Sol-Ark problems by David Poz.. anyone else?

[Samsonite801]

Saw it but at this point I am not really interested one way or the other.
I already knew the Transformer would fix his particular problem or he could have simply updated the firmware.

Is there some Sol-Ark documentation like Firmware Release Notes or something that can back how a firmware update could make the inverter handle more than 4800w on either line to neutral?

 

[robby]

So the take away from this is the solark branded version needs solaredge components to work properly in an offgrid environment.....

No the Take away from this is that we watched almost 1 hour of David Poz not realizing the very basics of Solar Inverters, compounded by the fact that he will not read the manual and refuses to ask Sol-Ark or even his friend Ben for advice. If it had not been for all the backlash on him, this would have been a nice hit job on the Sol-Ark and he would have gotten a Pat on the back from his sponsor.

If you like watching videos of a guy muddling through something without any knowledge on the subject then he's your man. According to him he spent several days searching for why the Sol-Ark was overloading. He thought it could deliver all 9KW to a single leg, Really!!

I hear that even though Sol-Ark has two labels on the system they are updating it for him.

If he really did not understand what this meant then he really should not be fooling around with Electrical equipment. This stuff is no joke, those gloves he wears wont do crap for him if he gets his hands on the wrong wire. Lots of amateur wanna be electricians get electrocuted every year due to a lack of understanding of electricity. Electricity is a sneaky beast that can lull you into a sense of complacency.

Lastly you don't need an Autotransformer with the Sol-Ark to do what he just did. He could have also updated the Firmware and gotten 5200W out of the Leg for a period of time, so long as he did not go past 1600W of unbalanced load. The error message mix up he had was also most likely due to him using the very first release of the firmware while reading the error code list from latest version of the online Manual. Everyone knows always update your firmware.

I will agree with one thing he said, the Sol-Ark is not for him.

 

[Samsonite801]

I guess maybe perhaps you shouldn't watch his videos anymore if you don't really like them.

BTW, he did go over several of these points, he did mention he reached out to Sol-Ark and spoke with them. Also in your screenshot where you say 'David Poz Please Read This', he actually posted that same sticker on both videos indicating this point about 4800w per line to neutral.

Be nice to your fellow brother, he didn't do anything wrong, I love his videos, and his demeanor, I don't care if he is working for any sponsor, we all have jobs and have to figure out how to put bread on the table for our families, please try to lighten up...

I think he does a great job on showcasing products he may sponsor, but also I never saw him bashing anything he doesn't, and as you had indicated, he did say the Sol-Ark simply wasn't for him, based on their household power requirements and equipment budget.

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

I guess maybe perhaps you shouldn't watch his videos anymore if you don't really like them.

BTW, he did go over several of these points, he did mention he reached out to Sol-Ark and spoke with them. Also in your screenshot where you say 'David Poz Please Read This', he actually posted that same sticker on both videos indicating this point about 4800w per line to neutral.

Be nice to your fellow brother, he didn't do anything wrong, I love his videos, and his demeanor, I don't care if he is working for any sponsor, we all have jobs and have to figure out how to put bread on the table for our families, please try to lighten up...

I think he does a great job on showcasing products he may sponsor, but also I never saw him bashing anything he doesn't, and as you had indicated, he did say it simply wasn't for him.

I agree - been watching @DavidPoz for a loooong time now, and he's very straightforward and includes a lot of detail. The whole point of this site and other 'good ones' is just to share and let the DIY'er learn/choose what's good for their specific view/situation. No need to discourage honest sharing

 

[Roqm]

No the Take away from this is that we watched almost 1 hour of David Poz not realizing the very basics of Solar Inverters, compounded by the fact that he will not read the manual and refuses to ask Sol-Ark or even his friend Ben for advice.

Just in case you missed it ben has updated firmware on his and experienced similar issues while he ac couples and is grid tied and while using a solar edge autotransformer he reduced his issues....so apparently the firmware update isnt the soulution and lastly if a autotransformer is not needed why did solark tell david to use one? Why did engineer775 tell david to use it(even tho he doesnt use any in his videos)

 

[Roqm]

Check the video comments other owners have had simular issues...no one is saying its a bad inverter just people pushing it to see the weak points so they can come up with ways to make something good better, but i guess its a matter of perspective.

 

[Quattrohead]

You obviously dont watch his videos

I know what I watch thanks.
I just checked again and it is a substantial imbalance that trips the inverter, not outright load on a leg.
That could well be problematic for a kitchen circuit if you have the kettle and toaster on like I do most mornings.
Bottom line is that unit was not designed for the USA split phase system and they had to bodge it to make it work.

