Shore Power Charging Issue trips gfci

[Andrew Shinn]

I have an eg4 3kw inverter and eg4 48v server rack battery. When I plug the inverter into a 15a outlet it starts charging the battery for a few seconds then trips the gfci on the outlet.
I have tried changing setting 11 max charging current to 15a but it still trips the gfci. It is not tripping the breaker, just the gfci on the outlet
I have tried different outlets and it does the same thing.
Any ideas?
My settings are all set to what's recommended in the manual except for setting 11 I changed to 15a

 

[Mattb4]

GFCI's outlets are notorious for tripping trying to supply AIO's. (or UPS's for that matter)

 

[BentleyJ]

Have you tried changing setting 02? This is the overall maximum charge amperage for Solar and Utility combined. Realistically this setting shouldn't need to be changed since setting 11 has been lowered to 15A. That said, EG4 product firmware is known to be a bit quirky at times. Its worth a try, if it solves the problem.

 

[Andrew Shinn]

Have you tried changing setting 02? This is the overall maximum charge amperage for Solar and Utility combined. Realistically this setting shouldn't need to be changed since setting 11 has been lowered to 15A. That said, EG4 product firmware is known to be a bit quirky at times. Its worth a try, if it solves the problem.

Tried changing setting 02 to 15a. No change, still trips the gfci. I'm guessing it's a grounding issue since it's tripping the ground fault and not the circuit breaker.

 

[Madcodger]

GFCI's outlets are notorious for tripping trying to supply AIO's. (or UPS's for that matter)

Amen. Also, more than once, I've had a GFCI that tripped for no explicable reason. I changed out the GFCI for another one (still a GFCI) and presto - problem solved. That has become my goto fix when a GFCI is tripping and I can't find the reason, and it's saved me a ton of time. They seem to just sometimes go bad.

 

[l00semarble]

Don’t EG4s have some issue with a neutral-ground bonding screw inside? If there is a permanent N-G bond in inverter it will definitely trip GFCI. The proper way is to use a ground relay that only makes the connection when inverting.

 

[Burnrate]

Don’t EG4s have some issue with a neutral-ground bonding screw inside? If there is a permanent N-G bond in inverter it will definitely trip GFCI. The proper way is to use a ground relay that only makes the connection when inverting.

Oh this stinks. I was hoping to charge my batteries from the grid on occasion and only pull out my semi-mobile panels when I really needed them because I can't find anyone who will install panels on a corrugated metal roof. I was trying to charge through my EG4 3kw and it kept tripping the gfci even with the grid charging input set to 2 amps.

I use the same outlet to charge my EV (leaf) and can also run a 13 amp electric woodchipper on the circuit so it's not a circuit problem. I guess it's just that bond in the inverter.

 

[zanydroid]

What about a cable that lifts the ground?

You have an added safety factor from the GFCI, now mortgage it by cursing the bonding

Don't use this with a receptacle on a non GFCI circuit...

(It could also be ground leakage in the power conversion circuits in the AIO)

 

[Burnrate]

I'm going to see how much it will cost to have an electrician stick a 240 volt outlet next to the grid panels. Might be worth it, sometimes stuff is surprisingly cheap.

EDIT:
They do have these things too which are 150 bucks that will directly charge the battery from the outlet but I'm not sure how well that would play with the inverters connected at the same time. I could just flip off the load breakers i guess.

EG4 Battery Charger | 48V 5A

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