, in limbo. I waited around 3 weeks and realized they never actually intended to do whatever it is that tech support was supposed to do. I didn’t need support. I had already removed the units. They didn’t respond to emails. And I could no longer reach them on the phone. So I asked customer service to check into my case. They said to wait for the “process”. Anyway, the process never happened. I eventually returned the inverters on my own dime. They charged a 40% restocking fee. I called again to see if tech support could finish the “process” now and give me an actual refund. The location of the inverters didn’t really matter either way. They had been off the wall nearly a month. But because I interrupted the “process” they wouldn’t consider it.

Signature solar is knowingly selling equipment that has issues. Tier 1 tech support considers it “normal”. But someone up the chain must know it’s a real problem. Since then, I’ve talked with others that have put a scope on them, and apparently it isn’t a pure sine wave they are generating. I haven’t seen the video of the scope yet. But I definitely wouldn’t be surprised. If there is a problem, don’t advise people to remove the symptom. I left a 1-star review on their website describing the experience with the inverters, and it was removed. Anyway, in summary, avoid signature solar. Customer services and sales are the only extensions that actually answer the phone. They sell equipment with known problems. And just generally don’t seem to care at all. I’ve never dealt with anywhere quite like it. Typically, a place with that poor of service would probably go out of business. But with the solar industry booming, they seem to be thriving.
HI Gavin, hate to tell you but your LV6548 are just rebranded Voltronics units *JUST* like the EG4 6500. The physical hardware is the same, the biggest difference is that EG4 writes their own firmware on rebranded units so they can better support the unit. EG4 recently discontinued the 6500EX right after I bought a pair of them. I've actually had decent luck with my system and Signature Solar has done a half way decent job of supporting them with firmware upgrades and tech support.

Now that I've learned about how Voltronics operates, I'm not really a fan of their gear, and neither is EG4. They've terminated their relationship with Voltronics and now are buying and rebranding LUX hybrid inverters. From what I've seen the software is absolutely superior, but I don't know about the longevity of these devices. Hope this helps!
 
Same here Gruic.

I must have bought the last two pair of 6500ex's before they started shipping the 6000 and 18kpv. They were constantly problematic.

I think SS has realized that with their trade in program. I threw in the towel and bought the 18kpv on my own. It's more than I needed, but I must say....it's been impressive. Turn it on, and it's just worked. I've had ZERO problems with this unit. So glad to put the 6500 in the rear view. If I were tight on funds, I would have gone with two 6000's.

It's amazing how the 18kpv makes no noise if it's not receiving 6000 solar watts, or putting out 6000 AC watts. It's absolutely silent under those numbers. I've only heard the fans kick on once when I pushed the EV charging and Pool pumps.

Signature Solar stepped up and gave me store credit for those 6500 units. I couldn't be happier.
 
HI Gavin, hate to tell you but your LV6548 are just rebranded Voltronics units *JUST* like the EG4 6500. The physical hardware is the same, the biggest difference is that EG4 writes their own firmware on rebranded units so they can better support the unit. EG4 recently discontinued the 6500EX right after I bought a pair of them. I've actually had decent luck with my system and Signature Solar has done a half way decent job of supporting them with firmware upgrades and tech support.

Now that I've learned about how Voltronics operates, I'm not really a fan of their gear, and neither is EG4. They've terminated their relationship with Voltronics and now are buying and rebranding LUX hybrid inverters. From what I've seen the software is absolutely superior, but I don't know about the longevity of these devices. Hope this helps!
@Gruic Recommend you check out Gavin’s YT channel. He’s definitely moved on from these voltronic inverters and been using Lux for a while.
 
Same here Gruic.

I must have bought the last two pair of 6500ex's before they started shipping the 6000 and 18kpv. They were constantly problematic.

I think SS has realized that with their trade in program. I threw in the towel and bought the 18kpv on my own. It's more than I needed, but I must say....it's been impressive. Turn it on, and it's just worked. I've had ZERO problems with this unit. So glad to put the 6500 in the rear view. If I were tight on funds, I would have gone with two 6000's.

It's amazing how the 18kpv makes no noise if it's not receiving 6000 solar watts, or putting out 6000 AC watts. It's absolutely silent under those numbers. I've only heard the fans kick on once when I pushed the EV charging and Pool pumps.

Signature Solar stepped up and gave me store credit for those 6500 units. I couldn't be happier.
Signature Solar has a trade in program where they will give you $750 for the trade in of an EX6500. I'm kind of torn as to what to do. I really don't have the money to upgrade, but if I did upgrade, I am want to get the big 18k Sol-Ark with EMP protection. So, incremental upgrades are super costly. But maybe to just decom the EX6500s, maybe I should get the 6K Lux on trade in and pay the $1500 to make it happen. Looking at the Lux manual, I think they'd definitely be a step up and I could tie them together in split phase. Right now with the EX6500s in split phase mode, if I lose one unit, the other one shuts off. So the big question, is the worth it to turn the EX6500s in for a 750 credit or do I keep them as some kind of back up to catastrophe?
 

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