pretty scary stuff. I can imagine a thousand things that could go wrong, an attacker gaining access to same and shutting down critical systems is just the least of it
Hi Joe no this is a 12k and I asked sol-ark how much watts do I give and they told me I have 8.000 watts but that I have a unbalance the fault it gives me is a G37 BusUnbalance. On 120v. Before I got this one I had a canteen 6048 and Joe it ran everything. Table saw and no problem.they told me to change my saw to 240 and it will work. My compressor is 240v and it's old and the same thing happens. Not to happy. well Don't know what to do so I thought of getting a transformer. Any stay well and safe.
Thanks for the video. I ordered a 3000 sp last week to check it out before I buy the 12000. Wish I had waited 3 more days before ordering and seen your video first. I guess my daughter will get the little one now and I’m ordering the 12000 today. Thanks again for all you do for the community.
Induction cook top need s a pan with water that is designed for induction cook tops. It will do nothing until you put a proper pan on that takes advantage of the induction of the cook top. It will not get hot like a regular resister coil on your regular electric range.
A few others mentioned that as well but I was thinking it didnt work all together since the led display didnt turn on. I still have it so plan to try again.🤘
Great inverter, video, and tests!! The design is very similar to AIMS but 10x better with the ability to change settings! I wish some of these LF manufactures could get the idle consumption down a bit though.
Joe, your audio was excellent. Good to see you still sticking with our old hobby. One thing you want to test on a split-phase inverter is differential wattage between the 2 phases. Older architecture and cheaper inverters have issues if the 2 legs are more than 12-16 Amps AC different from each other. This manifests as an induction motor, or pressurized compressor or deep well pump starts up and draws maybe 30+ amps for a split second. The entire Inverter shuts down. So try just loading 1 phase at 20+ amps (with nothing on other phase) and make sure it stays stable. The ones that shutdown are non-starters for most off-grid type applications. ~cheers & Boom
Thanks Man! I tried to fix and adjust in some places but for the most part was out of my control lol. Oh yeah good point for the 2 phase watt difference!! Ill have to see what I can do for that test. I hope it doesnt have any issues like that!!! Fingers crossed
@@AveRage_Joe How Quickly does the UPS function with Utility power switch under surge current conditions. I ask because I am thinking of using the same Growatt inverter unit to run my 240VAC pool pump (turns on only once a day), and a few other dedicated 240 Services (no in rush), I measured the In Rush current of the pump at 46 Amps, normal run current is about 10 amps. Also thinking of not using batteries, at least until they hopefully become more affordable. Obviously clouds could present an issue however, I ask as It appears that in the near future Net Energy Metering will change, so that you cannot use the Grid as a form of Battery Storage. Anyway just thinking of other options. Thanks
Switch says 10ms for time. Occasionally you may see a flicker with Led lights but not all the time. Yeah you could use this for the pump. You will need a battery. Even if using in the solar function. You could probly just get 4 "junk" lead acid batteries for that. Also may even get by with the 6kw one as the surge is pretty damn high. They are 3X the normal so 36kw for the 12kw inverter and 18kw for the 6kw inverter.
@@AveRage_Joe do you think you could run whole house on the 6KW unit? Great review, this is the unit I am considering but our consumption is purdy low, like 15kw/day, mostly during the day so direct solar power would cover use. Thanks, love your channel!
Well thanks Man! I wasnt trying to win or anything like that. Like I said Im not affiliated or anything just like the inverter!😆🤘 It is pretty solid tho!!! Much cheaper in cost compaired to many.
My personal situation has changed and I am now relegated to an apartment, although I still play around with batteries currently combing through about 20KW of laptop batteries and building a couple of 14s100p batteries. I will continue as a staunch observer of your escapades. As always Joe, you do a great job, thanks for entertaining an old man.
@@AveRage_Joe I was remodeling a 1970's last year and fell broke a hip. At 73 my family convinced me it was time for a change. Then when the hip refused to heal I had a replacement done in December, but in the interim the house sold and I moved to an apt. I've been collecting and processing batteries for several years hoping to follow in your footsteps. Now I am left with about 2700 good cells and thought I'd build them into packs, so still piddling and playing around. Never likely get to build an actual power wall now I suppose. Still enjoy your videos and learning as much as I can... Thanks again Joe for all you do, you are a solid inspiration to this old man!
Whoa! Damn wth happen with the hip. A guy at my work had same issue with a hip. Sounds a change was in order for sure however you do have cells to mess with🤣💥🤘
It would be nice to have a generator video to demonstrate the functionality in a pure off grid environment. Also a gental suggestion - a Db neter to measure the sound of the fans would be helpful as well. Thanks and keep up the great work!
I’m trying to get enough information about off grid power! I like Joe’s set up but looking to make my own generator basically using a 3000 RPM brushless motor ,48 amp amp alternator that last about 10yrs. and battery for back a up battery charger for a 48v battery need help to make it work.... what’s your take on this idea?
Inside your consumer unit is nice and neat like how it should be. so for your the only person consumer unit that look like someone professional installed. 👌🏾👌🏾👍🏾👍🏾
I really enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing. Also you say you are not a licensed electrician but I have to tell you that is one of the cleanest and most professional looking breaker panel I have seen and you even have the wires labeled. I am very impressed.
Thanks for explaining the whole "pass through" thing with the inverter. I was always under the impression it was grid-tie or nothing. I also assume (you might explain it later) that even as a pass through, it is designed to not put power back into the grid and fry some poor linesman..
You betcha! I was always under the same impression. Basically I didnt understand lol! I dont really explain in later but maybe once its all connected to my house I can explain moar/show it!
Thanks for the video. I have the same inverter/ charge controller. I was going with different brand and model when I found the growatt. I talked to same place and about different models and went with the 12kw too. Started the solar design and planning 6 years ago with move to large acres in mountains. Well 3 years ago did the big purchase and stock pile of supplies. Then begin this year bought batteries and started our offgrid homestead in June. Well finally getting my pv setup and finishing wiring. So it was nice to see the setup and test. I also have to hook up my generator to system so when batteries are low and no- little sun it will kick on.
@@Dave_889 well still learning as we go. But it has standby and on and have seen that the read out is not accurate. But on standby it says 1.2% and I forget the watts: still have to get second array up to get better charge and the generac activation done to charge plus get the 2 wire relay on the victron monitor setup: it’s been tough working full time job and building a homestead from scratch plus manage power.
@@GeraldPUR I had them split up but 12 cards on 3 computers was about 2kw. I had it running from my 3kw inverter 24volt. You can watch some of my videos showing my solar set up. dont think I filmed my rig, wish i had. I just sold most of my cards last month. price was to juicy. bought more crypto when Btc dipped to 50k. everything was on UPS's so I could swap from grid to solar. my main system has a ATS.
Really love what you are doing on this channel. I do notice some things in what your video shows. The first is that the fans are ball bearing fans, and they should last longer, but they are noisier than sleeve bearings. It is a shame (I have not found any at least) that no one makes a fluid dynamic bearing DC axial fan (at least of this size). There are plenty of DC cooling fans for PC cases using such bearings. They last as long as a ball bearing fan, but are way quieter. Your version is split phase (for the US), but they also do a 240V single phase version for Europe. Those block connectors do not look very big. I wonder what your thoughts are on having smaller units paralleled together? It provides redundancy, and wiring can be a smaller gauge (and fit those terminals). My house has a 23kW grid supply (but our night tariff is sooo cheap)! I see that Growatt have just released a 3000W (the SPF 3000T HVM-G2) second generation version of this unit also, which makes me wonder if G3 versions of the bigger ones will appear. It seems to be more efficient from the specs. I also don't like those top fans. I might be inclined to fit a duct over the top and vent that air away sideways, stopping any downward ingress of dust and moisture when the inverter is on standby, and likely also reducing noise a bit.
Looks good, the efficiency is better than I expected too. The fans are definitely louder than mine but 12kw vs two 3kw units that's probably expected. There is a mode you can choose where it will charge from both solar and utility, you can set the max charge rate from utility as well as the max overall charge rate of both solar and utility combined going into the batteries. Mostly I think that's a mode you'd use while getting ready for a storm to come through to keep everything topped off or if you're using a generator to top off the batteries during low solar input in say an off grid use. Nice handling of the surge from that saw too, looked like your Batrium showed a spike above 7kw for a brief bit, one of the nice things about the low frequency design is the surge handling. Great test, congrats man!
