Mounting New SMA Inverters 120/240v 12kw (Split Phase)
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- I'm replacing my Aims inverter with a new pair of inverters from SMA. These will give me a combined 12,000 watts of power in 120/240 volt split-phase. Links below: SMA Sunny Island, Model 6048. Means it connects to a 48 volt battery bank. These are off-grid inverters and should output 120 volts each, but 180° out of phase from each other. This will give the combined 240v power we use in North America.
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Thank you Peter for letting us know about this great deal on your Facebook Group: "DIY Powerwalls"
We can chat and share project pictures on facebook: / davidpozenergy
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Thanks for the shout out David, I hope you enjoy our extra power!
@Paul Anthony These output 120vac each, if you want 230-240vac (with one sunny island) you prob need a transformer on the output but not sure if they are 50/60hz adjustable. Most likely. These are 48vdc input, so you'll have to series two 24v batteries.
Anxiously awaiting the final wiring of these units. I've got a bid in on 2 of these units. I'm making a portable split phase 120/240 48V system. Starting out with 16 LifePo4 100ah, and probably add 16 more later on. The cart will be maxed out space wise with 32 batteries. I have a toy hauler trailer along with the house, so I can roll the cart to power one or the other. I'm just a DIY guy myself. You are very helpful to me.
Thanks for your comment. I'm editing a video on the wiring today.
I was originally gonna buy the MPP unit, but laughed when I saw you try to run the saw.
David I purchased 2 of them. Hopefully you will get a little credit. Mine cost $600 more then yours but still ok with that. Thanks for your excitement and very clear instructions in all your videos.
Cool. I hope we bounce ideas off one another as we set them up.
David I was thinking of getting the same batteries and amount you purchased from Battery Hookups. Although very heavy do you feel these are a good buy and will work well with these inverters? Are you using these newer batteries for your home over the EV batteries you have been using?
Hi realoldgeekster, I sold my EV batteries to help buy these new BYD battery modules. I'm going to keep 8 for myself, and 4 are going to a buddy. So I might have 36kwh battery when I'm done. I think it's a good deal, which is why I bought them. You don't have to decide right away. I'm going to do a some videos where I condition the batteries and run several capacity tests. After we see the usable capacity you can decide if they are right for you. The SMA inverters should be very happy inside the voltage range of these batteries. I'm running them in pairs for nominal 48 volts. And if they don't work out well, then shoot, I'll have to keep them anyways. LOL
Those are great inverters, you won't regret it. I got a friend, with the same combined inverters, running on 6 volt, 12 deep cycle batteries and powering 3 homes with almost everything running on those two Master inverter, Great choice Brother😌
Welcome tot the big league David. I’ve had mine from eBay for almost two years now and they are damn near bulletproof in operation. You will also love the fine level of charging programmability. Using these many charge settings you can support almost any type of battery chemistry. I use the float voltage and delay timer to prevent continuous charging once my LiFePO4 battery bank is full. And, if you get or have an SMA grid tie inverter as I do, they will communicate via RS485 where the solar power will be throttled back once the batteries are fully charged.
Also, since these inverters support 2x loads for up to 30 seconds, you now have 24kW of reserve power to start up even whole house AC!
Hi William, I'd love to find out more about your program. How exactly are you using the float voltage and delay timer? Could we possibly connect on Facebook? Or, perhaps, you could make a cell-phone video showing the settings menu, then upload to youtube?
William.
I also purchase a pair of Sunny Island at deep discount to add battery backup to my Sunny Boy 7700W Inverter. I have not taken them out of the box yet but looking at the instruction manual I thought that these only support lithium when using small list of approved lithium batteries with external BMS. Is that true? On your message it looks like you are changing charge settings. Is that on the Sunny Island with AC coupling or are those settings on an external MPPT Solar Charger.
I am getting a good deal on AGMs and have not consider DIY Lithium because of that. I still need to purchase the RS485 for the Sunny Island Master but I already have the RS485 module for the Sunny Boy. Am I missing something?
i am glad you are putting some quality stuff up on your walls.
I have to say, your stoke for the projects you do MAKES this channel. Keep up the good work!
Thanks.
Damn it! I had almost pulled the trigger on a new Schneider 6048 XW Pro and now you post these. Now I'm hitting the spreadsheets, RUclips and every forum I can find to see if these are going to be my next inverter(s). I had planned on 6800W/240V, but the price tag is close as Alt-E has the Schneider on sale right now.
That's exactly how I felt when I first found out about the deal. I was saving up for the same Schneider. LOL.
Sol-ark 12k for the win!
