Sol-Ark 12K plus Fortress 18.5K plus Solaria XT370 Semi-DIY Install

[DIYSolarShed]

Hello all--

System Background:

Over the past month or so, I received all of my parts. The key system components are as follows:

• Sol-Ark 12K Inverter and MPPT
• Fortress eVault 18.5K battery
• 8X Solaria XT370 Panels
• 20X Rich Solar 100W Premium Black Panels

This was all installed by me, with help from a local electrician (who mostly works on car and motorcycle electric conversions over the past year or so).

This system is ENTIRELY off-grid. While there is grid service at the property, this system is intended strictly as 1) an isolated backup and 2) an EV charging system.

I selected the Sol-Ark largely based on two factors: 1) It's an all-in-one MPPT and inverter, and I did not want a lot of extra exposed wiring, and 2) I wanted something with enough power for a serious EV car charger.

I selected the Fortress based on a few factors: 1) I did not want a lot of exposed battery wiring, 2) I wanted something with a warranty, and 3) I wanted something with tech support.

I selected the Solaria panels and Rich panels based on YouTube reviews and also aesthetics.

The parts were ordered from Ecodirect.com, which I selected largely because they were extremely responsive via telephone and offered CAD drawings for the entire system. Pricing was competitive with other online/direct vendors.

Posts below will chronicle the install process. Thanks and shout out to the members of this forum and to Will (via his youtube videos) who helped me figure out how to put this all together!

Constructive criticism welcome.

 

[DIYSolarShed]

Initial Install of the Panels -- I hired a helper for this:



Panels completed -- Not sure what the discoloration was on the last panel, but is was gone by morning:



Fortress Battery arrives -- it is VERY well packed:



Installing the Sol-Ark and Load Center. Note the black bump for the WiFi module on the left side of the Sol-Ark -- this is one of the newer "Outdoor" models that can do 37.5A off grid and is pending NEMA 3 Outdoor rating:

 

[DIYSolarShed]

Detail of the Sol-Ark internal wiring -- note the 6 AWG wiring connecting the neutral (blue) and ground (green) sections. This was a recommendation from Sol-Ark to do the neutral bond here. Note also the massive 4/0 battery cables.



Charging the battery for the first time on a cloudy day. Note the many small dips in power generation. Note also that the Rich Solar panels are not yet installed.



Charging on a less cloudy day, note a very smooth curve. Note utilization by the Sol-Ark seems to hover between 30W and 40W at idle, the red power consumption spikes are me plugging in a load to test (garage freezer):



The Fortress battery display after a couple days of charging. It arrived at around 39% charge (after sitting my driveway for a month or so):



First time plugging in the ChargePoint car charger and charging with 100% pure solar energy. Sol-Ark and Fortress battery are not breaking a sweat (ChargePoint is on a 240V 30A circuit and is set via software at 4.8KW (240V 20A) max, my EV car can only pull about 3.5KW max!):



There it is:

 

[DIYSolarShed]

Beginning the install for the Rich Solar panels. Note the hillside slope. There are multiple terraces of panels (like a hillside farm):

 

[jim furlong]

Love it! i'm looking to do the same with the sol ark for my nissan leaf and to power my house. i'm hoping the sol ark will be able to handle my cars full charge rate at 27.5 amps.... probably be doing 26 on a 30 amp breaker.... seems dumb of nissan to have it at 27.5 as there max which requires a 40 amp breaker.

 

[DIYSolarShed]

Love it! i'm looking to do the same with the sol ark for my nissan leaf and to power my house. i'm hoping the sol ark will be able to handle my cars full charge rate at 27.5 amps.... probably be doing 26 on a 30 amp breaker.... seems dumb of nissan to have it at 27.5 as there max which requires a 40 amp breaker.

The Sol-Ark is able to easily push 3.5KW continuously to my car. I'm sure it could do more, but that's the limit the car will pull.

 

[Bluedog225]

Nice. And that’s a beefy looking solar carport you have there.

Which racks are those? Iron Ridge?