Update: Problem solved… Just took some communication from a live person. In the end, I actually answered my own question. I was the idiot who failed to understand the watts being pulled from the battery.
My head was thinking like a generator that continually generates X wattage as opposed to a battery that when its gone/used, its gone.
But enjoy the read, it’s comical
Admittedly I’m new to this forum and new to solar, which means without question, there is a learning curve. However when someone like myself, an expert DIYer (that’s a joke) spends months researching which system is the best bang for the dollar and who to purchase from. Not to mention the countless hours of watching YouTube thinking you have a solid understanding before clicking that button to purchase a couple thousand dollars’ worth of equipment.
Only to receive all this equipment and find out you need to use a CD-disk (haven’t had a CD drive in my last two computers) to upgrade the firmware of your new equipment. But to add insult to injury, when you move your desktop computer close enough to the invertor (let me tell you the job that was) to upgrade the firmware (found a downloadable version), the computer doesn’t see the cable. Now I download the USB software and the software still doesn’t see the comm port. End result, no upgrades, no firmware updates. Bad cable or am I an idiot?
So now you reach out for tech support and send a screen image of the error code and explain you are unable to do the upgrades. And nothing.
So, what do you do? You start searching the web looking for solutions and end up on forums such this.
I’ve spent a lot of time ready and researching, which only introduces even more problems that others are experiencing, that I haven’t even gotten to that step.
One the plus side, you read comments such as “if its working, why do the update”? Honestly, makes all the sense in the world. If it isn’t broken why fix it. Yeah, it shows a fault code of 69 which I learned is merely the BMS telling the system to stop charging from the grid. OK, I know what the error code is. I know it’s nothing major or so I believe (yes, I’m the guy who drives around with the lower tire indicator on my car because the air pressure is one pound below 36psi).
Ok, you move forward. Run a separate panel, run grid power to this new invertor. Spend loads more money on wire and what not all for the magical moment to show your wife you can run the house off batteries. No, I haven’t introduced PV panels to the equation yet ?
All is going well, I’m monitoring the watts, not even hitting 30% of the capabilities of the invertor per leg. Ok great, this is working. That is until the well pump kicks on, and everything goes dark.
For the record, the pump pulls 1100 watts starting (3-seconds) and drops down to 980 watts. So my combined draw is less then 60% of the systems capabilities including the household upon startup of the well.
The first thing I do is make sure my phases are correct. Although I’m not sure what that has to do with in this case, it’s an off-grid system for all particle purpose when you remove grid power forcing the invertor to start-up. But nope that’s not the case.
So you reach out to technical support via email complete with a detail explanation of what happened including screen images of the usage and images of the well pump when it kicks in showing the startup draw along with the timeline showing how much.
First, there is no return email acknowledging the email you sent. So you sit around waiting and checking your email wondering did they receive it, was it sent to a spam folder, how long do I wait knowing I’m ten days and counting trying to resolve the firmware upgrade problem. Will they call instead seeing how I included my phone number.
Then it happens, 3-days later I see a message in my inbox, its from tech support. Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy. Clear everything off my desktop and get ready to discover the solution to my problems and it reads “What fault code does the inverter show?” Yes, seven words. There was my support. Never mind the detailed email that was sent, never mind common sense that if there was an error code I would have shared it. My response was equivalent to “was it plug in”! So I quickly reply hoping to avoid another 2-3 day wait, and nothing!
Then again, maybe the error code 69 is superseding the next error code. Don’t know, because I haven’t resolved that error yet.
So, enough with the emailing tech support, I’m going to call them. After listening to 30-minutes of how important customer service is I opted for a callback. Four hours later I’m still waiting for a return call on a Friday night. This means I really can’t leave the house, just in case they call back. Do I hang around the house on Saturday? There website shows Saturday hours. But does that include tech support or just sales.
So yes, I can understand the frustration of the original poster and truth be told, I share his frustration.
My frugality generally precludes me from consuming the Kool-Aid. Also, I am not the type to orgasm over an included phone app. However, If I were trying to establish a "signature" name-brand, I would not want to follow up the myriad of Growatt problems with a part II. Seems like a poorly orchestrated business model.
