Eg4 Chargeverter! Fast Powerful Solar Battery Charger That Solves THIS!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มี.ค. 2023
- Eg4 Chargeverter! Fast Powerful Solar Battery Charger That Solves THIS! OUR SOLAR EQUIPMENT...CLICK HERE: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=c.... $50 off on $500 Coupon: CountryLiv12 JustRite AccuFlow Type II Gas Can: amzn.to/2yXBrPN. Champion Dual Fuel 10kw Generator: amzn.to/3J7po2B
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Thanks for the update Eric !
Enjoy your Sunday (family day).
Be Blessed, Bro !
Thanks Doc
Great video and great information! I have 48 panels with a grid-tie in system. Instead of buying batteries I chose to buy the extra panels. I installed my solar system 15 years ago, I have not had electric bill to pay since then. I also have a Generac propane generator for power outages. I think if the grid is available a tie-in system is more economical, that's my opinion thank you for your great work and God bless 🙏!
Thanks Richard.
Thanks again for taking the time. You are a great source.
You’re welcome
Thumbs up 👍 thank you for sharing this video.
Thank you Clarence
Yes I am so excited to order one of these. I started my system with just a single inverter and battery and was running the generator through the inverter, so I had to limit anything large turning on (suffer in the heat while the AC was off)
I have been using a small generator with a Signature Solar 18 amp charger, which works in the evenings most of the time but I would love to just run this at 2500-3000watts on a larger generator instead.
Awesome. It is a great product for sure.
You never disappoint
Ty so much for your insight
Seen that charger and others review it but none compared to what you just did.
Success friend
Thank you. Always glad we can help
This chargeverter is a game changer!
Love it!
Charge will my 20 year old gen at 40 amps(220) and my small 120 gen at 20 amps.
Had issues charging through the inverter in the past and according to signatures solar generators kill most inverters.
Great peace of mind when I need a little juice.
Absolutely! It is a great piece of equipment and very handy.
I’m having a hard time getting my new Outback inverter to accept the gen
So this charger my do the trick on a smaller gen set.
@@offgridmangogrower
I have a harbor freight 2000 watt and it does fine at 20 amps
I’ve cranked it up to 25 amps and it ran but it was definitely working the generator.
So I backed it off to 20 to help with gas consumption.
And the peace of mind that it’s not hurting my inverter is priceless 👍
great review we bought one today. We also like your 10k generator thank you for the link in your description.
Very cool. Glad it was helpful!
Didn't realize you had gotten a second battery rack. Now your uo to 60KW . Wow that's awesome. I hope to be able to get my system around mid year. Thanks for the videi..... Jeff
Thanks Jeff. Only 46kw. The other rack only has 3 batteries in it.
@@CountryLivingExperience 46KW is a very nice backup...
Yes👍. Battery charger⚡🔌🔋
Thanks I've been using mine at 55v 23A with my 120v eu2000i generator and it's been perfect these past 2 weeks in this northern california blizzard :)
Nice!
That sold me…!
I’m in the crazy rain pattern…struggling just to run a fridge over night.
@Raymond Balcom super simple to splice the wiring onto a 3 prong 30a, brown to black, blue to white, yellow to yellow/green
Thanks for sharing. I would imagine the reason the chargeverter was throttling down was that your entire pack voltage was getting close to 51.2v. Once you increased to 55, then it ramped back up.
Maybe but I was still at that very low state of charge when it happened. The batteries were only at about 4 to 5%. It only did it that one time so it may have just been an anomaly.
@@CountryLivingExperience right but the chemistry of those batteries is LifePo4 which has a very low charge/discharge curve. It doesn’t take long for a low battery to get up to 51.2v but then it will sit at that same voltage for almost the entire charge cycle. It’s why you cannot rely on voltage to determine the state of charge for these batteries. 51.2 could mean 10% or 75%.
Good point. I know they are flat between 20% to 99%+. The first 20% is pretty steep but you're right, it should cross 51.2v at about 5%+.
Thanks Eric, it just didn’t make sense from Signiture Solar tech.
Thanks for talking the time to make this video.
You’re welcome
Hi do you think I can run loads while charging with the pv off using 2 Eg 6000xp’s ?thanks
@@malcolmkegel3905 Not sure I understand your question.
@@CountryLivingExperience Sorry if I wasn’t more clear I appreciate your time. In the same set up as you show on your latest 6000xp video which by the way is great! If I connected the chargeverte to my battery bank and run my generator, as the batteries charge can I run my loads normally while charging?thanks!
@@malcolmkegel3905 You can run all loads normally while the Chargeverter is charging the batteries. The only thing you do not want to happen is two sources of DC input at the same time. So if you have panels, disconnect them while you are using the Chargeverter.
