[RE-wrenches] Another one bites the dust?

Wed May 8 11:15:08 PDT 2024

FWIW, I recently helped a couple of clients who purchased EG4 batteries and
needed them installed. Things went surprisingly well. I have another coming
up where the client purchased EG4 LifePower4 batteries and Sol-Ark 15k
Inverters and got ghosted by their installer, so I'm taking over that one
as well. So far so good. Of course, these few experiences don't constitute
a statistically significant sample size.

One thing that strikes me as odd is that EG4 says you can have closed-loop
comms with a Sol-Ark, but I had great difficulty getting the EG4 to stop
telling the Sol-Ark to do bad things. Sol-Ark told me that EG4's
closed-loop comms are NOT ready for prime time, and they recommend against
it.

On another very small job where the customer has an existing off-grid
system, Signature Solar tried to help me through a really basic EG4 battery
to EG4 6000 inverter problem where the PV wasn't charging the battery (or
at least not consistently). They were not able to help on that one. I think
it's a closed-loop comms issue. They sent me the software to connect to the
battery to do some diagnostics, but I think there's something going on that
isn't related to the battery. Anyway, I'm switching this to open loop and
hopefully the problem will go away, but I would expect EG4 batteries to
play nice with EG4 inverters.

There is no question that EG4 is making inroads with their batteries being
MUCH lower cost than other brands. We're going to have to deal with it I
guess.

Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208

On Wed, May 8, 2024 at 11:59 AM Dan Fink via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> I've recently been dealing with multiple off grid DIY folks who bought EG4
> products that are not UL listed, and asking me to consult about pushing
> through electrical permits for them. Some have spent $10k+ and are looking
> at really expensive boat anchors on a pallet.
>
> Some EG4 all-in-one inverter/charger/PVCC ARE listed, but some are not. As
> for their rack mount batteries, they advertise a "UL 9540A" listing, but
> the problem is UL 9540A is NOT a listing, it's simply a test that ESS
> manufacturers can use to apply for an actual UL 9540 listing. Signature
> Solar's "tech support' department responded to my info requests promptly,
> but never actually provided the information required by our county
> electrical inspector. When I kept pushing for a response, their replies
> stopped and I got crickets.
>
> I hope the news of Outback being purchased by EG4 is not entirely
> accurate, but "I've got a bad feeling about this...."  My other favorite,
> Magnum, seems to be floundering. I don't like the Schneider ecosystem for
> multiple reasons. Who's left? Looks like Midnite to me at this point.
>
> Dan Fink
> Owner, Buckville Energy Consulting LLC
> IREC Certified Instructor for PV and Small Wind Installation
> NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector
> NABCEP PV Associate
> d <dan.fink at greendustrialtraining.com>anbob88 at gmail.com
> 970-672-4342
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, May 8, 2024 at 9:33 AM Kirpal Khalsa via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> Nicholas... I got a call from EG4 trying to get us to use their inverters
>> and batteries.  I told them that when they stop trying to sell products
>> directly to my customers and undercutting us I would consider using their
>> equipment.  They asked which inverter brands we were currently using.  I
>> replied, Outback and SolArk.  He told me..."we just bought Outback"
>> So just like in the past  ....the solar roller coaster keeps going!  The
>> only constant is change!
>> Leaves me with mixed feelings regarding Outback now!
>> Kirpal
>> Oregon Solarworks
>>
>> On Wed, May 8, 2024, 8:17 AM Nicholas Ponzio via RE-wrenches <
>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I've been trying to get support for an old Outback Power system (GVFX
>>> dual stack.) I finally got a call back today from someone at a call center
>>> who told me that Outback Power has been sold and I need to send an email to
>>> the new owners to request support. Supposedly, the new company has the same
>>> name and email as the old company, but the phones haven't been transferred
>>> over yet. My scam radar alarms are ringing off the hook, but what am I to
>>> do? Anyone else have any luck getting tech support from the new company
>>> (that has the same name as the old company)?
>>>
>>> Oy!
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Nicholas Ponzio
>>> Building Energy
>>> 1570 South Brownell Road
>>> Williston, VT 05495
>>> http://www.BuildingEnergyVT.com <http://www.buildingenergyvt.com/>
>>> "Building Solutions for a Sustainable Future"
>>>
>>
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