Thanks Man! Yeah eff was better then expected! So I had originally went through all the menu settings and explained them all(kinda) but removed it due to length of video. May do another in future on those. Also I forgot to mention I for some reason cant get the beep to shut off while pushing buttons. Option 15 is off🤷♂️. I was also able to change the setting from the online app from a different pc I found out after video🤣
@@AveRage_Joe I've had so many people asking me how to kill that beep, or some other beeps and it must be hit or miss that option 15 works cause on mine with it off no beeps but given all the comments and your experience now too, it doesn't always work. One thing that would be nice as well is if there was a reset to factory default option in the menu too. Overall they work well, its just the little rough edges like that they could stand to fix. Look forward to your vid with the new battery bank. I've been so slammed with work the last couple months been hard to get any side projects done.
@@AveRage_Joe - I have an ERROR / FAULT #61 & I disabled the annoying "BEEP" by simultaneously PRESSING the + Buttons which seem to allow other ERRORS to sound-off & ONLY disable the BEEP on Error # 61 COOP ...
What is you solar voltage. Are you close to the high end? I havent had that error but was thinking if your on the higher end maybe its to high from the sun creepin around the clouds. Also if temp is cool/cold with have higer voltage??? Oh and.....did you try restarting it🫣😄🤘
Great job, you covered it in depth, looks like a good system. Can't wait to see it PowerWalled and looking forward to the next battery video.. Just so ya know, Patreon does notifications when you update. 🤔💭💣💥
Thanks!! Another thing I did do but removed from video was going through all the menu items. Thats good to hear that Patreon gives correct and updated notifications!💥🤘
Joe, I don’t know if you answer these but I sure could use some helpful guidance and advice so I don’t do anything too crazy. I bought the 12kw growatt after watching your videos. It should be here next week I might need a more detailed video with wiring it completely off grid. I intended to use 12 300w panels total, 6 are in parallel and 6 in series. I have 4 12v Vmax solar 155 batteries and power is being delivered using a #6 Thhn cord. Thanks for making great videos that keep inspiring us to build bigger.
@@AveRage_Joe Yes, I have been off grid for the last 3 years due to my local electric company charging seriously high bills while I was out sailing on deployment. I’m talking over 1000 for one month totaling $5000 in a mostly vacant home with solar panels. I bought a Homegrid 5000 and haven’t looked back. This Growatt is a huge step up and would allow me to run equipment like my dryer finally. My biggest fear is that I will mess this installation up, so I have been obsessing for weeks reading the manual and re watching your videos every night. Any help is a great help, and I’d appreciate if you stopped me from fouling up my installation 😁. Thanks Joe.
Oh, very important, always run a ground from the main panel to the ground next to the input hot leads. Next, run a ground from the chassis to your output source. The chassis ground is on the far right corner looking at it from the bottom. You can see the ground at 8:15 on the video. Super important to do this.
would you use the ground next to the input leads for the grounding rod buried outside or the chassis ground ? or both?(i wouldnt have shore power or a generator connected to the input on the inverter in my case)
What's the biggest size wire that can connect to the battery terminals on the inverter 4/0 ? Also what's the biggest size wire for the PV input on the inverter? Thanks
Everyone seems to get free Keysight oscilloscopes, seems you and me are the only ones who didn’t get one 😉. I thought it was only me. Thank you for making these videos!
@@AveRage_Joe 4.9.21 What I want to do is use my solar panels hooked up to the growatt (of some kind) hooked up to my electronic panel and be used like a grid tie inverter. Currently I have a 1000 watt grid tie invertor plugged into a 120v outside plug. I would like to add batteries in the future.
Interesting inverter its big for sure what's the install plan I'm interested in how your going to wire it in the panel the inverter seems to handle the loads well enough. Good video very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Just a comment that in America we got 240V monophase on 2 lines. We do not have 2 phase that's impossible. Industrial has 3phases and in our house we only have 1 phase ,whit +120v and a seconde line -120v. These 2 lines has 240V of difference of potential between them. Great video!
@@AveRage_Joe Silly question - Are you able to run 240 volt (i.e., well pump or mini split). Everything in me thinks you should, but there is still that little voice telling me no. It’s not easy being me
Hey Joe my Growat 12k is putting out 120v on the Leg 1 output and 240v on the Leg 2 output. I am also confused as to weather the middle wire, the N , gets a wire to the sub panel or not. The diagram in the manual shows it not being used. I am off grid so my shore power will actually be a 9000w propane generator with a 100amp Chargeverter and those are not connected yet.
Hello Thank you very much for the video, at minute 7:40 when you are making the voltage input connections AND you say: normally you would also connect the ground cable, which goes back to the ground and neutral connection of your main panel, it means that you must to go neutral and ground together at that point?
@@AveRage_Joe The supplier says that only the 2 lines and ground should be connected to the network voltage input, but not connected to the neutral, is this correct? Or do I have to connect the neutral and the ground to the mains voltage input on the inverter?
I have my ground and neutral bonded in my main panel. Main panel supplies the input to inverter. Output of inverter goes to a subpanel. Subpanel ground and neutral are not bonded because that ground goes back to main panel which is bonded. Hope that helps
The system would perform even better a set of at least 1000 farad, graphene capacitors on the DC supply side, paralleled with the battery input into the inverter. The capacitors would take up the slack to keep the batteries from being hit full force with the surge current from inductive load start-ups from the house air conditioning units, saws, etc.
Inverter with built in charge controller is good idea. Less wiring less heat related problems. I am upgrading my battery and inverter, from 400w to 1 Kw to match the panels.
As always, Joe knocks it out of the park.... I feel so lame for not doing my video on my units yet, I looked at my invoice and its been almost 10 months...Shame on me, Make sure you support your TH-camrs and use Joes Code's to save and get a BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Shirt!
Hey Joe, thanks for the great video reviewing all the inverter's capabilities. Do you know if the inverter is capable of stacking, connecting 2 of these inverters in a paired configuration?
A work horse for sure. But has it limits on programming. One issues for me I had to change my battery setting from 56v to 48v due to not able to set the battery low cut off point. Parallel Nissian Leaf batteries stack of 8 & series each stack for 48 volts work perfect now. 56v worked fine too just wasn't able to set that safety cut off. Yes, I do have it switching back to utility on low battery source prior to low cutoff safety.
Great video. I'm considering a similar hybrid inverter, but one thing worries me. If the power company turns off the main power (or an accident occurs and the power goes out), is there a chance that the inverter will return voltage to the mains and someone get an electric shock. I tried to find circuit diagrams of this type of hybrid inverters to find out exactly how the energy is converted, but I'm still not 100% sure.
Thanks Mate! They way this is actually connected in real use case there is no way to send power back through the grid. Ive had it connected for a few weeks now and I am supplying the inverter with AC from a sub panel, the AC output is connected to the panel showed in this video and I have installed an interlock kit so only the inverter or grid can power the panel, not both.
HiAverage Joe, Can you explain to me the grid pass through thing you mentioned a couple times please. How can I wire mine, when I get it, to take advantage of the grid too? Thanks, Mouse
Basically you will wire your 240v grid connection into the input of the inverter and the 240v output from inverter will go to your panel that you want to power. Then once the inverter is powered on, the grid can pass through inverter to your panel OR the relay inside switchs and you power from battery and solar if you have solar.
Word of caution on that one with split phase systems and these transformer based split phase Inverters. The inverters internal transformer acts like an autotransformer while in bypass mode that generates a "new" neutral output from the inverter and that transformer will try to balance upstream imbalanced loads from the grid connection if interconnected to the grid neutral either direct or via ground bond.
Thanks so much for this great overview video. I've been looking around for a controller that does everything that you demonstrated to replace my MPPT LV2424 which can't do much without major modification to my house sub-panel.
