Morning David. Thanks for the video. Thought I would share that the Victron Shunt has an update now which will allow it to remember the state of charge when it loses power. When you open the Victon app, you’ll see the red exclamation mark over the settings icon. That update made a world of difference for me and my testing! No more having to remember the SOC when you power down!
I think that is the best way to utilize a generator with solar. A few months ago I did the same but used a much smaller 48v charger. When I need to charge up my battery bank , I start the generator and run the charger only. You can really optimize your battery usage when you know you can quickly charge them up. If you calculate the cost of a larger battery bank to handle any eventuality and the cost of fuel for a generator, the decision to go this way is a no brainer.
I like how it's modular, those look very similar to server power supplies in their size... makes me wonder if that's what they are using in a custom configuration. Easy reparability.
It's 100% some Huawei/Emerson Telco 48V power supplies. I have a few from a 4G Telco rack i tore down, and they are fully programmable via CANBUS where you can regulate voltage and amps, and ofc. read out vital data.
Thanks for posting, David. Always appreciate a straightforward review. We did get our unit - finally. Looking forward to seeing how it works on the Absolyte.
Thanks for the informative video! I bought one of those today in person at Signature Solar... they have grown so much since the first two times that I shopped there. Remodeled reception area and office area and all the employees were so friendly and helpful! James S. has really done a great job with growing the business👍
60 degrees Centigrade is very safe for most power electronics, although it will depend on what the temperature of the components inside the PSU is, not just the surface of the unit.
Using a MidNite Solar CLASSIC 150 MPPT Charge Controller, Operating at 150 Volts with a Max Current of 96 Amps. And hooked to a #DC1248AC DUAL CORE PMG/PMA by Thermodyne Systems and powered by a 6+HP Diesel engine all for under $1,700 works the treat for me. It is cheap to build and operate and very efficient. We make our own fuel using waste Veggie-Oil that has settled for two weeks and filtered down to 25 microns. We add 10% gasoline and filter to 1 micron and use it in our diesel generator. All of our filters are polyester cleanable and reusable. So, we have an efficient generator and cheap fuel that cost between 3-9 cents per kilowatt hour depending on if it is a 10% summer or 30% winter blend. We live in Michigan where the grid is 17.4 cents per Kilowatt Hour. So, this cost is less than the power grid. Even if you do not make your own fuel, it is still a good way to make energy.
I ordered and just installed my new charger. Out of the box one of the two modules had slipped out of the socket during shipping. Noticed this due to the unit providing only half of the selected charge current. A couple of issues worth noting; as David mentions the unit does not have a delay feature to allow your generator to warm up. I will be adding a timing relay to do this. Also this unit would not work with economy mode on my Honda EU6500. The charger would instantly fault when the generator was attempting to throttle up. When the charger faults it looses the voltage and charge current settings. With economy mode off the unit does a great job changing my lithium batteries and eliminates the sketchy transfers that my inverter/charger produced when the generator came online. I would like to see some added features but do think the unit is very useful at a good price.
Have you looked at how to do this? I may use the 7 pin connector on the generator and rewire the internal wiring to the connector. My generator uses the same push button to start/stop the generator.
Hey David there's a setting on the latest firmware of smartshunt to always retain the previous SOC when it loses power so no more jumping back to 100% (I always thought that was stupid).
I totally agree. I have a feeling my shunt isn't telling me the proper SOC on my batteries either I don't know really how to set it I have to read some directions somewhere again.
Awesome thanks a lot I am supposed to be getting my eg4 chargeverter any day now and I have the same Honda 6500 generator so this video was perfect for me 👍
I have a little Predator 3500. And I have a Amitabh 4000 light pole I'm not sure the specs on that generator. I don't think my 3500 would do much haha I'd have to set set the charger at 50% or something or 50 amps I mean
another great review david thanks for showing us alternatives for charging 👍🏽. total side bar your hair evolved from a young michael mcdonald to a slick morgan wallen lol. 🔥💯
I've been wondering about this charger. Thanks for doing this video. It certainly helps take the guesswork out of my decision making process. Someday I hope to figure out why I've never been able to get my two spf 5000 GW inverters to run in parallel.
The hot exhaust air blowing on the DC cables might not be great, the insulation may begin to deteriorate over time. They probably should have routed those out the same side as the AC in instead, which would solve that problem and may allow for more efficient cooling. Overall looks like a good unit, I have the lower powered, older EG4 charger, but 5kw charging paired with a 240v generator is certainly a great option to supplement solar when the weather's not great.
So I’m off grid and have been buying from Signature Solar. Everything has been great. Have bought one EG4 battery, has been great and a growatt inverter. If this is done correctly, that is on a off grid set up, you will be using the lower voltage instead of 240. If you built your set up to run only 110-120 v, you will be using a smaller generator. The idea is to use small generators not 240. The bigger the generator, the more gas you use. If you have a shorter charge time it maybe a better deal.
David, thanks for the review of this. I'm interested in one to pair with a j1772 on my box truck so I can charge at public ev chargers. What I can't seem to get an answer on is if the neutral is required or not for the 240v input. The J1772 standard is two hots and a ground, no neutral. Any chance you could check?
@davidpoz, i am wondering if you lose power input. Will the chargeverter retain the last setting once it gets back the power input back ? Or do you have to re configure the amp/voltage ?
I am off grid with a EG4 LifePower 4 48V battery bank. I just bought the EG4 Chargeverter and I want my generator to start automatically at 47V and shut down at 52V to power the Chargeverter when solar is not enough. Signature Solar recommended using the EAZY-VLC 2.0 12V dual programmable relay control cycle delay timer. I have a Westinghouse WGEN 7500 DF generator that has a remote start. I plan on
Good video David. Especially liked the actual measurements which often are in specs but seldom given in videos. Do you have any idea of the need for inverter generators to supply this charger or of the tolerance for modified-sinewave type chargers?
Cool project. I'd like to see an update on the house and garage. I'm buying a 100-year-old house that needs some work. I've already started on improvements. By the way, solar is definitely on the list because the roof is perfect for it. You were an inspiration for both the house and the solar. I can't give you all the credit for that, but you DEFINITELY deserve some credit. I may even try cellulose insulation in the garage. Thanks for the videos!
@@DavidPozEnergy Well, I just found that there appears to be no insulation at all on the exterior walls. I live in Ohio, so that's not good. I'm probably going to do a blown-in insulation, but I'm not sure I'll have time to do it myself. Either way, your insulation videos are a BIG help in my understand of that process. I'm still a little concerned about how much that cellulose settles.
just got mine set up. in alaska i have some short days, so this is something i will use for probably 3 months out of the year. i use an 8000w generac. charged my 300ah bank at 75amps, from like 60% in 1.5 hours….i’m excited about being able to run my bank lower and charge faster instead of having to top off more frequently.
