Sol-Ark 15K All in One Inverter Released.

[niktak11]

Do you still have the old Electric water heater?

I was going to try to use the Rheem to feed the regular electric one or plumb it in series somehow.

Probably better just leave old water heater in and just turn off breaker and use Rheem full time.

I know I heard about a way to use the Sol-Ark Gen input as a dump load or something to that effect.

Perhaps on sunny days if batteries are charged and loads are being met I can put excess to the old water heater??

Always fun to tinker..

You can add an extra heating element that's connected to the sol ark smart load breaker

 

[SolarHead]

Dont want to open a can of worms, but would it be worth our while to compare two 12's , against one 15k?

Two 12K = $12,000 , how much power can this produce/manage?
One 15K = $8,500 , how much power can this produce/manage?

Buying two 12k models would be $3,500 more , but aren't you getting more power/capability than a single 15K ? In this case, I don't think the 15K is going to wipe the 12k out of the picture.

TWO 12k models
PROS if one dies, you have the other to get by on, more power than a single 15k
CONS more money than a single 15k

ONE 15k model
PROS quite a bit of power, what else?
CONS one unit deep, if it dies you're in the dark, what else?

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Dont want to open a can of worms, but would it be worth our while to compare two 12's , against one 15k?

Two 12K = $12,000 , how much power can this produce/manage?
One 15K = $8,500 , how much power can this produce/manage?

Buying two 12k models would be $3,500 more , but aren't you getting more power/capability than a single 15K ? In this case, I don't think the 15K is going to wipe the 12k out of the picture.

TWO 12k models
PROS if one dies, you have the other to get by on, more power than a single 15k
CONS more money than a single 15k

ONE 15k model
PROS quite a bit of power, what else?
CONS one unit deep, if it dies you're in the dark, what else?

I think that is just one of those things that will be determined after the 15ks have been in production a bit.

Once all the data is gathered, analyzed and disseminated then a Consensus will be reached.

Anything now would be conjecture and guesses based up stated specs not real world application.

I have considered this option but will wait and see how they work out in the field first.

The 12ks are proven. 15ks not so much yet.

 

[SolarHead]

Another thought, if you already own a 12K and you get a 15K, do you sell the 12k or do you use both 12k and 15k in parallel assuming this can be done? Existing 12k owners would probably be better served to buy a 2nd 12k if I had to guess. People looking to get their first Sol-Ark, its really up to them to decide, but if I were looking at one 15K , I think I'd take time to consider what two 12k's would look like before making a final decision. Two 12k might get you to avoid having to buy two 15k depending on what loads you are wanting to cover.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Another thought, if you already own a 12K and you get a 15K, do you sell the 12k or do you use both 12k and 15k in parallel assuming this can be done? Existing 12k owners would probably be better served to buy a 2nd 12k if I had to guess. People looking to get their first Sol-Ark, its really up to them to decide, but if I were looking at one 15K , I think I'd take time to consider what two 12k's would look like before making a final decision. Two 12k might get you to avoid having to buy two 15k depending on what loads you are wanting to cover.

I already asked Sol-ark about this and you cannot parallel the 12 & 15 together because of the different passthrough capabilities.

So yes you are correct. If you have a 12 and need more you either buy another 12 or sell the one you got and get a 15 or 2..

 

[RV10flyer]

I don't believe this.

A water heater + 2.5Ton heat pump is 8kw right there. Toaster is another 1-2kw. Add in a clothes dryer, hair dryer, microwave your draw is prob near 15-20kw

You can believe it. HVAC pro. Built home, very well insulated. As noted in my post, all heat kits are disabled and unnecessary most of the time. We use programmable/wifi thermostats. Two heat pumps are totally variable speed. The other two have vs blowers. We hang 95% of our clothes, so the dryer is rarely on. We rarely have more than two large power users on at one time.

 

[RV10flyer]

Did you need to do anything besides cut off power to the heat strips to get your heat pump working without them?

