To answer questions in advance, no, they are not growing crops with all the power. On the property, there are 3 RV's, one for my mom, one for my dad, and one for my step-dad. RV's are not very energy efficient...so in summer when it's 110F outside, they use a LOT of power to air condition them. The electrical room is also air conditioned and there is a hot tub that used to have the excess diverted to it, but sometimes they don't like waiting until there (isn't) excess. They only have about 12kW of solar, mounted flat, so it doesn't get anywhere near peak production.
WOW! Quite the project! My only recommendation would be to have kept the Plugs to make it easier if you need to replace one of the chargers in the future. Sooner or later one them will break :( But I can also see why you probably didn't want to go through the hassle & cost of wiring all the outlets.
So about 187 kwh of batteries. Dang I only have 70 and thought I was doing good. I too only have 12kw of panels. I too need more especially in Michigan
If you hadn't pinned this, I wouldn't have cared why you're doing this, but now I have to ask. Why is everyone on the same property, yet living in different RV's?
One of my retrievers really dislikes alarm beeps, they have to be addressed right away or she is in our faces until we do. I had to kennel her in order to watch this video.
Sounds like a good PV mounting structure would be a solar canopy to park the RVs under so sun isn't hitting them directly which would cut the heat gain.
I'm building 4 DIY 2000ah battery to run my home I will probably post the videos of that build on my channel in about 6 months.So hopefully will get to take the record as the largest diy off grid setup😁😁😁😎😎😎😊
One nice thing about those switching rectifiers is that it really don't care about the line frequency as much so long it is within 50 to 60 Hz. You're definitely getting the most out the generator by using it in 3 phase mode. Even if you lose a few chargeverters, definitely have enough redundancy to keep things going until you get them replaced. Maybe EG4 might come out with a budget rack mounted version for higher power configurations?🤞 It be one heck of a setup and much cleaner for larger installations...
I believe they would run off of straight DC. There is nothing inside that uses the frequency for anything. You just have to make sure the rectifier can handle the current if it's running half the diodes at 100% duty cycle.
Wish they would make a 24 volt version. I did find some cheap telecom rectifiers, pretty sure it’s the same as the EG4, just without the additional programming and charging functions. I plan on hooking up an mppt for proper stages charging. Downside is they are single phase 240 volt and at 120 volts they sedate to 2000 watts.
They would run off a wider frequency range than just 50cy to 60cy. 83⅓cy, 91⅔cy and 100cy railroad signal power would be no problem, nor would 40cy or 70cy (ancient AC standard frequencies). Only things that may be a problem are things waaaayyyyy outside of the normal utility frequency range like 25cy railroad traction power (insufficient bulk capacitance on the switcher primary buss) or 400cy aviation power (input diode switching speed, AC input shunt capacitor current and AC input circuit breakers; 400cy arcing is a right pig to interrupt).
Looks like you have your phases well balanced...but that neutral is technically undersized. I would be interested to see what kind of current that neutral cable sees with the load of chargeverters, and if their loading stays balanced as the battery voltage comes up. Another scenerio where the neutral could see more current is if a few chargerters went off line...and happened to be on the same phase--seems unlikely, but still worth considering. Another option would be to forgo the neutral all together and run as a 208 delta (of course this would mean double pole breakers for the chargeverters). Love this content!
Neutral has 0 amps. The chargers are connected phase to phase. They don’t even have a neutral conductor. I only installed a conductor in case I need it in the future for ancillary items such as phase loss detection in my PLC
@@HighTechLab I went back and looked--can't believe I missed it the first time! For some reason I had it in my mind you were running the chargverters at 120V....after looking again @10:25 it is clear you have them phase to phase (208V). You certainly won't be overloading the neutral with the chargeverters. Super cool project!
We have the similar genset but not enclosed. Bought new in the 90s and worked reliably. But recently, the avr burst into flames because it used the infamous Rifa paper caps. Fortunately was a quick fix there are lots of clones of the avr that used more reliable poly caps. Might want to check yours out, if the Rifa caps are cracked, they will burst into flames eventually.
That's an insane amount of chargers. EV's have chargers one 10th that size that can take anywhere from 50 to 350 kW. I wonder if one could be gotten to do the same job, but probably would need to be actively cooled. Anyway, very impressive setup. Good job. Edit: Opps! Those EV chargers are DC to DC! Yours is AC to DC. Max AC to DC in EV's is 19.2 kW that I know of and they are expensive.
They really don't. The level 1 and 2 chargers are actually just a fancy box with a relay in it the actual charger is built into the car and usually only around 5 to 10kw max. The dc fast chargers that can do 50 to 350kw are entire racks of equipment somewhere off to the side of the "charger" you plug your car into.
