EG4 18kPV Q+A general thread

Happy last day of the weekend!

Question- or two.
I read somewhere on the forums that the 18KPV PV1 inputs are in parallel and capable of 25A max combined input.
The manual agrees with the 25A but says nothing about the configuration internally. It makes sense that they are parallel.
With that said - couldn't you just make the parallel connection at the array and save the second wire pull provided the proper wiring was used?
Other than having the ability to run a smaller wire size and smaller currents to each input, I'm not seeing why the need for two inputs on PV1.
I'm curious.

Has anyone heard updates as to when the updated software is going to be released? "Soon" feels like awhile ago or am I impatient............

At some point I'd like to use the grid to assist if needed without back feeding. I get the impression from my reading here that the beta is working to prevent this along with some other tweaks. Personally I've been very pleased with the performance of my system so far.

Wes975 said:

Happy last day of the weekend!

Question- or two.
I read somewhere on the forums that the 18KPV PV1 inputs are in parallel and capable of 25A max combined input.
The manual agrees with the 25A but says nothing about the configuration internally. It makes sense that they are parallel.
With that said - couldn't you just make the parallel connection at the array and save the second wire pull provided the proper wiring was used?
Other than having the ability to run a smaller wire size and smaller currents to each input, I'm not seeing why the need for two inputs on PV1.
I'm curious.

Has anyone heard updates as to when the updated software is going to be released? "Soon" feels like awhile ago or am I impatient............

At some point I'd like to use the grid to assist if needed without back feeding. I get the impression from my reading here that the beta is working to prevent this along with some other tweaks. Personally I've been very pleased with the performance of my system so far.

Click to expand...

1- PV1 is paralleled at the inverter, yes you could run a single wire. (Note NEC awg requirements are more restrictive as amps go up)

2 - Software or Firmware? Note Firmware installed by SS or LUX may have other settings changed on the backend that aren't visible by the end user) example I had LUX install 1111 Firmware to stop grid backfeed. However during the process, before any Firmware was uploaded the backfeed was stopped and the inverter did a reboot. (I suspect a setting was changed that eliminated the backfeed and the firmware update may not have been necessary)

3 - if you want grid assist you need to stay on the public release.

Wes975 said:

Happy last day of the weekend!

Question- or two.
I read somewhere on the forums that the 18KPV PV1 inputs are in parallel and capable of 25A max combined input.
The manual agrees with the 25A but says nothing about the configuration internally. It makes sense that they are parallel.
With that said - couldn't you just make the parallel connection at the array and save the second wire pull provided the proper wiring was used?
Other than having the ability to run a smaller wire size and smaller currents to each input, I'm not seeing why the need for two inputs on PV1.
I'm curious.

Has anyone heard updates as to when the updated software is going to be released? "Soon" feels like awhile ago or am I impatient............

At some point I'd like to use the grid to assist if needed without back feeding. I get the impression from my reading here that the beta is working to prevent this along with some other tweaks. Personally I've been very pleased with the performance of my system so far.

Click to expand...

Correct, you can parallel the first PV input outside. Or use both the first inputs to parallel in the inverter itself. I ended up just doing it at the array. But it could help some people depending on how they have everything set up and their wiring.

Zapper77 said:

1- PV1 is paralleled at the inverter, yes you could run a single wire. (Note NEC awg requirements are more restrictive as amps go up)

2 - Software or Firmware? Note Firmware installed by SS or LUX may have other settings changed on the backend that aren't visible by the end user) example I had LUX install 1111 Firmware to stop grid backfeed. However during the process, before any Firmware was uploaded the backfeed was stopped and the inverter did a reboot. (I suspect a setting was changed that eliminated the backfeed and the firmware update may not have been necessary)

3 - if you want grid assist you need to stay on the public release.

Click to expand...

I probably should have used the correct term - firmware.
Currently I'm on the latest public release (July 1st) and will stay with the public releases. I've had my share of beta testing on other devices (original two way satellite internet back in the day). Glad that's over.
Did the latest public release solve the back feed issue? It's possible I missed the confirmation by others.

While it may be overkill, I've run everything in #8 so far hoping it will provide some upgrade potential in the future.

Thanks for the feedback, @Gavin Stone as well!

Forgivenpagan said:

I have a 2.5 ton unit that has a soft start installed and ran it flawlessly while on grid. This was with an additional 4-5Kw load. I also had grid shaving set up to .5Kw. Once I went off grid and it switches to EPS mode, It wont kick it on. I have turned everything else off and it fails to kick it on. It just powers down and restarts. Will the software issue solve this? I was under the impression that it was able to run 150% for around 5min.
I have 11 EG4LL 5.1KWh batteries in my system.

Click to expand...

I have a Goodman Package unit 4Ton and a pair of 18K's in an off-grid arrangement. They will start the compressor without a kit, while charging the car at 5.6KW, running the dryer about 4KW, and the rest of my house load (1.5-3KW). That being said, it did however cause a severe brown-out, even with practically 0 load. A 5-2-1 start kit took it to a significant rather than severe brown-out. I removed the 5-2-1 and put a 5ohm 24A, 600J thermistor inline. Now it blinks, the UPS's all click, TV on a ups blinks every other time, need a better ups. I doubled the thermistor to 10Ohms, compressor won't start, the fan cuts on the thermistor heats, resistance drops and I'm back to a hefty brown out. I think around 7Ohms cold would be ideal, and the devices hit 190C at load so it needs to be in an open space. I purchased a $300+ Micro-Air for a 4-ton. It's a really big box, mounting it is going to be challenging. It's 116 today, I'll probably install it next weekend when it's a teensie bit cooler, and I will see if it's better/worse than the $15 thermistor. I can live with the blink in the mean time, it's a little annoying but not huge. I will note the dip is much worse when the batteries dip below 10%

Wes975 said:

I read somewhere on the forums that the 18KPV PV1 inputs are in parallel and capable of 25A max combined input.
The manual agrees with the 25A but says nothing about the configuration internally. It makes sense that they are parallel.
With that said - couldn't you just make the parallel connection at the array and save the second wire pull provided the proper wiring was used?

