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SunGoldPower 24v 6000W 240v split phase inverter charger

BarkingSpider

Carbon Lifeform
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Silicon Valley, CA
I just received this for my offgrid home project https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S4DZRSK/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1

24V 6000W inverter charger - $1099 + tax. Very heavy and well built. Initially looked very good, then some problems arose.

Just turning on the unit and having it idle consumes 155W, that's over 3700W or 3.7KW a day. Thats a whole bank of batteries needed just to turn it on and you will need a big solar array to replace that energy. If you run anything fridge / tv/ lights etc, that's in addition to this load, so if you want to run a 100W light, you will be using 255W. The only idle consumption usage numbers mentioned in the manual and sales literature is 25W. They covered the real consumption numbers up. Turns out the low rate documented is in idle/standby mode which has its own problems, making it unusable

I wanted this split phase unit to run my house off-grid 24x7, I don't want to have to turn it on and off each time I want electricity, but having an inverter use nearly 4KW a day just to idle is crazy, that's nearly the same power I use myself to run the house.

I tried Power Saver mode and that uses a fraction of the power, 25W, that looks promising, but unfortunately it doesn't work. In the standard setting, it's meant to search every 30 seconds for a load on the AC circuit, but it doesn't work. If you switch the toggle #3 on to enable a 3 second search, that does work, but only searches on 1 side of the 240 split phase, plug the same device on the other 120v leg and it doesn't work. Why? Was this a cost saving measure?

So, initially this device look great, but it consumes so much power, its not worth it, especially when its power saving feature is broken.

So you will need four 12v 100a/h batteries ($200 each) and ten 100 watt solar panels ($1000) just to run the inverter itself. Forget plugging anything into it. I tested its power consumption using 3 different methods and they all concurred. Its that bad.

What alternatives are there for whole house split phase inverters? How much idle power do the MPP units take?
sungoldpower.jpg
 
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I just received this for my offgrid home project https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S4DZRSK/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1

24V 6000W inverter charger - $1099 + tax. Very heavy and well built. Initially looked very good, then some problems arose.

Just turning on the unit and having it idle consumes 155W, that's over 3700W or 3.7KW a day. Thats a whole bank of batteries needed just to turn it on and you will need a big solar array to replace that energy. If you run anything fridge / tv/ lights etc, that's in addition to this load, so if you want to run a 100W light, you will be using 255W. The only idle consumption usage numbers mentioned in the manual and sales literature is 25W. They covered the real consumption numbers up. Turns out the low rate documented is in idle/standby mode which has its own problems, making it unusable

I wanted this split phase unit to run my house off-grid 24x7, I don't want to have to turn it on and off each time I want electricity, but having an inverter use nearly 4KW a day just to idle is crazy, that's nearly the same power I use myself to run the house.

I tried Power Saver mode and that uses a fraction of the power, 25W, that looks promising, but unfortunately it doesn't work. In the standard setting, it's meant to search every 30 seconds for a load on the AC circuit, but it doesn't work. If you switch the toggle #3 on to enable a 3 second search, that does work, but only searches on 1 side of the 240 split phase, plug the same device on the other 120v leg and it doesn't work. Why? Was this a cost saving measure?

So, initially this device look great, but it consumes so much power, its not worth it, especially when its power saving feature is broken.

So you will need four 12v 100a/h batteries ($200 each) and ten 100 watt solar panels ($1000) just to run the inverter itself. Forget plugging anything into it. I tested its power consumption using 3 different methods and they all concurred. Its that bad.

What alternatives are there for whole house split phase inverters? How much idle power do the MPP units take?
View attachment 12358
Wow... 155watts idle? Are you sure you don’t have the battery charger running? Does it consume this much if setup in UPS mode?
I am looking at one like this for my mom to run her well if power goes out... I might take yours off your hands if you find something better...
 
I did the math, and it would need 2480Wh of battery outside the 8hour daylight charging session, and that would take one 310w panel in addition to the usage array to charge those batteries...
A lot, to be sure, but don’t mix Wh and W...
 
I did the math, and it would need 2480Wh of battery outside the 8hour daylight charging session, and that would take one 310w panel in addition to the usage array to charge those batteries...
A lot, to be sure, but don’t mix Wh and W...
I disagree, you have to include daylight charging hours, I need that energy elsewhere, its power already accounted for. Meanwhile that inverter is still burning power. Look at real numbers, your 310w panel by the time it reaches the batteries is way less. And its only getting that at peak suntime hours. My numbers are based on real world usage, not brochures.