For whatever reason I have been subscribed to you for several years but I have not been receiving any notifications from your channel. Deanna and I needed this information and video very much. Thank you. I am still attempting the best means to charge the 48 volt Absolyte 2,000 amp hour battery bank that we picked up for the mountaintop. Always good to see you! Blessings and Happy New Year ( a little late!).
any issues with hitting the generator with all those chargeverters all at once? It would seem a good idea to have them switch on in groups of three thru a three phase contractor.... that way you can ramp up the load. Chargeverters don't softitart do they?
Finlay !! I can not understand why this is not the standard. to be honest the Inverter Charger combo is only god for RVs that frequent trailer parks. In any other setup you are better of separating the Inverter and Charger , and definitely having a charger that can tolerate "dirty AC".
I AGREE. It is was smart to timeslice the inverter/charger.....back in the day. But Today with cheap CVs, separate chargers makes more sense and provides simpler operation, saving the vital inverter for inverting I have a XW Pro and have switched to this model. ONLY use the inverter for loads, and not the internal charger to power charge battery (It is hooked up for possible emergency use) I have 2 CVs with 2 L14-30r from 2 grid circuits and 2 L14-30r from the 2 generator circuits. When solar input is low I can use either grid or generator to boost power. Save stress on the internal charger AND can have spare CVs at a cheaper price. LOVE this architecture model
I wish I had the battery rack to bolt them to the floor and keep some space in case there is somehow water intrusion to the room. The batteries make practically zero heat, so there is no thermal issue at all.
I'm curious about your heat mitigation strategy for your chargeverters. They tend to run quite hot, and I own one myself. While I've ensured ample space around mine as instructed, the heat output is still significant. I'd appreciate any insights you have on managing this heat.
well to be fair... i only want one... always ran a charger rather than direct gen to inverter on my off grid set ups... cheap gensets too variable ... great mech room!
Solar panels are cheaper compared to batteries, but the generator is an awesome backup. I would love to see a video in the future of the system upgraded with lots of solar.
That is a beast of a setup! I'm curious how the Chargeverters are holding up now that it's been a few months. We are building a stronger charging solution for our off grid cell tower site. Have the Chargerverters kept their voltage and amp settings through all of the various generator cycles? Our generator is tiny in comparison (9500w). We have 2 Chargeverters along with the Victron Quattro 5000 charging which will be disabled most of the time in order to keep the generator 240v phases even. Plan is to back off the CV amps to keep the generator around it's peak 24x7 output rating. Generator only runs if there's multiple cloudy days. It's a very remote site so if the CVs settings get lost, they will overpower the generator if they go back to 100A.
I love how the fuel cap the fuel Inlet for the diesel tank it's just a galvanized piece of pipe with a threaded cap simple easy basic I gets the job done
I am kind of surprised no one mentioned floating neutral on the old generator as being a possible cause. We have seen that issue several times where some generators either intermittently charge, or just don't charge the attached equipment at all. Some equipment is just better at handling the floating neutral that most generators are setup for. Hidden usually in the manual, often in just a paragraph or less there will be something about this but there is many videos out there that can explain the floating neutral issue and how to correct it, because it sure would have been cheaper than doing all this work.
Given that you've got a finely-tunable load right there you could maybe perform some interesting tests on the generator to find the sweet spot where it's at its most efficient, not just for science but for practicality as you can hopefully save fuel. Fill the tank right to the brim, run for an hour at xx kVA load, measure how much it takes to brim the tank again. Repeat at different kVA loadings, either by adjusting settings or turning off balanced triplets of inverters. Graph and learn :) Worth running a three-phase socket off that panel as well? You've got a three phase diesel-powered supply available for the odd occasions when one would come in handy.
It would be helpful to have a reactive load gauge [kvars] on that generator. PWM or SCR systems tend to have lousy power factors. That inverter disconnect seems odd on account of voltage is stable - you'd think it ought to be happy. But... does 240 from generator match inverter design? Spec sheet suggests 175-425v input, so that sounds fine. I have had charging systems in the past where they were sligtly under-specd for battery bank Ah capacity - they stood up fine, until battery age started demanding more current, and the charger failed from the mismatch -upgraded to a higher output charging unit and problem solved. So this was a video to watch: maybe battery overtemp and/or overcurrent was my first instinct regarding shutdowns. As for the newer bigger generator... what AIC is required? I was thinking main has to be 120,000? This is a fairly big project as details go. Throw some dessicant packs in that generator control panel to keep electronics happy over time - any cabinet outdoors has a way of breathing with heat/cool cycles day & night that can cause something approaching a mini rain forest inside. You might [might] need to pull back on charging volts to 54v?
