Sol-Ark 15k Operational Impressions?

[robby]

Wow, thanks for that! I was trusting that number...didn't realize there was a discrepancy! I watched the video where Will opened up both the Lifepower and the SOK, and other than both being essentially identical inside, the build was superior with the Lifepower.

If you look at the EG4 Lifepower Manual it says Maximum Discharge 100A and then next to that on the right it says 30A recommended. We have asked Signature Solar what does that mean because the two numbers are conflicting.
Is it a Max of 100A or 30A? They have refused to clarify the issue! Users have had problems with the Batery tripping out with loads that exceeded 30A so we can only conclude that the 100A was just complete rubbish.

I don't believe my load is high -- that's why I was going to put the Sol-Ark between the main panel and the house subpanel. The heaviest draws on the house subpanel are the side-by-side refrig/freezer, a chest freezer, a small pump in our septic lift station, an exhaust fan in my greenhouse, and the well pump. The rest are just lights, kitchen (which we would only use the microwave for short periods...no oven use), and computer and/or TV. Nothing else. Just keeping us basically in food and water during an extended outage.

The Well Pump is the Big issue and worst yet it's a 120V Well Pump. Those fridges and freezers will also put a bit of load on the system, but you really have to build the system to deal with the Well Pump or else the Inverter will trip out everytime the Pump turns on.

 

[bcfromfl]

The Well Pump is the Big issue and worst yet it's a 120V Well Pump. Those fridges and freezers will also put a bit of load on the system, but you really have to build the system to deal with the Well Pump or else the Inverter will trip out everytime the Pump turns on.

Thank you so much for your continued help. Yes, I know that well pump is the BIG problem. If you only knew how many other systems I've investigated only to find that they are limited to a 30A output! That's why I thought "problem solved" with the Sol-Ark 15k.

BTW, a few months back I thought I had settled on the Generac PWRCell. I went through eight dealers/installers who wouldn't do it without panels, and the last one would only do it with an $8,000 pad in the estimate for "permits, engineering, and labor." I have basically no help in my area, and admittedly very little electrical knowledge. I'm struggling, and I really appreciate all the help I've gotten here!

 

[Wet1]

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but your 120V will continue to be a thorn in your side until it's replaced. I'm guessing it's getting up there in age anyway (since I can't image someone spec'ing or using that today). Converting that well pump to 240V might be a PITA, but it might be your best (proactive) choice in the end.

 

[Canxane]

Get a seplos Mason kit and build your own batteries. That is what I did for a fraction of the price of the prebuilt units. It will work better, and allow full control of any parameter you need. More capacity, higher quality, higher charge and discharge rates, better control, and cheaper.

If you have a few skills, and are patient you will be better off with the homebrew route.

custom made battery box for eve LF280K cells

deleted, sorry

diysolarforum.com

 

[Canxane]

I was wondering if you add a bit more insight into what/how it runs better with a battery? Are you talking about additional battery storage, or some sort of auxiliary battery inside the unit somewhere? Or am I totally misunderstanding, and "they" means your power company?

Thanks!

I ran it for a few weeks without batteries as a dc inverter, and ac pass through. It worked, but had a few minor issues. The solarak support was friendly and helpful, and they are the ones who insisted things definitely work better with a battery. Once my batteries were built and attached all the small issues went away.

Batteries are NOT required. If you want a solar inverter, it is a very expensive one to NOT have batteries attached.

 

[niktak11]

Get a seplos Mason kit and build your own batteries. That is what I did for a fraction of the price of the prebuilt units. It will work better, and allow full control of any parameter you need. More capacity, higher quality, higher charge and discharge rates, better control, and cheaper.

If you have a few skills, and are patient you will be better off with the homebrew route.

custom made battery box for eve LF280K cells

deleted, sorry

diysolarforum.com

This is what I'm planning on doing for my next few battery purchases. Seplos won't have another batch of 200A BMSs ready until mid-August though so I probably won't have my first kit ready until October or November.

 

[bcfromfl]

Get a seplos Mason kit and build your own batteries. That is what I did for a fraction of the price of the prebuilt units. It will work better, and allow full control of any parameter you need. More capacity, higher quality, higher charge and discharge rates, better control, and cheaper.

If you have a few skills, and are patient you will be better off with the homebrew route.

Are these batteries compatible, and/or is there a protocol in the Sol-Ark menu for communication? Would their discharge rate be comparable, with, say, the SOK 5kW?

 

[niktak11]

Are these batteries compatible, and/or is there a protocol in the Sol-Ark menu for communication? Would their discharge rate be comparable, with, say, the SOK 5kW?

The continuous discharge rate is double (200A). They can communicate with Deye inverters so assume that they'll communicate with Sol-Ark as well.

 

[Balthazar-B]

I had a sneaking suspicion that 120V well pumps might have shorter lifetimes than 230V pumps...and after doing a little reading, I still have that sneaking suspicion.

• https://www.finehomebuilding.com/forum/well-pump-120-or-240
• https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/deep-water-well-pump-120v-or-220-v.41285/#
• https://oakvillepump.com/blog/2021/3/17/how-much-power-does-my-submersible-well-pump-use

This may be a good time to assess whether keeping your current pump is going to be more trouble than it's worth, especially if you think there's a chance it will die sooner than later. If your solar implementation requires some electrical upgrades, ask your CPA whether some or all of your pump work can be included for the 30% (probable) tax credit you'll get for solar, since IMHO -- and I'm not a CPA or tax attorney, so my opinion is meaningless, and not guidance of any kiind -- said upgrades may be a necessary prerequisite to solar.

