What I Love and Hate about the mpp lv6548

[DefyTheGrid]

Ok, so we're moving and all of my hard work on the farm is going to someone else. Immediately after turning the mpp lv6548 inverters on,
I hated the following:
1. The fan noise - They are freaking noisy!!!
2. They consume a lot of power at idle.
3. They are not compatible with my 48v 200ah UFO batteries (of which I was able to manually set up).
4. The fans get really dusty with my dogs in the room.
5. Not ok to put outside close to the panels (not waterproof or dust resistant)

Are there any known models out there that address these issues? I would assume if the noise issue can't be resolved, we'd just need to install them in their own shed or something.

What I love about them:
1. They pack a punch with input and output
2. x2 PV inputs up to 250v each
3. Fairly simple to set up
4. They don't backfeed the grid
5. The price is amazing at around $1200

With our new adventure, I'd love your advice on what I should do for my next inverters!

 

[Zwy]

Watts 247 still has some for sale, however he doesn't offer support anymore and later manufacture dates may have had hardware changes similar to some of the hardware changes in the EG4 6500EX which was problem prone.

You could have taken the LV6548's with you that had as they were proven performers and bought a new pair from Watts 247 and installed those. I'm in the same boat as you at this time, I will be adding a system to my shop and have looked at various inverters out there. I'm doing this on the cheap, I want to see how far I can stretch the dollar this time just to see quick I can get the ROI.

I'm currently waiting until the release of the SRNE 10Kw units that can be stacked in parallel. SRNE told me yesterday the units will be released in March 2024. Maybe I'll be the guinea pig on this one. 20Kw of output at under $2K per unit would just about beat out the competition. I don't need fancy bells and whistles, just the ability to interface with Solar Assistant to track usage and remote access. Other than that, if they invert and charge batteries, I'm good. Less things to go wrong.

I did have a company on Alibaba tell me they currently have a 12Kw unit that can be paralleled already (plus can be used for 3 phase) but I'm not certain exactly what they are selling. I do know the SRNE units some members are using have worked very well.

Either that or Sol Ark will hang on the wall at this point. If James decided to give away 18Kpv units in a BOGO, I might spring for one.

 

[DefyTheGrid]

Watts 247 still has some for sale, however he doesn't offer support anymore and later manufacture dates may have had hardware changes similar to some of the hardware changes in the EG4 6500EX which was problem prone.

You could have taken the LV6548's with you that had as they were proven performers and bought a new pair from Watts 247 and installed those. I'm in the same boat as you at this time, I will be adding a system to my shop and have looked at various inverters out there. I'm doing this on the cheap, I want to see how far I can stretch the dollar this time just to see quick I can get the ROI.

I'm currently waiting until the release of the SRNE 10Kw units that can be stacked in parallel. SRNE told me yesterday the units will be released in March 2024. Maybe I'll be the guinea pig on this one. 20Kw of output at under $2K per unit would just about beat out the competition. I don't need fancy bells and whistles, just the ability to interface with Solar Assistant to track usage and remote access. Other than that, if they invert and charge batteries, I'm good. Less things to go wrong.

I did have a company on Alibaba tell me they currently have a 12Kw unit that can be paralleled already (plus can be used for 3 phase) but I'm not certain exactly what they are selling. I do know the SRNE units some members are using have worked very well.

Either that or Sol Ark will hang on the wall at this point. If James decided to give away 18Kpv units in a BOGO, I might spring for one.

Oh you're in Iowa? We're planning on moving next door to Missouri. I was a little depressed that the sun doesn't shine as much there, but since you're doing solar, I guess it isn't too bad. Good thing about MO is there's no inspections in the county so UL isn't too much of an issue.

Funny thing is Watts247 is in our city here in Utah. I can probably pop by and ask him about my pain points and about affordable solutions.

 

[DefyTheGrid]

What do you think of the EG4 6500EX vs LV6548 inverters? Is there really a difference besides the 480v inputs?

 

[OffGridForGood]

5. The price is amazing at around $1200

Actually - these are listed on Watts247 at $899 each, and you could drive over there to pick them up !
If 13kW output will serve your needs, these are (still) solid inverters.
Another option, nicer features are the EG4 6000XP which are pretty budget priced.

Depends on what features you need, and budget.

I'm currently waiting until the release of the SRNE 10Kw units that can be stacked in parallel. SRNE told me yesterday the units will be released in March 2024. Maybe I'll be the guinea pig on this one. 20Kw of output at under $2K per unit would just about beat out the competition. I don't need fancy bells and whistles, just the ability to interface with Solar Assistant to track usage and remote access. Other than that, if they invert and charge batteries, I'm good. Less things to go wrong.

I did have a company on Alibaba tell me they currently have a 12Kw unit that can be paralleled already (plus can be used for 3 phase) but I'm not certain exactly what they are selling. I do know the SRNE units some members are using have worked very well.

Me Too!
I would really like to upgrade my three 6048's to two 12kW output parallel inverters, the sticking point is - how do I know if these new units will perform? how do I know if the software is going to let me down? As you say, there seems to be a few 10-12kw parallelable options coming down the line in 2024. It would sure be nice if you could buy a couple and test them out and report back for all the rest of us!

 

[Zwy]

Oh you're in Iowa? We're planning on moving next door to Missouri. I was a little depressed that the sun doesn't shine as much there, but since you're doing solar, I guess it isn't too bad. Good thing about MO is there's no inspections in the county so UL isn't too much of an issue.

Ran off grid except the occasional day in October and November. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/5th-day-of-no-sun.71590/

December was good until the last 8 days of no sun. It should turn around today and after a few days I should be back to 100% SOC. I'll be adding another 4400W of PV in 2024 and that will help plus probably another battery or two.

Funny thing is Watts247 is in our city here in Utah. I can probably pop by and ask him about my pain points and about affordable solutions.

I would go buy a pair of LV6548's from him, install those in place of the pair you currently use, see how they work and then decide if you want to keep the old pair or move the new pair with you to MO.

What do you think of the EG4 6500EX vs LV6548 inverters? Is there really a difference besides the 480v inputs?

I originally purchased the LV6548's, didn't get them installed, but moved my array farther away and wanted higher PV voltage strings due to the distance. So I purchased a pair of EG4 6500EX's and ended up wasting probably well over 100 hours of my life I will never get back. The light flicker was horrendous. They agreed to warranty the units, I sent them back, split my array in half to get under 250VOC and installed the LV6548's. No light flicker, no other problems. When the replacement 6500EX's arrived, I installed them and had light flicker, glowing lights with switches off. One day was all I left them in, I pulled the 6500EX's off the wall and put the LV6548's back up. I did purchase a pair of EG4 MPPT's and installed those in order to run the higher voltage strings.

One advantage is now I can add the 4400W of PV and just use the LV6548 MPPT's which are not currently in use. I won't need to purchase anything for adding the PV other than the mount, wiring and disconnects.