HVAC pro here. The Fujitsu 9K 33 SEER does not have or need a heater. The other three central hp's have 5 kw each. All have a SPST toggle switch near Air Handler to break 24VAC circuit to heat contactors. I only need aux electric heat below 25F. At that point and below, I'll light the wood burner and save my battery consumption when its coldest at night. Yes, two central hp's have demand defrost (uses two thermistor sensors) and will blow cold air during defrost. Were okay with that for 5 minutes every 2-8 hours when outside temp is below 40F. On the third central heat pump, I installed a SPST switch in the defrost termination circuit to disable defrost unless I determine that it absolutely needs it. Usually only when outdoor humidity is above 70% and temperature is below 35°F.

 

[SolarHead]

So yes you are correct. If you have a 12 and need more you either buy another 12 or sell the one you got and get a 15 or 2..

I think I'd rather have two 12K's than one 15K but thats just me. Redundancy is a big deal, and you have more power with two 12K's than you with one 15K from what I can tell.

 

[RV10flyer]

I built my DIY ~120kwhr bank for about 20~21G, including BMS's.

I paid something like 140 per new Grade A 280ah cell shipped? So about 4.5G for that chunk + 300 for BMSs

Then another 32*4*230ah @ 106 per shipped, so about 14G + a 4*140 for BMS.

Add another few K for wiring, fusing, racking, etc.

I live in an area that will loose power for 3-6 days at a time in winter storms, and have mountain shadow for the ~40-45 worst days of winter, so can only get a few kwh of solar/day

All true. same here. 132kWh.

 

[niktak11]

Dont want to open a can of worms, but would it be worth our while to compare two 12's , against one 15k?

Two 12K = $12,000 , how much power can this produce/manage?
One 15K = $8,500 , how much power can this produce/manage?

Buying two 12k models would be $3,500 more , but aren't you getting more power/capability than a single 15K ? In this case, I don't think the 15K is going to wipe the 12k out of the picture.

TWO 12k models
PROS if one dies, you have the other to get by on, more power than a single 15k
CONS more money than a single 15k

ONE 15k model
PROS quite a bit of power, what else?
CONS one unit deep, if it dies you're in the dark, what else?

The big selling point of the 15k is 200a passthrough

 

[SolarHead]

true

 

[Nobodybusiness]

I think I'd rather have two 12K's than one 15K but thats just me. Redundancy is a big deal, and you have more power with two 12K's than you with one 15K from what I can tell.

I am leaning towards keeping my 2 X 12ks since I know them and they are stable BUT I am sucker for bleeding edge stuff.
All that said I still think I will wait and see how the 15ks "get on" in the real world for a while.

Once they revise all the firmware and components to get it down to a stable package then I will probably buy one.

Lets face it, no matter how much you test a system the real world tends to break it or at least offer better solutions..

 

[Nobodybusiness]

HVAC pro here. The Fujitsu 9K 33 SEER does not have or need a heater. The other three central hp's have 5 kw each. All have a SPST toggle switch near Air Handler to break 24VAC circuit to heat contactors. I only need aux electric heat below 25F. At that point and below, I'll light the wood burner and save my battery consumption when its coldest at night. Yes, two central hp's have demand defrost (uses two thermistor sensors) and will blow cold air during defrost. Were okay with that for 5 minutes every 2-8 hours when outside temp is below 40F. On the third central heat pump, I installed a SPST switch in the defrost termination circuit to disable defrost unless I determine that it absolutely needs it. Usually only when outdoor humidity is above 70% and temperature is below 35°F.

With my Sensi Smart Thermostats I can tell the unit to never use the AUX heating mode.

It hasn't really gotten cold enough here yet to get below the Heat Pumps ability to generate heat.

The new MR Cool universal I installed works great.

@RV10flyer What do you think about them going back to low pressure Gas? Getting rid of the 134a?

Probably make the units last longer because of lower coil pressure?

 

[RV10flyer]

With my Sensi Smart Thermostats I can tell the unit to never use the AUX heating mode.

It hasn't really gotten cold enough here yet to get below the Heat Pumps ability to generate heat.

The new MR Cool universal I installed works great.

@RV10flyer What do you think about them going back to low pressure Gas? Getting rid of the 134a?

Probably make the units last longer because of lower coil pressure?