Like you said it must be a AIO thing. My Magnum has voltage drop out settings. If the generator don’t have enough power like when a large item would turn on the inverter with protect it self by turning from charge back to invert. Also it will accept A/C in from 50hz to 70htz. I haven’t found a generator it won’t accept yet. I usually charge from a Champion Duel Fuel 2500 120v with my charger set at 20%. But I do have to turn off my chest freezer because it’s start up will draw 15amps DC. I put it on a smart home plug and control it with my phone.
Cool
Hey Eric, great and helpful video as always! Can this Chargeverter be plugged into a 120v wall outlet? And if yes, what is the adapter that can be used?
Hello Andrew. You cannot plug it into a standard wall outlet. This needs a special 30A 3 prong plug like you would have for an electric range or dryer as the adapter.
@@CountryLivingExperience Got it. Thanks!
Connecting through the bus bars, prevents you from shutting down appliances, during a charge? For example - pumps.
Great video and info. Is there anyway to hookup the system so that the generator/charger turns on automatically? I’m looking at a natural gas generator and it would be nice if it auto starts as needed.
I wonder if the inverter relay would be a start/stop option; however it may not function if the AC in receives no power…
Thank you. There is probably a way to hook it up automatically but I do not know how. An electrician could probably figure that out with some sort of automatic transfer switch but you would have to electrically start and stop that generator which would be difficult.
Yes. Get Atkinson electric to do up a module interface..
I could not get nine to charge until this video. Adjustments in settings must be made with the breaker off. Thank you. How about a video of how to program your batteries to shut down at a certain percentage?
Glad it was helpful.
Programing for battery low DC cutoff is in your inverters. Recommended is 20%.
Hey anybody know if this can be used on flooded lead acid? Currently off grid with FLA’s and we will soon be switching to lithium. The charger is adjustable so I would imagine I could just set the voltage to the upper end of standard bulk charging and let it run until it gets there and not bother trying to absorb charge with it.
Thank you for the video. Sorry I'm a bit confused. How do you power you house when you are charging the batteries with charger. Thank you.
You can use the inverters simultaneously when using the Chargeverter but your panels need to be turned off so that you do not have two sources of DC input and risk damaging the batteries.
@@CountryLivingExperience I see. Was it the same with the growattt system. So not too much hassle. You just turn off the disconnect to the PV panels. Are you able to hook up the generator without disconnecting or turning off the batteries. That way you are not momentarily shutting having to loose power. Maybe I should call signature solar. I shouldn't bother you with all these questions. 🙂 Thanks again. Your channel is great.
The Growatt system would be the same.
Correct no hassle, just turn the PV disconnect to off and you are good.
No problem, I am happy to help.
Are charge verters selectable amperage?
I have a smaller open frame gen about 3,000w continuous ….and would like to add 10 to 15 amps into a combined 300 amp lithium bank. We are having back to back rain and clouds…so very little solar inputs….
Yes, you can select the amperage. That is the nice thing about these.
Many Thanks for doing this video. Just received my Chargeverter.
My Champion generator is rated 5000w running, so I'll have to set the Chargeverter to a lower amperage, perhaps equivalent to 4000w? I'm not sure. I've been charging my smaller battery bank for years at about 3000w on this generator, which is the max charging through my Schneider inverter charger.
I don't know what percentage of the 5000w running is the "sweet spot"....80% or 90%???
You're welcome. You're going to have to play with it to be honest. If your generator is older, it may be less efficient than when it was new. So you will have to find where it is more efficient in terms of its fuel usage. Then you will have to balance that with how quickly you want your batteries charged.
Eric. When you are charging the batteries? Was your inverter on or do you shut them off
The inverters are on but the solar panels are turned off so that you don’t have two sources of DC power coming in.
There’s a generator class/subclass that’s called an inverter generator like your small 2500 watt champion dual fuel. Those put out a pure sine-wave regardless of the load and commonly have a far more “pure” pure sine-wave than the grid.
But you still need 15-20kw size
@@tyronetrump1612 Maybe the for the cheaper charge controllers, but you can normally set the max load on the mid to high tier solar charger/inverters for generators. Otherwise, those inverter generators keep putting out a pure signwave reguarless of load. sometimes you can parallel multiple inverter generators and get that 15-20kw.
@@jitterz0135 yes you can control the max charge amperage ( solar or grid) in all of your AIO inverters but you cannot invert and charge batteries at the same time - period. You have to go into Pass through mode and your generator must be large enough to handle the house load and have enough to charge the batteries via the internal charger of it all falls on it's face. Not all non inverter gensets have "dirty" outputs - everyone assumes this. The only way to find out is to try your genset and see if the inverter "qualifies" it. If the generator is not running on the ragged upper edge of it's output it may accept the input power. Either way you are gonna need 10 to 15kw depending on your household loads to cover this.
That is why this $350 EG battery charger is the easy and logical choice - run any size gen and charge while running off batteries/solar
If your generator is an inverter style, why not just run it into the generator input on the inverter charge controller and let it do the rest (assuming the inverter generator is at least 75% capacity of the inverter charge controller? If you generator is 2 wire start, you can have the inverter charge controller turn on your generator when the batteries drain to a minimum setpoint.
