12kw Growatt Inverter Operational Check/Review!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มี.ค. 2021
- Operational Check/Review on all options of a 12kw Growatt Split Phase Low Frequency 120/240 Pure Sinewave Inverter Model # SPF12000tDVM
I was able to get some of the wifi options to work from PC!!!
I purchased this AIO Inverter from James over at signaturesolar.us
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💥💥💥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!🤘
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!
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.
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!😆🤘
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.
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 is excellent. to the point, not a lot of wasted space, and full of useful info. thanks!!!
Thanks! Appreciate that!💥🤘
Joe! So good to see you back! Great video as ever :)
Thanks!!! I thought it was so so🙄 lol🤣💥
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!
I have one of these and your Video has given me incentive to get it hooked up!
Getter DONE!!💪💥🤘
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!😆🤘
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!🤘
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!!
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.
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.
"Not an electrician!" -- exposes military spec loomed breaker panel!
🤣🤫lol
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.
Hy Joe, thank you for the new video
No Thank You!!!💥🤘
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!🤘
Truly appreciating your video on the way from Down Under, This’s Australia 😆
Thanks Mate and thanks for watching!!💥🤘
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
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!🤘
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?
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.
Looks good brother. Thanks for sharing. God Bless.
Thanks Man and thanks for watching!🤘
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.
I have a growatt SPF 6000T DVM-MPV since 2 years working perfectly.
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!👍
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
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🫣😄🤘
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!!!
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.
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.🤘
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🤷♂️😆
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.
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!
This was really a great video!!!
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.
Great Videos! Thank you for doing what you do. Very informative and entertaining. This unit peaked my interest... looking for a "powerwall" type of solution to backup critical circuits in a short term grid down situation (without using solar - only this inverter and batteries). Many calls I've made into Sig Solar either go unanswered, connected with someone who's unable to answer any questions, or messages left and not returned. I suspect they have all the business they want/need. Really surprising considering how many positive comments are on here about them.
Thanks and appreciate that! I purchased mine at this time last year and they were busy and or on holiday vaca. I also dont think they were as busy. You will love the inverter if you end up getting one! I Love mine!🤘
@Marc Kramer, I’m in your same spot. Looking at creating a critical loads UPS with one of these and a couple of SigSolar’s 48VDC batteries. I’m curious if anyone has added solar to something like this just for the tax credits on the inverter and other items?
Soon you will be supplying your whole neighbourhood with power 😂. Good video!
😆 LOL SHHHHH
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!
Hi Joe. Did you get the Batrium to work with the Growatt inverter through the CAN port? If yes, what protocol did you use?
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.
Thanks for making videos on this inverter I've been thinking about getting one. I have a MPP solar LV 5048 off grid set up with the Nissan Leaf Gen 2 batteries I didn't really know what I was doing but I copied the settings from a TH-camr and got it working learning as I go. I saw something about the recommended minimum battery capacity being 24 kwh I only have about 8 kwh and the Nissan Leaf G2 batteries are hard to come by right now so I don't know if it's a good idea to get rid of my system and start over or wait till batteries become available and just change the inverter. Either way I look forward to your next video on this inverter.
You are welcome! I almost went with a LV 5048 but seen they couldnt start a saw unless you had 2 units. The manual for this 12kw inverter recommends a 400ah battery but its just a suggestion. My current system is only a little over 200ah and everything is just fine. Like I mentioned in video my draw back was the wires I used during the build. You can use whatever size battery you want but it would be best to make sure its capable of delivering over 250amps if you want to use the full 12kw from the inverter. I can supply my entire house off my battery EXCEPT my dryer, stove and AC at this current time and thats only because of my poor planning in the 2 10awg wires on the battery packs. Next battery pack will be a huge upgrade. So for you, Id either wait or add similar chemistry batteries to raise the AH so you dont need to redo system. I however am pretty much redoing my system lol
Those AMPs blow my mind. We use 220v and less amps. :)
RIGHT! Its so much different here lol.
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?
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
Very nice video, thanks for sharing
Cool piece of tech Joe.