@@DavidPozEnergy was using the 18a with a 2000w generator and it’s just to much wear and tear and time. so this unit is super helpful. i wish that it could be mounted differently. or atleast had longer leads.
At 14:17 I hope you flipped the DC cables on the top to the left side of the charger as having the hot exhaust air blow directly on those cables doesn't seem like a great idea. Not an expert, just seems logical to me, this is an awesome video. I am of the opinion that it makes way more sense to have a generator available to charge your system if you plan on going off grid so you don't need to go over kill with solar panels and battery capacity in order to make up for those cloudy days or poor weather. I think it's way more practical and cost effective, it also has the added bonus of having a generator available should your inverter ever fail. I feel like most people wouldn't mind needing to run the generator for a few hours to top up when weather is an issue, and since you are capturing most of the electricity generated it's actually not bad on fuel cost. What are your thoughts?
My goal is to cover my electrical needs with solar 99% of the time. That leaves 1%, or 3.65 days per year that I need to run the generator. I'm OK with that.
Got mine coming now! After two years off grid I haven’t had to run a generator yet but it always caused me anxiety since I bought a normal non inverter generator and didn’t want to run it into the utility in on my inverter.
Dear Brother David, I've been expecting this review from you, and you've not let us down. Many thanks for your menthodical, well-explained approach! Now, a request: Given that many of us off-gridders have been using "ordinary" (non-inverter) generators to charge our earlier generation (non-hybrid) systems -- mine is a Magnum 4kW 48v inverter with a Midnite Solar Classic 150 charge controller -- but now are embracing hybrid inverters, can you please kindly run this test again with any old non-inverter generator? Given that the guts of this Chargeverter come from the same Voltronics factory as the MPP Solar and EG4 hybrid inverters, it's crucial that we know the Chargeverter can accept "dirty" AC that our older inverters digested without issues. I don't want to have to buy an inverter generator to use this $400 charger! Best thanks!
If you are in MA, bring your generator by and we can test it. You are not the only person with this request. I'll ask around to my friends/family and see if someone owns an older style generator to test.
@@DavidPozEnergy Given that I'm on the California coast, the odds of my schlepping my genny over are slim! But I do hope someone nearby will offer one up. What about your diesel genny? Can't imagine its signal is too pristine. Thanks again!
My system was designed with help from the EG4 design department. Here's what they said in regards to something similar to your request: "If you wanted to use a generator to charge the batteries you would need a transfer switch to go from the grid to generator power since the inverters only have one AC input port. For a generator we recommend a generator with twice the wattage rating of your inverters. This is to account for dirty power. Dirty power tends to happen when a generator is operating at over 50% capacity and will produce voltage spikes and lulls that the inverters will not like. Since you have 13kW of inverter capacity it would take a pretty large generator. If you didn't want to buy a large generator you could use battery charger plugged into a generator." At the time, he pointed towards a different, smaller charger they had, but then the 5000 came along, so I think that it would apply as well, meaning, these battery chargers account for dirty power.
Thanks for doing the test. I may eventually buy one if they appear to hold up over time. I have the Honda EU7000is and it can't start my 4-ton HVAC condensing unit even with a soft start. My Growatt 12k inverter likely can, so if I ever have a prolonged outage during a heat wave, I would be able to have the Honda run the Chargeverter while the Growatt runs the house loads and handles the large inrush spikes. This would prolong the run time of the 20kWh LIfepower4 battery rack provided that the average house load stays below the max continuous output of the generator which I converted to run on natural gas.
Alternatively you could also just rectify the 240v from the generator and feed it into a charge controller. Just have to make sure that it's within the charger max voltage. 240vac rectified is like 320vdc. This is actually how those big, tens to hundreds of kVA UPS systems work. Instead of using normal diodes they just use SCRs which are basically diodes you can switch off at the crossing point, this way they can control the output voltage and keep the batteries charged 24/7, while the inverter is always running producing clean AC I think it goes without saying that high voltage can be dangerous but is perfectly safe as long as proper safety methods are used.
I just purchased one of the EG4 chargeverter, but it is showing 0.0amps on the panel and my amp meter. However, it is giving me 48v up 57v. Any suggestion what to do.
hmmm video cut @8:54 ...? Can these be used "automatically"... i.e using AGS (Auto Generator Start) to start a generator with the chargeverter permanently connected to the battery and generator. No manual intervention any time. Will the generator bog down on starting etc. IF I had to, I could put my delay circuitry in between the chargeverter and the genny but.... It seems like this might not be intended for automatic operation.
I have it hooked up permanently to my battery, and to my generator. I don't have a problem, but my generator has a built-in delay for the Voltage output terminals.
Hey David, Great Video. Could you set up the Honda as a 2 wire auto start stop function that triggers when the battery reaches a certain level? Ive been looking for a 2 wire start stop generator thats budget friendly but cant seem to find anything in the USA thats quiet and smaller. I think you could make a great separate video on this setup. Im sure you could find a good way to do this.
David, loved all of your solar/battery videos. I learned a lot from your videos. I'm in Florida and setting up an emergency power backup system using EG4 48V batteries and 3000W inverter/solar charger/ac charger combo unit. Since I don't have solar, if the power outage drags on, my plan was to use the gas power generator to charge up the batteries. The Chargeverter seem like a perfect fit. The one question I have is how do you keep providing the AC power via the inverter while you are charging the batteries? It seems like if you connect the Chargeverter to the power rails on the EG4 battery rack and not disconnect the inverter, then the Chargeverter is just going to be supplying power to the inverter. If you turn off the inverter or disconnect the inverter, then you have no power to the house. What am I missing? Thanks.
I don't think you are missing anything. You said you plan to use a 3000W inverter, but didn't mention the generator size. The Chargeverter can go up to 100A, so if the battery is at 54V, that's 5,400W. If you haven't bought the generator yet, I'd look for one between 5kW and 6kW continuous rating, and limit the Chargeverter to 90A. Let's say you are pushing 5kW into the battery busbars, and you are pulling 3kW to your loads through the inverter. That means 2kW will be charging the battery at the same time. But, if your loads drop to 1kW, then you have 4kW charging the battery. You still have 5kW from the Chargeverter.
@@DavidPozEnergy David, that all makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. My parts are scheduled to start arriving this Friday. Wish me luck 🙂. Thanks again.
Is there any reason these can't be paralleled for larger systems? I have a 22kw whole house generator, a sol ark 12kw system with 6) 5kw server rack lifepo4 batteries. it seems to me, since its DC output, I should be able to utilize two or three of these units, set the parameters lower, run them a little cooler, and maximize the larger generator output with the large battery bank, reducing hours on the generator and still staying at proper charge rates for the LiFePo4. thank you !
