diy solar

diy solar

SolArk15k vs Eg4 18k

robby said:
I am not sure where you got the info on the E4 18K being more powerful that the SolArk 15K but I guess it's what started the argument in the other thread. The EG4-18K is a 12KW Inverter. The Sol-Ark 15K is a 15KW Inverter.

If you just want electricity without any issues then you know which one to buy.
If you wan't to try out a new Inverter and deal with the teething issues etc to save some $$ then you have your other options.
Click to expand...
we have a 15k in our lab. I'd pay anybody who can show it power more than our 18k under battery power. the spec sheet of the 15k shows 12k on battery with 6000w per leg max ours is 12k continuous with long-term surge up to 16kw as well as line balancing at 8000w per leg. this is misleading @robby part of why I offered a free one for you to review as our top critic.

If you don't get your hands on it or the 15k (like we do in our lab) then you really don't have the data.
You can come to our training center here and try to prove your point if you'd like, heck, we'd even buy lunch for you.
 
Last edited:
Tiger Tom said:
Im about to stir up some s**t on this and I am not bashing Signature Solar. They supply great products

I was about to pull the trigger on 2 SolArk 15k and I see Eg4 18k about to launch in 2 weeks. Signature Solar does put out a good product at a good price.
I am a contractor and able to purchase 2 SolArks at contractor price $14900 and priced out 2 18ks at $10,600 with Military Discount. A big price difference at $4300 which pays for the solar racking.
I’ve looked at SolArk, Signature Solar and Sandi (high voltage out of China)

SANDI
Make a great inverter. But have decided not to buy from China as there is no immediate support via mfr or community support via forums.

SOLARK
Yes expensive and I can buy 2 Deye 16ks for the price of one SolArk15k. BUT SolArk has excellent sales, technical help and help via Facebook and DIY Solar Forums. But they don’t have their optimizers ready for sale for a more integrated system.

EG4 18K
New product and more powerful than the SolArk 15Ks. Also the Tigo rapid shut down optimizers integrate into Signature Solars online monitoring platform(supposed to).
BUT my biggest concern is YouTube videos with Will Prowse testing of the new Eg4 8ks
plus I think another other off brand similar unit. But this is regarding the 8k. The two or three 8ks have had issues. I don’t want issues to work thru. I’m sure he pisses off some mfrs with his public feedback but they know he is honest and shows the defects in the products he evaluates.
I used to work for an appliance manufacture and when we sent out samples for customers to test we made sure they were perfect. Especially the ones that went to Consumer Reports, United Laboratories or ETL.
Now say that a manufacture says we don’t cherry pick or make sure a product is perfect when sending out to be tested or evaluated. If Will Prowse got 3 random units that had issues just think of the odds in that…. What are the chances/odds of Will getting 2 or three units that have issues or of the inventory they had.
Let’s define issues…. I’m not talking out calling tech support to fine tune settings and setting up. That is normal. But when throwing faults and no fault of the installation. I think Will knows how to set up an inverter or two.
Would like feedback from Signature Solar on this. How long have they been testing the 18k before it’s launch.
If I purchase will they ship me a new unit to replace a problematic unit that has no issues with installation. I then will ship back the other unit.
Looking forward to the feedback from other Solar DIYers.
Click to expand...
your feedback is greatly appreciated btw, more things coming this week on these points with the 18k
 
SignatureSolarJames said:
we have a 15k in our lab. I'd pay anybody who can show it power more than our 18k under battery power. the spec sheet of the 15k shows 12k on battery with 6000w per leg max ours is 12k continuous with long-term surge up to 16kw as well as line balancing at 8000w per leg. this is misleading @robby part of why I offered a free one for you to review as our top critic.

If you don't get your hands on it or the 15k (like we do in our lab) then you really don't have the data.
You can come to our training center here and try to prove your point if you'd like, heck, we'd even buy lunch for you.
Click to expand...
It can do 275A discharge so for nearly all of the typical lifepo4 voltage curve it can do more than 12k inverting power from batteries.
 
SignatureSolarJames said:
we asked Will to close loop batteries. he didn't want to on either of the 2 units we sent him. I get that he hasn't been into closed loop before but the thing is that firmware regression is not actively being tested against open loop systems. hence why the issue and then botched firmware update occurred in the first place.

Over the air updates are being tested for the 8k, as well as more clarifying language insisting in closed-loop operation, this is about more than firmware, the BMS and Inverter fight each other in open loop, manageable but potentially degrading to lifespan and reliability
Click to expand...

So, you are saying that the MOST basic of setups - controlling the batteries via Voltage is not supported in a new product and you try to pin it "the Dice method" hoping that one inverter will support a specific battery all through BMS comms?
Your joking right?
Due to missing standards in this industry one can not simply rely on BMS comms - back to tossing the dice and hoping it works.
Your tested products did not fail 3 times due to missing BMS comms.
One would think Will has defined voltage setups before and know what hes doing...
Don't blame the BMS comms. The product was just not finished and to a high QC level.
 