Being old enough to have been part of the Cheech and Chong generation, I can't hear the name Growatt without thinking of something to illuminate a basement weed farm. I don't know how the Chinese come up with some of these names. Anyway, this is a great video as it answered a lot of my questions on this unit. My max utilization according to the power company has been around 13KwH/day, so a 12Kw unit is certainly enough to work for me in UPS mode. It looks like it's worked well enough for you in a couple of videos, so I'm going to see if Will also give it a thumbs up, and probably buy this model. The long pole in the tent is my desire for 3-4 days autonomy, and that's in the battery packs and solar panels.
LOL I havent seen Cheech and Chong since early 90's! Im not sure how they come up with the names either. When the wife and I were in Okinawa Japan, the names they had for there stores were just as hilarious. Thanks for watching and Yeah the inverter has been great so far. Ups mode works great. Even reverse ups mode having the grid as the backup works great. Thats how I have been using it for the most part!
Joe, I have the 6k version, for the life of me I can't get the software to change from 100 percent battery SOC? any clue? Also are you using the battery equalization setting for your batteries??.. thanks bro
@@AveRage_Joe It just runs brah! Helped us through the snowpacalypse. We're looking for land out of the city so I'll add a new channel when that happens. :)
@@AveRage_Joe We were fortunate - only lost power for 24hrs when it started. Others in the neighborhood were out for days & busted pipes. Kind of a mess. Latest VLOG video describes it better.
Is there a mode that will input AC and solar power, export power from both AC and battery power, and use the battery power first? Basically I want to use as much solar power as possible when it is available. Alternatively with no battery. Is it possible to import AC and solar power and export AC and solar power with solar being priority and whatever solar can't provide AC does?
Yeah there are a few diff settings to choose from. I use SBU mode( solar battery utility) I use solar to power the house and if there isnt enough solar then it will use battery. If battery voltage goes down to 46v(settable) then it will switch back to utility until the battery reachs 54v(settable) and power the house with solar or battery. This inverter needs a battery but can do what you are asking.🤘
Hi Joe, I have the same inverter that you have? How did you do the sub panel for bypass? Do you have. Diagram for it? I’m setting up the same setup like yours. Thanks
Excellent vid and info for the DYIer. Am I correct to say there are NO CT's to measure UR current usage? Comparing to Sol-Ark 12K, what is the PV to BAT to AC Losses? SOL-Ark is 7%. Can U config it to only charge battery from Solar? Looking forward to next vid.
Thanks Man! Id have to figure out how to do all the losses lol. I hear the sol-ark inverters a GREAT. Have heard they have issues starting big inductance loads(dont have one so can confirm that) but overall great efficient inverters. Yes you can choose to recharge with solar only on this inverter.
Yeah Im pretty sure it does and when a load comes on it will "power on" and power the load. I always have mine in "on" mode but have switched it to powersaver mode and it keeps running.
I think this is the inverter I am looking for. I want one to run my 10KW electric furnace. How big of a battery bank would you recommend for this unit?
I'm thinking of putting this outside of my bedroom wall (basically the only place I have room for it). But I'm concerned about noise. The videos make this sound like a jet engine: would it bother me or my neighbors if we had our windows open? Is there anything that can be done about it?
Hello Joe, I have the exact same inverter. I am going off grid and have a newer home that is on the grid at the moment. I've read that the inverter AC output L1 L2 and Neutral.. the Neutral is not connected? I've installed a new Siemens circuit panel, attached L1 and L2 from the inverter ac output and attached the house Ground line to the Ground Buss inside the panel but still wondering about the Neutral coming out of the inverter.. connect or not connect? Powering up and measuring at the inverter the output is fine .. 120v on each L1 and L2 to Neutral and 240v across L1 L2. But still wondering about that dang N! Have you connected the N? Please let me know sir, if you would. Thanks ✌PT
Hello I have a deep water well pump is 3hp I can run it with 4K harbor freight generator how ever the pump is 220v Will this work any chance this works with no battery just with solar array. Sorry for so many question I’m in desperate need of help as I have failed in my other attempts
Yeah this would run it. It can output 220 or 240v BUT you would need to connect A battery. You could throw a couple cheapo lead acid batteries with your solar and pretty much ise the solar to run everything. It just need a battery tho.
Thank for the video I bought one of that inverter Groovat12kw' one question Ware I can get to buy one Batrium I will like have one when start my inverter, Thank for all again ,
Hey dude, good to see another video from you! Loved the thorough testing of this hybrid inverter. I'm thinking of getting one now. BTW, what kind of panel is it that you are using on the DIY PowerWall now? It's well installed and looks good.
Thanks Man. Sweet! If you go through sig solar tellem I sent ya. Its not affiliated or anything but maybe you can get a discount lol. I did a few videos on the "control panel". Im probly going to get rid of it lol
Thanks Man! Well the reason for possibly ditching it is the rack is kinda big and in the way now. I think the plan is to put everything in one smaller box and mount it to the wall. Will be cleaner Im thinking as well.😆
I almost went with the 6kw but didnt want to have any issues starting or using pretty much anything at anytime lol. It really depends on your use. I think one could get buy on a 6kw for sure.
“two 6000 W inverter or one 12,000 W inverter for a split phase”? I heard this discussion before. One some low frequency inverters, like the Genetry inverters, they can typically be configured to do 6000 watts per split, handling surges of over 12k watts per split, completely supporting a 12k load with super high peaks. The disadvantage of configurations using two inverters is the high parasitic draw from the idle time of both inverters. This disadvantage drives people to a single inverter. A single 12k inverter, like this GroWatt is typically heavier than two 6k inverters. The unwieldy nature of the larger inverters is a turn-off for some people, so they would prefer equipment that they can handle by themselves. I purposefully chose physically smaller solar panels, for this very reason. I try to get the best $/watt in the smallest form factor per panel. Similar for inverters & batteries.
Joe, thank you for the video, I was wondering what size breaker was it that you wired the ac input to and does this same connection work to power the panel when the grid goes down? Thank you
couple questions, what happens if you only supply power to L1 on the input side of the inverter ? maybe you only have L1 on the output side of a generator ( of grid set up ) ? does only pass through L1 120 ? can you bride L1 & L2 on input side of inverter ? If so do you still get split phase output or two 120 volt output single phase on output side ? or nothing? also, I cant find the start-up capacity in amps on 8kw growwatt I.E. 70 am surge at 220 volt ?
I'm getting output when I'm on powersaver mode but when I flip the switch to the standard "on" it has no output. Its never done that before has worked great for the last years. If you have any knowledge on this please let me know
So here is my question. if I connect 5kw of solar and grid input and I am drawing 10kw will it use 5kw solar and only 5kw of grid power? is that even possible? ie will it use the solar and less from the grid if the solar is available? can it use power dynamically like that? Can I use 2 of these? I have 100amp service so I need 20kw for "full capacity" can 2 interact like that? (I know syncing phases is tricky and hard to do) ALSO can I put it on a timer plan programming kind of thing? for example I want it to switch to solar battery only at 1630 and then back to grid when battery runs down or it gets to 2200 (time of use power power is twice as expensive in those hours)
I have a question. Will this inverter handle a 220 volt well pump ? Pump is 220 volt at 12 amps? I’m looking for new inverter that can run my house and well pump at the same time. The total amp load on the house is 25 amps.
By electrical code you should not run small cables in parallel.......if I remember well you can do it from #2 AWG up.....and you don't have to separate phases on this unit...you have two "halves" of the same phase (split phase system)
Enjoyable video. Does the inverter have a mode that allows the inverter to use pv and battery and grid-utility power simultaneously? Allowing the grid to only supply the excess power needed for loads that is above the inverters max output?
Thanks Man! Technically the inverter will do all that! It will power from solar first, if not enough then also uses battery. If battery is dead or low it will use grid! Max load above the 12kw is 36kw but for short time. Hope I can test that here soon!!!
@@AveRage_Joe so I guess there really wouldn’t be any time that you have more loads than the max capacity of the inverter with such a high capacity. I was wondering if it would shut the inverter off like a standard offgrid inverter, or if it would continue to put out its max but still allow the grid to supply the remaining power needed to fully supply all the homes load
If it could do this then a smaller inverter that covers the majority of continuous loads could be used. Then the system could be cheaper with a smaller battery that wouldn’t have to supply power for surges and occasional high loads. Easier on batteries etc. this would only be beneficial if there was a grid connection to the home
Great video and lots of comments in reply. Is the 160 watt standby power a good thing for these low frequency inverters? Is there some way around that? If I dont want to be burning thu 160 watts every hour on my batteries and want to have 120 volts at my house outlets what can I do ? I suppose in the day time the solar panels should cover this loss but after dark Im losing 1.6 kwh per night.