 

[Roqm]

I know what I watch thanks.
I just checked again and it is a substantial imbalance that trips the inverter, not outright load on a leg.
That could well be problematic for a kitchen circuit if you have the kettle and toaster on like I do most mornings.
Bottom line is that unit was not designed for the USA split phase system and they had to bodge it to make it work.

Yip like we do with repurposed batteries for our systems its not strange to come up with a workaround...

 

[Samsonite801]

I know what I watch thanks.
I just checked again and it is a substantial imbalance that trips the inverter, not outright load on a leg.
That could well be problematic for a kitchen circuit if you have the kettle and toaster on like I do most mornings.
Bottom line is that unit was not designed for the USA split phase system and they had to bodge it to make it work.

Actually the real bottom line is that it's not sized appropriately for this application. You can stack something like up to 6 Sol-Arks together to meet any demand you have, even 3-phase if needed. One Sol-Ark in single configuration will do fine for an entry-level system on a critical loads panel for many applications, but if you exceed the limit then you just need deeper pockets to stack more.

 

[robby]

I guess maybe perhaps you shouldn't watch his videos anymore if you don't really like them.

BTW, he did go over several of these points, he did mention he reached out to Sol-Ark and spoke with them. Also in your screenshot where you say 'David Poz Please Read This', he actually posted that same sticker on both videos indicating this point about 4800w per line to neutral.

I don't normally watch his videos. I stopped once I realized that he had Zero technical knowledge. I don't mind YouTubers who work their way through problems that are on the cutting edge like the "The Thought Emporium" but when a guy is going to do basic videos I expect him to have at least a basic understanding of what he is talking about.

And BTW No! He clearly stated "All this time I thought I was drawing over 9KW from the system" (6:05) Then after several days of searching for the problem he realized that the sticker value of 4800W meant the power limit of L-N at 120V, He then states "I made an incorrect assumption that it meant the imbalance allowed between the two phases" (6:25). Now how on earth do you interpret a L-N power rating as a power imbalance number?
If someone asks this question in the beginners section of the forum then it's no big deal but when your making a review that directly effects a company and the dozens of American employees that depend on that pay check for a living the least you can do is make sure you understand the basics.

Be nice to your fellow brother, he didn't do anything wrong, I love his videos, and his demeanor, I don't care if he is working for any sponsor, we all have jobs and have to figure out how to put bread on the table for our families, please try to lighten up...

And here in lies the problem, he is trying to put food on his table by making a sensational video that gets the most amount of views and promotes Growatt at the same time. His second video created an incomplete narrative on the product that most certainly has a negative effect on Sol-Ark. Do you have an issue with this if a drop in sales for Sol-Ark due to his previous video causes a few people to be laid off? How do they put bread on the table for their families?

I think he does a great job on showcasing products he may sponsor, but also I never saw him bashing anything he doesn't, and as you had indicated, he did say the Sol-Ark simply wasn't for him, based on their household power requirements and equipment budget.

You did not watch the previous Sol-Ark video? I think he did a pretty good job at bashing it.

 

[robby]

Just in case you missed it ben has updated firmware on his and experienced similar issues while he ac couples and is grid tied and while using a solar edge autotransformer he reduced his issues....so apparently the firmware update isnt the soulution and lastly if a autotransformer is not needed why did solark tell david to use one? Why did engineer775 tell david to use it(even tho he doesnt use any in his videos)

Ben shot that video 5 months ago. Sol-Ark drops updates just about every 8 weeks. I tested mine 5 months ago around the same time as Ben and it tripped at 9.5KW.
Sol-Ark has since introduced a new update that says it will do 5.2KW per leg before tripping. I updated then turned on the same loads again and it did not trip at 9.5KW. I did not push it any further because I rarely go past 7Kw in the house anyway.

You seem to have an issue reading my posts.
I said I knew the Transformer would fix his problem and I said he also could have fixed it Via a firmware update. Either one of them would have gotten him up to the wattage he needed. The only thing a firmware update would not fix in his demonstration is a load that is unbalanced by more than 1600W.

 

[Roqm]

Ben shot that video 5 months ago. Sol-Ark drops updates just about every 8 weeks. I tested mine 5 months ago around the same time as Ben and it tripped at 9.5KW.
Sol-Ark has since introduced a new update that says it will do 5.2KW per leg before tripping. I updated then turned on the same loads again and it did not trip at 9.5KW. I did not push it any further because I rarely go past 7Kw in the house anyway.