I understand though if you have a small non inverter generator and want to charge your batteries on a non sunny day or night this product would be ideal.
It is not an inverter based generator.
I have a setup consisting of 17-400 watt panels, each with an IQ8 microinverter, that convert DC to AC voltage. These IQ8 then connects to the Enphase combiner box. I am unsure of how the panels are disconnected from the grid during a power outage, but I have been informed that they do not send power to the grid during such a situation. Therefore, I have installed an ABT switch that diverts AC power from the grid in case of a power outage. I am curious if the charging unit you featured could be utilized to transfer power from the solar panels, microinverters, and combiner box, through the ABT switch and into my batteries. Is this feasible?
I am not sure. You would have to call the manufacturer.
I could not find the link for the extension cord, also are you using a 30 Amp cord or 50 Amp cord? Thank you.
I was wondering the same questions & link? Thx
Sorry, I forgot to put it in. Here it is....RVGuard NEMA 14-30L 30Amp Generator Extension Cord amzn.to/3mKhzbB
@Country Living Experience: A Homesteading Journey Thank you. Great video BTW, it's been on my mind as well.
Are you running loads while charging?
Yes, but turned off the pv.
I have one on order from signature solar and it should be here in about 2 weeks. I have been looking for something like this for quite some time because using the charger built into my inverter is not very efficient with its 3,000 watt limit it only brings my battery Bank charge up 3% per hour meanwhile the generator is using one and a half gallons of fuel for each hour that it's on.
Cool. Let me know how you like the operation of the chargeverter when you get it.
Perhaps it was the novelty and rush that made it slow to get one. I ordered Sunday, got mine today. I’m 2 mos down the timeline from most
I wonder how much gas would the gen take at the sweet spot ?
I still have to experiment more.
I am trying to set up my system very similer to yours. I have 6 EG4LL batteries, two EG4 6500 inverters and 6 canadian solar panels.
when I tried to bring the second inverter on line to give me 240v at my panel I lost the first inverter. Tech support said it was because I had the disconnect off on the battery pos feed to my second inverter and when I turned it on it fried the first inverter.
I have aproble with this as the disconnects are provided by Signature solar and I istalled just like yours.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreaciated.
That's so unfortunate. It is never good when that happens.
Since I cannot physically see your system or how you hooked everything together, it is really hard for me to say what went wrong.
While you were charging, was the inverter and PV also supplying power (connected and on), or did you shut everything down except the generator, chargeverter and batteries?
The inverters can be on and they can supply power to the house. Just turn off the PV because you do not want two sources of DC going into the batteries.
Thank you!@@CountryLivingExperience
Can it work on lead acid? I don’t see why it couldn’t. Would just need to be careful at transition from bulk to absorb and probably just set the voltage to be at the end of bulk.
It should but I am not 100% sure. It is a 48v charger so that will play into it.
I have two 24v life power batteries hooked in series to make 48v can I use the chargeverter to charge them set up like that?
Great question. It seems like it would work but I am not 100% sure. I would call EG4 and ask a technician.
What kills me is I went 24v, presented as a good compromise by Will Prowse and others in the past for non-full house systems (Will now preaches 48v for pretty much everything), so I have two EG4 LL batteries. I started with one Growatt 3000W, and before I even put everything together realized I really wanted 240V to power my house through the genny inlet when the genny wasn't in use. I bought another Growatt. Then I learned about the 6000 XP. They tell me I can't run the batts in series to get 48v because the inverter will be damaged if one of the batts goes off-line for any reason and the output drops to 24v (evidently no under-voltage protection). So, do I try to ditch $3k of basically unused batteries and the two unused Growatts at a loss, and start over with 48v. My whole setup was going to be hand truck mounted, so going to dual inverters would be really tough to mount on a hand truck without something funky, another issue the 6000 XP solves. the 6000 XP seems to have so many design and expandability advantages. Ugh!
That is a tough spot to be in.
I would personally opt for the larger batteries. Sell the Growatts.
Do you need to shut the inverters down to charge, or can they stay on to power house loads ??
They can stay on but make sure you disconnect your panels via the PV disconnect switch.
Hi Eric, I have a Chargeverter and just finished hooking up. Can please help me out here. Signiture Solar says that I can’t run the Chargeverter while the house is pulling a load. The solar panels are not producing enough power. I was told that it’s not recommend and it could cause problems to the inverter. What’s your opinion ?
I have always understood that you cannot run two sources of DC at the same time. Meaning that you need to disconnect your panels (just turn off the disconnect switch) while using the Chargeverter. From my understanding, you can run your inverters with loads while running the Chargeverter. You just don't want two sources of DC coming into the batteries or you could damage them. I have run the Chargeverter with my inverters on with no problems.