Thanks Man! Yeah the 160w is high but pretty standard for this size of inverter. Im not to worried about it at this current time but Ive been use to higher idle draw from the 2700w UPS I was using for an inverter. I know the high frequency inverters have a lower standby or idle draw but not many are split phase and cant start a regular saw or compressor. If you dont need a low frequency inverter you could go HF for sure!
Hey!!! I made an order with signature solar and nobody cared if you gave me great advice and leading me to them. I believe they a a great business talking to them during multiple phone calls. How do I honor your work ? Should I call them again mentioning your channel???
Awesome, Your gonna Love it!!! Yeah super helpful when I called to buy mine as well!! Hmm cant say why they didnt care if someone recommended there bis!!!🙄
Great video! One question, I have this inverter and have it set for the utility to charge my batteries if the solar fails and the battery voltage gets below 46v. Could you share your settings, specifically programs 01, 05, 12, and 13? In my tests, the utility power never kicks in.
After almost a year after this video was done, have you found the web portal is actually beneficial? Does it only have a 5 min refresh rate or can it show you realtime stats like Victron's VRM?
Yeah I check in on the inverter pretty much daily lol. I check with my phone tho since its super easy. Yeah the refresh rate is 5min. Not like victrons which would be nice.
Great review especially when the unit is purchased with your own money. This way the company cannot "doctor up" and provide a superior product compared to the rest of the products on the market.
@@AveRage_Joe I am an automotive engineer and we purchase many components from China. I have visited many of these companies and they will "hand modify" parts they know will be used for testing. I NEVER trust any of the YT reviewers who get "free samples" to test. These "free samples" are always the "best of the best". It is much better to buy these test samples at random so the company will not know what parts are for testing. You are providing an excellent service and I thank you.
Thanks and appreciate that! If I could afford lots of things to test and review I would lol. I work a full time job as a mechanic so bigger priced items take a bit to save up for. I do however get some things free for testing but always state that an item was sent to me ect. Most of those have been regular things that are off the shelf tho. 🤘
Hey Mr Joe Sir ... One More Question about this Growatt 12kw. What is the idle power consumption in normal mode (not power saver)? Is it reasonable? Can you deal with the amount of power it consumes just being on?
Off the top of my head I think it was 150w idle no load. Thats in a vid I did. I honestly dont care about idle load. I was using a 2700w server ups for an inverter before this lol and it was almost the same! Yes I can deal!😆🤘
Great video Joe, because of your video I went and buy 6000 watts version but sometimes it reboot by itself and when my battery is too low the inverter shut off but when it comes back on I have to change the setting to 60hz. It does not stay on 60hz after rebooting
good day and pls can u show how to get the 240v , i live in a country where the power voltage is 240 and so i would like to know how to connect both 120v on this inverter to the 240v , thanks and i was hoping u would show that with the induction cooker , but too bad it did not work , so hope u can show how that is set up .
Thanks! It seems pretty solid for sure! Yeah the internet part of it I am not a fan of. I did try from another pc and was able to change settings. You can also connect directly to the inverter and use the supplied software as well but didnt mention it in this video.🤘
💥💥💥JFYI I was able to use the wifi to change settings after video was edited and uploaded. I tried from a different pc and it works great!!!💥💥💥
pretty scary stuff. I can imagine a thousand things that could go wrong, an attacker gaining access to same and shutting down critical systems is just the least of it
😲 Hmmm......
Never thought of it that way😲
Hi Joe no this is a 12k and I asked sol-ark how much watts do I give and they told me I have 8.000 watts but that I have a unbalance the fault it gives me is a G37 BusUnbalance. On 120v. Before I got this one I had a canteen 6048 and Joe it ran everything. Table saw and no problem.they told me to change my saw to 240 and it will work. My compressor is 240v and it's old and the same thing happens. Not to happy. well Don't know what to do so I thought of getting a transformer. Any stay well and safe.
No Joe the code is F26
Thanks for the video. I ordered a 3000 sp last week to check it out before I buy the 12000. Wish I had waited 3 more days before ordering and seen your video first. I guess my daughter will get the little one now and I’m ordering the 12000 today. Thanks again for all you do for the community.
Awesome! Thanks for watching. Tell them I sent ya and maybe you can get a discount!🤘
Induction cook top need s a pan with water that is designed for induction cook tops. It will do nothing until you put a proper pan on that takes advantage of the induction of the cook top. It will not get hot like a regular resister coil on your regular electric range.
A few others mentioned that as well but I was thinking it didnt work all together since the led display didnt turn on. I still have it so plan to try again.🤘
@@AveRage_Joe remember get a pot \ pan that is induction labeled.
Great inverter, video, and tests!! The design is very similar to AIMS but 10x better with the ability to change settings! I wish some of these LF manufactures could get the idle consumption down a bit though.
Thanks Man! Yeah it seems to be a solid inverter so far! 100% agree if they could figure out a way to lower the idle down!
Joe, your audio was excellent. Good to see you still sticking with our old hobby.
One thing you want to test on a split-phase inverter is differential wattage between the 2 phases. Older architecture and cheaper inverters have issues if the 2 legs are more than 12-16 Amps AC different from each other. This manifests as an induction motor, or pressurized compressor or deep well pump starts up and draws maybe 30+ amps for a split second. The entire Inverter shuts down. So try just loading 1 phase at 20+ amps (with nothing on other phase) and make sure it stays stable. The ones that shutdown are non-starters for most off-grid type applications. ~cheers & Boom
Thanks Man! I tried to fix and adjust in some places but for the most part was out of my control lol. Oh yeah good point for the 2 phase watt difference!! Ill have to see what I can do for that test. I hope it doesnt have any issues like that!!! Fingers crossed
@@AveRage_Joe How Quickly does the UPS function with Utility power switch under surge current conditions. I ask because I am thinking of using the same Growatt inverter unit to run my 240VAC pool pump (turns on only once a day), and a few other dedicated 240 Services (no in rush), I measured the In Rush current of the pump at 46 Amps, normal run current is about 10 amps. Also thinking of not using batteries, at least until they hopefully become more affordable. Obviously clouds could present an issue however, I ask as It appears that in the near future Net Energy Metering will change, so that you cannot use the Grid as a form of Battery Storage. Anyway just thinking of other options. Thanks
Switch says 10ms for time. Occasionally you may see a flicker with Led lights but not all the time. Yeah you could use this for the pump. You will need a battery. Even if using in the solar function. You could probly just get 4 "junk" lead acid batteries for that. Also may even get by with the 6kw one as the surge is pretty damn high. They are 3X the normal so 36kw for the 12kw inverter and 18kw for the 6kw inverter.
@@AveRage_Joe do you think you could run whole house on the 6KW unit? Great review, this is the unit I am considering but our consumption is purdy low, like 15kw/day, mostly during the day so direct solar power would cover use.
Thanks, love your channel!
The interface on that inverter is awesome! I love how intuitive it is to read with the graphics. Makes my Magnum Energy seem archaic.
Yeah the screen is nice and inneractive. Lol on archaic magnum🤣
Magnum does not have the display but will always keep you powered up when the grid goes down. Magnum ms4448pae is a great great choice inverter.
your great explanation has won me over to Growatt. The units appear to offer great value over a piece by piece build system.
Well thanks Man! I wasnt trying to win or anything like that. Like I said Im not affiliated or anything just like the inverter!😆🤘 It is pretty solid tho!!! Much cheaper in cost compaired to many.
My personal situation has changed and I am now relegated to an apartment, although I still play around with batteries currently combing through about 20KW of laptop batteries and building a couple of 14s100p batteries.
I will continue as a staunch observer of your escapades. As always Joe, you do a great job, thanks for entertaining an old man.
Oh why the living change? At least you can still play the bettery game😆 Thanks for watching! Moar to come!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe I was remodeling a 1970's last year and fell broke a hip. At 73 my family convinced me it was time for a change. Then when the hip refused to heal I had a replacement done in December, but in the interim the house sold and I moved to an apt. I've been collecting and processing batteries for several years hoping to follow in your footsteps. Now I am left with about 2700 good cells and thought I'd build them into packs, so still piddling and playing around. Never likely get to build an actual power wall now I suppose.