You seem to have an issue reading my posts.
I said I knew the Transformer would fix his problem and I said he also could have fixed it Via a firmware update. Either one of them would have gotten him up to the wattage he needed. The only thing a firmware update would not fix in his demonstration is a load that is unbalanced by more than 1600W.

Hey there, i have no issue reading your post but the info your now providing some of us would not know, i for one didnt know they have an improvement that puts them up to 5.2kw per leg, which is very interesting, this is the kind of info they should have detailed in a reasonable response to david in his first video as opposed to how they handled it poorly/distasteful in the comment section. Nothing is perfect but for optics and clarity they could have done a much better job and pushed proper detailed information about how they had that issue and managed to overcome it and still working to make it better(if they are).

 

[robby]

Hey there, i have no issue reading your post but the info your now providing some of us would not know, i for one didnt know they have an improvement that puts them up to 5.2kw per leg, which is very interesting, this is the kind of info they should have detailed in a reasonable response to david in his first video as opposed to how they handled it poorly/distasteful in the comment section. Nothing is perfect but for optics and clarity they could have done a much better job and pushed proper detailed information about how they had that issue and managed to overcome it and still working to make it better(if they are).

It's surge power for a period of time! They still don't want you going over 4800W per leg.
As far as I know it was told to him in one of the six Sol-Ark comments that he deleted.

 

[Samsonite801]

And BTW No! He clearly stated "All this time I thought I was drawing over 9KW from the system" (6:05) Then after several days of searching for the problem he realized that the sticker value of 4800W meant the power limit of L-N at 120V, He then states "I made an incorrect assumption that it meant the imbalance allowed between the two phases" (6:25). Now how on earth do you interpret a L-N power rating as a power imbalance number?
If someone asks this question in the beginners section of the forum then it's no big deal but when your making a review that directly effects a company and the dozens of American employees that depend on that pay check for a living the least you can do is make sure you understand the basics.


You did not watch the previous Sol-Ark video? I think he did a pretty good job at bashing it.

Yeah well, in my opinion, he did all the right stuff any good-hearted human would do. I would've done the same. If I made an assumption and was wrong (knock on wood I'm human), I would disclose my misunderstanding, and bring everyone up to speed on what I found. He didn't have to include the part in his video about him making a bad assumption, we would've never known if he didn't tell us. I just like how he will still tell his whole story about what he discovered along his particular journey, including all the pitfalls, a real DIY story... He's always ever just claimed to be a DIY'er like the rest of us, learning as he goes, no sinister claims made in my eyes...


On your last point, yeah I saw the whole video. I don't remember every detail, but I must not have taken it as to be a bashing, if it was, it wasn't something I placed any emphasis on. I'm not really the kind of guy to make a judgement about what product to buy based on an opinion someone has about it anyways.

I still love Sol-Arks, and Growatts are cool too. I happened to buy a pair of MPP since I don't really want to spend 16k on inverters, but most of our shareholders out on our agricultural co-op did purchase EMP-hardened Sol-Arks and they all love them. If they ever load them down beyond 4300w per leg, they will have to figure out what is the next logical step beyond that, maybe bite the bullet and buy a second one.

I don't really get all wrapped up in the drama of arguing who is better Chevy, Ford or Dodge (for example) ...When I was a kid, I just happened to own a 5.0L Mustang, and so I always got a kick out of arguing with the Chevy and Mopar guys because they would take it so seriously, like they wanted to fight about it or something, when I really liked things about all the vendors, they all have their unique qualities hehe....

 

[copec]

Is it 1600W load difference between legs only when going *over* 4800W? I have more than 1600W load difference between legs all the time on my Deye 8k, and it hasn't had a problem (in off-grid mode).

I've been planning to get an autotransformer for a while, so if we ever experience prolonged electrical outages I don't have to worry about a normal routine tripping it.

 

[Cheap 4-life]

Is it 1600W load difference between legs only when going *over* 4800W? I have more than 1600W load difference between legs all the time on my Deye 8k, and it hasn't had a problem (in off-grid mode).

I've been planning to get an autotransformer for a while, so if we ever experience prolonged electrical outages I don't have to worry about a normal routine tripping it.