Yes, you can parallel more than 1 charger into the same battery bank. It sounds like you have the same battery bank as I do, 30kWh total. Since you don't want to exceed a 0.5C rate, keep the total charging current to 300 Amps. This means, if you had 4 "Chargeverters" each at 75 Amps, you could re-charge the battery bank in 2 hours (0%-100% SOC). I would suggest setting this to only occur at night. If the generator attempted to do this while there was some solar coming in, then you would exceed 0.5C rate.
Question, if you had two generators could you run two chargers running to the same battery bank? If you only had the one charger but two generators could you use one of the GroWatt inverters as a second charger with the AC in while still powering the house?
Thank you for sharing I didn't realize that when you're charging your battery through the inverter that you weren't able to invert meeting that you don't have hydro so this is a great way to do it now I'm running a 24 volt system is this offered any 24 V configuration
Signature Solar sells a few different 24V chargers. They have an 10A, 30A, and 35A. Right now the 30A is on a really good sale: signaturesolar.com/eg4-battery-charger-24v-30a/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
Depends on your generator. The AGS from Schneider can work with a wide variety of generators. Some generators need the outside controls of the AGS to work. But, some generators have some automatic controls built-in, so that all you have to do is close a circuit. Look for generators with a "two-wire start" and you won't need the AGS from Schneider.
I bought one of these to charge a golf cart with the SPIM08HP batteries like the one you built awhile ago. Seems ideal for that. Heavy duty, programmable at about the same price as other lithium golf cart type chargers. I’m connecting them with Anderson 175A connector so when I park it’s easy to just plug & play. Plan to power directly from Outback AC inverters or generator via transfer switch. What do you think? I’ll send update when installed. Great video!
I don't think there would be a problem. The power-supplies internally are most likely switch-mode units. Those don't care if you use perfectly clean sine-wave or not. I'd love to borrow an old style generator for demonstration. In the case of a small UPS, they are probably trying to qualify the electricity before switching over. Meaning, the power coming in has to meet certain specs and then the UPS moves the loads to the incoming power. This means the UPS is saying the generator power is not clean enough for the loads, and stays in back-up mode.
This is cool. I'm planning on buying a chinese 4kw inverter, the new EG4 500v 100A MPPT charge controller, and maybe this now! I'm getting this setup instead of a EG4 AIO because they have extremely high idle consumption around 150w which is too much for my needs.
Is it possible to set the Schneider to stay off grid except to charge batteries when needed? How about to automatically "turn on" a generator to charge batteries when needed? TY
Yes, Schneider has a couple ways to program a generator to automatically start. I don't know about grid tied functions because I'm only testing off grid. I keep my comments to what I personally test.
Thank you for the vid! It wasn't quite clear, wondering if you can you leave the unit off, fire up the generator, and then... come inside and throw the unit circuit breaker to start charging? Is there a reason to leave it on all the time or were you just showing what happens with battery only? .I ask because in my case it's a manual generator start about 200ft from the battery bank - e.g. start the generator without load and then go in and enable the charging at the battery but also cut-off charging at the battery if the generator struggles.
I wasn't sure, so I just went and tested it for you. It worked fine. I had the AC side connected with the battery circuit breaker off. Nothing bad happened at all. Then I switched off the DC breaker first with the generator still running. Yes, that's fine. If you decide to purchase one, it would help out the channel to use the affiliate link in the description.
You can make something similar from a Huawei R4850G2 power supply - they are used to charge backup lithium batteries on cell towers - they used to be really cheap to buy (less than 50 bucks) but looking now they seem to be expensive now. You can also get dedicated 48v generators as well now - which avoids the need for the genny to invert to ac mains and the power supply to convert back down to dc
I wish this charger was out a year ago! Then I'd probably grabbed it. Right now, I just use a 16-amp 48v charger a few days out of the year to keep my 50KW battery bank alive. It seems to put out around 600 watts. It runs usually for 12-18 hours whenever I need it. I've got it connected to a 20amp Wi-Fi switch currently. So, I can switch it on and off remotely from anywhere. I guess next step would be to get it to kick in automatically when my batteries are low. But I'll probably just buy a generator or run 240v grid power to my solar shed. This way I could take advantage of my dual 100amp chargers built in my Victron inverter. The huge Victron inverters utilize software that helps them use less running power. I've seen my 15KW inverter running on 90 watts before.
Huawei4850? I use the Emerson R48-3000e3 (65A53V) for my 14s li-ion one can program these, but I don't know much about this, how one can do this. then I could program it to 58V.
Thanks for the review. I have a couple of questions. 1. Can the chargeverter be used while the inverters are operating? 2. Since there's no BMS what happens when the batteries reach full charge?
Yes, the chargeverter can be used at the same time your inverters are being used. This is a tool that mostly will be used for people living off grid. So, the inverter must be up all the time. As for the BMS. The chargeverter should be set to a lower Voltage than your batteries would be full. For example, my batteries can go up to 58.4V, but I set my chargeverter to 55.0V. This means the chargeverter will never fully charge a battery. However, this doesn't mean you don't need a BMS. You still need a BMS if you are using lithium batteries.
David, I have a question maybe you can help with. I just purchased an EG4 3000w 48V all on one inverter from SIgnature Solar and I was wondering if I can connect Redodo 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery (4PACK) to the EG4 all in one inverter and will the BMS communicate with the inverter? I'd like to do this because I can't afford the EG4 battery and the rediculous $285 shipping charge.
What a great product. One improvement I would suggest is upgrading this charger to allow charging for 12v/24v batteries. Lots of us out there with smaller systems that would love this feature.
David, I like the modular-ness of the main supplies. However.. I couldn't really see from the video.. Is there anything that secures the the internal 2 modules? You just slid them off. Is there something to prevent that say if you hang it vertical? Gravity or vibrations might cause them to slide out if there is nothing mechanical preventing that. I got to believe the EG guys would have something. I just missed it.
Is it rated for continuous use? Could I plug this into Grid power to maintain my batteries while I was still using my Inverters as if they were a giant ups? I understand I would be wasting quite a bit of energy but I still do not have my PV panels installed yet. Slow process but I wanted to get all my inside wiring completed and tested first. It will be an off-grid set up completely separated from the Utility. Thanks for the video.
Yes, you could do that. I've ran this charger for several hours in a row without a problem. Keep in mind, if you set it up like that you might want to lower the Voltage to 54.5V since it will be floating there. I don't see a reason it wouldn't work for you, but I have not personally tested using the Chargeverter in that situation.
Hey DavidPoz. Looks like Growatt is about to launch the SPF 6000 ES Plus inverter. Would be awesoe if you could try get in contact with them and see if you can do a 1 phase/3 phase review on the units, im stoked on them because dual MPPTs.. Would be sweet to see you do a review on them like the ones you did for the 5kw units.. Keep up the nice work.
I have a Larger generator. I know how to get the charger do that it won't over load my generator. my question is, can you parallel 2 or more of those chargers without damaging their circuit controller or the battery controller?
