ards1184019 Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Hi everyone, I am posting my query for a problem of my solar inverter I am facing since 5 years and still not found any solution to it. I have Solar Inverter Model: Crown Micro Recardo VM-III 3KVA (24V) with lead acid batteries and 3000 watt of solar string (Single). I am totally OFF Grid and there are certain days when the solar power is not able to charge the batteries so I have to suffer with power outages at night times. I have connected the Generator with my solar inverter Mains Input port and when the generator is fired up the input voltage is detected by inverter which remains within 220 volt to 230 volt and Frequency very between 50hz to 52hz but the inverter does not provide power output not starts charging the battery packs Please help in this regards. I shall be very thankful to you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorp007 Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) 15 hours ago, ards1184019 said: Hi everyone, I am posting my query for a problem of my solar inverter I am facing since 5 years and still not found any solution to it. I have Solar Inverter Model: Crown Micro Recardo VM-III 3KVA (24V) with lead acid batteries and 3000 watt of solar string (Single). I am totally OFF Grid and there are certain days when the solar power is not able to charge the batteries so I have to suffer with power outages at night times. I have connected the Generator with my solar inverter Mains Input port and when the generator is fired up the input voltage is detected by inverter which remains within 220 volt to 230 volt and Frequency very between 50hz to 52hz but the inverter does not provide power output not starts charging the battery packs Please help in this regards. I shall be very thankful to you all These inverter are very sensitive for the quality of supply from the genny. I would try switching of Your loads and set a low like 10-20A charge current for the AC charging. Then see if the genny does charge and inverter stays on and show a AC input. If it works you can gradually increase the charging amps. 5 yrs of battling is a long time. You can also get the cheap metal can 220/24V power supplies and connect it to the genny AC and then connect directly on the battery. They normally cannot over charge as the output is lower than the voltage needed to charge a battery full but will at least help on the bad PV days. https://www.robotics.org.za/LRS-350-24?search=24v power Edited July 30 by Scorp007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) 18 hours ago, ards1184019 said: Hi everyone, I am posting my query for a problem of my solar inverter I am facing since 5 years and still not found any solution to it. I have Solar Inverter Model: Crown Micro Recardo VM-III 3KVA (24V) with lead acid batteries and 3000 watt of solar string (Single). I am totally OFF Grid and there are certain days when the solar power is not able to charge the batteries so I have to suffer with power outages at night times. I have connected the Generator with my solar inverter Mains Input port and when the generator is fired up the input voltage is detected by inverter which remains within 220 volt to 230 volt and Frequency very between 50hz to 52hz but the inverter does not provide power output not starts charging the battery packs Please help in this regards. I shall be very thankful to you all This is odd as i have installed many of these 3kva 24v Voltronic inverters and with the installation a manual transfer switch between utility and generator and never had an issue with the inverter not accepting the generator as an input power source. Your inverter is a re-branded Axpert VMIII(Voltronic) with the detachable screen. I have connected 5kva generators to many of these types of inverter without any problems, supplying power and charging batteries. What type and size is your generator and in which province are you stationed? Edited July 30 by TaliaB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 (edited) 9 hours ago, Scorp007 said: These inverter are very sensitive for the quality of supply from the genny. I would try switching of Your loads and set a low like 10-20A charge current for the AC charging. Then see if the genny does charge and inverter stays on and show a AC input. If it works you can gradually increase the charging amps. 5 yrs of battling is a long time. You can also get the cheap metal can 220/24V power supplies and connect it to the genny AC and then connect directly on the battery. They normally cannot over charge as the output is lower than the voltage needed to charge a battery full but will at least help on the bad PV days. https://www.robotics.org.za/LRS-350-24?search=24v power Thank you very much for your kind words I have connected the Generator and tried powering off the load and setting charging current even for 2 Amps via utility but it stays in same condition. The utility sign is available and steady but the load and battery charging is not shifting to utility. Thanks for your suggestion to get the cheap metal can 220/24V power supplies as alternative solution Edited July 30 by ards1184019 Reply was limited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 (edited) 6 hours ago, TaliaB said: This is odd as i have installed many of these 3kva 24v Voltronic inverters and with the installation a manual transfer switch between utility and generator and