 

[bcfromfl]

Thank you, Balthazar-B, for investigating that a bit, and for the links. If what I understand about the replacement costs are true, such a project would make the battery backup plans a no-go for us, or at least put it off a while longer. It was installed new when the house was built in 2004, and I went with a larger pressure tank in 2007 so it wouldn't cycle so much.

 

[Balthazar-B]

I can tell you from experience that 20 year old well pumps are living on borrowed time, though you might get as many as 5-10 more years out of yours if you're lucky. Perhaps plan in advance a 230V replacement for when the day comes your old pump finally kicks the bucket. Find a competent and ethical well professional so you'll understand your options and estimated costs beforehand so that you can be prepared. It won't necessarily be that expensive; it all depends on your particular situation.

 

[Not Aerosmith]

Are these batteries compatible, and/or is there a protocol in the Sol-Ark menu for communication? Would their discharge rate be comparable, with, say, the SOK 5kW?

I went to the Sol-Ark Library and found the Battery Integration Guide with a list of 20 compatible batteries. Here is a link to the publication:
https://www.sol-ark.com/wp-content/...y-Communications-Integration-Guide-V2.8-1.pdf

The list is dated 09 AUG 22, so it is a current list as of last month. The SOK and EG4 batteries are not on the list. However, PYTES E-BOX 48100R is on the list. I was considering all three, but now will probably go with the PYTES in rack batteries. The list was updated last month, so check it again before you buy batteries to see if your choice is listed. I would always recommend checking with the inverter manufacturer for compatible batteries.

 

[Not Aerosmith]

If you look at the EG4 Lifepower Manual it says Maximum Discharge 100A and then next to that on the right it says 30A recommended. We have asked Signature Solar what does that mean because the two numbers are conflicting.
Is it a Max of 100A or 30A? They have refused to clarify the issue! Users have had problems with the Batery tripping out with loads that exceeded 30A so we can only conclude that the 100A was just complete rubbish.


The Well Pump is the Big issue and worst yet it's a 120V Well Pump. Those fridges and freezers will also put a bit of load on the system, but you really have to build the system to deal with the Well Pump or else the Inverter will trip out everytime the Pump turns on.

I suspect that the 100A is peak instantaneous loads as starting amps for a motor, but 30A is the maximum recommended continuous load.

They do make soft start devices for air conditioner, refrigerators, etc that will reduce the starting amps significantly. Engineer 775 was showing a Sol-Ark Limitless 15 KW inverter installation for the whole house including the air conditioner. He used the Micro Air Soft Start on the AC that only required connecting a few wires and the starting amps for the AC didn't even dim the lights. Here is a link to the device:
https://practicalpreppers.com/product-category/ac-heat/

 

[Balthazar-B]

I went to the Sol-Ark Library and found the Battery Integration Guide with a list of 20 compatible batteries. Here is a link to the publication:
https://www.sol-ark.com/wp-content/...y-Communications-Integration-Guide-V2.8-1.pdf

The list is dated 09 AUG 22, so it is a current list as of last month. The SOK and EG4 batteries are not on the list. However, PYTES E-BOX 48100R is on the list. I was considering all three, but now will probably go with the PYTES in rack batteries. The list was updated last month, so check it again before you buy batteries to see if your choice is listed. I would always recommend checking with the inverter manufacturer for compatible batteries.

Nice find! It's also extremely likely that the new BYD BatteryBox LV Slim product will be on the list before too much longer:

There's some useful information in the marketing webinar...but not over an hour's worth...

 

[629658]

Any 48v battery are compatible with the Sol Ark. Some will communicate most will not but not really a big deal. The BMS is the battery so that’s what I’d be interested in. I went with 230aH Trophy’s. I started with 2 for a total of 460 aH. They don’t communicate yet but may in the future but as long as the proper charge/ discharge criteria are entered no big deal. Everything is working better than expected. Also we have a large home and a pool and the SA15 works like a charm.

 

[LochNess]

I noticed my fan kicks on when the internal temperature reaches 50C (per the LCD display). Not terribly loud but did startle me the first time it started since the unit is otherwise silent.

That noise level might mean I can do a basement install instead of garage. Is that level (9kw) at which cooling kicks in ALL the time passing that current to the outputs or only when it's inverting from battery/PV?

 

[629658]

That’s where I installed mine. It’s a good environment for the inverter and the batteries

 

[bstump]

Now that the Sol-Ark 15k has been in the wild a few months and some folks have had a chance to install them, I thought a thread for general operational observations and questions would be helpful. For example: Being a non-transformer inverter, does the 15k still have an issue with some larger inductive loads (large motors, pumps, etc.)? I'm also curious about noise from the unit (both idle and under peak load). Any new owners want to share your thoughts about these and other things you've noticed on your 15k's?

My Carrier GZ060 geothermal (40A breaker) makes my Sol-Ark 15K reboot with a "AC_Overload_Fault" error... Can't figure out why... My install vendor sucks, not getting much support so I'm having to figure it out myself... ?

 

[niktak11]

My Carrier GZ060 geothermal (40A breaker) makes my Sol-Ark 15K reboot with a "AC_Overload_Fault" error... Can't figure out why... My install vendor sucks, not getting much support so I'm having to figure it out myself... ?

Find out the LRA of your unit. If it actually runs at close to 80% of 40A then the inrush is probably massive. My heat pump starting surge is around 7-8x the running amps. Also I'm assuming your sol-ark is running off grid?

 

[bstump]

Find out the LRA of your unit. If it actually runs at close to 80% of 40A then the inrush is probably massive. My heat pump starting surge is around 7-8x the running amps. Also I'm assuming your sol-ark is running off grid?

It looks like 152.9? Is that in amps? Mine is the GZ060. I have it on a 40A breaker.