Still enjoy your videos and learning as much as I can...
Thanks again Joe for all you do, you are a solid inspiration to this old man!
Whoa! Damn wth happen with the hip. A guy at my work had same issue with a hip. Sounds a change was in order for sure however you do have cells to mess with🤣💥🤘
And Thanks for the kind comment! Appreciate that!🤘
It would be nice to have a generator video to demonstrate the functionality in a pure off grid environment. Also a gental suggestion - a Db neter to measure the sound of the fans would be helpful as well. Thanks and keep up the great work!
If I had a genny Id for sure do a video!!! Yeah a db meter would also be super handy for vids like this!!!
I’m trying to get enough information about off grid power! I like Joe’s set up but looking to make my own generator basically using a 3000 RPM brushless motor ,48 amp amp alternator that last about 10yrs. and battery for back a up battery charger for a 48v battery need help to make it work.... what’s your take on this idea?
Inside your consumer unit is nice and neat like how it should be. so for your the only person consumer unit that look like someone professional installed. 👌🏾👌🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thanks Man!🤘
This was the clentcher, after watching your review I went out and picked up the same unit with the wifi adapter (should be free not 50$) thank you
NICE!!!! Ya the wifi should be free!!!
I really enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing. Also you say you are not a licensed electrician but I have to tell you that is one of the cleanest and most professional looking breaker panel I have seen and you even have the wires labeled. I am very impressed.
Thanks Jeff! Appreciate that!😆🤘
I could say a lot more. I just bought the same machine. I really needed this I mean I really needed this thank you.
Its a good one! I would buy again if needed!🤘
I have one of these and your Video has given me incentive to get it hooked up!
Getter DONE!!💪💥🤘
Thanks for explaining the whole "pass through" thing with the inverter. I was always under the impression it was grid-tie or nothing. I also assume (you might explain it later) that even as a pass through, it is designed to not put power back into the grid and fry some poor linesman..
You betcha! I was always under the same impression. Basically I didnt understand lol! I dont really explain in later but maybe once its all connected to my house I can explain moar/show it!
@@AveRage_Joe hello, thanks for the video. Does this also act as a AC couple system if you have an existing inverter?
Nope, it wont do any of that. Its a stand alone!👍
"Not an electrician!" -- exposes military spec loomed breaker panel!
🤣🤫lol
Thanks for the video. I have the same inverter/ charge controller. I was going with different brand and model when I found the growatt. I talked to same place and about different models and went with the 12kw too. Started the solar design and planning 6 years ago with move to large acres in mountains. Well 3 years ago did the big purchase and stock pile of supplies. Then begin this year bought batteries and started our offgrid homestead in June. Well finally getting my pv setup and finishing wiring. So it was nice to see the setup and test. I also have to hook up my generator to system so when batteries are low and no- little sun it will kick on.
NIIIIICE!!! Im a little jelly of your place in the mountains. Id love to do that! Im from wyoming and miss it. Live in Omaha Ne amd its to flat🤣
How much is the standby consumption when the inverter is on and not powering anything?
@@Dave_889 well still learning as we go. But it has standby and on and have seen that the read out is not accurate. But on standby it says 1.2% and I forget the watts: still have to get second array up to get better charge and the generac activation done to charge plus get the 2 wire relay on the victron monitor setup: it’s been tough working full time job and building a homestead from scratch plus manage power.
Its 150ish watts powering itself and nothing else!💥🤘
@@AveRage_Joe Daam, that's a lot of power
this is excellent. to the point, not a lot of wasted space, and full of useful info. thanks!!!
Thanks! Appreciate that!💥🤘
Thanks Joe, I still have not put a battery on mine. I have other inverters running mining rigs. im saving it for when the SHTF!!!
There you go! That may be sooner then later lol😬🤣
And how do you do that? My miner consumes 5kw with 8 cards. What inverter you using? It sounds more like a dream lol
@@GeraldPUR I had them split up but 12 cards on 3 computers was about 2kw. I had it running from my 3kw inverter 24volt. You can watch some of my videos showing my solar set up. dont think I filmed my rig, wish i had. I just sold most of my cards last month. price was to juicy. bought more crypto when Btc dipped to 50k. everything was on UPS's so I could swap from grid to solar. my main system has a ATS.
Really love what you are doing on this channel. I do notice some things in what your video shows. The first is that the fans are ball bearing fans, and they should last longer, but they are noisier than sleeve bearings. It is a shame (I have not found any at least) that no one makes a fluid dynamic bearing DC axial fan (at least of this size). There are plenty of DC cooling fans for PC cases using such bearings. They last as long as a ball bearing fan, but are way quieter. Your version is split phase (for the US), but they also do a 240V single phase version for Europe. Those block connectors do not look very big. I wonder what your thoughts are on having smaller units paralleled together? It provides redundancy, and wiring can be a smaller gauge (and fit those terminals). My house has a 23kW grid supply (but our night tariff is sooo cheap)! I see that Growatt have just released a 3000W (the SPF 3000T HVM-G2) second generation version of this unit also, which makes me wonder if G3 versions of the bigger ones will appear. It seems to be more efficient from the specs. I also don't like those top fans. I might be inclined to fit a duct over the top and vent that air away sideways, stopping any downward ingress of dust and moisture when the inverter is on standby, and likely also reducing noise a bit.
Looks good, the efficiency is better than I expected too. The fans are definitely louder than mine but 12kw vs two 3kw units that's probably expected. There is a mode you can choose where it will charge from both solar and utility, you can set the max charge rate from utility as well as the max overall charge rate of both solar and utility combined going into the batteries. Mostly I think that's a mode you'd use while getting ready for a storm to come through to keep everything topped off or if you're using a generator to top off the batteries during low solar input in say an off grid use.
Nice handling of the surge from that saw too, looked like your Batrium showed a spike above 7kw for a brief bit, one of the nice things about the low frequency design is the surge handling. Great test, congrats man!
Thanks Man! Yeah eff was better then expected! So I had originally went through all the menu settings and explained them all(kinda) but removed it due to length of video. May do another in future on those. Also I forgot to mention I for some reason cant get the beep to shut off while pushing buttons. Option 15 is off🤷♂️. I was also able to change the setting from the online app from a different pc I found out after video🤣
@@AveRage_Joe I've had so many people asking me how to kill that beep, or some other beeps and it must be hit or miss that option 15 works cause on mine with it off no beeps but given all the comments and your experience now too, it doesn't always work. One thing that would be nice as well is if there was a reset to factory default option in the menu too. Overall they work well, its just the little rough edges like that they could stand to fix.
Look forward to your vid with the new battery bank. I've been so slammed with work the last couple months been hard to get any side projects done.
@@AveRage_Joe - I have an ERROR / FAULT #61 & I disabled the annoying "BEEP" by simultaneously PRESSING the + Buttons
which seem to allow other ERRORS to sound-off & ONLY disable the BEEP on Error # 61
COOP
...
What is you solar voltage. Are you close to the high end? I havent had that error but was thinking if your on the higher end maybe its to high from the sun creepin around the clouds. Also if temp is cool/cold with have higer voltage??? Oh and.....did you try restarting it🫣😄🤘
Great job, you covered it in depth, looks like a good system.
Can't wait to see it PowerWalled and looking forward to the next battery video..
Just so ya know, Patreon does notifications when you update.
🤔💭💣💥
Very nice 👌 now more batteries more Capacity more power ⚡⚡🔥😼🙀
Thanks!! Another thing I did do but removed from video was going through all the menu items. Thats good to hear that Patreon gives correct and updated notifications!💥🤘
Thanks Mate!!! You know it! Moar batteries moar Power!😆🤘
Joe, I don’t know if you answer these but I sure could use some helpful guidance and advice so I don’t do anything too crazy. I bought the 12kw growatt after watching your videos. It should be here next week I might need a more detailed video with wiring it completely off grid. I intended to use 12 300w panels total, 6 are in parallel and 6 in series. I have 4 12v Vmax solar 155 batteries and power is being delivered using a #6 Thhn cord. Thanks for making great videos that keep inspiring us to build bigger.