LydMekk said:
So, you are saying that the MOST basic of setups - controlling the batteries via Voltage is not supported in a new product and you try to pin it "the Dice method" hoping that one inverter will support a specific battery all through BMS comms?
Your joking right?
Due to missing standards in this industry one can not simply rely on BMS comms - back to tossing the dice and hoping it works.
Your tested products did not fail 3 times due to missing BMS comms.
One would think Will has defined voltage setups before and know what hes doing...
Don't blame the BMS comms. The product was just not finished and to a high QC level.
Click to expand...
Welp, we sent 2 not 3, (some people even say 4 though lol) we will partner with any battery including DIY bmses for closed loop comms support. but I'm getting away from open loop as a guarantee. if ethernet scares someone then I'd rather have another company get the sale and own the warranty.
 
niktak11 said:
On grid it can do more than 12kW from just batteries (up to 275A).
Click to expand...
I wonder how that is.
It doesn't make any sense.
If the inverter is capable of pulling that much out of the batteries. It should be able to do it at anytime. Not just if the grid is connected.

Also, according to the picture. (If I'm reading it correctly)
Your getting about 1kw from solar, 1kw from the grid, and 14kw from the battery. Which is a total of 16kw. But you are only using 15kw. Is there really 1kw of losses?
I must be reading it wrong.
 
Last edited:
timselectric said:
I wonder how that is.
It doesn't make any sense.
If the inverter is capable of pulling that much out of the batteries. It should be able to do it at anytime. Not just if the grid is connected.

Also, according to the picture. (If I'm reading it correctly)
Your getting about 1kw from solar, 1kw from the grid, and 14kw from the battery. Which is a total of 16kw. But you are only using 15kw. Is there really 1kw of losses?
I must be reading it wrong.
Click to expand...
That's what I'd expect too but I haven't actually tested it off grid much.

15.1/15.94 = 94.7%
Seems reasonable to me. Also I've found that the displayed power measurements displayed by the sol-ark aren't always super accurate.
 
Last edited:
SignatureSolarJames said:
Welp, we sent 2 not 3, (some people even say 4 though lol) we will partner with any battery including DIY bmses for closed loop comms support. but I'm getting away from open loop as a guarantee. if ethernet scares someone then I'd rather have another company get the sale and own the warranty.
Click to expand...
Battery integration is a big issue with Sol Ark and they don’t seem to be in any hurry to add support for other brands. On the other hand closed loop comms is a big scam IMO. I’ve been running open loop for 9 months now and I have had zero issues in fact I’m not sure I’d even mess with closed loop comms if offered. I like setting the voltages and leaving them alone. As long as the inverter is close on SOC calculations it’s not an issue and in fact an argument could be made that is the preferred method.
 
jfpetesn said:
Battery integration is a big issue with Sol Ark and they don’t seem to be in any hurry to add support for other brands. On the other hand closed loop comms is a big scam IMO. I’ve been running open loop for 9 months now and I have had zero issues in fact I’m not sure I’d even mess with closed loop comms if offered. I like setting the voltages and leaving them alone. As long as the inverter is close on SOC calculations it’s not an issue and in fact an argument could be made that is the preferred method.
Click to expand...
I just don't see the scam, if we are open to all mfrs then it shouldn't be a scam.

the back current and discharge acccuracy is an issue overall and frankly not the future IMO
 
SignatureSolarJames said:
there are things they beat us on, not to mention experience in the hybrid space. this inverter will serve people who cannot afford it well.
Click to expand...
There is room for both. I have never purchased anything from Signature Solar. From my observations from this forum if I’m being honest is not encouraging. EG4 everything seems to occupy too many threads here. Lots of less than stellar results from what I see. Now that being said SS has a lot of the DIY market share so that may account for some of it. But if I’m new and making a significant investment in equipment it would make me extremely nervous. I went with Sol Ark and Trophy battery. A large part due to the information I found one here. Seems the biggest complaint with Sol Ark is its price but it works. The Trophy batteries got a big thumbs up from Will. I have been pleased with both and had zero issues.
 
SignatureSolarJames said:
I just don't see the scam, if we are open to all mfrs then it shouldn't be a scam.

the back current and discharge acccuracy is an issue overall and frankly not the future IMO
Click to expand...
Perhaps scam is the wrong word maybe unnecessary is a better word. I think closed comms are a gimmick used to sell batteries and inverters to the uninitiated. In the real world once set up properly it makes no difference either way.
 
jfpetesn said:
Perhaps scam is the wrong word maybe unnecessary is a better word. I think closed comms are a gimmick used to sell batteries and inverters to the uninitiated. In the real world once set up properly it makes no difference either way.
Click to expand...
well we are democratizing it so no scam. the tech is actually better and lifespan concerns are actually real.
 
Communications is great for people who don't want to know anything about their system. But, the members here are happy to diy. And most likely know every thing about how their system works.
Communications is also for professional installations. Because the customer should not be messing with anything.
As far as lifespan goes. If you don't do something really dumb. Calender aging is what will decide what the lifespan will be.

Disclaimer: this is just my opinion. While I don't stand alone on this. I don't claim to speak for everyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Gubman
EG4 18k PV back-feeding on GEN port
2 3
Replies
45
Views
2K
1201
1201
B
EG4 18K Is Only Powering Loads in EPS Mode
Replies
4
Views
356
ksmithaz1
ksmithaz1
W
EG4 24v LifePower4 batteries with 18K inverter
Replies
0
Views
243
Warden
W
A
EG4 18K - Air Conditioning won’t run without grid
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
Texas-Mark
T
Officient
New Off Grid Solution Feedback
Replies
9
Views
468
Hedges
Hedges
Back
Top