Morning David. Thanks for the video. Thought I would share that the Victron Shunt has an update now which will allow it to remember the state of charge when it loses power. When you open the Victon app, you’ll see the red exclamation mark over the settings icon. That update made a world of difference for me and my testing! No more having to remember the SOC when you power down!
I think that is the best way to utilize a generator with solar. A few months ago I did the same but used a much smaller 48v charger. When I need to charge up my battery bank , I start the generator and run the charger only. You can really optimize your battery usage when you know you can quickly charge them up. If you calculate the cost of a larger battery bank to handle any eventuality and the cost of fuel for a generator, the decision to go this way is a no brainer.
I like how it's modular, those look very similar to server power supplies in their size... makes me wonder if that's what they are using in a custom configuration. Easy reparability.
It's 100% some Huawei/Emerson Telco 48V power supplies. I have a few from a 4G Telco rack i tore down, and they are fully programmable via CANBUS where you can regulate voltage and amps, and ofc. read out vital data.
Thanks for posting, David. Always appreciate a straightforward review. We did get our unit - finally. Looking forward to seeing how it works on the Absolyte.
Thanks for the informative video! I bought one of those today in person at Signature Solar... they have grown so much since the first two times that I shopped there. Remodeled reception area and office area and all the employees were so friendly and helpful! James S. has really done a great job with growing the business👍
60 degrees Centigrade is very safe for most power electronics, although it will depend on what the temperature of the components inside the PSU is, not just the surface of the unit.
Using a MidNite Solar CLASSIC 150 MPPT Charge Controller, Operating at 150 Volts with a Max Current of 96 Amps. And hooked to a #DC1248AC DUAL CORE PMG/PMA by Thermodyne Systems and powered by a 6+HP Diesel engine all for under $1,700 works the treat for me. It is cheap to build and operate and very efficient. We make our own fuel using waste Veggie-Oil that has settled for two weeks and filtered down to 25 microns. We add 10% gasoline and filter to 1 micron and use it in our diesel generator. All of our filters are polyester cleanable and reusable. So, we have an efficient generator and cheap fuel that cost between 3-9 cents per kilowatt hour depending on if it is a 10% summer or 30% winter blend. We live in Michigan where the grid is 17.4 cents per Kilowatt Hour. So, this cost is less than the power grid. Even if you do not make your own fuel, it is still a good way to make energy.
I ordered and just installed my new charger. Out of the box one of the two modules had slipped out of the socket during shipping. Noticed this due to the unit providing only half of the selected charge current. A couple of issues worth noting; as David mentions the unit does not have a delay feature to allow your generator to warm up. I will be adding a timing relay to do this. Also this unit would not work with economy mode on my Honda EU6500. The charger would instantly fault when the generator was attempting to throttle up. When the charger faults it looses the voltage and charge current settings. With economy mode off the unit does a great job changing my lithium batteries and eliminates the sketchy transfers that my inverter/charger produced when the generator came online. I would like to see some added features but do think the unit is very useful at a good price.
So I’m off grid and have been buying from Signature Solar. Everything has been great. Have bought one EG4 battery, has been great and a growatt inverter. If this is done correctly, that is on a off grid set up, you will be using the lower voltage instead of 240. If you built your set up to run only 110-120 v, you will be using a smaller generator. The idea is to use small generators not 240. The bigger the generator, the more gas you use. If you have a shorter charge time it maybe a better deal.
The hot exhaust air blowing on the DC cables might not be great, the insulation may begin to deteriorate over time. They probably should have routed those out the same side as the AC in instead, which would solve that problem and may allow for more efficient cooling. Overall looks like a good unit, I have the lower powered, older EG4 charger, but 5kw charging paired with a 240v generator is certainly a great option to supplement solar when the weather's not great.
Awesome thanks a lot I am supposed to be getting my eg4 chargeverter any day now and I have the same Honda 6500 generator so this video was perfect for me 👍
I have a little Predator 3500. And I have a Amitabh 4000 light pole I'm not sure the specs on that generator. I don't think my 3500 would do much haha I'd have to set set the charger at 50% or something or 50 amps I mean
I am off grid with a EG4 LifePower 4 48V battery bank. I just bought the EG4 Chargeverter and I want my generator to start automatically at 47V and shut down at 52V to power the Chargeverter when solar is not enough. Signature Solar recommended using the EAZY-VLC 2.0 12V dual programmable relay control cycle delay timer. I have a Westinghouse WGEN 7500 DF generator that has a remote start. I plan on
Alternatively you could also just rectify the 240v from the generator and feed it into a charge controller. Just have to make sure that it's within the charger max voltage. 240vac rectified is like 320vdc. This is actually how those big, tens to hundreds of kVA UPS systems work. Instead of using normal diodes they just use SCRs which are basically diodes you can switch off at the crossing point, this way they can control the output voltage and keep the batteries charged 24/7, while the inverter is always running producing clean AC I think it goes without saying that high voltage can be dangerous but is perfectly safe as long as proper safety methods are used.