155w x 24hrs = 3,720w/h
 
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Wow... 155watts idle? Are you sure you don’t have the battery charger running? Does it consume this much if setup in UPS mode?
I am looking at one like this for my mom to run her well if power goes out... I might take yours off your hands if you find something better...
I checked and its only in inverter mode, its not even connected to a genny or external AC source yet. My other EDECOA 3500w PSW inverter only draws less than 20w at idle. How could they ever sell a device like this for off grid use? You need to be on the grid to power it! Sneakily, they don't mention any of that on the technical docs.
 
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I disagree, you have to include daylight charging hours, I need that energy elsewhere, its power already accounted for. Meanwhile that inverter is still burning power. Look at real numbers, your 310w panel by the time it reaches the batteries is way less. And its only getting that at peak suntime hours. My numbers are based on real world usage, not brochures.

155w x 24hrs = 3,720w/h
Yes, but you stated you would need 10 100 W panels just to run the inverter, my math shows that the 8 hours of daylight subtracted from the standby watts leaves 2840Wh of needed battery capacity, so an ADDITIONAL 310W panel to the array and 2840Wh battery capacity, and a single additional 180W panel should cover the daylight use needed by the inverter, so, you need added to your array, 500W of panel to cover daylight standby, and night time reserve replenishment.
Yeah... that is a LOT of solar needed to power that thing!
 
Specs on Amazon link say 48W idle - that fall's in line with what my (2016) AIMs inverter uses (52W) - so wondering if something is wrong somewhere or maybe you got a dud ??
 
Yes, but you stated you would need 10 100 W panels just to run the inverter, my math shows that the 8 hours of daylight subtracted from the standby watts leaves 2840Wh of needed battery capacity, so an ADDITIONAL 310W panel to the array and 2840Wh battery capacity, and a single additional 180W panel should cover the daylight use needed by the inverter, so, you need added to your array, 500W of panel to cover daylight standby, and night time reserve replenishment.
Yeah... that is a LOT of solar needed to power that thing!

Where can I buy these 310 watt panels that produce 310 watts every hour for 8 hours a day? I want some of those! They are more than twice as powerful as my panels.
 
Specs on Amazon link say 48W idle - that fall's in line with what my (2016) AIMs inverter uses (52W) - so wondering if something is wrong somewhere or maybe you got a dud ??
That 48w in the ad is in standby mode only, in standby it polls the AC circuit for any switched on devices and if it detects them it turns on. Unfortunately, the standby mode doesn't work as promised. (see my original post). When its running its burning 155w before you plug anything in. I found some other users now complaining about the same thing.

Looks like its only practical to be turned on for 240v devices when you need to use them, like car charging or running a dryer.
 
Got ya -- disappointing to hear as I'm was looking at these for a new project.
 
Im going to run an overnight test and check my shunts again. They seem to be working fine before. I confirmed usage with a Killawatt, my Chargery8T and those cheap units on amazon that have been great up till now. I left it warming up for few hours and the idle usage has dropped to 148w. I had not reset the counters.
The readings below are just the inverter plugged in and turned on, nothing else on the inverter.
P_20200501_185916.jpgP_20200501_185547.jpg
It was switching between 6 & 7amps on the chargery.

The Killawatt confirmed the same readings also.

What's the idle burn on the MPP 5048s like?
 
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Please do! - They look just like the AIMS so figured same manufacture somewhere in China. When I bought my last AIMS it was only ~200$ difference from China supplier -- now it's almost $700 so was hoping they support the product.
 
I eventually got a reply from the engineer at Sunpowergold and he confirmed my idle consumption readings are correct!
Apparently they recently changed to Torroidial transformers which has resulted in the > 3x higher idle consumption. They say the new transformers are more stable.
Unfortunately they did not update the sales brochures. Now they want me to ship it back to China from California to get a refund. Has anyone ever done that before?
 
This is excellent information. I was wondering what that "power save mode" really means. If I have a microwave with a clock, I am concluding that the clock will either be on and the inverter drawing 150w, or the light will be off and the inverter drawing < 25w, or the stupid thing will be going on/off as the inverter decides there is and is not a load.

From reading about the Ozinverter, my understanding is that the toroidal transformer is the best, however it must have a choke. I am curious if you've returned the inverter and whether you have a photo of the inside to see if we can spot a choke.

I am concluding that it is not easy to buy an inverter. I am looking for a 24v 4000w low frequency unit that will idle around 30w. It needs to start my AC. I also want it to have veriable speed fans so that it does not cycle on/off. It must also be able to turn on/off via a relay so that my BMS can shut it off.
 
Schneider SW404 is listed at 40w no load draw - although mine tops out at 26w (verified). Split phase 240. Good surge. Runs my whole house off-grid. Not cheap though - about $1200. And more if you get the System Control Panel and the fancy accessories. But very reliable.
 
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