Schneider is way below sma in quality
Awesome job David. You will have fun with the SMA inverters. They are a premium brand and they last a very long time
SMA hands down makes the best stuff you can buy. sold more than 200 of thos over the years had 2 brake.. Wish I had the cash I would buy a few.. GRATS man. HAppy for you..
Fire Rated plywood is what you would normally use to mount any electrical or telecommunications equipment. Generally available at a lumbar yard. But I guess cement board works too.... Those inverters look awesome...
... these deals, and I just bought my system, lol. 1 month earlier, and I would have been rocking the same equipment. Thank you for your videos.
These are the same inverters used in building the “Ultimate Garage” for Mike Holmes in Canada on the HGTV network. He started as a contractor, repaired hundreds of homes, 10 seasons later, the highest rated HGTV show in Canada but found on smart TV’s using WiFi. Water, rain, driveway rain collection into cistern and filtered, minerals removed, wash cars, wash driveway and water landscape. 14 of the 800 Watt solar panels into 10,000 watts of batteries thru sunny island inverters. LED lights, super insulated, roof top green garden and 2 double car lifts. All complete with upstairs work out room, tv and fireplace with bar. All overlooking the vehicles thru tempered glass railing. The “Durisol” blocks, similar to foam blocks used in “ICF” but stack like LEGO’s and molded from wood chips at 80% and 20% cement to form blocks with R28, 4hr fire rated, rodent & termite proof, lightweight, cuts like wood, inhibit mold, breathable, no VOC’s, Rockwool insulation at R28, screw into, no motor required, cavities for rebar and concrete, used in Sweden since 1945 and paintable.
I want that for Christmas 2024 and left notes for wife for six weeks. So far….no answer!
Writing Santa. 😮
Thank you for using good equipment
I have clients offgrid full time on these they are the best for AC couple
What's the best for DC coupled?
Hope your back doesn't regret picking those up
Not as much as the batteries.
Congrats David ! nice upgrade!
Finally someone not using garbage inverters!
Haha. I went through my share of cheap ones before these.
That is going to be a sweet setup once you have it all done.
Thanks. I'm excited.
You a bad man...Dave! Those inverters are great !
The hardy backer is a smart move. It is heavy but it wouldn't burn even if it was coated with a flammable liquid.
I don't want to miss the day that you make the video that you click everything you own on all at the same time!! Because, that's why you got them right? 😉😉😎
My house is 100% electric. So I could run my water heater, or oven, or stove, or heater. But no two items at the same time. Now I should be good for two or three big things together. Once it's running I will be making a video showing the loads and what I can run. Thanks for watching.
@@DavidPozEnergy Awesome!♻️🔌💯☀️
Those are some nice inverters! Looks like you could get 3 phase power from 3 of them too. amazing. I'm trying to figure out how you would run them with a generator, to charge the batteries while the generator is hooked directly into your AC setup. Looks like this one might have some hardware that can attach to it and tell the BMS exactly how much to charge the batteries to balance it all out! Very interesting!
Yes, there are a lot of features built into these. I will be trying to (discover) them in upcoming videos. I have not yet read through the whole manual.
I would like to see you battery / electronics box made from non-combustible materials - this is the area where you are most likely to have a hotspot / fire. In fact the whole power wall area covered in plaster or cement board would be a great idea.
Currently I have no plans for that, but it's not a bad idea.
Bro, I really, really hope your back is ok. You look very strong, but I could tell you were working hard to lift that thing! Can't wait to hear how you like these things man. Love your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Nice! Love your videos, it’s nice to see you having fun. BTW, that’s 120/240 Single Phase, not “split phase”. That’s a type of motor. Even some manufacturers are using the wrong term!! So don’t feel bad. ;)
Yep, you are right. I don't particularly like using the term split phase, that's why I put it inside parentheses. In the description I go into more detail. I do this because at one point I was writing single phase and kept receiving the same question over and over again about it. There is a dramatic decrease in this question if I just use the term slit phase.
I use a midnight solar classic 250 to charge my batteries and the sma as the inverter. Works beautiful.
Hi Red Nose, Thanks for commenting for the first time. Since you are charging with DC, I do have a question you might be able to help. I'm planning on using my existing Victron 250/100 to charge on the DC side. The inverters suggest adding an external shunt when DC charging. I own a 600 amp 75mv shunt that came with my BMS I'm adding. But I can't find the answer to this. Can the SMA Sunny Island inverter read a 75mv shunt, or do I need to buy a 50mv shunt? Do they have a recommended shunt? Thanks.
