Psy

Just from speaking to people, it does sound like Sunsynk offers better after-sales support than Deye. Like yourself my concern would be part availability and serviceability, nothing worse than running into an issue and having to wait months for assistance/repairs...

Y'all have some great points... For the most part I use kWh instead of Ah, it's a more relevant measure. The issue is that with lithiums you can have the same capacity but with the deeper DoD, where acid batteries can only discharge to about 50% where most good lithiums can go down to like 10% without issue. Ah does have it's place in testing etc, when testing a 100Ah I will draw 50Ah at 20A for 2,5 hours with a load tester. At that point the voltage should range between 12,2V to 12,5V and that's a good way to pick up issues with batteries that charge up to the right voltages but discharge to like 11V instead of the expected 12,5V after that time. (For customers who complain about battery life, since I don't have access to loads and other measurements this is one I can do in the lab) So at the end, it has it's uses and from a technical perspective it is a useful measure to have but kWh will serve the general public better...

Yeah, from experience you can go with higher output panels but you need the budget and space... It usually works out cheaper to get lower rating panels and they take up less space, most of setups I deal with have 455W panels at the largest and there are one or two with larger panels but that usually for industrial complexes etc. Your most important factor is the Voc (Open Circuit Voltage), you're better off using that as your guide. Getting panels that when multiplied in series exceed the voltage rating of the MPPT is going to cause trouble. You want a panel that when connecting 2 or 3 in series the Voc lands below the MPPT max and as close to the recommended MPPT voltage as possible. You can always add some parallel strings to increase current and power output, just make sure you're using the Voc instead of the Vcc (Closed Circuit Voltage).

You're welcome, always happy to help in any way I can and wish I had more concrete help for you. Yeah at this point we need someone more familiar with Growatt to advise, there may be something small causing your issues but as mentioned my experience with these is minimal at best... I work with Axperts a lot but haven't had a chance to play with Growatt. Oh and fyi, just in case you didn't know, the Macer 3kW is just another Axpert... There are a couple companies like MCE Electrical that may have units available, the performance is like 1-to-1 and at least places like that will help you if you have any issues with the unit.

This is correct, your bulk charge will usually head up to 14,3V before reducing back down to float. 13,7V float is great and what you would expect to see. As long as they're returning to about 13,5V float then you are on track. On the brighter side the Growatt won't damage your batteries, LiFePO4 batteries are more than happy to keep on keeping on with a charge cycle between 30%-90%. Lithium can handle not being fully charged and it shouldn't cause issues, so I cannot imagine why it ran flat... Because I am not used to working with Growatt, there are a few things I don't know that hopefully someone else will have the exact answers. But, it looks like your charge voltages need adjusting. Now many inverters need to be in "Stand by" (Unit is on but not producing output) mode in order to change certain settings, so that could be an issue. It could also be a "Back to charge" or "Charge when grid is available" setting that is incorrect. Just go through, often a silly setting like that can be missed completely messing with the charge cycles etc. Otherwise, most of these inverters that do not have BMS use a voltage monitor to manage the batteries. These voltmeters come with a +-20% accuracy and it is possible the Growatt is reading a little off and is thus not charging. Does your feedback from the inverter match the data provided by the Hubble balancer?

Happy new year and welcome back folks! While the rain was one thing, the intensification of load shedding is slowly wrecking my batteries... Since I'm in a complex I am not allowed panels as per the governing body for the property. So my batteries were made to work this season, I spent days without power and there was often so little time between outages that the batteries barely got a chance to charge (The biggest issue with any grid tied system that needs AC to charge). So while my KwH produced is at an all time high my batteries are at an all time low, they seem to be maxing out at about 25,7V now instead of the expected +-27V. So starting the year off on a good note this side 🤣

Hey Peter, I hope you don't mind me asking, is there a reason you want to avoid Axpert and what about the Growatt was so bad you want to replace it? So finding a 3kW inverter with BMS would be tough, because of the 24V nature of the unit they are designed for AGM/Gel since Li-12V batteries aren't very common and often end up being too expensive but you can always integrate your own BMS. Otherwise, if you can find a decent Axpert from a good/trustworthy supplier it should perform like a dream. However, that depends on why you aren't happy with the Growatt