Click to expand...

One thing that is interesting to me using the PV1 double connections is the ease of re-configuring PV strings if I eventually add a second inverter.

Zapper77 said:

3 - if you want grid assist you need to stay on the public release.

Click to expand...

there's a solution for grid assist with the no export firmware the public & test, by using grid peak shaving but it will pull 80-100watt from the grid all the time, this will prevent exporting to the grid, this has been tested and i also run with this kind of set up, and i know couple 18kpv owners use this set up to run with their heavy load appliances, mostly central air conditioning. ill be happy to help, DM is the key.

Luxpower_Gilbert said:

there's a solution for grid assist with the no export firmware the public & test, by using grid peak shaving but it will pull 80-100watt from the grid all the time, this will prevent exporting to the grid, this has been tested and i also run with this kind of set up, and i know couple 18kpv owners use this set up to run with their heavy load appliances, mostly central air conditioning. ill be happy to help, DM is the key.

Click to expand...

Good to know. I may try that in the near future.

Luxpower_Gilbert said:

there's a solution for grid assist with the no export firmware the public & test, by using grid peak shaving but it will pull 80-100watt from the grid all the time, this will prevent exporting to the grid, this has been tested and i also run with this kind of set up, and i know couple 18kpv owners use this set up to run with their heavy load appliances, mostly central air conditioning. ill be happy to help, DM is the key.

Click to expand...

Thank you!
Once I get everything in place, and off the road, I'll reach out.

Weekend regards to everybody here.
I've just gone through all the comments here, and I appreciate that a lot of important reminders were shared.
Working closely with the EG4 team, we will make the firmware updates (and the update log info) more organized. Additionally, within the next week, we should be able to submit the latest firmware update file to the monitoring system.
This update will include, at least, the following improvements:
1, Surge power capability under off-grid mode.
2, Considering AC coupled power as the second solar power source to program the system according to different needs.
3, Zero export with grid assistance.
Thank you all!

I'm about to pull the trigger on a 18kpv system through SS, but I have a few questions about wiring. I plan to install the inverter on the opposite side of a wall from my meter and main load (200amp panel) that is less than 10' from away. I use about 40kWh a day and installing a 13kW pv with 30kW battery backup for night. I plan on a 200amp main breaker under my meter, split the lines with polaris connecters, then to a transfer switch and grid load on inverter. The Load from inverter will go back out the wall to main panel breaker. I live in rural Texas with no permit besides electric co-op approval. (I do want it SAFE) just not bureaucracy safe

1. Should I fight with 4/0 copper or just use 3/0?
2. The manual has about 5 different fuses and breakers the wire goes through that I don't plan to use. Just Grid 200amp disconnect, inverter breakers, then 200amp on Main Panel. I only chose this because the solark 15k manual has no breakers between the grid disconnect and the inverter.
3. The neutral bar on the inverter says if fits 6-gauge wire. This seems small. Is there a way to fit a larger neutral for both the grid and the inverter load.

Mesquitemonkey said:

3. The neutral bar on the inverter says if fits 6-gauge wire. This seems small. Is there a way to fit a larger neutral for both the grid and the inverter load.

Click to expand...

The inverter neutral bus bar supports (4/0 awg) the same awg as the grid and load. The primary inverter ground bar is smaller but still may fit a 2awg.

Neutral bus shown with a 6awg. As you can see lots of room.

In regards to the modbus registers, can someone point out which would show the ac coupled power/energy?

Mesquitemonkey said:

I plan on a 200amp main breaker under my meter, split the lines with polaris connecters, then to a transfer switch and grid load on inverter.

Click to expand...

FWIW I think you are much better off going with two breakers so you can de-energize power to the inverter without losing power to the house if you need to do repairs.

I used 4/0 fine strand in the battery connections with ease. Used No#2 for the load, plenty of extra room. Even 6 ga. will fit the ground lug of the pv area.

I used 4/0 aluminium for the lines in and out, the large wiring box is amazing as are the connections.

Getting closer to to pulling the trigger. But the person I'm installing for wants DIY batteries and no comms. Does the EG4 support no comm battery connection?

MrM1 said:

Getting closer to to pulling the trigger. But the person I'm installing for wants DIY batteries and no comms. Does the EG4 support no comm battery connection?

Click to expand...

Yes, the EG4 18kpv can be used with batteries that have no communication. On the inverter you would set the battery type to Lead-Acid and manually input the batteries charging/discharging parameters.

SOC is not very accurate, you can set it to use battery voltage too.

my LL batteries with KPV SOC setting seem to be less than My Growatt SOC settings with the LP batteries by about 1 1/2 volts @ 100% readings. All though I'm using the eg4 monitor with the LP which made it easy to set the voltage up and use SOC at the same time, if I'm thinking correctly. With out any changes of my own in SOC with KPV and LL batteries has been 54. some thing showing100% and the growatt soc settings @ 56v 100% reading. Comparing 3 LP verses 6 LL and 2 different inverters. Not comparing the 2 inverters but rather just the battery voltages.