@@DavidPozEnergy
Hi Dave, They will but the readings will be wrong. They are no provisions for 75mv in the SMA, oly 50 or 60mv, I have tried it before. HOwever, I bought this one from Amazon. www.amazon.com/AMMETER-SHUNT-500-AMP-MILLIVOLT/dp/B005BHPG6K/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=50+mv+shunt&qid=1578576676&sr=8-14. Its an overkill at 500 amps, but its also the best deal I could find at the time. 200 Amps would be ideal but they cost more. As I said earlier, the 500 will do the same job.
Thank you for the link. Yes, that is a good price on a 500 amp.
@@DavidPozEnergy Midnite solar sells full complete SMA inverter panels and systems, they might have a good shunt also. The Midnite site is a good resource for deciding what other components are needed beyond the inverters themselves. I am putting the parts from a DC Solar trailer into the garage. I got the 1900# batteries off the trailer today. photos.app.goo.gl/qbVKkST35cJAB9Zc9 It's nice that a lot of the parts are all there together (like the shunt), but I still need some things like battery fusing and DC bus overcurrent protection breakers. What are your plans for overcurrent protection on your 48v battery bank?
The Sigineer 12KW split phase inverter is around the same price ($2400) but only 1 "box". Not sure of the weight but it is a beast too. I would be curious to see how well these handle surges. Also, what might happen if one "leg" (of the split phase) is heavily loaded and the other is lightly loaded? Maybe you should test that. For example, it is a cold night and you run space heaters in 3 different rooms and they just happen to be on the same leg. One "box" might have 4KW load on it and the other "box" maybe 100 watts.
If I was running my entire house off of a split phase inverter, I would mark each of my outlets with either a 1 or 2 so I would know which are on which leg, then if I ran high wattage items, I might try to better balance the load.
I have thought about the same thing. How to balance the load...
I currently have an old watt meter. The clamps are on the main wires in my breaker box, and the meter is on my kitchen counter. I'd like to get 2 meters, (or one with two screens) so I can see both legs at the same time. Maybe there is a wireless version? I haven't looked but there's probably something out there. Then I can see at a glance how balanced the two inverters are.
Perhaps call the company and ask them what if you put a 5KW load on one side and 100W on the other side, is that bad or can the inverter handle it gracefully? Also ask them if an unbalanced load in any way affects the maximum load capability of each 120V leg. For example, suppose 6KW per leg was the actual limit and you had that running at 6KW per leg, then you drastically reduce the load on only one of the legs down to maybe 1KW or less while holding the other leg at 6 KW. What might happen? I would ask them first before you try it to hear if they advise you against doing that, however a scenario like that could happen in real life. For example, maybe you had 4 space heaters going on one leg (about 6KW) and a few lights and a TV on the other (100W or so). I would also be interested to know the voltage sag when it is heavily loaded and if the voltages for each leg are within a few volts. Also remember to try a low power factor load to see what (if any) issues it has. I have seen some inverters hum loudly (their way of "complaining") until a much higher power factor load was seen. Have fun with your "new toy" and try not to burn the house down.
@@davidjames1684 One inverter would be running at 5kw, the other at 100w, and that would work fine. Although, you'd want to balance the loads between the two phases on average, by organizing the circuit breakers in the main panel, so one inverter doesn't age out and retire early. At 6kw it will shut down at some point, 5750 is the continuous normal temperature limit. 7000kw for 30 min, if not too hot.
Your a beast! Those things are not light. I had to install two inside a electrical cabinet.
looks like a good inverter!
Thanks. I hope it works well. So far I just checked that it turned on (yes).
@@DavidPozEnergy First big hurdle passed.... check!.... lol
I believe these are cheap because they don't have arc fault as is now required in some areas. But I love the deal you got and for off grid they are perfect.
Good googly moogly!!! That is a hell of a step up. No more cheapie stuff. Power the world.
David, I've been with you since you started with the chevy volt batteries. We run our home on an 8000 watt solar system as well and I too have a couple of the 6048 inverters hooked to my chevy volt batteries. We use AC coupling when the grid goes down and AC Grid tie, with the Sunny Islands totally isolated, when the grid is up and running.
If you need any help with your 6048's, let me know and I'll be glad to assist you. I strongly suggest you take advantage of using a Load Shedding contactor.
Thank you Rgb Color. Can we connect on facebook? I'm sure I'll have questions when it comes time to fire them up. I'm at facebook.com/DavidPozEnergy/
I will second the load shedding contactor
If you pull on the bottom does it pull away from the wall? Mine did so I added a few screws into the inverter itself. There were holes already there but looks like they were meant to go into the electrical box that is made to go with these units so you will need spacers or to just let the metal bend a little.
Thanks for the tip.