When I ordered mine on April 23, the estimated arrival date was May 14-16. My order status still says 'backordered". I am wondering how so many folks managed to obtain these units when they're not even shipping yet.
Hopefully yours arrives soon. It is a great tool.
How did it drain your battery bank they have a almost unnoticable idle draw. I have two connected to a 20 kw.
Cummins off the dry contact switch so I leave it on all the time hardwired to 60kw of eg4 battries so iam very curious
I explained it in the video. I left the breaker to the chargeverter in the on position when I was not using it.
@@CountryLivingExperience it's still not clear why this should be a problem
Does it also do 24v?
Only 48
Can you put in a link for the bus bars?
The link is there about half way down the page. Pike industries bus bar.
I just received the bussbar set Signituresolar sells, they are worth a look with 12 slots each and very beefy
Pike Industries Bus Bar: amzn.to/3R3bSzs
Hello - I like this product however I have a question. I have a similar set up with a Phocos Invertor (appears to have the same guts as the EG4s). I see your invertors are powered down. Do you have to disconnect the BMS comm cable to the invertor if the invertor is still powered up to allow the batteries to charge?
They were powered down just for this test. You can have them powered but you must turn off your panels so that you do not have two sources of DC input and risk damaging the batteries with a high current.
@@CountryLivingExperienceI know this is an old thread, but this was my question exactly. I’m very new, just got 1 6500EX, 1 LL battery. Directly connected at the moment. I just received my chargeverter today, and have been desperately looking for this answer. I don’t have solar panels yet, this is purely outage backup for now. So I’ll charge from AC line in for now, shut down except for scheduled test runs. I have a champion open frame. But the question/scenario: power goes out, if AC IN is not connected, no power to inverter, do I have to power down and/or disconnect the inverter? Can I leave it all connected and powered on so we have power to the urgent items, and connect the Chargeverter directly to generator and the battery leaving (obviously) everything connected? Dumb question, I know, but I’ve missed it or nowhere is it explicitly spelled out. Help?
@@rroades As far as I know, you can leave the inverters on and powering loads while charging from the Chargeverter. As long as you do not have two sources of charging going into the batteries simultaneously, it should be fine. If you want to check with Sig Solar to be 100%, I would suggest that.
@@CountryLivingExperience Mason there has been a lot of help. It’s so ridiculous that I have a 35-year in technology but in the people side of things: project management, user/functional requirements, training, even managing teams of developers. Electrical just seems so foreign! Engineers seem to expect you to already understand all the jargon, components and “how”. But for mid-60’s guy who was never much of a DIY’er, I’m struggling. All the info is never in one place. Sorry for the novel - your videos have been some of the most helpful, stumbling on them a few weeks ago.
@@rroades You're welcome. Glad I could help. The jargon is a bit confusing for sure. The only jargon I find more confusing is grape vine pruning/vineyard keeping.
Can you examine current flow while your inverters are functioning AND the Chargeverter is charging. It’s been my experience if the loads are 3000 watts while the Chargeverter is supplying 4000 watts; SOMEHOW the inverters use the Chargeverter 3000 and the remainder charges the batteries. Note I’m split phase, 10Kw of panels, 800 KwHr batteries LiFePO4. Inverter it’s set to “use” for batteries.My inverters have no AC in, OSO set for charging
Interesting. I have not noticed or really paid attention to that. What are you loads at the time you are examining yours?
The OSO setting might have something to do with that. I always set my systems to SBU.
How about inverter generators? They send a pure sine wave. Will they damage an inverter. I have a magnum inverter charger which is connected to my 8750 w inverter generator.
I do not know enough about them to really say.
Most generators are 30amps on the 240v side, could you tell us what this correlates to on the DC side? So let's say I want to run my generator at 80%, 24 amps what would you set that to on the dc side? I have a Predator 8750 inveter which is 7000 max running. Thank you
I don't know what that math would be. You can set the chargeverter as I showed in the video for amperage.
@@CountryLivingExperience I'm going to try and get the clamp meter on it and test it after I finish the break-in.
I had bought the 120V charger before this one was available, it’s half the price and charges off a normal house outlet or a generator. Is the difference that this one charges the battery faster?
This one can charge extremely fast and the amperage and voltage settings can be changed to optimize charging from any size generator.
Hello
I have some recently bought lifepo4 cells.
Out of ignorance, I connected them down in series, while waiting for my daly BMS to arrive my home country.
Upon BMS arrival, I went checking the voltage of the batteries, only for me to find each and all, reading negative (-26.40V ) on the multimeter as against 26.40V as at the very day they were connected after top balancing. Please, is there anything I can do to correct this?
The only way to have a negative reading like that is if you reversed the probes on the multimeter when testing. Reverse the probes (black to negative and red to positive) and retest.
@@CountryLivingExperience okay, I just reversed it and it's showing positive. But, I'm still not convinced that all is well yet. Probe is still in same way it was used, the very day I tested.
How is the charger going for you after a year. Is it still working perfectly fine?