My battery bank is made of 6x EG4 batteries. Each EG4 battery is 100Ah. 6 in parallel means my whole battery bank is 600Ah. If I was at 0%SOC, and charged at the full 100A, then it would take 6 hours to charge the battery to 100%SOC. However, I don't suggest that approach. As I showed in the video, I'll be charging at 80A given my generator. And, I wouldn't wait until the batteries were dead, and I wouldn't charge all the way. It's far more typical to charge, perhaps, 40% of the total capacity in an off grid situation. That would be 600Ah*0.4/80= 3 hours.
Thanks For your response. I Was wondering if you could power your loads from the charging power provided by the Chargeverter. I have a small gas generator, 2000 W, and this device may help me charging my batteries using my generator. I have a Schneider XW +so I have enjoy your recent videos on that inverter. Thank you again for your videos and please continue doing what you do.
@DavidPozEnergy I was wondering along with Charlies' question, IF you can safely turn on your INVERTER while charging with this new device? Will all that amperage fry the Inverter? I would think not, because they are ready to accept all the amperage from the batteries/banks, no issue... Your thoughts?
David, Do you know how LOW you can set the output current? I like that this charger can hit 5,550 watts so I can use my Ear-Blaster 6500 but would normally prefer to run it with my EU2000.
I have an off grid cabin with solar, an 8KW diesel generator, a 48 volt inverter and battery bank of lead acid batteries. I recently purchased 4 - 48 volt lithium lifepo4 batteries to replace the lead acid, that I will run in series to the inverter The inverter has a charger but it is not designed to charge lithium batteries. I have read other articles about charging lithium batteries and they suggest using a smart type of lithium charger. This charger you are reviewing seems to just be adjustable and it is going to charge at whatever amperage you set it at. What makes it any different than any other charger for instance the one that is in my inverter? Is this the best type of charger to use?
Lithium batteries need a CC/CV charger. This stands for constant current, constant Voltage. Basically, the charger will charge the battery at full current (set by you) until it sees the battery at the pre-set maximum Voltage. I set mine to 56V. Then, the charger switches to constant Voltage mode, where the Voltage is always 56V, but the current lowers from 100% to 10%. Once it reaches 10%, then the charger shuts off.
Will be working with small, non inverter generator. I use 3000 W AVR generator, and I must set on mppSolar controler about 10 Amps to start it, and then raise to 20, 30 and finaly to 40A. Maybe that charge controller have softstart.
@@DavidPozEnergy Were you able to have both of them communicate with the battery bank at the same time? Also, were you able to do this while keeping the bank communicating with the Schneider Insight Home?
Love it. That looks nice. I would love to have one of those. That's how I use my generator the most. Just put the power into the batts. Let the inviter do it's job. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Any chance this can run off DC? I figure the first thing it does probably is rectify to DC, so maybe it could be run directly on DC? I'm trying to find a way to charge batteries from a prius battery (230v or so), and I hear MPPTs could maybe burn out trying to mppt a DC battery
The sticker on this says AC, I don't think it will run on DC. I like the idea of using an MPPT on the Prius battery, but I've never done it so I won't be much help. If you figure it out, send me a link.
With high power PSUs like this one you typically run into two issues when running them off of DC. One is that the rectifying components will always run in one direction this can either overheat them and in case of synchronous/active rectifier or bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) the controller may expect AC and can't operate the transistors at DC. The second issue is with the PFC again because power factor doesn't exist in DC so it doesn't have to do anything but if the controller just assumes AC it might stop operating until it measures a 0-crossing.
David, thanks for the video. I enjoy your videos, nicely done. I am not sure if I am seeing the benefit of using this unit to charge a battery bank. Are you saying the new Chargeverter is more efficient at charging a battery bank than the Schneiders and/or Growatts? Both inverter brands you have will charge the battery bank, I am not seeing the benefit, I guess. Do these inverters cannibalize power to charge battery banks vs when using a gennie? I bet I am over thinking this.
Actually, the Schneider inverter is a little more efficient at charging the battery than this is. In my previous video I showed how switching the loads back and forth from generator to inverter can make the lights blink. This charger eliminates that.
Thank you, that seems to be the case. Very suprised, was looking into alternative solutions like hacking the ST Switch for the Westinghouse, but no success. Looks like the Honda generator is the lowest priced alternative, however still outside the $1k range.
Morning David. Thanks for the video.
Thought I would share that the Victron Shunt has an update now which will allow it to remember the state of charge when it loses power. When you open the Victon app, you’ll see the red exclamation mark over the settings icon. That update made a world of difference for me and my testing! No more having to remember the SOC when you power down!
Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out.
I was going to say the same thing.
Such a thing shouldn’t need an update.Witchcraft😊 I tell yah.
I think that is the best way to utilize a generator with solar. A few months ago I did the same but used a much smaller 48v charger. When I need to charge up my battery bank , I start the generator and run the charger only. You can really optimize your battery usage when you know you can quickly charge them up. If you calculate the cost of a larger battery bank to handle any eventuality and the cost of fuel for a generator, the decision to go this way is a no brainer.
I like how it's modular, those look very similar to server power supplies in their size... makes me wonder if that's what they are using in a custom configuration. Easy reparability.
hopefully it lets you run the unit at half capacity if one fails.
Identical to 48v telecoms power supplies
They sure do look like server supplies. Even the card edge connector appears as if it could be the same.
Server or telco power modules. I didn't see a model number. It's not repairable if you can't get the modules.
It's 100% some Huawei/Emerson Telco 48V power supplies. I have a few from a 4G Telco rack i tore down, and they are fully programmable via CANBUS where you can regulate voltage and amps, and ofc. read out vital data.
Thanks for posting, David. Always appreciate a straightforward review. We did get our unit - finally. Looking forward to seeing how it works on the Absolyte.
In the latest firmware of the victron smart shunt you can enable it to keep the SOC after a power loss!
Just a couple server PSUs in the box - clever!
I preordered this a week ago…hoping it would work for me. I feel better after seeing your review.
Hi... I'm Enock from Ghana and living in Germany. I just subscribed your channel and I really like what you do.
Thanks for the informative video!
I bought one of those today in person at Signature Solar... they have grown so much since the first two times that I shopped there. Remodeled reception area and office area and all the employees were so friendly and helpful! James S. has really done a great job with growing the business👍
Awesome - just in time, my charger is arriving Monday. Signature just shipped it!
I pre-ordered one a while ago. Still not got mine. But glad to see a review on it.
Best video on this product that I've seen. Thanks.
You're welcome.
60 degrees Centigrade is very safe for most power electronics, although it will depend on what the temperature of the components inside the PSU is, not just the surface of the unit.
Thanks Dave! The instructions for this unit left me with many questions. You answered them all!
Glad to help
Congratulations on 200k Subs! 👍🏻
Thank you.