@jumperhas some very good points, sadly I am also not too familiar with Greenrich but I know Voltronics. Just to add on to the RJ45 cable PIN configuration. After checking the manual for the battery, your PINS seem fine but you should have wires in pins 4-8 on the battery side and the invert should have cables in 3,5,6,7 and 8. If you already have the RS485 and CAN both wired with 5 strands on each side please ignore me, but I know a lot of people think you need to wire one or the other but both should be done to limit frustrations during setup. Plus it sounds like the PIN config will DC anything unnecessary with resistance if configured right so hopefully someone else will be able to0 confirm what's the right DIP config. Otherwise, "User Defined" works using the voltmeter (Which can be a little hit or miss) and that is how the inverter works out SOC etc. So user defined should work normally but it can give you some odd readings...

Heya, welcome to the PF community! I know how frustrating that must have been but hope we can help you come to a solid conclusion... 1. Speaking from experience, most places will refuse warranty claims without CoC and relevant protections like a surge arrestor etc. This includes fuses on the battery lines and a combiner box with fuses and an isolator, any good sparky would make sure these safety precautions are in place. Plus, with all this protection etc, it's a lot easier to mark a warranty claim as valid... 2. Most systems will either have a CT coil or a DIN power meter, as part of the monitoring systems. I am not too certain about Sunsynk but I have seen inverters that will not give you stats on the grid connection without a CT coil/DIN power meter. 3. Depends on the specs of the MPPT. I think the info below is the MPPT spec for the 5kW Sunsynk: If that is correct then either one should be fine, as you can see they have the exact same specs and should be within the MPPT limit: 49.75 x 8 = 398V So it becomes more of a personal choice, I know Canadian has a great reputation but I haven't heard anything about the JA so it should be fine either way...

Oh snap, I am so sorry I forgot the VM doesn't show battery current on the face. If you have a tong tester or multimeter you can try checking it that way... Although, @jumper has got a point. These do use voltage monitoring to determine battery level and I have been told there is like 20% discrepancy. Look if you are getting good runtime from the batteries then it's no big deal and it can be chalked up to the voltmeter. If the the Synapse lasted substantially longer than the Mecer, then you may need to take a closer look at the system...

Look, to be honest I have seen people drive batteries into the ground a week after purchasing... there are ways that it could be the battery but do the test and check the currents. No point speculating and guessing, check the current draw and compare...

Yeah, getting into solar is rough... look if you are ok with buying a system that will be temporary before buying a bigger system you can look into the 3kW Axpert with 2 gel/AGM batteries... together it should be in the ball park of 12-15k for the inverter and 2 batteries depending on where you shop. That is the cheap option just to get started, the system should only last a couple years but it'll give you time to save up for a decent system one day. Plus, if you get the DBs, breakers, etc speced for a bigger system already it is just swapping the inverter and batteries when you do upgrade... I am with @Superflyin that lead-acid has many issues and it's far from a perfect solution, solar is a long term game for those of use who can't afford to drop like 100K on a system off the bat. Plus, if you take care of the inverter you could resell it later to another poor soul who wants to look into solar options on the cheap 😅🤙

The BMS communication protocols supported by these units are AGM, Flooded, User Defined, Pylontech, Weco, Soltaro, Lib, 3rd party (LIC). Ask the manufacturer/supplier if the unit supports any of these communication protocols. If not, you can use the "User Defined" battery type and configure the bulk, float, etc as per the battery manual. If you can offer more specifics about the battery and inverter model, I would be more than happy to offer more specific advice?

Ok so when trying to measure in DC the voltage is over 300V, I'll need a scope to confirm but I somehow doubt its putting out DC.I want to check that octo and the resistor ladder but we're closing today so I'll probably pick it up in the new year... I'll prolly return to this thread in Jan, hopefully I'll have the scope back by then. I always appreciate your feedback @Coulomb and hope to have some feedback for you soon 🤙

Yeah, nuisance tripping is a common issue with the Axperts. This was a massive topic at one point, you can read more here: However, TLDR, Neutral bonding is usually the solution... I would advise checking the earth current when this happens just to make sure its just enough to trip the earth leakage, if its like an amp or two there may be deeper issues at play.