Yep. Works well. No issues at all.
Do I need this If I connect my inverter to charge from ac in from my inverter generator? Sounds like a no.
If your generator is sized correctly for your inverters and loads then you would not need this.
What settings did you use to not need a battery?
Not sure what you mean. The Chargeverter charges the battery.
@@CountryLivingExperience I'm on the wrong video. It was a video on the 3000 watt all in one inverter but it cycled to the next video and I didn't notice.
Does that little charge-verter change the generators power from a modified sine-wave to a pure sine-wave?
Essentially yes. It produces a clean sign wave for the batteries.
@@CountryLivingExperience VERY interesting! Good to know! Thanks!
You’re welcome
Why do you have separate bus bars and not just using the bus bars in the case for everything?
I have two separate battery banks that connect on those common bus bars.
"Turn off after done with it" Does that mean be present until battery is done charging? Will it continute charging even after done?
Yes, when the battery is done. It will continue to charge/maintain but you would just be wasting fuel. Once you turn off your generator, turn off the Chargeverter.
Since I'll probably have to buy a larger generator, what do you think about Pros and Cons of an open frame inverter generators for running the Chargeverter?
Since the chargeverter is the device that’s basically “cleaning up the power”, I would imagine they would work fine as long as you try and dial them in to that “sweet spot” Eric was talking about. Now, I don’t have a chargeverter so I can’t speak to specifics, but if I did, I would be using it on my open frame generator that I already have.
I think most people are going to have open frame generators (that is what I have). I do not think there are any cons to it. Like Adam said, the Chargeverter cleans up the power coming in. Even closed frame inverter generators have a slight issue with dirty power and must remain in a certain range although not as narrow as an open frame.
@@AdamDeLay07 generators have a place and I know you have had holy heck with the ac in. Would this be a way to bypass ac in by just setting up a 30 amp 240 plug from grid power and charge the batteries when necessary that way??
@@Capoe3 Yeah, I’ve actually considered doing that. I’ve seen 1 person wire it up this way on their Growatts and it seems to work great. Gets you around all the AC In issues the 6500 have.
@@AdamDeLay07 there is no need to try to find any sweet spot with this charger, you set your output based on your generators continuous output rating ... There is nothing "inverter" about this battery charger either -all that is inside are 2) 48 volt server power supplies with a control module. The primary reason they built this is that it is not discriminatory of input power quality and can be run on any generator
so your saying leaving a "chargeverter" connected to your batteries with it switched on will drain a 45kwh pack in a few days?
Not exactly. My batteries were at a 15% state of charge. The chargeverter with the breaker on drained them from 15% in a few days. Just click off the breaker when you’re done charging.
Can you double up these inverters for 10kW charging on a bank?
Potentially but you will have to monitor so that the volts and amps are balanced so that it does not damage your batteries.
Can you charge that batter with solar? And if yes then how?
you need a solar charge controller.
Sounds like my inverter generator, which is pure sine wave at all loads, could be connected to the solar inverter.
Potentially. Check with the manufacturer
So maybe an ignorant question, but you are using a 30amp cable from the generator, is it ok to ramp up the amperage past 30 on the chargeverter? Wouldnt this be dangerous to run say 50 amps through a 30 amp cable?
No, it will be fine. I charge at 100A. The conversion is made after the Chargeverter.
4:00 generators are not most efficient in the middle of their power band, they are most efficient at max power. Unless you have a generator with an inverter, in which case the charger is useless anyways because the power is clean.
Incorrect. Between 60 and 70% power produces the purest sine wave on a non-inverter based generator.
In your example of a 5-6 kw generator running thru the inverter to charge battery and then a large load is added in your home(heat pump or dryer)...would the inverter just stop charging the battery and pull the power from the generator as well as pull excess power needed from the Battery bank? aka load sharing.
Sorry if this is a newbie question. I'm trying to understand how the system works.
It would but some of but the AC power in from the generator is going to have that collapsed sine wave (harmonic distortion) even if the battery is contributing some. This is of course depending on how big the load draw is from your home appliances, etc.
Thank you for the clarification. Do you think the 6500 or 6000ex would be safe to use in an RV as an alternative to say a Victron Multiplus ll?
Thanks!
I am not well versed in RV systems to be honest. I can't really say.
@@jasonhaws6610 I have 2 of them in my rv.
@@glennwest4438 thanks! Hope they are working well.
How is this charging scheme better or more advantageous than the Schneider or Solar Ark approach? Both use a two wire start and have the transformer in the inverter control the charging of the batteries. Not criticizing this approach, but want to understand the advantages. We experience cloudy rainy days at our location and I like that the inverters control the charging of the batteries, not me.
I think the big advantage is the fact that your inverters would only need to supply power to the loads as opposed to powering the loads and charging the batteries at the same time. The chargeverter allows you to “plug directly in to your batteries” bypassing the inverter altogether.