Using a MidNite Solar CLASSIC 150 MPPT Charge Controller, Operating at 150 Volts with a Max Current of 96 Amps. And hooked to a #DC1248AC DUAL CORE PMG/PMA by Thermodyne Systems and powered by a 6+HP Diesel engine all for under $1,700 works the treat for me. It is cheap to build and operate and very efficient. We make our own fuel using waste Veggie-Oil that has settled for two weeks and filtered down to 25 microns. We add 10% gasoline and filter to 1 micron and use it in our diesel generator. All of our filters are polyester cleanable and reusable. So, we have an efficient generator and cheap fuel that cost between 3-9 cents per kilowatt hour depending on if it is a 10% summer or 30% winter blend. We live in Michigan where the grid is 17.4 cents per Kilowatt Hour. So, this cost is less than the power grid. Even if you do not make your own fuel, it is still a good way to make energy.
I ordered and just installed my new charger. Out of the box one of the two modules had slipped out of the socket during shipping. Noticed this due to the unit providing only half of the selected charge current. A couple of issues worth noting; as David mentions the unit does not have a delay feature to allow your generator to warm up. I will be adding a timing relay to do this. Also this unit would not work with economy mode on my Honda EU6500. The charger would instantly fault when the generator was attempting to throttle up. When the charger faults it looses the voltage and charge current settings. With economy mode off the unit does a great job changing my lithium batteries and eliminates the sketchy transfers that my inverter/charger produced when the generator came online. I would like to see some added features but do think the unit is very useful at a good price.
Have you looked at how to do this? I may use the 7 pin connector on the generator and rewire the internal wiring to the connector. My generator uses the same push button to start/stop the generator.
Hey David there's a setting on the latest firmware of smartshunt to always retain the previous SOC when it loses power so no more jumping back to 100% (I always thought that was stupid).
I totally agree. I have a feeling my shunt isn't telling me the proper SOC on my batteries either I don't know really how to set it I have to read some directions somewhere again.
Awesome thanks a lot I am supposed to be getting my eg4 chargeverter any day now and I have the same Honda 6500 generator so this video was perfect for me 👍
I have a little Predator 3500. And I have a Amitabh 4000 light pole I'm not sure the specs on that generator. I don't think my 3500 would do much haha I'd have to set set the charger at 50% or something or 50 amps I mean
another great review david thanks for showing us alternatives for charging 👍🏽. total side bar your hair evolved from a young michael mcdonald to a slick morgan wallen lol. 🔥💯
Thanks.
I'm having some fun seeing how the hair evolves. It's nice not being forced to have a high & tight any more.
I've been wondering about this charger. Thanks for doing this video. It certainly helps take the guesswork out of my decision making process. Someday I hope to figure out why I've never been able to get my two spf 5000 GW inverters to run in parallel.
That's an amazing price for a 48v 100a charger! Thanks for sharing!
What price ? I can not find a 100 A charger on the website.
@@typxxilps Its hard to find using his link but its $399
The hot exhaust air blowing on the DC cables might not be great, the insulation may begin to deteriorate over time. They probably should have routed those out the same side as the AC in instead, which would solve that problem and may allow for more efficient cooling. Overall looks like a good unit, I have the lower powered, older EG4 charger, but 5kw charging paired with a 240v generator is certainly a great option to supplement solar when the weather's not great.
After rotating so exhaust is up, I would route cable to the left and anchor them to stay out ot the way of the exhaust heat
So I’m off grid and have been buying from Signature Solar. Everything has been great. Have bought one EG4 battery, has been great and a growatt inverter. If this is done correctly, that is on a off grid set up, you will be using the lower voltage instead of 240. If you built your set up to run only 110-120 v, you will be using a smaller generator. The idea is to use small generators not 240. The bigger the generator, the more gas you use. If you have a shorter charge time it maybe a better deal.
I'm less concerned with run-time, and more concerned with kWh per gallon of fuel.
David, thanks for the review of this. I'm interested in one to pair with a j1772 on my box truck so I can charge at public ev chargers. What I can't seem to get an answer on is if the neutral is required or not for the 240v input. The J1772 standard is two hots and a ground, no neutral. Any chance you could check?
Are the battery terminals isolated from the neutral/ground on the generator side ?
Great product that will sure to get the batteries charges up .🤙🤙
i need to check if it for Eu as well
Wonder how this could work with a automatic generator start system
Thanks for Celsius 😀 during temperature measurement.
good teardown and review...thanks!
@davidpoz, i am wondering if you lose power input. Will the chargeverter retain the last setting once it gets back the power input back ? Or do you have to re configure the amp/voltage ?
mine retains the info
Pretty nifty little unit. Thanks, David.
I am off grid with a EG4 LifePower 4 48V battery bank. I just bought the EG4 Chargeverter and I want my generator to start automatically at 47V and shut down at 52V to power the Chargeverter when solar is not enough. Signature Solar recommended using the EAZY-VLC 2.0 12V dual programmable relay control cycle delay timer. I have a Westinghouse WGEN 7500 DF generator that has a remote start. I plan on
I've never used that Voltage controller. Looks like it can work well.
Give the 120v a try on the review. Wonder how well that works
This is definitely better for your batteries not to mention cheaper to replace. Generators are tough on electronics.
I never knew all this stuff I'm glad I saw the video I haven't run my generator in awhile but it's good to know that they suck hahaha
Is it only for lithium batteries .
Good video David. Especially liked the actual measurements which often are in specs but seldom given in videos. Do you have any idea of the need for inverter generators to supply this charger or of the tolerance for modified-sinewave type chargers?
Good stuff. Liked and subscribed.
Idle loss should be readers at the input (AC) side
Cool project. I'd like to see an update on the house and garage. I'm buying a 100-year-old house that needs some work. I've already started on improvements. By the way, solar is definitely on the list because the roof is perfect for it. You were an inspiration for both the house and the solar. I can't give you all the credit for that, but you DEFINITELY deserve some credit. I may even try cellulose insulation in the garage. Thanks for the videos!
I'm glad my videos help in some small way.
@@DavidPozEnergy Well, I just found that there appears to be no insulation at all on the exterior walls. I live in Ohio, so that's not good. I'm probably going to do a blown-in insulation, but I'm not sure I'll have time to do it myself. Either way, your insulation videos are a BIG help in my understand of that process. I'm still a little concerned about how much that cellulose settles.
just got mine set up. in alaska i have some short days, so this is something i will use for probably 3 months out of the year. i use an 8000w generac. charged my 300ah bank at 75amps, from like 60% in 1.5 hours….i’m excited about being able to run my bank lower and charge faster instead of having to top off more frequently.
Yeah, Alaska would need a pretty good generator system. Thanks for sharing.
@@DavidPozEnergy was using the 18a with a 2000w generator and it’s just to much wear and tear and time. so this unit is super helpful. i wish that it could be mounted differently. or atleast had longer leads.