Nice job with big monsters!
I really enjoy watching your videos. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the video David!
ahhh the project continues, love it, keep it up. would you maybe do a walk through video of what you now have, a recap if you like with figures, things youd do differently, be also good to know what camera equipment you use in your videos and types of mic
Currently everything is taken apart, in transition. I'm buying grid power agh! I'll do a tour once the new system is up and running. Thanks for watching.
That's from the same seller I bought my Midnite classic 250 from. He must have bought a TON of equipment from a cancelled contract or overstock of some sort, as Midnite has a notice on their web site saying the midnite charge controllers he has for sale were not intended to be for sale as they were custom made for another company and don't include certain features.
I almost wish I used facebook to sign up for that group, but I dumped my FB about 8 years ago and never looked back.
all this stuff, the sma inverter, midnight charge controller, and ton of solar panels are from a federal auction. the DC Solar ponzi scheme, they took over billion dollars
@@jonenos3800 Exactly. I bought 2 2018 model trailers fully built with 2 sma and 4x48 volt batteries, midnight controller, breaker panel and ten panels on a $3000 trailer for $2400. Nothing like crooks to make someone else happy.
Looks like $1600 is cheapest on eBay now. Amazon is $4500 each. Are SMA Sonny Boy the same product? Two 6kw = 12kw is great as long as your loads are spread across your breaker box properly. Map out your loads because thought is not always given to how loads are applied in the breaker box. Enjoy your new found energy!
Hi William, The Sunny Boy is a grid-tie only inverter. The Sunny Island (yellow) is for batteries. However, they can be used together in an AC coupled system.
wow thats big and also heavy for 6kw, probably it means more robust vs smaller inv same output. waiting new videos how they perform😃
probably low frequency with big transformer.
David, you should have had a feed of spinach... like Popeye and you would have been able to put them in place with one hand. Toot toot. Nice score, looking forward to see what they will power.
Make a full install video...wiring and load testing it....I been wanting to buy one ...but no videos on full load test
i second this :-)
David said he would :-) " Hi Ben C. When I wire them I'll make a video about wiring. I'm not skipping anything LOL "
me tooooooo i second this
So many videos to make, so little time. LOL. I'm working on my wiring harness currently. Still have awhile to go before I can do a load test, but I'll get there. Thanks for watching.
@Ellis Dee We need wiring videos! SMA's documents and online resources are crap.
While more potential output power is very attractive, the counter argument is the continuous background draw that you mentioned as 25w per inverter. Given this, do you run both inverters continuously or do you turn one or both off at set times when you expect less demand e.g. perhaps overnight ? thanks
I used to have an Aims 6kw inverter. That drew a constant 70 watts. These are super efficient for their size. I'm going to 50 watts idle for the pair. They both will be running 24/7.
I have had my eye on those Sunny island Inverters , I am interested to know how well they work over the course of a few weeks .
They are, far and above, the best inverter in the world. Well worth the normal $5k price tag, and an absolute deal with the current ebay sales.
There the best of the best
David could you make a full install video? thanks Ben
Hi Ben C. When I wire them I'll make a video about wiring. I'm not skipping anything LOL
@@DavidPozEnergy thanks David :-)
looking good man
Be waiting for the installation...
Why did you choose these inverters over a pair of mppsolar lv5048?
More power, argh argh argh. SMA inverters are built like tanks, if my memory serves me correctly there is a spot on the upper part of the inverter where you can thread through a 3/4" rigid pipe from side to side in order to facilitate a two person carry and if you have the room to lift it in place. Definitely got a good price on them and any plans to kick it up a notch to 100 kW?
I went with the Magnum Dimensions route since it had a dedicated DC load centre option and I am planning to have it 40% of the loads directly battery powered and the rest on the inverter which is less than 20% to give me some elbowroom. Building a power wall is definitely not a one size fits all project...
100 kw!? That's over 16 of these inverters. I don't think I can parallel that many. No, no plans to do that. I've teased my wife about the idea of two more if we ever buy an EV (for the charger). LOL
@@DavidPozEnergy spousal ordinances tends to rule the roost, so that might get you in trouble. Extra capacity for a future EV in the garage is not a bad idea. I have 8 kW split-phase here and not utilising its full capacity mainly for redundancy. I can have an EV and can support it, but I'll add the third one just so I am not pushing it to the upper limits.
@@DavidPozEnergy have your wife set up a limit on spending on solar project yet????
That's why I had to sell my Aims inverter.
Was that fire retardant paint on the cement board? They do make such an animal... as well as BBQ paint that withstands near 1,000 degrees. Regular latex paint may soften and do weird things if exposed to too much heat.
