Growatt Inverter + Pylontech Batteries : BMS Comms Guide

[Tsa]

Well just had another AC trip at 15:45. 

Now going back to USE mode and the suggested settings from Dyness until I get some clear actions. 

Have asked about the standby mode and also how we can view logs on status\errors\activity of the inverter.

Have also CC'd the Dyness contacts in the last email and suggested they start talking to each other to try and get an answer on this. Can only hope. 

For now I'm back to the stone age...

PS: I can confirm that it indeed threw warning 04 and 20 in the inverter when it started beeping post AC trip. So it is the same codes I had before the Dyness FW and board update. This time it actually was beeping for around 20+ seconds before resuming service. No errors LED's on batteries. SOC at 99% and likely starting the auto discharge sequence at the time (cant confirm). 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Tsa

[Zimnismoboy34]

I notice after the firmware update there are new menu options that go beyond the menu setting 24 .. please can some one assist and tell me what they are for .. or is this top secret growatt information lol ..

settings 43 to 48 are all new . with no explaination to what they are or do ?

[FransRossouw]

I would also appreciate some info on the new menu items. Also under setting 5, a new battery type appeared: US2. 

[Tsa]

21 minutes ago, FransRossouw said:

I would also appreciate some info on the new menu items. Also under setting 5, a new battery type appeared: US2. 

According to Mahone, USE is for Lead Acid and US2 for Lithium batteries. When asked exactly what the difference is between the 2, the answer was " The one is for Lead Acid and the other is for Li, that the difference" 

Al I could see is that on US2 it forces the charge and float setting to be the same no matter what you set it to.  On USE you can set different values for bulk vs float. 

[Tsa]

1 hour ago, Zimnismoboy34 said:

settings 43 to 48 are all new . with no explaination to what they are or do ?

Yip, top secret. Possibly spying on your household. 

When asked what they were and more info on them, I was told they are not used and can be ignored....

[chaz]

Hi SiliconKid 

I am experiencing the same problems Can you please email me the firmware updates as well as the instructions 

Thanks appreciate your assistance 

 

[email protected]

[SiliconKid]

30 minutes ago, chaz said:

Hi SiliconKid 

I am experiencing the same problems Can you please email me the firmware updates as well as the instructions 

Thanks appreciate your assistance 

 

[email protected]

Emailed you.

[Jurgens]

On 2020/02/17 at 10:54 PM, SiliconKid said:

I've recently purchased and installed the following:

1 x Growatt SPF 5000TL HVM 5kVA/5kW Hybrid Inverter.

2 x Pylontech US3000 batteries.

1 x Pylontech cable kit with RJ45 BMS comms cable included.

I've just spent 5 days communicating with Growatt in China to figure out why I could not get the inverter to communicate with the BMS on the master battery properly.

After many, many emails back and forward, and far too many hours of research online, I finally got it right today and I think it is worth sharing this information here, in case anybody else needs it, because I couldn't find the right information anywhere on the internet, all in one place, explained properly.

It turns out that the Growatt SPF5000 has to be connected to the Pylontech batteries differently to the way Axpert inverters are connected to Pylontech batteries.

Everything I was reading online was saying that you need to plug the RJ45 comms cable into the CAN port on the master battery and then into the BMS port on the inverter, and then you need to set the battery type to Li (setting 05 on Axpert and Growatt inverters) and then choose Li profile L02 (also apparently the same for Axpert and Growatt inverters).

It turns out, the Growatt does NOT communicate via the CAN port. It communicates via the RS485 port that is positioned below the CAN port on the master battery.

And in addition to that, it requires a 9600 baud rate, which you can set using the 4 small white dipswitches on the master battery.

For the Growatt you must set those dipswitches to:  1 0 0 0 (ON OFF OFF OFF)

When connected to the CAN port and put into Li (L02) mode, the Growatt inverter faults and gives an error 20 and an error 04 constantly.

When connected to the RS485 port with the dipswitches set to 1000, comms is immediately established and it works as intended.

I also installed 2 firmware updates on the inverter, that were sent to me by Growatt in China (who were very helpful through this entire process despite not actually giving me the information I actually needed to solve this), but in retrospect I actually wonder if those firmware updates even made a difference because I was able to put the inverter into Li (L02) mode before applying those firmware updates anyway, I just didn't know about the RS485 port and the dipswitches.

Recommended configuration process

1. Turn inverter on but run off battery only. Disable A/C input and  A/C output (use isolator switches if you have them).

2. Go to setting 5 and select battery type = Li. Then select profile L02 (This is specifically for Pylontech batteries). Push ESC to return to home screen. Go back to setting 5 and verify that it was saved as Li.

3. Now shutdown the inverter and batteries completely. Turn the batteries off using the on/off flip switch, not just the red button on the master battery.