never had an issue with the inverter not accepting the generator as an input power source. Your inverter is a re-branded Axpert VMIII(Voltronic) with the detachable screen. I have connected 5kva generators to many of these types of inverter without any problems, supplying power and charging batteries. What type and size is your generator and in which province are you stationed? Thanks for your time and help Please ignore my English incase it is wrong I have attached the pictures of my Solar Inverter and Generator for the reference please I tested the Inverter Utility Input point / Circuit by taking the output of another nearest available solar setup (inverter 5kva) and plug it into my 3kva inverter utility port and it start charging and also provide output via utility. As soon as I fireup the generator which works fine on that 5kva inverter of my neighbour, the utility output and charging of my inverter stops whereas the utility sign stays stable which means it is available and within the acceptable range Hoping for your early response Edited July 30 by ards1184019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 13 hours ago, ards1184019 said: tested the Inverter Utility Input point / Circuit by taking the output of another nearest available solar setup (inverter 5kva) and plug it into my 3kva inverter utility port and it start charging and also provide output via utility. Let us endeavor to help you get the generator configured to the inverter. The above statement tells me that the 5kva inverter output will be pretty close to Eskom input parameters so meaning voltage and frequency inputs will be what the inverter needs. The reason the generator work with the 5kva is that the input parameters is most probably wider than your inverter. The voltage input might not be the problem but the frequency might. You need to get the generator frequency closer to 50hz as you state above between 50~52hz. You have a adjustment on the generator Governor arm where you can adjust the frequency as close to 50hz but this is a bit tricky as when the generator is loaded the frequency will drop. Start of by loading the generator before connecting to the inverter input. Below short videos of similar inverter( RCT 3kva vm3) and a picture of the input frequency from the generator connected. Also check program 03 and set it to APL it widens the input voltage. 20240731_084631.mp4 20240731_084554.mp4 Sc00bs and Derek3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorp007 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 (edited) 17 hours ago, ards1184019 said: Thanks for your time and help Please ignore my English incase it is wrong I have attached the pictures of my Solar Inverter and Generator for the reference please I tested the Inverter Utility Input point / Circuit by taking the output of another nearest available solar setup (inverter 5kva) and plug it into my 3kva inverter utility port and it start charging and also provide output via utility. As soon as I fireup the generator which works fine on that 5kva inverter of my neighbour, the utility output and charging of my inverter stops whereas the utility sign stays stable which means it is available and within the acceptable range Hoping for your early response You are in good hands now with @TaliaB. Just follow his guidance. You can search on the Bundu power Web for their feeling about gennys with these kind of inverters. Edited July 31 by Scorp007 Derek3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek3 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 11 hours ago, TaliaB said: Let us endeavor to help you get the generator configured to the inverter. The above statement tells me that the 5kva inverter output will be pretty close to Eskom input parameters so meaning voltage and frequency inputs will be what the inverter needs. The reason the generator work with the 5kva is that the input parameters is most probably wider than your inverter. The voltage input might not be the problem but the frequency might. You need to get the generator frequency closer to 50hz as you state above between 50~52hz. You have a adjustment on the generator Governor arm where you can adjust the frequency as close to 50hz but this is a bit tricky as when the generator is loaded the frequency will drop. Start of by loading the generator before connecting to the inverter input. Below short videos of similar inverter( RCT 3kva vm3) and a picture of the input frequency from the generator connected. Also check program 03 and set it to APL it widens the input voltage. 20240731_084631.mp4 158.05 kB · 0 downloads 20240731_084554.mp4 154.1 kB · 0 downloads How do you manage to compress the video to be uploaded here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 12 hours ago, TaliaB said: Let us endeavor to help you get the generator configured to the inverter. The above statement tells me that the 5kva inverter output will be pretty close to Eskom input parameters so meaning voltage and frequency inputs will be what the inverter needs. The reason the generator work with the 5kva is that the input parameters is most probably wider than your inverter. The voltage input might not be the problem but the frequency might. You need to get the generator frequency closer to 50hz as you state above between 50~52hz. You have a adjustment on the generator Governor arm where you can adjust the frequency as close to 50hz but this is a bit tricky as when the generator is loaded the frequency will drop. Start of by loading the generator before connecting to the inverter input. Below short videos of similar inverter( RCT 3kva vm3) and a picture of the input frequency from the generator connected. Also check program 03 and set it to APL it widens the input voltage. 