Thankd Man!💥🤘
Still up and running? How well does it handle your central AC, water heater and other 240 loads?
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
Thanks for the info!
You bet!🤘
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%
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
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!
great vid
A great video - thank you sir! Some comments. 1) cloud requirements for software - I avoid these as you know they will share/use your personal data. 2) I have a MPP Solar Off-grid and noticed that when I have grid + PV, the 'max amps to the battery' setting is ignored unless I use a specific combo of Utility->Solar / Solar->Utility priorities - and would be interested what you find out about the Growatt. I have to say that my Midnite Classic (80a) = $700 + AIMS inverter 12,000w = $3500 + UPSs $1000 = $5200 compared to all-in-one Growatt for
Thanks Man! Yeah not a fan of the cloud service thing at all!! There is an option to connect directly to a pc and use the supplied software which is similar to the mpp software. May give it a try. I was also able to change settings in the cloud after video of course lol. I tried from a different pc and it worked great! I do have all the settings to control PV+Utility ect but will have to try a few combinations to see how it reacts or if it does similar to yours. So I actually only paid $2000 for this inverter shipped to my door!!
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.
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!🤘
Hey, I like the output from your thermal camera, is that one of the flir models? Looking to buy one, but not sure which 🙂
I use a Seek Thermal cam and use on an android phone and got off Amazon. I like it and if you have an apple they have it for it as well. amzn.to/3fSO3ux
For you, what is the best hybrid investor at the moment? Good morning.
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!🤘
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. 🤘
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 recently was working on one of these 12 kW and hooked it up via the L1 to the batteries because I have the pro power 4 battery that has the BMS connection. These are 100 amp charge batteries but when I go into L1 all that to grow what will allow is 50 amps and I have two of those batteries in parallel so I should be able to throw 200 amps at them. 50 Is unacceptable. so I had to go back to the user program 2 to set it up for the 180 amp output the batteries will handle. Do they have any kind of a firmware update?
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??
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!
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!
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 ?
Exactly, I use it only for emergency, as a backup because it is too noisy. It is like a generator, but less noisy.
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
Hi Average Joe,
Thanks for your great videos ! They convinced me to buy a model similar to yours.
So I have the 6000W version, and I have 2 questions you might be able to help me with
a) some days in the morning, it won't detect the solar panels. It'll show 0 volts and won't charge. A multimeter check shows that there is voltage... I have to switch the inverter off, and then it will find the panels and start charging
b) is there a way to charge the battery from the grid without activating passthrough ? My grid, which is actualy a gasoline generator, outputs 1kW only and it's quickly overwhelmed by the loads
Thanks !
Nice! Ive been wanting to test one of those out! Only thing I could think of if it doesnt start charging from solar is I would do a firmware update! Its super easy. Look in signature solars youtube and they show how to do it and where to get the firmware. For the 2nd question to charge from both and not passthrough is have option 1 on SBU and option 14 on SNU. Then set option 11 (grid charge amps) to what ever your genny can handle!🤘
For the induction stove to work, put a compatible pan on it then power up :-)
A few mentioned that. I figured it didnt work since the led panel didnt turn on. I still have it so I plan to re attempt with a pan!💥🤘
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.🤘
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)
Thanks for the breakdown of off grid vs grid tie. This is the first time I've heard that explained. I had to figure that out by reading the install documents on a few MPP and Growatt inverters.
Do you happen to know if Growatt makes a grid tie version of this inverter?
Thanks Mate! I wasnt aware at one time either! I know they have many grid-tie inverters but not sure if there is in this particular model.
@@AveRage_Joe possible dumb question. Is there a reason wifi is used instead of ethernet? I don't think I saw a ethernet port on the bottom of the device. It's possible I've missed it skimming over the serial and can RJ45 ports.
Not dumb question. You can connect directly and use the software that comes with the inverter. They also supplied a usb cable for that.
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.
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
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!🤘
Good day, we have Andy the recycler here in Colorado also.