4. Now make sure that the end of the comms cable on the battery side (it will probably have a little sticker on it that says BAT) is plugged into the RJ45 port labelled RS485 that is below the CAN port. And also make sure that the other end is plugged into the RJ45 port labelled BMS on the inverter and NOT into the other RJ45 port that is labelled RS485 (Yes, I know, it's weird, just go with it).

5. Now set the 4 little white dipswitches to: ON OFF OFF OFF (1000).

6. Now turn the batteries back on and then turn the inverter back on.

You should no longer see any fault codes or the red fault light.

How to tell that the inverter really is communicating with the BMS properly

1. You should now see a little Li symbol next to the battery icon on the home screen of the inverter, and that Li symbol should NOT be flashing. When it's not flashing and is solid it means comms is working.

2. If you go and look at most of the battery values on the status screens or in settings related to battery level (SOC) you should now see percentage values where there were voltage values before. Setting 21 is a good example of that.

I hope this helps somebody else because the information available online with regards to the Growatt routers is of no help in this regard and most of the information available relates to Axpert inverters, which appear to be very similar to the Growatt at face value, but communicate with the Pylontech batteries differently from what I can see.

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning sir hope you can help

I have installed 2x 5kw growatt inverters in parallel (10kw) with 2x 3.5kw and 1 x 2.4kw pylon batteries, I did not receive a communication cable with the inverters, I have 2 x RJ45 cables that came with pylon battery packs, do I have to install a splitter to connect both inverters, I have done exactly what you did with your installation but I still get the error 2. and 04 fault code,

if you can assist it will be greatly appreciated  

[SiliconKid]

24 minutes ago, Jurgens said:

Good morning sir hope you can help

I have installed 2x 5kw growatt inverters in parallel (10kw) with 2x 3.5kw and 1 x 2.4kw pylon batteries, I did not receive a communication cable with the inverters, I have 2 x RJ45 cables that came with pylon battery packs, do I have to install a splitter to connect both inverters, I have done exactly what you did with your installation but I still get the error 2. and 04 fault code,

if you can assist it will be greatly appreciated  

Hi

I only have a single inverter so I don't have hands-on experience with configuring inverters in parallel, but I do recall that the dipswitch settings are different if you are running multiple inverters in parallel.

Have you deployed the firmware upgrades to both inverters? You say you did not get a comms cable with the inverters, but it's not clear from your post if you have deployed the firmware updates yet or not.

If not, you need to get that done. You are not going to get your system to work correctly until you upgrade the firmware.

If you need the firmware let me know I will email or PM you the details and a link to download it.

Allan

 

[Jurgens]

47 minutes ago, SiliconKid said:

Hi

I only have a single inverter so I don't have hands-on experience with configuring inverters in parallel, but I do recall that the dipswitch settings are different if you are running multiple inverters in parallel.

Have you deployed the firmware upgrades to both inverters? You say you did not get a comms cable with the inverters, but it's not clear from your post if you have deployed the firmware updates yet or not.

If not, you need to get that done. You are not going to get your system to work correctly until you upgrade the firmware.

If you need the firmware let me know I will email or PM you the details and a link to download it.

Allan

 

Thank you Allen for your response, I did not install any firmware I will appreciate if you can send me the link, if I may ask if I receive the link how do I download it on to the inverter?

 

Thank you for all your help

[email protected] 

[Rooney Hat]

Very glad I found this forum,

@SiliconKid Really appreciate the time you've put into this! It's a great help.

Would you mind sending the firmware details to me? 
[email protected]

Thanks!

[j5_immortal]

Hi SiliconKid,

I have installed :

 

1 x Growatt SPF 5000TL HVM 5kVA/5kW Hybrid Inverter.

4 x Pylontech US2000 batteries.

15 x 340 wat Solar Panels

I followed your instructions for the firmware and it is working 100%, thank you.
I have one problem, I realize you don't have PV panels but maybe you'v' come across this problem:  The maximum charge current when using the solar panels to charge the 4 x Pylontech US200 batery stack is set at a maximum of 25A which is way too low to get the 4 x batteries (each are specified for a recommended 25A) charged during the PV panel charge time.  It seems the firmware doesn't allow setting 02 to be set to a higher max charge current, or the inverter sees only one Pylontech battery. I have the master battery dipswitch set at 1000 and the others on 0000. You are charging from grid,at what current do you charge and do you have any suggestions on this issue?

Thanks

[Rooney Hat]

Can anyone forward me the firmware update?

Not getting any reply from [email protected]

[SiliconKid]

9 hours ago, Rooney Hat said:

Can anyone forward me the firmware update?

Not getting any reply from [email protected]

I've PM'd you details. 

[Rooney Hat]

5 hours ago, SiliconKid said:

I've PM'd you details. 

You're a legend, thanks man!

[Rooney Hat]

So the firmware update also fixes an issue with AGM batteries not discharging to the specified voltage and just cutting back to mains.

The SOC is still very buggy, dropping to <50% after a PV starts charging the batteries again in the morning, but the voltage is still around 50v. Odd. 
At least now it's actually discharging to cutoff voltage instead of just going back to mains.