20240731_084631.mp4 158.05 kB · 0 downloads 20240731_084554.mp4 154.1 kB · 0 downloads Ok. I'll get back with the results after the above given guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 1 hour ago, Derek3 said: How do you manage to compress the video to be uploaded here. Hi Derek hope you are well. How is the pecan nut harvest this year? I use software to compress the video from 18mb to 127kb and the clarity is good. But as you can see very short videos is all you need to get the idea across. Scorp007 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 3 Author Share Posted August 3 (edited) On 2024/08/01 at 1:32 AM, ards1184019 said: Ok. I'll get back with the results after the above given guidance. Hi @TaliaB, I have setup my generator output to 226v / 50.2 Hz underload of 500 Watts and then plugged it into the Inverter Utility Input and the Inverter detected it same like before it was detected. The utility sign is not blinking but it is stable like before. but no battery charging nor output is taken from the utility port / Generator The led display is same like the attachment. Program 03 is already set to APL Is there any setting needed to be done into the menu please? Edited August 3 by ards1184019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 (edited) 35 minutes ago, ards1184019 said: Hi @TaliaB, I have setup my generator output to 226v / 50.2 Hz underload of 500 Watts and then plugged it into the Inverter Utility Input and the Inverter detected it same like before it was detected. The utility sign is not blinking but it is stable like before. but no battery charging nor output is taken from the utility port / Generator The led display is same like the attachment. Program 03 is already set to APL Is there any setting needed to be done into the menu please? Set program 01 to USB as the inverter is in battery mode will only charge battery from utility( gen) or solar and program 16 to SNU ( solar+ utility combined) Edited August 3 by TaliaB Coulomb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 This is what you are aiming for see below power flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 (edited) On 2024/08/03 at 4:35 PM, TaliaB said: Set program 01 to USB as the inverter is in battery mode will only charge battery from utility( gen) or solar and program 16 to SNU ( solar+ utility combined) Thanks for your guidance @TaliaB , but I had no luck after these steps too. The Inverter is accepting the input of my neighbour's solar inverter but if I plug the Generator it does recognise it but does not provide output or battery charging VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 Videos are attached for reference plz Please note: VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 (Above provided is the video during which the neighbours solar inverter output is provided to my inverter) below videos are with the generator input to the inverter. VID_20240811_130906~2.mp4 VID_20240811_130852~2.mp4 VID_20240811_130836~2.mp4 Edited August 11 by ards1184019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 11 minutes ago, ards1184019 said: Thanks for your guidance @TaliaB , but I had no luck after these steps too. The Inverter is accepting the input of my neighbour's solar inverter but if I plug the Generator it does recognise it but does not provide output or battery charging VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 153.27 kB · 0 downloads Videos are attached for reference plz Please note: VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 (Above provided is the video during which the neighbours solar inverter output is provided to my inverter) below videos are with the generator input to the inverter. VID_20240811_130906~2.mp4 283.83 kB · 0 downloads VID_20240811_130852~2.mp4 450.57 kB · 0 downloads VID_20240811_130836~2.mp4 249.04 kB · 0 downloads Is there any Firmware bug or some thing else? The Firmware pictures are also attached for reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 7 minutes ago, ards1184019 said: 1 hour ago, ards1184019 said: Thanks for your guidance @TaliaB , but I had no luck after these steps too. The Inverter is accepting the input of my neighbour's solar inverter but if I plug the Generator it does recognise it but does not provide output or battery charging VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 153.27 kB · 0 downloads Videos are attached for reference plz Please note: VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 (Above provided is the video during which the neighbours solar inverter output is provided to my inverter) below videos are with the generator input to the inverter. VID_20240811_130906~2.mp4 283.83 kB · 0 downloads VID_20240811_130852~2.mp4 450.57 kB · 0 downloads VID_20240811_130836~2.mp4 249.04 kB · 0 downloads Is there any Firmware bug or some thing else? The Firmware pictures are also attached for reference Expand That is very strange but the inverter stays in battery(inverting)mode the left top led in the video VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 stays on meaning utility mode but in