Andy the recycler is the BEST!!!🤣🤣🤘
Hey great video. I have tesla solar with no powerwall. could i wire the output of the tesla inverters to maybe the generator input of this? im trying to find the best way to add a battery to the system and have a backed up loads panel.
Thanks! Hmmmm....Id have to look into that. I wanna say those need a grid signal to sync with or they wont work! Its a grid-tie system correct?
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.
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!🤘
I prefer only low frequency inverters. Very nice device.
Thanks Mate! Im loving this inverter so far!!!🤘
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.
For 240v, should the neutral and ground for subpanel connect to the inverter(ac input grnd & ac output N)? Should G and N be separated inside subpanel?
Inside sub panel yes seperated. Mine bond at main panel!
Excelent ....its work goods With inductive loads....tkanks for the test. I have 6kw 6000t spf dvm mvp growatt to install soon, 8 pv 400w, 48v batteries lead seal. Tkanks. Y friend.
Nice! Thanks for watching!🤘
Thanks Pro whats the diference with the Growatt 10 KTL 3 -XH Growatt Hybrid ?????
Mine is an off-grid inverter. The 10KTL is a grid-tie inverter.
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.
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 .
I really would like to install it where everything runs on it except the washer, dryer and ac unit. is this possible?
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!😆🤘
Excited to hear about your upcoming battery upgrade! Can you give a hint? LFP?
Also, in a non-testing setup, how would you connect the AC output 2x hot and neutral wires back into your main panel? Would you simply use another double legged breaker?
Yes Sir!!! Got some LifePo4 272ah Lishen cells😲💥🤘🤫 As far as connecting AC in a normal operation, Ill be connecting/supplying AC from another breaker panel in my house or one could use a sub panel. Connect those to the input on inverter then Ill be taking the output from the inverter to that double pole breaker I used in this video to power my house. I also have an interlock kit on the panel so only grid or inverter can supply power to the panel. Ill go over that in a later video!🤘
@@AveRage_Joe That would be great! What I'm looking for is a setup where I would only use power from the grid if the PV+batteries are insufficient, and that it would make that switch automatically.
This inverter will do that!
You need a metal pan for induction cook top test?
Yep.....sure do lol. But the lights didnt turn on so I figured it was broke🤦♂️
Great video, thank you for sharing this. I'm new to this stuff and looking to go solar and utilize the grid to make up the difference in power that the solar can't provide. My question is this...this inverter is a 12KW and if I'm pulling 15KW from my house (EV, washer/dryer, ac units), would this unit trip out or would it provide me with the 12KW from solar and then simply pass through the additional 3KW needed from the grid or will it top out at 12KW load regardless of whether that power is coming from the grid, solar or a combination of both? Thanks.
Thanks and thanks for watching! This inverter will only output 12kw and 36kw for short surges. It would trip out!
@@AveRage_Joe Ok thanks Joe.
You bet!
Does your inverter charge up the capacitors with the breakers off?
Yes, the circuit breakers are on the AC input and output!🤘
Great video Joe, I just order this inverter and also 16 panels @425w which will give me 6800w. I will connect directly 8 panels in series to PV input #1 and 8 panels to PV input #2 on Inverter. Do you think that this is the way to do this correctly? I am little bit confused about this and I don’t want to make any costly mistake, so I would like to have you comment or suggestions on this please. Many thanks
Nice! You will love it! So for your solar input, series as many as you can BUT dont go over the 150v or 250v input which ever one you purchased. Just look at the open circuit voltage on the panels and then add it up. I have 6 in series. I could do 7 but wouldnt have enough panels for all the other strings.
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 👍
Hi AveRage Joe, just learning about off-grid, DIY's- those awesome cabinets you have for your stuff, where did you purchase them?
Thanks, Mouse
Its Awesome stuff to learn!!! I got the server racks from a e-waste recycler not to far from my house actually!
Oh thank you for the info. I'm watching your stuff on this inverter. Thank you for your clear-cut informative videos. I would love to truly understand this grid pass-through thing that you referred to a couple times. Be Blessed, Mouse