Thanks again @SiliconKid

[Sammyigt]

Anyone know or tried to see if this same connection works with Growatt / Shoto batteries? 

[willietes]

18 hours ago, Sammyigt said:

Anyone know or tried to see if this same connection works with Growatt / Shoto batteries? 

I am busy with the importers and the manufacturers. SO watch this space

[Landé]

On 2020/05/18 at 11:41 AM, j5_immortal said:

Hi SiliconKid,

I have installed :

 

1 x Growatt SPF 5000TL HVM 5kVA/5kW Hybrid Inverter.

4 x Pylontech US2000 batteries.

15 x 340 wat Solar Panels

I followed your instructions for the firmware and it is working 100%, thank you.
I have one problem, I realize you don't have PV panels but maybe you'v' come across this problem:  The maximum charge current when using the solar panels to charge the 4 x Pylontech US200 batery stack is set at a maximum of 25A which is way too low to get the 4 x batteries (each are specified for a recommended 25A) charged during the PV panel charge time.  It seems the firmware doesn't allow setting 02 to be set to a higher max charge current, or the inverter sees only one Pylontech battery. I have the master battery dipswitch set at 1000 and the others on 0000. You are charging from grid,at what current do you charge and do you have any suggestions on this issue?

Thanks

Hi

Have the same issue

Our system
2 Growatt 5kva inverters
15 solar panels 340w
3 batteries pylontech
2 US3000
1 US2000

The firmware was uploaded to the inverters . Now the maximum solar charging current (pragram 2 on the inverter is at 16 and can't be change) this is to low to charge the batteries full. The maximum charge stop the panel charge and supply at 800w.

If the batteries charge from the grid it go up to 1600w.

Is there a way to increase the maximum charging current?

Thank you
Lande

Edited May 23, 2020 by Landé

[jykenmynie]

On 2020/05/21 at 4:33 PM, willietes said:

I am busy with the importers and the manufacturers. SO watch this space

Has there been any progress on this? I have a Growatt Inverter with Shoto 4.8kWh Lithium battery and the BMS communication isn't working at all. When trying to set it up, there isn't an error, but the battery simply doesn't charge if it gets used. Inverter thinks the battery is full. I'm using the system as a UPS for now, will be adding solar panels a little later.

I'm quite unhappy with the combination being sold without having been thoroughly tested. Thinking of returning the whole system and replacing with Victron and Pylontech.

[willietes]

18 minutes ago, jykenmynie said:

Has there been any progress on this? I have a Growatt Inverter with Shoto 4.8kWh Lithium battery and the BMS communication isn't working at all. When trying to set it up, there isn't an error, but the battery simply doesn't charge if it gets used. Inverter thinks the battery is full. I'm using the system as a UPS for now, will be adding solar panels a little later.

I'm quite unhappy with the combination being sold without having been thoroughly tested. Thinking of returning the whole system and replacing with Victron and Pylontech.

Hi 

I am busy communicating with Growatt at the moment with regards to this. Just for interest, where did you get your bms cable from? Also take some pics of the pin-out on both sides. 

[jykenmynie]

Just now, willietes said:

Hi 

I am busy communicating with Growatt at the moment with regards to this. Just for interest, where did you get your bms cable from? Also take some pics of the pin-out on both sides. 

The technician of the supplier made it for me. I have the pin layout for both the inverter and the battery, but at this point I really don't know if I can trust the manuals that come with these products.

[willietes]

Just now, jykenmynie said:

The technician of the supplier made it for me. I have the pin layout for both the inverter and the battery, but at this point I really don't know if I can trust the manuals that come with these products.

true story.... Take a pic and post if you can ? Let me see if it is correct.

[jykenmynie]

1 minute ago, willietes said:

true story.... Take a pic and post if you can ? Let me see if it is correct.

Will do. I just don't want to touch anything at this point, because the technician will be coming back to see if he can sort it out. I'd rather want to be able to say that I didn't pull out any cables since he last left the system.

[francois]

On 2020/04/29 at 4:38 PM, Tsa said:

Well just had another AC trip at 15:45. 

Now going back to USE mode and the suggested settings from Dyness until I get some clear actions. 

Have asked about the standby mode and also how we can view logs on status\errors\activity of the inverter.

Have also CC'd the Dyness contacts in the last email and suggested they start talking to each other to try and get an answer on this. Can only hope. 

For now I'm back to the stone age...

PS: I can confirm that it indeed threw warning 04 and 20 in the inverter when it started beeping post AC trip. So it is the same codes I had before the Dyness FW and board update. This time it actually was beeping for around 20+ seconds before resuming service. No errors LED's on batteries. SOC at 99% and likely starting the auto discharge sequence at the time (cant confirm). 

Hi @Tsa,

Are you still experiencing trips?

A colleague and his son-in-law both had Growatt systems installed and are experiencing trips late in the afternoon.