Interesting that the Deye doesn’t trip but the SolArk does. The 4800w your referring to is the max either leg can use. If over 4800w it trips. The 1600w your referring to is the load difference per leg with any amount of total load.. 1600w seems very low to me.. I can see how many people would be tripping the SolArk.. only a 1600w load difference before the inverter will trip is to low

 

[robby]

Interesting that the Deye doesn’t trip but the SolArk does. The 4800w your referring to is the max either leg can use. If over 4800w it trips. The 1600w your referring to is the load difference per leg with any amount of total load.. 1600w seems very low to me.. I can see how many people would be tripping the SolArk.. only a 1600w load difference before the inverter will trip is to low

That is 1600W of unbalanced load when one leg is at maximum load. It's not going to trip if L1=2500W and L2=4100W. I have 1600W of difference on my Sol-Ark all the time.

If I put 4 slices of bread in the toaster that's 2400W increase on one leg and I have no tripping issues.
I have done lots of tests with the Grid off so that I know what to expect during a power outage.
As I said before, I had to push my whole house off grid up to 9500W to get the Sol-Ark to trip a few days after it was commissioned. Since the latest update I tried that again and it did not trip.

 

[Cheap 4-life]

That is 1600W of unbalanced load when one leg is at maximum load. It's not going to trip if L1=2500W and L2=4100W. I have 1600W of difference on my Sol-Ark all the time.

If I put 4 slices of bread in the toaster that's 2400W increase on one leg and I have no tripping issues.
I have done lots of tests with the Grid off so that I know what to expect during a power outage.
As I said before, I had to push my whole house off grid up to 9500W to get the Sol-Ark to trip a few days after it was commissioned. Since the latest update I tried that again and it did not trip.

I guess I read wrong then...
If one leg is at the maximum 4500w (or whatever the max amount per leg is) then isn’t it about to trip the inverter anyways regardless of the amount of unbalanced load? So if your L2 was at max watts for that leg but under max by 1 watt then the inverter would not trip if there’s 2500w on L1? But if L2 loads go up by that one watt and therefore over max per leg then the inverter will trip if L1 still needs 2500w?

 

[robby]

I guess I read wrong then...
If one leg is at the maximum 4500w (or whatever the max amount per leg is) then isn’t it about to trip the inverter anyways regardless of the amount of unbalanced load? So if your L2 was at max watts for that leg but under max by 1 watt then the inverter would not trip if there’s 2500w on L1? But if L2 loads go up by that one watt and therefore over max per leg then the inverter will trip if L1 still needs 2500w?

Yep it would do 4800W per leg but that is now up to 5Kw+ per leg after the update. If you pass that on any one of the Legs then yes it will trip. My house is typically consuming 2200-2500W all the time due to My Salt Water Aquarium and it's Lighting system, Pumps and Chiller plus the Houses 26Cu Fridge and misc other stuff.
For several hours per day the power may hit 6500W but that is only when the Water heater and 2x 12000BTU Split AC's are running. It is pretty darn hard to get up to 9KW. I have to add on the Dryer and washer plus Microwave to get to that number and it still wont trip because I made sure to balance my Panel box.

 

[Jim Lee]

I saw the first video and knew exactly how this was going to turn out. I knew he was just going to throw enough unbalanced load on it to keep tripping the unit. What he needed to do was simply balance his 120V loads so that they are not all on the same leg and creating a massive imbalance.

My Inverter has only tripped once and that was when I deliberately turned on almost everything in the house to get to 9.5KW. His first big issue was not moving his breakers around to distribute the high wattage 120V plugs evenly and the second is that he is running very old firmware that was very conservative. Before I updated mine it would cut out just about 9.5KW. After the update I tried back the same load and it did not trip out. My electric bill pre solar was 1600 KWh a month and KWh used per month has only gone up since we got solar and I have had zero problems.

Even his own test involves putting 4630W on L2 and only 2871W on L1 was flawed.. If he had plugged that second space heater into L1 the inverter would not have tripped and he could have even plugged in a third one into L1 without tripping the unit.
I started thinking that the fact that Growatt and Gyll sponsor his channel made it a bit suspicious but then when he would not tell people how or from whom he "borrowed" a $7K Inverter, I got even more suspicious.

Bottom line is that he probably needs a bigger inverter for his house than the Sol-Ark and number two is that he basically used a high end Inverter as nothing more than a simple battery Inverter. He did not demonstrate a single one of the many features that make the Sol-Ark so nice to own.

So the answer is putting a note on every plug in the house as to what can be plugged in or just move breakers around daily as the kids plug new stuff in not caring whether the electrical is balanced on each phase. If you ask most kids ( or adult as far as that goes) where electricity comes from they look at you and say from the plugs of course.