Nice! I have the grid connected as a backup(or when we dont have sun). Do you plan to do that or complete off grid?
@@AveRage_Joe Yes, I have been off grid for the last 3 years due to my local electric company charging seriously high bills while I was out sailing on deployment. I’m talking over 1000 for one month totaling $5000 in a mostly vacant home with solar panels. I bought a Homegrid 5000 and haven’t looked back. This Growatt is a huge step up and would allow me to run equipment like my dryer finally. My biggest fear is that I will mess this installation up, so I have been obsessing for weeks reading the manual and re watching your videos every night. Any help is a great help, and I’d appreciate if you stopped me from fouling up my installation 😁. Thanks Joe.
Oh, very important, always run a ground from the main panel to the ground next to the input hot leads. Next, run a ground from the chassis to your output source. The chassis ground is on the far right corner looking at it from the bottom. You can see the ground at 8:15 on the video. Super important to do this.
would you use the ground next to the input leads for the grounding rod buried outside or the chassis ground ? or both?(i wouldnt have shore power or a generator connected to the input on the inverter in my case)
The ground next to input I have connected to the main panel ground which is connected to ground rod outside!
What's the biggest size wire that can connect to the battery terminals on the inverter 4/0 ? Also what's the biggest size wire for the PV input on the inverter? Thanks
Any size for battery cable as its the lug that will hold the wire. PV I have 6awg installed but I think 4awg could squeeze in there!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe cool thanks for the reply 👍
Everyone seems to get free Keysight oscilloscopes, seems you and me are the only ones who didn’t get one 😉. I thought it was only me. Thank you for making these videos!
😆Lol I guess!!! Im sure I would manage to blow it up in the first few min anyway🤣💥 Thanks for watching!🤘
3.30.21 Great video Joe. Looks easy when you hook up things. I am working towards this kind of a set up. Thanks again.
Thanks Man! Yeah seems to handle the things I tried. Real test will be with the new batteries!! What all you working on meow?
@@AveRage_Joe 4.9.21 What I want to do is use my solar panels hooked up to the growatt (of some kind) hooked up to my electronic panel and be used like a grid tie inverter. Currently I have a 1000 watt grid tie invertor plugged into a 120v outside plug. I would like to add batteries in the future.
Growatt does have quite a few grid-tie inverters to choose from. I have not tried any of them.
I have a growatt SPF 6000T DVM-MPV since 2 years working perfectly.
Joe! So good to see you back! Great video as ever :)
Thanks!!! I thought it was so so🙄 lol🤣💥
Soon you will be supplying your whole neighbourhood with power 😂. Good video!
😆 LOL SHHHHH
Truly appreciating your video on the way from Down Under, This’s Australia 😆
Thanks Mate and thanks for watching!!💥🤘
I prefer only low frequency inverters. Very nice device.
Thanks Mate! Im loving this inverter so far!!!🤘
Interesting inverter its big for sure what's the install plan I'm interested in how your going to wire it in the panel the inverter seems to handle the loads well enough.
Good video very informative.
Thanks for sharing.
Hy Joe, thank you for the new video
No Thank You!!!💥🤘
Just a comment that in America we got 240V monophase on 2 lines. We do not have 2 phase that's impossible. Industrial has 3phases and in our house we only have 1 phase ,whit +120v and a seconde line -120v. These 2 lines has 240V of difference of potential between them. Great video!
Yes you are 100% correct!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe Silly question - Are you able to run 240 volt (i.e., well pump or mini split). Everything in me thinks you should, but there is still that little voice telling me no. It’s not easy being me
No silly questions! Yeah you can run anything 240v and also run the 120v stuff at the same time!🤘
That looks really good buddy.
I thought they only made grid inverters. Sweet ✌🏼
Thanks Man! Yeah seems pretty solid! Looking forword to connecting it up to the house!🤘
Hey Joe my Growat 12k is putting out 120v on the Leg 1 output and 240v on the Leg 2 output. I am also confused as to weather the middle wire, the N , gets a wire to the sub panel or not. The diagram in the manual shows it not being used. I am off grid so my shore power will actually be a 9000w propane generator with a 100amp Chargeverter and those are not connected yet.
Hello Thank you very much for the video, at minute 7:40 when you are making the voltage input connections AND you say: normally you would also connect the ground cable, which goes back to the ground and neutral connection of your main panel, it means that you must to go neutral and ground together at that point?
Yes, just replied to your other comment. The neutral and ground are bonded in main panel🤘
@@AveRage_Joe The supplier says that only the 2 lines and ground should be connected to the network voltage input, but not connected to the neutral, is this correct?
Or do I have to connect the neutral and the ground to the mains voltage input on the inverter?
I have my ground and neutral bonded in my main panel. Main panel supplies the input to inverter. Output of inverter goes to a subpanel. Subpanel ground and neutral are not bonded because that ground goes back to main panel which is bonded. Hope that helps
@@AveRage_Joe Thanks, I'm going to tell the supplier about it so he can do it and let's try again.
The system would perform even better a set of at least 1000 farad, graphene capacitors on the DC supply side, paralleled with the battery input into the inverter. The capacitors would take up the slack to keep the batteries from being hit full force with the surge current from inductive load start-ups from the house air conditioning units, saws, etc.
Inverter with built in charge controller is good idea. Less wiring less heat related problems. I am upgrading my battery and inverter, from 400w to 1 Kw to match the panels.
100%
As always, Joe knocks it out of the park.... I feel so lame for not doing my video on my units yet, I looked at my invoice and its been almost 10 months...Shame on me, Make sure you support your TH-camrs and use Joes Code's to save and get a BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Shirt!
You better get on it man!!! What all you got left to do?
@@AveRage_Joe alot, working on the building to put everything in
Awesome! Cant wait to see whatcha got cookin!🤘
Looks good brother. Thanks for sharing. God Bless.
Thanks Man and thanks for watching!🤘
Hey Joe, thanks for the great video reviewing all the inverter's capabilities. Do you know if the inverter is capable of stacking, connecting 2 of these inverters in a paired configuration?
Thanks Man! Appreciate that. This inverter is not stackable but I have heard growatt is coming out with one but thats all I have heard.
Does your inverter charge up the capacitors with the breakers off?
Yes, the circuit breakers are on the AC input and output!🤘
Hey Joe thanks for the video, do you have any updates on how this inverter is running a year later? Thanks
Thanks for watching! I dont but want to do an update video! Jfyi I still love it and its working great!🤘
is this inverter could work without battery and grid? just directly from pv power to power some resistive load or minimum house load.
You do need a battery as far as I know! I guess you could add a small cheap battery and then use the solar as main.
A work horse for sure. But has it limits on programming. One issues for me I had to change my battery setting from 56v to 48v due to not able to set the battery low cut off point.
Parallel Nissian Leaf batteries stack of 8 & series each stack for 48 volts work perfect now. 56v worked fine too just wasn't able to set that safety cut off. Yes, I do have it switching back to utility on low battery source prior to low cutoff safety.
So its not letting you set the low bat cutoff??
Great video. I'm considering a similar hybrid inverter, but one thing worries me. If the power company turns off the main power (or an accident occurs and the power goes out), is there a chance that the inverter will return voltage to the mains and someone get an electric shock. I tried to find circuit diagrams of this type of hybrid inverters to find out exactly how the energy is converted, but I'm still not 100% sure.
Thanks Mate! They way this is actually connected in real use case there is no way to send power back through the grid. Ive had it connected for a few weeks now and I am supplying the inverter with AC from a sub panel, the AC output is connected to the panel showed in this video and I have installed an interlock kit so only the inverter or grid can power the panel, not both.
HiAverage Joe, Can you explain to me the grid pass through thing you mentioned a couple times please. How can I wire mine, when I get it, to take advantage of the grid too? Thanks, Mouse
Basically you will wire your 240v grid connection into the input of the inverter and the 240v output from inverter will go to your panel that you want to power. Then once the inverter is powered on, the grid can pass through inverter to your panel OR the relay inside switchs and you power from battery and solar if you have solar.
Word of caution on that one with split phase systems and these transformer based split phase Inverters. The inverters internal transformer acts like an autotransformer while in bypass mode that generates a "new" neutral output from the inverter and that transformer will try to balance upstream imbalanced loads from the grid connection if interconnected to the grid neutral either direct or via ground bond.