As always, thanks David.
At 14:17 I hope you flipped the DC cables on the top to the left side of the charger as having the hot exhaust air blow directly on those cables doesn't seem like a great idea. Not an expert, just seems logical to me, this is an awesome video.
I am of the opinion that it makes way more sense to have a generator available to charge your system if you plan on going off grid so you don't need to go over kill with solar panels and battery capacity in order to make up for those cloudy days or poor weather. I think it's way more practical and cost effective, it also has the added bonus of having a generator available should your inverter ever fail. I feel like most people wouldn't mind needing to run the generator for a few hours to top up when weather is an issue, and since you are capturing most of the electricity generated it's actually not bad on fuel cost. What are your thoughts?
My goal is to cover my electrical needs with solar 99% of the time. That leaves 1%, or 3.65 days per year that I need to run the generator. I'm OK with that.
By the way, I love all your content.
Got mine coming now! After two years off grid I haven’t had to run a generator yet but it always caused me anxiety since I bought a normal non inverter generator and didn’t want to run it into the utility in on my inverter.
How many inches of barn corns does it weight? Liquid, Alabama type.
Dear Brother David, I've been expecting this review from you, and you've not let us down. Many thanks for your menthodical, well-explained approach! Now, a request: Given that many of us off-gridders have been using "ordinary" (non-inverter) generators to charge our earlier generation (non-hybrid) systems -- mine is a Magnum 4kW 48v inverter with a Midnite Solar Classic 150 charge controller -- but now are embracing hybrid inverters, can you please kindly run this test again with any old non-inverter generator? Given that the guts of this Chargeverter come from the same Voltronics factory as the MPP Solar and EG4 hybrid inverters, it's crucial that we know the Chargeverter can accept "dirty" AC that our older inverters digested without issues. I don't want to have to buy an inverter generator to use this $400 charger! Best thanks!
If you are in MA, bring your generator by and we can test it.
You are not the only person with this request. I'll ask around to my friends/family and see if someone owns an older style generator to test.
@@DavidPozEnergy Given that I'm on the California coast, the odds of my schlepping my genny over are slim! But I do hope someone nearby will offer one up. What about your diesel genny? Can't imagine its signal is too pristine. Thanks again!
@@DavidPozEnergy id like to see that as well
My system was designed with help from the EG4 design department. Here's what they said in regards to something similar to your request:
"If you wanted to use a generator to charge the batteries you would need a transfer switch to go from the grid to generator power since the inverters only have one AC input port. For a generator we recommend a generator with twice the wattage rating of your inverters. This is to account for dirty power. Dirty power tends to happen when a generator is operating at over 50% capacity and will produce voltage spikes and lulls that the inverters will not like. Since you have 13kW of inverter capacity it would take a pretty large generator. If you didn't want to buy a large generator you could use battery charger plugged into a generator."
At the time, he pointed towards a different, smaller charger they had, but then the 5000 came along, so I think that it would apply as well, meaning, these battery chargers account for dirty power.
Thanks for doing the test. I may eventually buy one if they appear to hold up over time. I have the Honda EU7000is and it can't start my 4-ton HVAC condensing unit even with a soft start. My Growatt 12k inverter likely can, so if I ever have a prolonged outage during a heat wave, I would be able to have the Honda run the Chargeverter while the Growatt runs the house loads and handles the large inrush spikes. This would prolong the run time of the 20kWh LIfepower4 battery rack provided that the average house load stays below the max continuous output of the generator which I converted to run on natural gas.
😎Thanks David! Very good information you provided.
Alternatively you could also just rectify the 240v from the generator and feed it into a charge controller. Just have to make sure that it's within the charger max voltage. 240vac rectified is like 320vdc.
This is actually how those big, tens to hundreds of kVA UPS systems work. Instead of using normal diodes they just use SCRs which are basically diodes you can switch off at the crossing point, this way they can control the output voltage and keep the batteries charged 24/7, while the inverter is always running producing clean AC
I think it goes without saying that high voltage can be dangerous but is perfectly safe as long as proper safety methods are used.
David when you started your charger you turned the inverter off. Did you leave the inverter off during the 1.5 hrs of charging?
What size generator gage cord for 100ft is recommended?
I just purchased one of the EG4 chargeverter, but it is showing 0.0amps on the panel and my amp meter. However, it is giving me 48v up 57v. Any suggestion what to do.
thanks for the review.....I just ordered on of these
hmmm video cut @8:54 ...? Can these be used "automatically"... i.e using AGS (Auto Generator Start) to start a generator with the chargeverter permanently connected to the battery and generator. No manual intervention any time. Will the generator bog down on starting etc. IF I had to, I could put my delay circuitry in between the chargeverter and the genny but.... It seems like this might not be intended for automatic operation.
I have it hooked up permanently to my battery, and to my generator. I don't have a problem, but my generator has a built-in delay for the Voltage output terminals.
I have a generic 75K Gen at what amps can I safely run the chargeverter? ?
Hey David, Great Video. Could you set up the Honda as a 2 wire auto start stop function that triggers when the battery reaches a certain level? Ive been looking for a 2 wire start stop generator thats budget friendly but cant seem to find anything in the USA thats quiet and smaller. I think you could make a great separate video on this setup. Im sure you could find a good way to do this.
My Honda EU6500 doesn't go to 2-wire easily. But, the newer version is EU7000, and that one will do a 2-wire easy.
David, I was wondering why you did not use your meter too vs the panel and your phone alone?
Thumbs up 👍 good demo!
David, loved all of your solar/battery videos. I learned a lot from your videos. I'm in Florida and setting up an emergency power backup system using EG4 48V batteries and 3000W inverter/solar charger/ac charger combo unit. Since I don't have solar, if the power outage drags on, my plan was to use the gas power generator to charge up the batteries. The Chargeverter seem like a perfect fit. The one question I have is how do you keep providing the AC power via the inverter while you are charging the batteries? It seems like if you connect the Chargeverter to the power rails on the EG4 battery rack and not disconnect the inverter, then the Chargeverter is just going to be supplying power to the inverter. If you turn off the inverter or disconnect the inverter, then you have no power to the house. What am I missing? Thanks.
I don't think you are missing anything.
You said you plan to use a 3000W inverter, but didn't mention the generator size. The Chargeverter can go up to 100A, so if the battery is at 54V, that's 5,400W.
If you haven't bought the generator yet, I'd look for one between 5kW and 6kW continuous rating, and limit the Chargeverter to 90A.
Let's say you are pushing 5kW into the battery busbars, and you are pulling 3kW to your loads through the inverter. That means 2kW will be charging the battery at the same time. But, if your loads drop to 1kW, then you have 4kW charging the battery. You still have 5kW from the Chargeverter.
@@DavidPozEnergy David, that all makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. My parts are scheduled to start arriving this Friday. Wish me luck 🙂. Thanks again.