the next videos running from gen it doesn't switch over to utility mode( top left led is flashing) for some strange reason it is not accepting the gen as utility source like i said very odd. Sorry don't know any more tips and tricks the inverter does not like the generator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 12 minutes ago, TaliaB said: That is very strange but the inverter stays in battery(inverting)mode the left top led in the video VID_20240811_131803~2.mp4 stays on meaning utility mode but in the next videos running from gen it doesn't switch over to utility mode( top left led is flashing) for some strange reason it is not accepting the gen as utility source like i said very odd. Sorry don't know any more tips and tricks the inverter does not like the generator. @TaliaB Bundle of thanks for your help with the subjected problem @Scorp007 any suggestions from your side please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorp007 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 14 minutes ago, ards1184019 said: @TaliaB Bundle of thanks for your help with the subjected problem @Scorp007 any suggestions from your side please? After you tried the steps @TaliaB indicated I would think the inverter picks up a quality of supply problem as I alerted to much earlier in the thread. These inverters are known to be sensitive. ards1184019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaliaB Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Maybe @BritishRacingGreenor @Coulombcan weigh in as the electronic fundis. ards1184019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 13 hours ago, Scorp007 said: I would think the inverter picks up a quality of supply problem as I alerted to much earlier in the thread. These inverters are known to be sensitive. Yes, that's true. But in that case, they usually flash the AC-on icon, indicating that presence is detected, but quality is inadequate. So I'm puzzled by that. Assuming @ards1184019 didn't change any settings between using his neighbour's power and the generator, then you presumably still are in USB output source priority. Although these models have the ability to change output source priority based on the time of day (switching over on the hour); is that a possibility? I'll admit that it seems very unlikely. Assuming that the firmware doesn't bother flashing the AC-in icon for whatever reason, then you could try the temporary load trick as per FAQ #7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 (edited) On 2024/08/12 at 5:24 AM, Coulomb said: Yes, that's true. But in that case, they usually flash the AC-on icon, indicating that presence is detected, but quality is inadequate. So I'm puzzled by that. Hi @Coulomb, Thanks for your time If i connect the generator and set Program 03 to UPS then the AC-ON ICON Starts flashing which means that the AC-IN provided is out of acceptable range to the inverter but when i Set Program 03 to APL then the AC-IN ICON gets stable as shown in the above videos but still does not provide any output via Generator Please note that the generator was working on the Inverter before i upgraded my Inverter Mains Firmware to 41.17 Downloaded from https://www.ostrovni-elektrarny.cz/support/Axpert/FW/VMIII_upgrade_ver41.17.7z I also upgraded Remote_Panel_Reflash_MCU (02.66) Downloaded from I upgraded my inverter firmware because i was facing premature float charging bug and thought firmware upgrade might resolve it but no luck, Premature float charging bug is also there. I also reported it on this forum dated 02 Aug 2023 and it was Edited August 17 by ards1184019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 (edited) 13 hours ago, ards1184019 said: Please note that the generator was working on the Inverter before i upgraded my Inverter Mains Firmware to 41.17 The 41.xx firmwares are out of order. The latest one I know of is 41.07 (later than 41.17 and even 41.08, yet still almost 3 years old). 41.07 can be downloaded from here; ignore the very old display firmware that comes with it. There is a small chance that this problem has been fixed in firmware. "Fan spin program" appears in a folder name, so there may be fixes to the fan speed control as well. Given the age of your machine (over 6 years since manufacture in May 2018) it's also possible, though quite unlikely, that some part has dried out internally that is preventing utility charging from working, and the fact that it happened just after you update firmware might be co-incidental. Edited August 18 by Coulomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ards1184019 Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 (edited) On 2024/08/17 at 6:22 PM, ards1184019 said: Premature float charging bug Thanks @Coulombfor your valuable feedback. Did this problem Premature float charging bug solved in any firmware update? Edited August 22 by ards1184019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulomb Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 13 hours ago, ards1184019 said: Did this problem Premature float charging bug solved in any firmware update? No. As far as I know, no factory firmware version for any Voltronic Axpert model whatsoever has ever gotten it right. Almost every patched firmware that I make has it, as it's a one byte patch, once you know where to patch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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