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Renogy 3000 inverter tripping gfci

Jim Harris

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Oct 16, 2022
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New to solar and need some help!!
I am having an issue with a Renogy 3000 inverter popping the internal gfci device. I have hard wired the inverter to the breaker panel via the 3 lugs on the front of the inverter. The inverter case has a grounding lug on it and that is connected to the ground rod outside in the earth. The neutral-ground wires ( 5 different circuits with individual line breakers) inside the 100amp breaker panel are bonded to the same buss bar as if they would be when using grid power. Could the ground wires be separated from the neutral buss bar and connected directly to the exterior ground rod safety to prevent the gfci in the inverter from tripping due to voltage difference between the load neutral lines?
This is a new install with 4 100 watt panels connected in series to a Renogy Rover 40 MPPT controller and 2 Renogy 12v 200 a/h
The breaker panel is a recycled Square D that I took out of my home in good working condition. Just needed more circuits for the addition
When using the three outlets on the front of the inverter it functions as it should. Doesn’t trip the gfci. As soon as I connect to the breaker panel it trips the gfci.
 
Sounds like you have 2 neutral/ground bonds.
One in the inverter and one in the panel it feeds is my guess.
I believe that is correct. I don’t want to disconnect the gfci circuit inside the new inverter but wondered if separating the ground and neutral inside the breaker panel and connecting the ground wires directly to the earth ground rod would be a safe solution?
 
I believe that is correct. I don’t want to disconnect the gfci circuit inside the new inverter but wondered if separating the ground and neutral inside the breaker panel and connecting the ground wires directly to the earth ground rod would be a safe solution?
There should be more than 0 and less than 2 n-g bonds in the system.
Bonding to the planet is a separate but related issue.
In a simple scenario there should be 1 bond to the planet.

Is your inverter an inverter_charger or all_in_one?
If yes is there an ac_input in addition to an ac_output?
Is there any other ac power source in the system?
Are the branch neutrals and grounds all mixed together in the distribution panel?
 
The inverter is inverter only DC input only
No other AC power source in system
Yes the branch neutral and ground are connected to the same buss bar
The earth ground is attached to the neutral/ground buss bar
 
The inverter is inverter only DC input only
No other AC power source in system
Yes the branch neutral and ground are connected to the same buss bar
The earth ground is attached to the neutral/ground buss bar
Your panel appears to be wired as a service entrance panel which is fine because the inverter is the single power source.
Because the branch neutrals and grounds are mixed it would probably be easier to un-bond n and g at the inverter, although it might void your warranty.
Also the inverter is referenced to the dirt via its ac ground wire to the panel, that assumes the chassis grounding lug is internal connected to the ac ground.
You may or may not want to reference the dc negative busbar to ground via the inverter chassis grounding lug.
Do you have an outlet tester just to make sure you have a proper n-g bond at the panel?
Would it be convenient for you to take a picture of the panel with the cover off?
If so, we could all see how things are setup and possibly flag any gotchas?
 
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The inverter is inverter only DC input only
No other AC power source in system
Yes the branch neutral and ground are connected to the same buss ba
 
Your panel appears to be wires as a service entrance panel which is fine because the inverter is the single power source.
It is wired as service entrance panel. That’s what is was when I took it out.
Because the branch neutrals and grounds are mixed it would probably be easier to un-bond n and g at the inverter, although it might void your warranty.
Yes I’m sure it would void warranty and it’s less than a month old. Just got the time to get the install done.
Also the inverter is referenced to the dirt via its ac ground wire to the panel, that assumes the chassis grounding lug is internal connected to the ac ground.
The inverter frame has a ground lug that is connected to the dirt ground The panel buss bar n-g is also connected to the dirt ground
You may or may not want to reference the dc negative busbar to ground via the inverter chassis grounding lug.
Do you have an outlet tester just to make sure you have a proper n-g bond at the panel?
I do have outlet tester and will check it in a little bit. Good idea
Would it be convenient for you to take a picture of the panel with the cover off?
If so, we could all see how things are setup and possibly flag any gotchas?
Picture coming soon
Thank you very much for the help with this system. My first venture into solar and it seemed like a cake walk until the gfci kept tripping lol
 
It is wired as service entrance panel. That’s what is was when I took it out.
I mean that you mixed the branch neutrals and grounds.
Those will have to be separated if you keep the n-g bond in the inverter.
The inverter frame has a ground lug that is connected to the dirt ground.
Either do the dirt bond at the inverter or at the panel but not both.
The panel buss bar n-g is also connected to the dirt ground
That is my preference.
 
Wires circled in red on first photo were originally the AC feed from inverter. I detached and used 12/2 to isolate the wires hidden in the walls in case there was an issue that couldn’t be seen. Only load is a single led bulb for testing.
Outlet tester trips the gfci when testing the 15amp outlet in front of the inverter
Outlet tester does not trip the gfci when testing the branch line outlet being powered through the panel. Both outlets show the wiring is correct.
FA90919C-DAAB-4D5B-BD2D-6AE64CD97C4E.jpegFA90919C-DAAB-4D5B-BD2D-6AE64CD97C4E.jpeg
 

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A better view of the breaker wiring
 

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There should be a green screw in the panel that bonds n to g.
I can't see it but my eyesight sucks.
 
If this inverter is still a derivative of epever inverter, you can't bound neutral to ground on the ac output. If yes their inverters by design can only work with floating ground.
 
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