Regular water based primer. Nothing special.
@@DavidPozEnergy They sell engine block paint in a spray can at parts' stores
Hello to David and all others. I have been watching your videos for a while and like your keen interest in the solar energy. This is my first time posting on youtube. I normally just read but decided I will share my 2 cents worth. As an electronics professional, I will chip in where and when I can.
I will first say, you made the best possible choice when it comes to inverters. I have tested and used many of the so called chinese ones and I will say, they are pure garbage. Powerjack, worst of the bunch. Right now, I have a 5KVA that cannot even run a 1500 watt microwave. As for the SMA, SI6048-US, I can use microwave, Rice cooker, and toaster oven all at the same time. This will be consuming about 4000 watts. SMA handles that like candy.
As someone has asked before, Sunny boy is grid tied and Sunny island is offgrid.
David,
How much power did you figure your new battery bank will store in the six batteries you mounted? I noticed you purchased 12 of them. Are you intending to mount the other 6 and power your neighborhood?
Hi Craig, I picked up 12, but I bought 8 and a friend bought 4. I did him a favor by picking them up for him. My 8 batteries will be installed in the rack I built in the corner of my garage.
So how much do you want for the Aims Inverter shipped to Naples Fl 34120? I recall your review of the guts, looked pretty good, need one for a enclosed trailer project. Also, if your upgrading the solar charge controller, i'd be interested in that as well. I'm surprised those huge SMA didn't have built in solar charge controller.
I already sold the Aims inverter. I was intending to keep the Victron charge controller to use with these new batteries.
heya yes they take a lot of space but then you have 12KW that is a lot of power great job for that price
please show us how you'll connect it together to get 240v.
(2 in parallel, or each powering it's own phase)
Sure. I'm not there yet, but will be showing it. Each inverter will output one phase at 120 volts. But, they will communicate with each other using a data-cable (RJ-45). So each phase will be 180 degrees out from each other. That will allow 240v between the two.
Hello david, was these inverters was new when you buy them or they was open box or used?
They were new
Looks good!
Bro, they look very heavy. 👍
Have you tried to use the BMS with canbus with your batteries?
No, not yet. But I'm currently testing a "Tiny BMS". It has a Can Bus option which I hope to test. Currently I have the SMA inverters programmed to "VRLA" (valve regulated lead acid).
i am curious with your paralleled inverters if you wanted to could you use a different battery chemistry on each inverter ? For example the LiFePO4 on one and the LiMnCo on the other . I guess it would come down to whether or not the charge characteristics are controllable by each inverter separately or as a single unit when they are in parallel. I assume you might be able to use a combo of Lead acid on one and LifePo4 on another but just not get the full energy out of them by picking a voltage range that wouldn't harm either one. I haven't looked at exactly how they are wired to each other or to the service panel when they are paralleled.
Only one inverter is the master, the other is the slave. So you have to use one battery bank for both.
@@DavidPozEnergy kinda what I thought unless somehow you hook grid to both independently so they might both synch to grid with different pv strings and batterys to each.
How's you back and arms after that lift x 2 David? Wouldn't want to get on your wrong side! Looking forward to the wiring up and commissioning videos.
Wow, I am amazed by the price on these units, I'm curious if this is stock from that major solar company going bankrupt earlier this year? I decided to delete inverters from our solar system this year and while we have been remodeling our colorado home, I have been converting and wiring everything up for DC directly as I remodel each room in the house. We, unfortunately, have had a lot of issues with inverters over the past 5 years running them, we had a Magnum inverter for 3 years, after 2 years it died randomly one day and wouldn't function, sent it out for repair, nearly cost 50% of the price to repair the unit. Then over 4 months in broke 3 more times, so after getting it repaired the last time under warranty, we sold it and bought an Outback unit after many recommendations. In 2 years of owning that unit, we had to have it repaired under warranty and going those periods without the inverter and running on generator power really annoyed us a lot, especially since most of the failures occurred during winter months. so after playing with the idea in my shop solar system, I decided to carry it over to the house. Most major appliances you can convert to DC very easily by just tracing the input power to the stage it converts from AC to DC, so our major appliances I spent some time with them and learned that our fridge and chest freezers went from 120v ac to 48v dc on the input. So I tested out the chest freezer and soldered wires directly to the DC side of the circuit and been running it no problems. I bought some DC to DC regulators to dial in the voltage to stay constant even if battery voltage drops, they were fairly cheap on eBay. Then we plan to replace our home A/C next year with a DC model as it converts to 600vdc on our current unit, but our house is currently dual wired in the rooms I remodeled so far both 48VDC and 120VAC. right now nearly all the lighting in the house has been converted to DC with led DC bulbs and in the kitchen, for the random item we don't use often, I just have a small 1000watt pure sinewave inverter circuit setup for the occasional use need. For items that didnt have 48vdc input available like our TV, which they only sold a 12vdc power cable, i just used DC to DC regulator inline of the circuit in a small hobby box.