Thanks so much for this great overview video. I've been looking around for a controller that does everything that you demonstrated to replace my MPPT LV2424 which can't do much without major modification to my house sub-panel.
This one is an Awesome inverter and I am still Loving it!!
Hi Joe. Did you get the Batrium to work with the Growatt inverter through the CAN port? If yes, what protocol did you use?
For you, what is the best hybrid investor at the moment? Good morning.
Those AMPs blow my mind. We use 220v and less amps. :)
RIGHT! Its so much different here lol.
Being old enough to have been part of the Cheech and Chong generation, I can't hear the name Growatt without thinking of something to illuminate a basement weed farm. I don't know how the Chinese come up with some of these names.
Anyway, this is a great video as it answered a lot of my questions on this unit. My max utilization according to the power company has been around 13KwH/day, so a 12Kw unit is certainly enough to work for me in UPS mode. It looks like it's worked well enough for you in a couple of videos, so I'm going to see if Will also give it a thumbs up, and probably buy this model.
The long pole in the tent is my desire for 3-4 days autonomy, and that's in the battery packs and solar panels.
LOL I havent seen Cheech and Chong since early 90's! Im not sure how they come up with the names either. When the wife and I were in Okinawa Japan, the names they had for there stores were just as hilarious. Thanks for watching and Yeah the inverter has been great so far. Ups mode works great. Even reverse ups mode having the grid as the backup works great. Thats how I have been using it for the most part!
Joe, I have the 6k version, for the life of me I can't get the software to change from 100 percent battery SOC? any clue? Also are you using the battery equalization setting for your batteries??.. thanks bro
BRILLIANT! 💥 Pretty cool! Looking forward to the 🔋
Thanks Man! Hows your system doing? Havent seen or heard ANYTHING about it in long time!
@@AveRage_Joe It just runs brah! Helped us through the snowpacalypse. We're looking for land out of the city so I'll add a new channel when that happens. :)
NOICE!!! How was that hole shinanagins anyway?
@@AveRage_Joe We were fortunate - only lost power for 24hrs when it started. Others in the neighborhood were out for days & busted pipes. Kind of a mess. Latest VLOG video describes it better.
after 3 years is it still a good inverter? no issues since?
Thank you my friend .. What is the MOSFET used in this device
Oh ahhh, I am not sure🤷♂️
@@AveRage_Joe
Thank you, my friend. I want to know that, because I am designing a device. I want to put the same MOSFET
Is there a mode that will input AC and solar power, export power from both AC and battery power, and use the battery power first? Basically I want to use as much solar power as possible when it is available.
Alternatively with no battery. Is it possible to import AC and solar power and export AC and solar power with solar being priority and whatever solar can't provide AC does?
Yeah there are a few diff settings to choose from. I use SBU mode( solar battery utility) I use solar to power the house and if there isnt enough solar then it will use battery. If battery voltage goes down to 46v(settable) then it will switch back to utility until the battery reachs 54v(settable) and power the house with solar or battery.
This inverter needs a battery but can do what you are asking.🤘
Would the inverter works if you don't want to connect to the Growatt Cloud? TIA
Yeah it will work without connecting to cloud!🤘
Exactly, I use it only for emergency, as a backup because it is too noisy. It is like a generator, but less noisy.
Hi Joe, I have the same inverter that you have? How did you do the sub panel for bypass? Do you have. Diagram for it? I’m setting up the same setup like yours. Thanks
Excellent vid and info for the DYIer. Am I correct to say there are NO CT's to measure UR current usage? Comparing to Sol-Ark 12K, what is the PV to BAT to AC Losses? SOL-Ark is 7%. Can U config it to only charge battery from Solar? Looking forward to next vid.
Thanks Man! Id have to figure out how to do all the losses lol. I hear the sol-ark inverters a GREAT. Have heard they have issues starting big inductance loads(dont have one so can confirm that) but overall great efficient inverters. Yes you can choose to recharge with solar only on this inverter.
I like that inverter/ / / growatt unit. Pretty nice unit.
Thanks Man! Seems pretty solid. I did get the wifi stuff to change settings. I tried from a different computer and it worked lol🤷♂️😆
Can the growatt allow grid AC pass-through in "power saver" mode? Have you tested this mode much?
Yeah Im pretty sure it does and when a load comes on it will "power on" and power the load. I always have mine in "on" mode but have switched it to powersaver mode and it keeps running.
4.9.21 Question: Joe do you know what the letters mean in the name? SPF T DVM LVM TL ?
I think SPF is split phase but the others......not sure🤷♂️
I think this is the inverter I am looking for. I want one to run my 10KW electric furnace. How big of a battery bank would you recommend for this unit?
I'm thinking of putting this outside of my bedroom wall (basically the only place I have room for it). But I'm concerned about noise. The videos make this sound like a jet engine: would it bother me or my neighbors if we had our windows open? Is there anything that can be done about it?
I think my AC is louder then the inverter and thats outside our bedroom. I dont think Id worry about it.
Weird question but if I were to mount it on a wall would I hear aggressive vibration or fan sounds coming from the other side of the wall
Still up and running? How well does it handle your central AC, water heater and other 240 loads?
Hello Joe, I have the exact same inverter. I am going off grid and have a newer home that is on the grid at the moment. I've read that the inverter AC output L1 L2 and Neutral.. the Neutral is not connected? I've installed a new Siemens circuit panel, attached L1 and L2 from the inverter ac output and attached the house Ground line to the Ground Buss inside the panel but still wondering about the Neutral coming out of the inverter.. connect or not connect? Powering up and measuring at the inverter the output is fine .. 120v on each L1 and L2 to Neutral and 240v across L1 L2. But still wondering about that dang N! Have you connected the N?
Please let me know sir, if you would.
Thanks
✌PT
Yeah I have my neutral connected. It bonds to ground in main panel!
@@AveRage_Joe thanks AJ..
✌️PT
You bet!
Hello I have a deep water well pump is 3hp I can run it with 4K harbor freight generator how ever the pump is 220v Will this work any chance this works with no battery just with solar array. Sorry for so many question I’m in desperate need of help as I have failed in my other attempts
Yeah this would run it. It can output 220 or 240v BUT you would need to connect A battery. You could throw a couple cheapo lead acid batteries with your solar and pretty much ise the solar to run everything. It just need a battery tho.
Thank for the video I bought one of that inverter Groovat12kw' one question Ware I can get to buy one Batrium I will like have one when start my inverter, Thank for all again ,
Nice!!! Its an awesome inverter. I purchased my batrium from there website batrium.com!
Hey dude, good to see another video from you! Loved the thorough testing of this hybrid inverter. I'm thinking of getting one now.
BTW, what kind of panel is it that you are using on the DIY PowerWall now? It's well installed and looks good.
Thanks Man. Sweet! If you go through sig solar tellem I sent ya. Its not affiliated or anything but maybe you can get a discount lol. I did a few videos on the "control panel". Im probly going to get rid of it lol
@@AveRage_Joe I ended up watching the build videos on the panel. It turned out good. Don't ditch it!
Thanks Man! Well the reason for possibly ditching it is the rack is kinda big and in the way now. I think the plan is to put everything in one smaller box and mount it to the wall. Will be cleaner Im thinking as well.😆
@@AveRage_Joe makes sense to me! Looking forward to seeing Gen 2. Boom!
In your opinion would it be advisable to get to 6000 W inverter’s or a one 12,000 W inverter’s for a split phase
I almost went with the 6kw but didnt want to have any issues starting or using pretty much anything at anytime lol. It really depends on your use. I think one could get buy on a 6kw for sure.
“two 6000 W inverter or one 12,000 W inverter for a split phase”?
I heard this discussion before.
One some low frequency inverters, like the Genetry inverters, they can typically be configured to do 6000 watts per split, handling surges of over 12k watts per split, completely supporting a 12k load with super high peaks.
The disadvantage of configurations using two inverters is the high parasitic draw from the idle time of both inverters. This disadvantage drives people to a single inverter.
A single 12k inverter, like this GroWatt is typically heavier than two 6k inverters. The unwieldy nature of the larger inverters is a turn-off for some people, so they would prefer equipment that they can handle by themselves.