Is there any reason these can't be paralleled for larger systems? I have a 22kw whole house generator, a sol ark 12kw system with 6) 5kw server rack lifepo4 batteries. it seems to me, since its DC output, I should be able to utilize two or three of these units, set the parameters lower, run them a little cooler, and maximize the larger generator output with the large battery bank, reducing hours on the generator and still staying at proper charge rates for the LiFePo4. thank you !
Yes, you can parallel more than 1 charger into the same battery bank.
It sounds like you have the same battery bank as I do, 30kWh total. Since you don't want to exceed a 0.5C rate, keep the total charging current to 300 Amps. This means, if you had 4 "Chargeverters" each at 75 Amps, you could re-charge the battery bank in 2 hours (0%-100% SOC). I would suggest setting this to only occur at night. If the generator attempted to do this while there was some solar coming in, then you would exceed 0.5C rate.
Question, if you had two generators could you run two chargers running to the same battery bank? If you only had the one charger but two generators could you use one of the GroWatt inverters as a second charger with the AC in while still powering the house?
Thank you for sharing I didn't realize that when you're charging your battery through the inverter that you weren't able to invert meeting that you don't have hydro so this is a great way to do it now I'm running a 24 volt system is this offered any 24 V configuration
Signature Solar sells a few different 24V chargers. They have an 10A, 30A, and 35A. Right now the 30A is on a really good sale: signaturesolar.com/eg4-battery-charger-24v-30a/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
Hi, Do I have to purshase the AGS from Schneider for automatic generator start and off?, Thanks
Depends on your generator. The AGS from Schneider can work with a wide variety of generators. Some generators need the outside controls of the AGS to work. But, some generators have some automatic controls built-in, so that all you have to do is close a circuit. Look for generators with a "two-wire start" and you won't need the AGS from Schneider.
I bought one of these to charge a golf cart with the SPIM08HP batteries like the one you built awhile ago. Seems ideal for that. Heavy duty, programmable at about the same price as other lithium golf cart type chargers. I’m connecting them with Anderson 175A connector so when I park it’s easy to just plug & play. Plan to power directly from Outback AC inverters or generator via transfer switch. What do you think? I’ll send update when installed. Great video!
Do you think it would have a problem with a non-inverter style generator? My APC & CyberPower UPS's always take exception to the generator power...
I don't think there would be a problem. The power-supplies internally are most likely switch-mode units. Those don't care if you use perfectly clean sine-wave or not. I'd love to borrow an old style generator for demonstration.
In the case of a small UPS, they are probably trying to qualify the electricity before switching over. Meaning, the power coming in has to meet certain specs and then the UPS moves the loads to the incoming power. This means the UPS is saying the generator power is not clean enough for the loads, and stays in back-up mode.
This is cool. I'm planning on buying a chinese 4kw inverter, the new EG4 500v 100A MPPT charge controller, and maybe this now! I'm getting this setup instead of a EG4 AIO because they have extremely high idle consumption around 150w which is too much for my needs.
Great. If you decide to use any of the affiliate links in the description, it would really help out the channel.
Is it possible to set the Schneider to stay off grid except to charge batteries when needed?
How about to automatically "turn on" a generator to charge batteries when needed?
TY
Yes, Schneider has a couple ways to program a generator to automatically start.
I don't know about grid tied functions because I'm only testing off grid. I keep my comments to what I personally test.
Thank you for the vid! It wasn't quite clear, wondering if you can you leave the unit off, fire up the generator, and then... come inside and throw the unit circuit breaker to start charging? Is there a reason to leave it on all the time or were you just showing what happens with battery only? .I ask because in my case it's a manual generator start about 200ft from the battery bank - e.g. start the generator without load and then go in and enable the charging at the battery but also cut-off charging at the battery if the generator struggles.
I wasn't sure, so I just went and tested it for you. It worked fine. I had the AC side connected with the battery circuit breaker off. Nothing bad happened at all. Then I switched off the DC breaker first with the generator still running. Yes, that's fine. If you decide to purchase one, it would help out the channel to use the affiliate link in the description.
You can make something similar from a Huawei R4850G2 power supply - they are used to charge backup lithium batteries on cell towers - they used to be really cheap to buy (less than 50 bucks) but looking now they seem to be expensive now.
You can also get dedicated 48v generators as well now - which avoids the need for the genny to invert to ac mains and the power supply to convert back down to dc
The Huawei gear would be going up because they've been banned from the US so anything you see is new old stock.
good Morning David. Thanks for the video i had a aims it ,s cook this may be a batter one
i love how your hair is coming along, I didn't watch a lot of your vids from the time you had shaved your head so was surprised to see it :)
Thank you. It's fun not being required to have a high & tight anymore.
It would be awesome to see the Kw of charge through this charger per gallon of gas in the honda so perfectly matched.
should be measuring the idle consumption on the ac side
The generator is turned off when the charger is not needed.
I wish this charger was out a year ago! Then I'd probably grabbed it. Right now, I just use a 16-amp 48v charger a few days out of the year to keep my 50KW battery bank alive. It seems to put out around 600 watts. It runs usually for 12-18 hours whenever I need it. I've got it connected to a 20amp Wi-Fi switch currently. So, I can switch it on and off remotely from anywhere. I guess next step would be to get it to kick in automatically when my batteries are low. But I'll probably just buy a generator or run 240v grid power to my solar shed. This way I could take advantage of my dual 100amp chargers built in my Victron inverter. The huge Victron inverters utilize software that helps them use less running power. I've seen my 15KW inverter running on 90 watts before.
Huawei4850?
I use the Emerson R48-3000e3 (65A53V) for my 14s li-ion
one can program these, but I don't know much about this, how one can do this. then I could program it to 58V.
Thanks for the review. I have a couple of questions. 1. Can the chargeverter be used while the inverters are operating? 2. Since there's no BMS what happens when the batteries reach full charge?
Yes, the chargeverter can be used at the same time your inverters are being used. This is a tool that mostly will be used for people living off grid. So, the inverter must be up all the time.
As for the BMS. The chargeverter should be set to a lower Voltage than your batteries would be full. For example, my batteries can go up to 58.4V, but I set my chargeverter to 55.0V. This means the chargeverter will never fully charge a battery. However, this doesn't mean you don't need a BMS. You still need a BMS if you are using lithium batteries.
Newbie here. I check on everything to be safe. It looks like you connected this into your bus bars. Is that correct?
I was hoping to see you share how it compares to using the other gen-to-battery setups, in over efficiency that is.
David, I have a question maybe you can help with. I just purchased an EG4 3000w 48V all on one inverter from SIgnature Solar and I was wondering if I can connect Redodo 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery (4PACK) to the EG4 all in one inverter and will the BMS communicate with the inverter? I'd like to do this because I can't afford the EG4 battery and the rediculous $285 shipping charge.