I concur with Adam's comment. Charging the batteries and powering the loads simultaneously is going to take a large generator. Additionally, these less expensive all in one units cannot take any voltage collapse from a generator and would be damaged. Not sure how the Schneider or SolArk get around this.....but they are far more expensive.
@@CountryLivingExperience I know the Sol-Arks have a much larger capacitor bank to help smooth out potential voltage issues. Not sure about the Schneider though. Possibly the same thing.
What size cable are the DC out?
It looks like they are 1awg
@@CountryLivingExperience Awesome. thank you! I just ordered one.
You’re welcome
@@NeverTakeNoShortcuts How is the charger after a year now?
Can u run that chargeinverter and solar ....
Checking on that. Will get back to y'all soon.
Yes
Love mine!
You can run the Chargeverter and your inverters at the same time but you need to turn off/disconnect your panels so that you don’t have multiple sources of DC input.
22kw generator is about $6,500 without any installation now... everything is just so expensive now.
Inflation is a killer tax
I've been using my Outbacks for 22 years... I've gone through quite a few cheap generators... I run a generator every day for at least an hour. 5500 W usually. Occasionally my TV will turn off when I shut off the generator but other than that I've never had a problem in 22 years. Both Outback inverters are doing fantastic 24 volt.... they're getting past their usable life though and I was considering switching to these inverters but now I'm having second thoughts thanks to this video. This technique sounds like a living hell.... these inverters are about $500 less then the Outbacks but if they can't even connect a generator to them sounds like they're completely useless... this is what they call New technology? something that can't even compete with my 22-year-old inverters? I've got two refrigerators one freezer two washers two dryers and two dishwashers and over 100 light bulbs and 30 ceiling fans and two TVs connected to my solar system. I've got power tools and a compressor and two high-powered microwaves and an electric stove and induction stove and 2,000 watt air fryer.. I've got a water pump that supplies the entire house going off randomly whenever someone uses water.... I've run all of those things while I was charging the batteries with the generator....7 people live here completely off grid. And the crazy part is that little charging box that you got there is the same price as what it would cost me to buy another Outback inverter. So zero savings on top of it... very depressing I was just getting ready to buy the damn inverters when I came across this video.... are you sure this information is accurate? Sounds like complete Insanity... I literally have been doing what is claimed here to be impossible everyday for the last 22 years... never disconnected my solar panels once.... installed the entire system myself but it's been so long don't even know if I can do it again :-)
Sounds like you made up your mind. I don't know how to help you. Do what you think is the right thing for you. If you are running a generator every day, you are deficient on solar panels.
I run my generator 100 ft from the house out in the yard so that it doesn't make much noise
Yes I live in a rainforest and often times I only make 3% of what I can make on a sunny day
Do you know anyone that's actually ruined a inverter by hooking up a generator? Like I said I've hooked up maybe a dozen of them to my system over the years
On a sunny day I might only have to run the generator for 20 or 30 minutes but on a rainy day 2 hours or more. But I've literally ran the generator every single day for 22 years directly connected to my inverters.
Will this charger work with non lithium battery technologies? agm or silicate salt?
It is a 48v charger. As far as I know, there are no 48v agm batteries (singular). I am unfamiliar with silicate salt. I would say no, it cannot be used with other battery chemistry.
@@CountryLivingExperience thanks for the response. It's a bank of four 250h 12-volt wired to 48 volts
I would check with Signature Solar.
Can it charge at 24v or your batteries have to be st 48v?
Thanks in advance😊
They have to be 48v. The lowest voltage setting is 43v.
generators putting out dirty power only applies to smaller, cheaper generators.
but i think your talking about overloading the generator, that charger uses 4800 watts, your probably going to have the same problem.
any generator that advertises a running output and a surge/start output are going to put out dirty power. if your worried about your power, get a isolation transformer or a generator with a form wound alternator.
The Chargeverter would clean up power from any source into a pure sine as far as I am aware.
@CountryLivingExperience it could, being in such a small package I doubt it(I have been wrong before) it's too small to have chokes, among other things. I'm not trying to troll or be a dush. I've been doing electrical and power generation for the last 20plus years.
@@chainsawsandgenerators9952 No worries. I am happy to have the conversation. I am not the manufacturer of the product and am just following the instruction I received on it from the solar company. I gotta go with what they told me about it.
A couple of probably silly questions... so the Chargeverter stays connected to the bus bar all the time and you turn the Chargeverter breaker on and off when you need to use it? When using it, does the solar inverter connection to the bus bar need to be disconnected or does it stay connected to the bus? (I do understand that the inverter cannot be adding power to the bus, but does it need to be totally disconnected?)
Yes, stays connected to buss bars and the breaker is off while it is not in use. No need to disconnect the solar.
@@CountryLivingExperience Thank you so much for the reply! Wouldn't solar charging in addition to the Chargeverter potentially provide too much power to the batteries?