Sounds like a great project. Do you have any details online so I can see pictures or videos?
That was DC SOLAR, and yes, they had a place in North Carolina as well as Woodlake California where they built trailer mounted rigs. They just auctioned off 700 of the trailers with 4x48 volt exxide tubular batteries, 2 SMA inverters and 10 275 watt panels, and a midnight classic [?] controller. All wired up, enclosed panels and on a $3000 trailer. I bought 2, and might sell the components and use the other on a cabin. It was a huge scam $$$ wise, but the product was absolutely top of the line.
I am curious about your statement that my freezer and fridge can run on 48 volt DC. Been inside many and never saw any DC components. What am I missing there?
140 pounds a pop? Whoa!!🤯🤯
Plus 12 batteries @163.8 pounds each! I do hope he is using a back brace when he working on this system. His garage is going to sink under all the weight.....LOL
I'm interested to know how well these work. I'm still using my aims 10k inverter
Aims are awesome.
@@DavidPozEnergy Ames is total junk and the company is too you'll call him and they try to push all the issues off on the customer and knowing that I have the battery Bank to push it. And the displays are outrageous. Because all it really is is a clone of the other Chinese inverters out there and you'll pay a quarter of the price. Ames is just a rebranded Chinese clone. And if you call Customer Support over a warranty issue good luck with that to Lost 4K because of them would never do business with them again. And the inverter store online is a joke to because that's another website and same people.
The SMAs are professional equipment for continous operation at full load 24/7 20yrs.+
Made in Germany in the City of Kassel, 1h from my home, where I own and operate some MWs of wind turbines. 😁
SMA has the best customer service in the solar industry worldwide, IF something breaks.
@@DavidPozEnergy I had a 3k unit just stop working on me. It was for a marine application. We never even got the boat in the water before it died. Had to replace it with a better quality unit.
Help me to understand. Is this a battery only, off grid inverter and not a hybrid system? Thanks.
I'm using this inverter as off-grid only. I don't know if it can back-feed the grid or not.
@@DavidPozEnergy These inverters can export back out on the AC2 connection. The manual is pretty detailed, takes a while to digest and understand it all.
When it said non-combustable, did it mean sheet rock?
Sheet rock would probably be fine. The manual did not specify.
For efficiency, I prefer various smaller inverters that runs only on abundance of energy. Only one run 24/7 for critical loads sas as lights, fridge security etc. Those big ones can waste up to 3 amps per hour each.
That's cool. More than one way to go off-grid. The manual says these consume 25 watts each in idle.
@@DavidPozEnergy That is very good better than the Aims. And a good German technology inside. If you check it let us know. Why so heavy? LF 15kw inverter from power jack is 75 lbs.
As for why they are that heavy. The whole case is cast aluminum, and thick. But I think the bulk of the weight comes from the toroidal transformer built on the backside. It is as wide as the unit (about 20 inches in diameter).
@marthale7 and if one go bad you won't be in the dark.
@@DavidPozEnergy I didn't see if it is split phase 220v or just 120v. I'd like to see inside one before I get one.
I just returned a 20k powerjack...yes i know..you get what you pay..now i am looking for something like this.. are this inverter low frequency ? are they noisiest ? what about heat management.. thanks in advance
I have not run them up to full capacity, so I can't say if they over-heat. But they don't make any noise down around 2kw. Yes, they are LF. Massive round transformers on the backside. The whole case is thick aluminum for heat transfer.
Love urs videos thanks !
Hi David, does this inverters have ability to drain battery first and then switch to grid power? Or you'll need to switch it manually every time? Thanks for videos.
I don't know all the features of these inverters.
DavidPoz do you use your current invertor as complete off-grid system? I'm trying to find how to do battery as primary and grid secondary power supply
The plan is to use the inverters off-grid only, and use the grid as a back-up to charge the batteries if I don't have enough sun. But I don't know if that's going to work or if I'll just have to switch the house back to grid. I'm guessing they can do what you want, I just don't know for sure. I don't have them both connected up yet. I've only been testing them with some temporary wires at the moment.
You need to stop risking an injury. Design a portable elevator to lift these heavy objects . Imagine what could happen if suddenly you pinched a nerve and couldn't support the weight while holding it over yourself.