What a great product. One improvement I would suggest is upgrading this charger to allow charging for 12v/24v batteries. Lots of us out there with smaller systems that would love this feature.
Yes, I'd like a 24v option. A selectable one would be even better.
David, I like the modular-ness of the main supplies. However.. I couldn't really see from the video.. Is there anything that secures the the internal 2 modules? You just slid them off. Is there something to prevent that say if you hang it vertical? Gravity or vibrations might cause them to slide out if there is nothing mechanical preventing that. I got to believe the EG guys would have something. I just missed it.
Nevermind.. I just went back and saw the bracket.. 🙂
Is it rated for continuous use? Could I plug this into Grid power to maintain my batteries while I was still using my Inverters as if they were a giant ups? I understand I would be wasting quite a bit of energy but I still do not have my PV panels installed yet. Slow process but I wanted to get all my inside wiring completed and tested first. It will be an off-grid set up completely separated from the Utility. Thanks for the video.
Yes, you could do that. I've ran this charger for several hours in a row without a problem. Keep in mind, if you set it up like that you might want to lower the Voltage to 54.5V since it will be floating there. I don't see a reason it wouldn't work for you, but I have not personally tested using the Chargeverter in that situation.
Hey DavidPoz.
Looks like Growatt is about to launch the SPF 6000 ES Plus inverter. Would be awesoe if you could try get in contact with them and see if you can do a 1 phase/3 phase review on the units, im stoked on them because dual MPPTs.. Would be sweet to see you do a review on them like the ones you did for the 5kw units.. Keep up the nice work.
I have a Larger generator. I know how to get the charger do that it won't over load my generator. my question is, can you parallel 2 or more of those chargers without damaging their circuit controller or the battery controller?
David, Great video. One thing I think you forgot to mention, How long did it take for your gen to charge your battery bank ? Thank-you, Mike.
My battery bank is made of 6x EG4 batteries. Each EG4 battery is 100Ah. 6 in parallel means my whole battery bank is 600Ah. If I was at 0%SOC, and charged at the full 100A, then it would take 6 hours to charge the battery to 100%SOC. However, I don't suggest that approach. As I showed in the video, I'll be charging at 80A given my generator. And, I wouldn't wait until the batteries were dead, and I wouldn't charge all the way. It's far more typical to charge, perhaps, 40% of the total capacity in an off grid situation. That would be 600Ah*0.4/80= 3 hours.
Exelente siempre compartiendo contenido de calidad y escaso . Saludos !
Hi David, thank you for videos. Did you try powering your loads with the inverter while charging? Thanks
No. I wanted to measure power at the shunt during the test.
Thanks For your response. I
Was wondering if you could power your loads from the charging power provided by the Chargeverter. I have a small gas generator, 2000 W, and this device may help me charging my batteries using my generator. I have a Schneider XW +so I have enjoy your recent videos on that inverter. Thank you again for your videos and please continue doing what you do.
@DavidPozEnergy I was wondering along with Charlies' question, IF you can safely turn on your INVERTER while charging with this new device? Will all that amperage fry the Inverter? I would think not, because they are ready to accept all the amperage from the batteries/banks, no issue... Your thoughts?
David, Do you know how LOW you can set the output current? I like that this charger can hit 5,550 watts so I can use my Ear-Blaster 6500 but would normally prefer to run it with my EU2000.
I have an off grid cabin with solar, an 8KW diesel generator, a 48 volt inverter and battery bank of lead acid batteries. I recently purchased 4 - 48 volt lithium lifepo4 batteries to replace the lead acid, that I will run in series to the inverter The inverter has a charger but it is not designed to charge lithium batteries. I have read other articles about charging lithium batteries and they suggest using a smart type of lithium charger. This charger you are reviewing seems to just be adjustable and it is going to charge at whatever amperage you set it at. What makes it any different than any other charger for instance the one that is in my inverter? Is this the best type of charger to use?
Lithium batteries need a CC/CV charger. This stands for constant current, constant Voltage. Basically, the charger will charge the battery at full current (set by you) until it sees the battery at the pre-set maximum Voltage. I set mine to 56V. Then, the charger switches to constant Voltage mode, where the Voltage is always 56V, but the current lowers from 100% to 10%. Once it reaches 10%, then the charger shuts off.
Will be working with small, non inverter generator.
I use 3000 W AVR generator, and I must set on mppSolar controler about 10 Amps to start it, and then raise to 20, 30 and finaly to 40A.
Maybe that charge controller have softstart.
Can you use 2 of the EG4 in parallel charging the same battery bank using only 1 generator?
Yes. I recently bought a second Chargverter in order to do this on a larger generator.
@@DavidPozEnergy Were you able to have both of them communicate with the battery bank at the same time? Also, were you able to do this while keeping the bank communicating with the Schneider Insight Home?
Love it. That looks nice. I would love to have one of those. That's how I use my generator the most. Just put the power into the batts. Let the inviter do it's job. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Thanks for the comment Bobby.
Any chance this can run off DC? I figure the first thing it does probably is rectify to DC, so maybe it could be run directly on DC?
I'm trying to find a way to charge batteries from a prius battery (230v or so), and I hear MPPTs could maybe burn out trying to mppt a DC battery
The sticker on this says AC, I don't think it will run on DC. I like the idea of using an MPPT on the Prius battery, but I've never done it so I won't be much help. If you figure it out, send me a link.
With high power PSUs like this one you typically run into two issues when running them off of DC. One is that the rectifying components will always run in one direction this can either overheat them and in case of synchronous/active rectifier or bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) the controller may expect AC and can't operate the transistors at DC. The second issue is with the PFC again because power factor doesn't exist in DC so it doesn't have to do anything but if the controller just assumes AC it might stop operating until it measures a 0-crossing.
David, thanks for the video. I enjoy your videos, nicely done. I am not sure if I am seeing the benefit of using this unit to charge a battery bank. Are you saying the new Chargeverter is more efficient at charging a battery bank than the Schneiders and/or Growatts? Both inverter brands you have will charge the battery bank, I am not seeing the benefit, I guess. Do these inverters cannibalize power to charge battery banks vs when using a gennie? I bet I am over thinking this.
Actually, the Schneider inverter is a little more efficient at charging the battery than this is. In my previous video I showed how switching the loads back and forth from generator to inverter can make the lights blink. This charger eliminates that.
Right. on.
Thanks, is there a way to automatically turn on a portable (less than $1k) generator when the batteries are at low charge?
I don't know of a cheap generator with auto-start built-in. Sorry.
Thank you, that seems to be the case. Very suprised, was looking into alternative solutions like hacking the ST Switch for the Westinghouse, but no success. Looks like the Honda generator is the lowest priced alternative, however still outside the $1k range.
Any settings for AGM Lead Acid charging? Or just a flat charging curve for Li-Ion?
This is really made for Lithium, not LA.