@@zephinamedia8736 Yes. Turn off your disconnect switch on your panels before using the chargeverter. Only one source of DC input should be allowed to keep the batteries safe.
@@gf3803 I don't agree. It is about the amperage feeding into the batteries. Too much will destroy them.
i installed a 240 plug in my solar room, that runs into my crawl space and then to a juction box where it turns into a 240v extension cord which is poke through the wall to the outside. soo all i have to do is plug in my house. the chargeverter stays plugged into a “dead” outlet until the generator is running. so you don’t have cords all over
Nice. I need to do that in the very near future.
@@CountryLivingExperience keeps its nice and tidy. i have a set for the 120v 18a charger too. but now i will only use that as backup.
Why did you have to turn off the charger? I'm trying to make my charger all automatic.
This older model will drain the batteries if left on. The new model will not as far as I know.
Six grand for a generator? That was about 15 years ago when I was shopping for generators. That same generator is now 17 grand as of last year and forget about installation you can add another $5,000 on top of that. Not to mention the cost of delivering and the last mile delivery.
Generac has a 22kw home generator for $6k
@@Floridaoff-grid Aurora had 20kW quiet diesels for $5800 about 8-10 years ago when I got a quote. The problem was last mile delivery, so I bought a smaller gas genny and picked it up myself. Trouble is, that gasser is 105dB and burns 2 gallons per hour running the charger.
Some inverters allow configuring how much power is available on the A.C. input and will only draw that much and charge the battery with what the load does not need. Then if the loads demand more, it will make up the rest from the batteries. Of course this means your generator has to be able to supply more than your average load or your batteries won't be charged, but this is true no matter how you are getting the charge into your batteries.
Will I be able to use my 3000 watt gas generator?
Yes, no problem
@@CountryLivingExperience thanks, I want to buy a bigger set up piece by piece and I was hasty on the gas generator. Finally something that will clean up the power so i can use it on solar.
Am I wrong to observe the solar input turns off when this charger is running.
I was doing my first run with 12 batteries at 70% and charger setting of 56v at 60amp? I hope that the Growatt 5000es is ok with this charger. No I didnt turn off the system as the instructions don't say it.
Great question. I’ll have to do some digging on that.
Since the charverter is separate from the inverters themselves (and your connecting directly to the batteries), there shouldn’t be anything telling the solar to disconnect.
@@CountryLivingExperience your tip on keeping the breaker off on the charger was deadon. Very helpful info.
I was advised by Sig Solar to turn off the panels while the Chargeverter is running so that you do not have multiple sources of DC input and risk damaging the batteries.
Ok so solar off.
Much lack of details on EG4 products in general imo.
David Poz already did a video on this and it didn’t seem to make any difference after 70 A, no more power into the batteries!
Didn't he get a slight bit more at 100A? 5.8 vs 5.9kw. It is about the time to charge as well. If you need faster charging.
This video leaves me somewhat confused since I currently have an Outback system connected to my EG4 battery bank and when I need to recharge the batteries I do it through my generator and I have no problems, it charges quickly and at the same time gives it energy at my house my generator is 15KWA and in 2 hours I have almost 80% charge you should never use anything high voltage such as a water heater, dryer ovens or air conditioners using the generator is a common sense rule I have 2 6500ex inverters that I'm thinking to install but according to what you say that you can't place the generator directly on the AC t input that seems crazy to me not being able to use it that way that doesn't make any sense
now i see why are this inverter so cheap if they can't do that is insane that i would have to run a generator for 6 hour to fully charge my batteries
it's crazy to use a generator to charge my batteries it would take about 6 hours just to charge a bank of 6 batteries it doesn't make sense
I don't see anywhere where is said is not a good Idea to connect the generator to the 6500ex i call signature solar and they said you can connect the generator to the EG4 6500EX
Check with Outback and see what they say about how dirty power will affect your inverters.
Both EG4 and the owner of Signature Solar, James, have put out videos warning against using direct generator input to an all-in-one inverter like the 6500 and the Growatt 5000es. I don't know who you talked to there but if your inverters are damaged by an unclean-unpure sine wave from a generator, it is not covered under warranty. This may hold true for other brands like MPP or SunGold, etc.
The only way that I know an inverter can overcome an unpure sine wave is to have a huge capacitor that smooths out the wave. I have heard Schneiders overcome this issue well.