Your family needs you !
hellow David: tudo bem-vindo para sua nova atualização, que é sem vida um sonho para os amantes do grid, meus parabems.
Hey just a question i recently bought 4 panals 230 watts each how many batteries do i need
Hi. Some questions ;-) How big is you battery pack? Why you need 2 Battery inverter? Is your load really so big? I also plan for my 15kWp PV an battery. Normally I would use some used battery from vehicle. Like the BMWi3 20kwh. BUT there are 8 packs with 48V. How can I work with one BMS for all packs. OR second idea lifepo4 280Ah 16pic with 13.33kWh. With one BMS, very easy but new cells. In Germany we don't have battery hookup ;-((( Thanks a lot for your input
My battery bank is about 30kwh right now. Each inverter is 120v only, but I want 120/240v. So I bought two inverters and they communicate to provide the power I want. The BMWi3 would be an excellent build. In that case each of the 8 modules is 12s Li-NMC. So you would want to purchase 8 small BMS's, one for each module. I've built a two large battery banks where I wired everything together to a central BMS and there are problems that arise. It's actually simpler to use 8 smaller BMS's.
For your second idea, if you are buying the prismatic cells, then you can parallel the cells first, then series them. In that case you can use one large central BMS.
@@DavidPozEnergy thanks for the input. What BMS are you using? I found only the REC BMS which can communicated on CAN with the SI. Is it better to buy 16 280Ah or 32 140Ah? Or doen't matter? The price is the same. Maybe I will decide to buy 32 200ah or 240Ah.
Batrium brand is supposed to communicate with the SMA inverters, but I haven't tested it. You can run the inverters in VRLA mode so it won't look for an outside BMS. Then you just have to use a stand-alone BMS on your battery. I've done it that way for most of last year. Right now I'm beta testing a program on a Rasberri Pi, but it's not a BMS, so I still need a BMS. I've used a lot of Daly BMS's in the past. I also tried a Chargery brand, but it doesn't work well.
I see battery hopup has 3ph 25k inverter for only $999 what do you think about it
Sounds like a good deal, but I don't have 3-phase at my home, so the inverters wouldn't work for me. Someone out there might now a way to hack it, but I'm not that guy.
Are the off grid or synchronous?
My builds are off grid.
Anyway. You sould add external dc shunt. Since you are charging battery bank using charge controller and the sunny island can’t accurately measure the SOC.
Are these for off-grid or on-grid?
These are off-grid.
David, I'm looking at those inverters on eBay. The price is too good to be true. Can you tell us how they have been functioning so far? Any problems? Did the units come with warranty info? I tried contacting the vendor, Solartradeworld, but no response. Sounds fishy...
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Arthur
Hi Arthur, When I first got the units I did turn them on by using a jumper cable to the leads, LOL. Just wanted to make sure I could get 120v output, and I did. Then I turned it off. I did this just in case I had to return them inside of 30 days. But, I have not been able to do a load test. They are currently on the wall and not connected to anything. I'm busy wiring up my batteries. Sorry, we all have to wait a little bit to see how well they perform. As for the warranty, I have no idea, never asked.
@@DavidPozEnergy thank your for responding, I do appreciate the feedback.
I'd like to say that I am encouraged and gratified to see other DIYers trying their hand at alternative energy projects!
I eagerly await your follow up video on wiring the SMA units. The company website has very little helpful video content for home installations.
Cheers,
Arthur
Vancouver, WA
Would you recommend the aims inverter? I ordered a victron but it failed as soon as I powered it up and the seller refunded me. I have several other victron items but I'm open to suggestions (3500w pv) (require 240v split phase for my well)
Thanks
I used a 6kw aims inverter for my house, 120/240 and it worked great. It is considered pure sine wave, but not as clean as the grid. Outback Radian is another good option if you need very clean sine wave. The one I'm using now is the pair of SMA.
How do I set up my sunny island 8.0h with a remote control or a display screen?
Sorry, I don't know.
Hey there awesome setup!!! Question: I have 110v outlets but I have a couple of 240v tools compressor and grinder can I use something like your old setup couple of car batteries to run each tool separate just need something affordable not to educated on these type of setups need 240v badly best regards Brandon
My old Aims inverter ran 240v and tools well.
Could you show us what's inside them ?
When I wire them up I'll be removing the cover to access the terminals. We will see the guts.
@@DavidPozEnergy Thanks.
Dear David; I have 8s 18650 packs up to 6.5kw, do you know any inverter would take 24v-33.6v? Thanks
Victron Quattro goes up to 33.0v. that's the highest I know of. www.victronenergy.com/inverters-chargers/quattro
So if one fails you have 6kw at 120V instead of 240.