I purposefully chose physically smaller solar panels, for this very reason. I try to get the best $/watt in the smallest form factor per panel. Similar for inverters & batteries.
Joe, thank you for the video, I was wondering what size breaker was it that you wired the ac input to and does this same connection work to power the panel when the grid goes down? Thank you
couple questions, what happens if you only supply power to L1 on the input side of the inverter ? maybe you only have L1 on the output side of a generator ( of grid set up ) ?
does only pass through L1 120 ? can you bride L1 & L2 on input side of inverter ? If so do you still get split phase output or two 120 volt output single phase on output side ? or nothing?
also, I cant find the start-up capacity in amps on 8kw growwatt I.E. 70 am surge at 220 volt ?
How much does it weigh? Glad to see new video from you!
Thanks Man! This beast weighs 165lbs😲 I did manage to get it on the wall with some pulleys. Video shninanagins on that coming up.
I'm getting output when I'm on powersaver mode but when I flip the switch to the standard "on" it has no output. Its never done that before has worked great for the last years. If you have any knowledge on this please let me know
So here is my question. if I connect 5kw of solar and grid input and I am drawing 10kw will it use 5kw solar and only 5kw of grid power? is that even possible? ie will it use the solar and less from the grid if the solar is available? can it use power dynamically like that?
Can I use 2 of these? I have 100amp service so I need 20kw for "full capacity" can 2 interact like that? (I know syncing phases is tricky and hard to do)
ALSO can I put it on a timer plan programming kind of thing? for example I want it to switch to solar battery only at 1630 and then back to grid when battery runs down or it gets to 2200 (time of use power power is twice as expensive in those hours)
So, will this thing use the grid for a backup to supply loads over what the inverter or solar might not be able to produce?
Yeah you can set it up like that. I have it set to use grid as a backup if battery and solar are dead or cant keep up, it switches over to grid!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe Very nice! Do you know if it can be limited to not feed the grid?
It does not feed grid.
@@AveRage_Joe Oh hell, I missed that then. Awesome unit there... Been torn between this or a couple 5000ES...
Does it shut off or auto transfer to electric input when overloaded?
You can choose that option to do either.
I have a question. Will this inverter handle a 220 volt well pump ? Pump is 220 volt at 12 amps? I’m looking for new inverter that can run my house and well pump at the same time. The total amp load on the house is 25 amps.
Should handle that without a issue at all!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe thanks Joe
You betcha!
any update for today about the inverter is still kicking?
Still kicking and doing GREAT!!!! I want to do a follow up vid when I get time!!!
By electrical code you should not run small cables in parallel.......if I remember well you can do it from #2 AWG up.....and you don't have to separate phases on this unit...you have two "halves" of the same phase (split phase system)
Enjoyable video.
Does the inverter have a mode that allows the inverter to use pv and battery and grid-utility power simultaneously? Allowing the grid to only supply the excess power needed for loads that is above the inverters max output?
Thanks Man! Technically the inverter will do all that! It will power from solar first, if not enough then also uses battery. If battery is dead or low it will use grid! Max load above the 12kw is 36kw but for short time. Hope I can test that here soon!!!
@@AveRage_Joe so I guess there really wouldn’t be any time that you have more loads than the max capacity of the inverter with such a high capacity. I was wondering if it would shut the inverter off like a standard offgrid inverter, or if it would continue to put out its max but still allow the grid to supply the remaining power needed to fully supply all the homes load
If it could do this then a smaller inverter that covers the majority of continuous loads could be used. Then the system could be cheaper with a smaller battery that wouldn’t have to supply power for surges and occasional high loads. Easier on batteries etc. this would only be beneficial if there was a grid connection to the home
Great video and lots of comments in reply. Is the 160 watt standby power a good thing for these low frequency inverters? Is there some way around that? If I dont want to be burning thu 160 watts every hour on my batteries and want to have 120 volts at my house outlets what can I do ? I suppose in the day time the solar panels should cover this loss but after dark Im losing 1.6 kwh per night.
Thanks Man! Yeah the 160w is high but pretty standard for this size of inverter. Im not to worried about it at this current time but Ive been use to higher idle draw from the 2700w UPS I was using for an inverter. I know the high frequency inverters have a lower standby or idle draw but not many are split phase and cant start a regular saw or compressor. If you dont need a low frequency inverter you could go HF for sure!
Hey!!! I made an order with signature solar and nobody cared if you gave me great advice and leading me to them. I believe they a a great business talking to them during multiple phone calls. How do I honor your work ? Should I call them again mentioning your channel???
Awesome, Your gonna Love it!!! Yeah super helpful when I called to buy mine as well!! Hmm cant say why they didnt care if someone recommended there bis!!!🙄
Great video! One question, I have this inverter and have it set for the utility to charge my batteries if the solar fails and the battery voltage gets below 46v. Could you share your settings, specifically programs 01, 05, 12, and 13? In my tests, the utility power never kicks in.
Awesome! Yeah my settings are as follows.
1-sbu
5-use
12-46v
13-54v
After almost a year after this video was done, have you found the web portal is actually beneficial? Does it only have a 5 min refresh rate or can it show you realtime stats like Victron's VRM?
Yeah I check in on the inverter pretty much daily lol. I check with my phone tho since its super easy. Yeah the refresh rate is 5min. Not like victrons which would be nice.
Great review especially when the unit is purchased with your own money. This way the company cannot "doctor up" and provide a superior product compared to the rest of the products on the market.
Thanks!! Yep purchased myself! It is a beast and I Love it!!!💥🤘
@@AveRage_Joe I am an automotive engineer and we purchase many components from China. I have visited many of these companies and they will "hand modify" parts they know will be used for testing. I NEVER trust any of the YT reviewers who get "free samples" to test.
These "free samples" are always the "best of the best". It is much better to buy these test samples at random so the company will not know what parts are for testing. You are providing an excellent service and I thank you.
Thanks and appreciate that! If I could afford lots of things to test and review I would lol. I work a full time job as a mechanic so bigger priced items take a bit to save up for. I do however get some things free for testing but always state that an item was sent to me ect. Most of those have been regular things that are off the shelf tho. 🤘
Hey Mr Joe Sir ... One More Question about this Growatt 12kw. What is the idle power consumption in normal mode (not power saver)? Is it reasonable? Can you deal with the amount of power it consumes just being on?
Off the top of my head I think it was 150w idle no load. Thats in a vid I did. I honestly dont care about idle load. I was using a 2700w server ups for an inverter before this lol and it was almost the same! Yes I can deal!😆🤘
8:49 WHY is it so big?!? Seriously they have wifi dongles that practically flush mount. Or ya know, just build it into the machine?
Yeah true!!! You would think having it built in would be the way to go!!
Boom? BOOM. Comment to show engagement. Keep 'em coming. No cat... REALLY???? OK, fine.
💥💥💥💥💥😆 You know how it works🤘 Yeah really where the hell is that 🐈. Ill have to start tracking him down!🤞💪
I really would like to install it where everything runs on it except the washer, dryer and ac unit. is this possible?
Great video Joe, because of your video I went and buy 6000 watts version but sometimes it reboot by itself and when my battery is too low the inverter shut off but when it comes back on I have to change the setting to 60hz. It does not stay on 60hz after rebooting
Interesting! I would check for a firmware upgrade!
good day and pls can u show how to get the 240v , i live in a country where the power voltage is 240 and so i would like to know how to connect both 120v on this inverter to the 240v , thanks and i was hoping u would show that with the induction cooker , but too bad it did not work , so hope u can show how that is set up .
Is there anyway to select an option so it DOES NOT charge my batteries?
Yeah dont add solar or AC input from grid!💪
Sorry about the late conversation but do the fans run full output constantly? Heard they do. Know high frequency ramp up with load.
The 6kw fans run all the time. This 12kw, fans turn on and off depending on load.🤘
Great inverter and I will sure love to consider owning own but for the unsecured internet access that's raising my hair, pretty much a decent concept
Thanks! It seems pretty solid for sure! Yeah the internet part of it I am not a fan of. I did try from another pc and was able to change settings. You can also connect directly to the inverter and use the supplied software as well but didnt mention it in this video.🤘