I've been using my Outbacks for 22 years... I've gone through quite a few cheap generators... I run a generator every day for at least an hour. 5500 W usually. Occasionally my TV will turn off when I shut off the generator but other than that I've never had a problem in 22 years. Both Outback inverters are doing fantastic 24 volt.... they're getting past their usable life though and I was considering switching to these inverters but now I'm having second thoughts thanks to this video. This technique sounds like a living hell.... these inverters are about $500 less then the Outbacks but if they can't even connect a generator to them sounds like they're completely useless... this is what they call New technology? something that can't even compete with my 22-year-old inverters? I've got two refrigerators one freezer two washers two dryers and two dishwashers and over 100 light bulbs and 30 ceiling fans and two TVs connected to my solar system. I've got power tools and a compressor and two high-powered microwaves and an electric stove and induction stove and 2,000 watt air fryer.. I've got a water pump that supplies the entire house going off randomly whenever someone uses water.... I've run all of those things while I was charging the batteries with the generator....7 people live here completely off grid. And the crazy part is that little charging box that you got there is the same price as what it would cost me to buy another Outback inverter. So zero savings on top of it... very depressing I was just getting ready to buy the damn inverters when I came across this video.... are you sure this information is accurate? Sounds like complete Insanity... I literally have been doing what is claimed here to be impossible everyday for the last 22 years... never disconnected my solar panels once.... installed the entire system myself but it's been so long don't even know if I can do it again :-)
@@CountryLivingExperience
Good morning Erick
For more than 10 years I had to use the generator 3 to 4 hours once a month to equalize the batteries and that is the only way to be able to do this is to use the inverters and the system asks you to be connected to the generator otherwise I could never do this like is the answers to your first question that if dirty power can be used this I had to do with my gel batteries
Not the lithium ones. The only reason why I consider changing is because according to Signature Solar, the best way to use the BMS of their batteries is
using the inverters that they sell and it is the way that the ecosystem works best.
Signature Solar's technical department is not very reliable, they don't know much and I realize that every time I call them they have no idea of anything other than their brand,
from what I see you have only used all in 1 box systems for!! other equipment that I have used works better and has more options. I think I'd better pay the money to upgrade my Outback.
What I'm looking for is to be able to produce more electrical output. That's all, my current system is at maximum 7.5k and I need twice as much, I already have the equipment.
from signature but I think that in this I better invest in something good, reliable and made in the USA with support by engineers who know what they are doing
I do not want you to misunderstand the batteries are good I have been using them for more than 15 months without problems,
I just see the limitations of Your system The other thing is that there are also any number of cheap generators that do not give good performance.
I have been using Generac and it is a super reliable and good is a beast and I also know that you do not work for Signature Solar Don't take it personally,
they are growing very fast and have not been able to improve their technical service with proper engineer.
The only way to move forward with them would be if I can use 2 chargers at the same time since my generator can turn on up to 3 of those chargers at the same time yes my generator cost more then 3 of the 6500EX🤐
that would be another solution because otherwise I would be losing energy money if I can only charge one at a time
thank you for your video and time continue to share and educate others we don't all have all the right answer and I feel that is ok to ask and advice others
blessing to you and your family
Dannie
Yes I equalize once a month also. I'm really at a quandary of whether or not I should buy those inverters or not. Has anyone ever actually ruined their inverters this way? I have two charge controllers and two inverters all going into the battery Bank sometimes all four of them are charging at the same time and I've never had a problem. But is my entire system going to get destroyed if I upgrade? I'm in dire need of a new system the banks are getting ready to fail and I need to spend some money
@Dannie
I understand. Not all inverters are made the same or perform the same functions. Some have larger capacitors, some are high frequency, some low, some split phase, some single, etc. You have to find what works best for your situation. From my knowledge, only the most expensive inverters, can perform the way you want them to. Schnieders or SolArks. Or an inverter that is very specific to your application.....which in your case is the Outback that will handle the generator. There is such a large pool of different types to choose from, not one product is going to work for everyone.
Blessings brother.
It's nice to see all the TH-camrs are getting their chargers from signature solar while the rest of us are waiting three four months
Hey, did you know that gas can cost $126.00?
Crazy inflation. It was $70 when I bought it a few years ago.
My generator doesn't have a screen.
Another day another dollar, eh?
sounds a little shady to me, these inverters are "off grid inverters", whats the diffrence in this charger and the charger that in the 6500s, why is this charger not built into the 6500s, so the chargers in the 6500s are useless for off grid, but signature solar will sell you another charger
rich people
NOT all generators have dirty power, have you simply copied and pasted this statement??? MOST modern generators actually have CLEAN power (inverter biased)
Good point. The one used in this video wasn’t inverter based.
WARNING. Received mine DEAD ON ARRIVAL. Now they want me to only give me STORE CREDIT and some lame excuse that it is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH A 48V LFP RACK MOUNT BATTERY. AND THEY WANT A RESTOCKING FEE?!?! I just want a working unit. What a lame excuse they gave. NOT happy with Signature Solar and probably will not buy from them again.
Wow! Thanks for the heads up.
I had a problem where my inverter's failed. They immediately troubleshot it with me and replaced my inverter's. I was very pleased with the process. The only thing I didn't care for was they didn't send me the new inverter's until they received the old ones. Honestly though that's pretty standard, I'm just impatient. That and I'm totally off grid
They did the same thing to me and had run home on generator for 3 weeks.Signiture Solar doesn’t have a very good tech support. They are to busy selling.