If your hp goes into a defrost cycle, the def board sends 24vac into heat contactor. Does your Sensi's tstats disable that too? My disable switch does not allow any 24vac to reach heater contactor.

 

[RV10flyer]

The new MR Cool universal I installed works great.

@RV10flyer What do you think about them going back to low pressure Gas? Getting rid of the 134a?

Probably make the units last longer because of lower coil pressure?

yes, i really like my fujitsu and Ameristar(Gree) too.

All of my mini splits and central systems use R-410A. Its not only the higher pressure destroying mostly indoor coils. I have been installing/repairing these residential systems for 25+ years. The manufacturers use thinner, lower quality copper/aluminum. Distributors, Contractors, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Hardware Stores all push pleated filters which lower air volume (cfm) across the indoor coil. This causes higher than normal pressure/temperatures, reducing coil life further. I use larger area filters like Aprilaire and Skuttle whole house air cleaners. I don't recommend 1" pleated filters unless you have 200 sqin per ton minimum.

The industry is switching to another refrigerant or two very soon, but I doubt they will have lower pressures. Its a headache and high expense for recyclers, reclaimers, us contractors and customers. Now they say R-410A was just a temporary ref while they worked on a better one. One thing we liked a lot about R-22. It was easy to find leaks with the chlorine in it.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

If your hp goes into a defrost cycle, the def board sends 24vac into heat contactor. Does your Sensi's tstats disable that too? My disable switch does not allow any 24vac to reach heater contactor.

No it doesn't do anything for defrost as far as I know. Just keeps it from going into AUX heat.

If you come into a room and the temp is say 60 and you crank it up to 70 then the AUX heat will kick in to make it heat faster.
I can tell it not to do that.

Isn't defrost mode just reversing the valve to put heat into the coil?
Does it use the AUX heat to offset the cooling from the defrost?

 

[Nobodybusiness]

yes, i really like my fujitsu and Ameristar(Gree) too.

All of my mini splits and central systems use R-410A. Its not only the higher pressure destroying mostly indoor coils. I have been installing/repairing these residential systems for 25+ years. The manufacturers use thinner, lower quality copper/aluminum. Distributors, Contractors, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Hardware Stores all push pleated filters which lower air volume (cfm) across the indoor coil. This causes higher than normal pressure/temperatures, reducing coil life further. I use larger area filters like Aprilaire and Skuttle whole house air cleaners. I don't recommend 1" pleated filters unless you have 200 sqin per ton minimum.

The industry is switching to another refrigerant or two very soon, but I doubt they will have lower pressures. Its a headache and high expense for recyclers, reclaimers, us contractors and customers. Now they say R-410A was just a temporary ref while they worked on a better one. One thing we liked a lot about R-22. It was easy to find leaks with the chlorine in it.

Yup my Unit has R-410a also.

I just saw something the other day about them replacing the 134a and 410A.

I have the typical 400SQin filter on the one I just replaced. It was a 2 ton unit and the MR cool universal is a 2-3 ton unit(Switchable on the control board) of the condenser.

The 3 ton unit down stair has 2 cold air returns each 400SQin.

It makes sense now that you say it.
The less air that goes across the coil the more heat the gas has in it therefore higher pressure.

 

[niktak11]

I am leaning towards keeping my 2 X 12ks since I know them and they are stable BUT I am sucker for bleeding edge stuff.
All that said I still think I will wait and see how the 15ks "get on" in the real world for a while.

Once they revise all the firmware and components to get it down to a stable package then I will probably buy one.

Lets face it, no matter how much you test a system the real world tends to break it or at least offer better solutions..

Why not just add a third 12k? The 15k doesn't really have new features except more power and a larger pass through current.

 

[robby]

We will know the Sol-Ark 15K has truly arrived when Engineer775 does his first installation video.
I would bet the farm that he is not only a lead Beta tester but will also get the first unit for installation.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Why not just add a third 12k? The 15k doesn't really have new features except more power and a larger pass through current.

If I needed more power that would make perfect sense.

Those of us that have 12ks already are more than likely just to add more 12ks instead of changing them out.
However, those of us who like to tinker might swap them out just for S&G..