Yeah, I know a few people who cannot stop talking about these Gizzu units. It's a great low current battery pack for routers and apparently alarm systems as well. My only concern would be the charging cycle, while you can skip float charge with lithium the bulk charge up to 14,5V is important. Without that high voltage bulk, there is a chance the battery isn't being fully charge. @frivan, I was wondering if you could advise on this? Is the Gizzu reading as fully charged after a charge cycle, if you are able to check the voltage of the battery that would also be really appreciated?

These settings seem about right, most AGM/Flooded batteries need to charge up to 57V bulk. The easiest yay to make sure the batteries are being fully charged, let them complete a charge cycle and disconnect them from the system for a second. The banks voltage should be 54-53V, if it's too low then its possible bad charging has effected the batteries... but that's unlikely with 4 month old batteries unless you're riding them into the ground. If the cutoff is around 44V then they should disconnect before any damage can be done. Charging current could be a factor, but the Mecer should be more than capable of matching the charging current's of the 3kW Synapse. What the Mecer can do that the Synapse cannot is draw more current. There are deepcycles that run fine on lower amp loads but deplete in no time if the discharging current it too high, the unit should tell you how many amps are being drawn on the AC side. It may be worth comparing the current drawn from the Synapse and Mecer to see if that could be a factor?

I cannot discount your points, they are all valid and increased capacity is always more than welcome. My only point of contention is charging... If you have the solar available to fully charge the batteries and support your load, you are more than set. I have seen so many people bringing batteries in here because charge management was thrown out the window. A lot of installers set it up to support load first, charge secondary but don't make sure there is enough to charge the batteries or they use grid as a source to charge the batteries which doesn't save money. With the addition of another battery, the charging time doubles or the charging current doubles, forget this and you'll run the batteries into the ground in no time flat. So make sure you understand this dynamic before throwing another battery onto your system...

Look, I may be relatively new when compared to other members but I love this forum. I have learned so much here, gotten loads of help and tried my best to help others. This really is my favorite community at the moment and cannot tell you how much I appreciate it being here and the fact that you're still doing stuff to make it even better! If you ever need help maintaining this great community, please do not hesitate to ask and myself and many others would be more than happy to help in any way we can... Otherwise, we appreciate you and have a great festive season to you and the rest of our "little" community! 🤙

Heya, in these situations I usually spec the system as per the units maximum output when running from battery. At the end of the day, you shouldn't have a load larger than the units ability to support anyway. So the 25A is fine, a 40A load running through the inverter may be fine on-grid but it'll burn out the second the power drops... does that make sense?

Oh I totally agree, I have just found that I can use this to try diagnose better. Since the unit causes mains to trip with that in place this way I can get grid going and monitor the behavior for diagnostics. With the screw in it will not remain connected to grid and keeps causing the EL to trip... Because of this I now know the voltage drops to 0V and gradually increases until reaching the 270V mentioned, which is the part that is throwing me. I know they had issues with the earthing contact a while ago after speaking to some of the folks that dealt with it, so that is possible considering the unit is a couple years old... so hearing it from someone else lets me know I have the right starting point. I'll try testing the relay and let you know how it goes!

Goood day folks, I was wondering if anyone else has seen this? I have an MKS that constantly strip the earth leakage, I removed one of the earthing screws (The one near grid in) and the tripping has stopped but now the unit cuts off when connected to grid and slowly builds up from 9V to 270V on a 230V grid connection. I think I know what's happening here but not very sure and hoping for a little feedback if anyone has dealt with this yet... @Coulomb, you don't by any chance have experience with this yet?

I have never worked with a FiveStar but here is some general Li-battery troubleshooting, it sounds like there is something wrong with the comms between the 2 batteries. If you're only getting one battery; check if there is an RJ45 jumper missing, check that the comms cables are all connected correctly and make sure the addresses for both batteries are set right.

Thanks for clarifying, sadly this isn't an inverter I am very familiar with but it looks like one of the Axperts and it integrates with WatchPower. However, when checking the manuals it seems as if there isn't any mention of a "User Defined" battery type. So the battery type dictates the voltages etc used for charging and if you cannot set these points the chances of overvolting is quite high... If you can set the unit up without a battery for now and open WatchPower, check what battery settings you have control over with this unit and take it from there. 👍

Depends on a couple variables... do you mind posting the battery and inverter models? There are Axperts that don't have settings for lithium's but they can work just fine and there are batteries with a BMS capable of making AGM work, so it depends on what you got.