Aye to this. I have no experience with these battery chargers, and in all probability never will, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they have no PFC at all. I'd be happy to be proven wrong and find there is at a minimum passive but active would be preferable.
There's another possible option, which I saw in an LED emergency lighting unit designed for outdoor use. A little rubber bladder inside the panel, connected through to the outside. Pressure inside the cab drops, bladder gets bigger. Pressure rises, bladder shrinks. The one in the lighting unit was like a little rubber light bulb. For a bigger cab even something like a party balloon on a hose connector might do the trick. Video nel567DBAQc at 1:37 shows the one I encountered.
What a setup! About how long can your parents operate once the batteries are fully charged? Also, can you tell us more about why they went off grid or is this a vacation home setup?
Well over a week in cloudy weather and in spring and fall they can go only on solar. They typically only need to recharge after long periods of high heat or lots of cloudy days.
I think it might have been worthwhile to install the twistlocks off the breaker panel, and you should keep the DC wiring original/full length. The reason? Think about maintainance/warranty… It’s much easier to remove a plug, and send back a defective charger under warranty, to EG4 if it hasn’t been modified, also faster for you, as you won’t have to open the panel and loosen the screws on the 2 pole breaker.
Wow that was really cool. I’ve never seen european colour coded wires used in a US panel before. What a great setup! I really like this it turned out great. And will look even better when the lugs arrive. Its always good to have backups and redundancy and this really covers that greatly. Great concept and use case for this properties specific needs. And could benefit similar and other use cases.
Those are the colors of the AC input cable that the EG4 chargers use. It actually fits better in this case than the normal black/white/green of normal ICEA table E1 flexible cords as brown and blue are both established hot colors.
@@randacnam7321 Oh, that’s interesting. I didn’t know brown had an established code rule in NA systems. I have seen blue in 3phase panels in NA diagrams labeled as a Hot. And I’ve seen yellow/green striped as an accepted standard in one diagram for Ground. Cable wise I know it isn’t uncommon for cords that come with computer supplies in the US to use the typically European - Brown = Live, Blue = Neutral, and Yellow / Green = Earth standard. So I figure EG4 is just doing that as it seems to be a readily available cable option.
@@peteasmr2952 Brown is L1 for 277V/480VGrdY and 480V delta. Brown hot/blue neutral is the abominable IEC standard. The only thing it's better than is the old Soviet standard where L2 is _green._
the 2 wires that are not hooked up on the oil pressure sensor I think need to be hooked up to make the connection to the controller and make it work right now it thinks it has no oil pressure and would go into shutdown without the ziptie you will prob need to buy a new oil pressure switch also as there maybe a reason it's unhooked awesome setup btw !!!
Little confused; I thought you said it was a 480V generator. That would be phase to phase. How are you running 120/240V chargers off that? 277V to neutral would still be too much voltage. What did I miss? Also, are those chargers all completely Isolated so they don't care how their outputs are paired? Thanks. Lastly; You're not over "C"ing those batteries charging them back up almost all the way in only two hours? What's the allowed charging C rate?
Hi, high tech lab. I have a question on the Chargeverter that maybe able to clarify. I am totally off grid. Signiture Solar tech recommended that I don’t charge my batteries with them being charged and discharging to run my house.when my solar panels not producing power. Have you ever have any problems charging your batteries and the inverter running with loads? Thanks for your opinion.
Not too bad, especially when compared to that monster generator. The fans are at full speed at 85A, but I honestly expected worse when I was installing them. The room doesn't really have much echo, so when you stand back 10ft it's not bad at all.
Is it OK to stack 5 SOK server rack batteries on top of each other? The manual says 3 max. I ask because I also want to stack at least 5 without using the rack. Do the bottom ones get too stressed?
when i first read it i thought that 48v 1200A that really isn't a huge home battery, then i realised it said A and not AH. 57kw of charging power goddamn. The best i can do is 12kw with my 3phase deye. i have 1400ah of lead acid agms for my house consumption together with 18kw solar, My main fuses to my provider can only do 25A x 3 fuses. So i am hard limited to selling/buying about 17kw. Need to get thicker wires inside to get access to more power. I suppose this home battery has around 120 kwh then? perhaps for lifetime concerns about 90-100 usable kwh.
What is using all this electricity? Here in Germany an average home is using less than 10 kWh per day (!) the heck is going on?! :D Yup I read your comment but still, I am amazed about that amount of energy. Same as with money, there is not an income shortage but much rather a spending issue. Just for energy...
The utility company wanted $70,000 to bring in power lines, and for their usage would be about $700/month. The savings going off grid is still substantial even with all the money they have spent.