Yes. I wouldn't be able to run my oven or water heater, but could power any 120v loads on that phase.
Does this inverter works alone or with another inverter? I used to see many Sunny island inverters red in Col our connected to another blue one in many videos.
I think the red inverters are grid-tie style. The red ones have solar PV input, and output 120/240v AC. These yellow inverters connect to batteries and can charge/discharge the batteries from AC. This is a form of "AC coupling". Most off-grid systems use "DC coupling" where you need a charge controller. I've used DC coupling in the past with my Victron Charge controller. Once these are hooked up I plan to make a video testing the AC coupling feature.
DavidPoz so this one can be directly connected to solar panels and battery bank to power a house without connecting external charge controllers.
No, sorry for any confusion. The red inverters can connect to solar panels, but not batteries. Yellow can connect to batteries but not solar panels. There is a diagram on this site: www.codale.com/index.jsp?path=product&part=4126897
Are these Low Frequency or High Frequency?
Low Frequency.
Can I use this one for air conditioner 3000w?
Each inverter is 6000 watts, and has a massive surge capacity. They can start compressors.
great
Any help in getting them for Canadian, great price
Why not mount a frame to the studs and mount the inverters to the frame so they are more secure
Where did you purchase
Ebay. Search for SMA 6000
@@DavidPozEnergy
Ok thanks
You just lifted me about over your head twice lol
I've been using the AIMS 12,000w 240v@50a with 120v legs (ETL) $3,500 for about 9 months (12hrs/day) now with no problem. Could you comment on why a pair of SMAs instead of a single AIMS 12,000w as the price and size seem about double?
Both are good options. I personally went this way because the pair of inverters was $2400. This is less money then I was finding the 12kw Aims for. I think Amazon has the 12kw Aims for $3500. Also, a 12kw Aims uses about 140 watts at idle, these are 25 watts each (50 watts total). This should save me over 2 kwh of energy per day. Finally, these should have a super clean sine wave (although I have not tested this yet).
Thank you for the info - makes perfect sense. If I may share some info just to document things... I use a Midnite Classic charge controller to turn the AIMS Inverter on/off based on battery voltage so its only used when supplying power (and not used to do any battery charging) - so the 'idle burn' is effectively 0. AIMS lists 88% peak efficiency and I've gotten 86.4% efficiency (over 9,000 kwhs / 10 months) based on the values reported by 'cheap-power-meters-wired-to-aims-output' divided-by 'midnite-classic-150-pv-input. The SMA lists 96% as peek efficiency - maybe down the road it would be interesting to see what you get.
For sure I'll be doing efficiency tests. Still a ways out there as I've got to wire them up first. Good job wiring in the Aims to the charge controller. I haven't seen anyone execute that move. Do you have a video showing that?
No video but its straight-forward. The midnite classics have aux1 (and aux2) which can act as relays or provide 12v (on/off) to turn on/off an external relay. You can turn them on/off in a variety of ways - battery voltage is one of them. The AIMS LCD Remote Port is RJ45 plug where wires 3-5 turn it on (when you short them) and off and 5-7 does power saver mode (when you short them) - same as rocker switch on the unit. Your 6000 watt unit has this - they all do. So controller turns relay on/off with turns AIMS on/off.
Those are some odd looking critters too! I could live with a single unit,
Are you selling your old aims inverter one
Yes, I sold it to a friend of mine who is put it in his well house that pumps water throughout his farm.
thx
Those are great, but why are they any better than the AIMS 12,000 Watt, 48v input, 240v split phase output, model: PICOGLF120W48V240VS, for $4000? I can see from the specs that they're stackable for three-phase, up to 100kw, but for split 240v, $10,000 for 5750 watt/hr (x2) continuous, and 130 pounds/unit, sounds unreasonable.
They are different. Not necessarily better or worse. I paid $2400 for the pair because I got them on Ebay. But I would not have bought them if they were full price. I've read the specs on both and there are some things that stand out. The Aims 12kw Idle watts is 200 watts. The SMA is 25 watts each (50w for the pair). This means a savings of 3.6kwh per day. To put it another way, I need 3.6kwh less of batteries. That's pretty cool, right?
Thanks. I also prefer the design of the SMA, because you can see that they were intended for industrial purposes, and extensibility. More durable, safer casing, more manageable, multi-phase/series capable, and I agree that they're cooler than the AIMS!
These appear to be off grid only?
I'm using them in my off-grid setup. I don't know if they can be used in grid tie or not.
What ya doing with old 6k inverter ??
I sold it to a friend of mine. He has been using it daily.