Dear Brother David, I've been expecting this review from you, and you've not let us down. Many thanks for your menthodical, well-explained approach! Now, a request: Given that many of us off-gridders have been using "ordinary" (non-inverter) generators to charge our earlier generation (non-hybrid) systems -- mine is a Magnum 4kW 48v inverter with a Midnite Solar Classic 150 charge controller -- but now are embracing hybrid inverters, can you please kindly run this test again with any old non-inverter generator? Given that the guts of this Chargeverter come from the same Voltronics factory as the MPP Solar and EG4 hybrid inverters, it's crucial that we know the Chargeverter can accept "dirty" AC that our older inverters digested without issues. I don't want to have to buy an inverter generator to use this $400 charger! Best thanks!
If you are in MA, bring your generator by and we can test it. You are not the only person with this request. I'll ask around to my friends/family and see if someone owns an older style generator to test.
@@DavidPozEnergy Given that I'm on the California coast, the odds of my schlepping my genny over are slim! But I do hope someone nearby will offer one up. What about your diesel genny? Can't imagine its signal is too pristine. Thanks again!
My system was designed with help from the EG4 design department. Here's what they said in regards to something similar to your request: "If you wanted to use a generator to charge the batteries you would need a transfer switch to go from the grid to generator power since the inverters only have one AC input port. For a generator we recommend a generator with twice the wattage rating of your inverters. This is to account for dirty power. Dirty power tends to happen when a generator is operating at over 50% capacity and will produce voltage spikes and lulls that the inverters will not like. Since you have 13kW of inverter capacity it would take a pretty large generator. If you didn't want to buy a large generator you could use battery charger plugged into a generator." At the time, he pointed towards a different, smaller charger they had, but then the 5000 came along, so I think that it would apply as well, meaning, these battery chargers account for dirty power.
just got mine set up. in alaska i have some short days, so this is something i will use for probably 3 months out of the year. i use an 8000w generac. charged my 300ah bank at 75amps, from like 60% in 1.5 hours….i’m excited about being able to run my bank lower and charge faster instead of having to top off more frequently.
@@DavidPozEnergy was using the 18a with a 2000w generator and it’s just to much wear and tear and time. so this unit is super helpful. i wish that it could be mounted differently. or atleast had longer leads.
Cool project. I'd like to see an update on the house and garage. I'm buying a 100-year-old house that needs some work. I've already started on improvements. By the way, solar is definitely on the list because the roof is perfect for it. You were an inspiration for both the house and the solar. I can't give you all the credit for that, but you DEFINITELY deserve some credit. I may even try cellulose insulation in the garage. Thanks for the videos!
@@DavidPozEnergy Well, I just found that there appears to be no insulation at all on the exterior walls. I live in Ohio, so that's not good. I'm probably going to do a blown-in insulation, but I'm not sure I'll have time to do it myself. Either way, your insulation videos are a BIG help in my understand of that process. I'm still a little concerned about how much that cellulose settles.
What a great product. One improvement I would suggest is upgrading this charger to allow charging for 12v/24v batteries. Lots of us out there with smaller systems that would love this feature.
Got mine coming now! After two years off grid I haven’t had to run a generator yet but it always caused me anxiety since I bought a normal non inverter generator and didn’t want to run it into the utility in on my inverter.
I wish this charger was out a year ago! Then I'd probably grabbed it. Right now, I just use a 16-amp 48v charger a few days out of the year to keep my 50KW battery bank alive. It seems to put out around 600 watts. It runs usually for 12-18 hours whenever I need it. I've got it connected to a 20amp Wi-Fi switch currently. So, I can switch it on and off remotely from anywhere. I guess next step would be to get it to kick in automatically when my batteries are low. But I'll probably just buy a generator or run 240v grid power to my solar shed. This way I could take advantage of my dual 100amp chargers built in my Victron inverter. The huge Victron inverters utilize software that helps them use less running power. I've seen my 15KW inverter running on 90 watts before.
You can make something similar from a Huawei R4850G2 power supply - they are used to charge backup lithium batteries on cell towers - they used to be really cheap to buy (less than 50 bucks) but looking now they seem to be expensive now. You can also get dedicated 48v generators as well now - which avoids the need for the genny to invert to ac mains and the power supply to convert back down to dc
I've been wondering about this charger. Thanks for doing this video. It certainly helps take the guesswork out of my decision making process. Someday I hope to figure out why I've never been able to get my two spf 5000 GW inverters to run in parallel.
Nice charger. I wonder how long it will last? A 175 amp Anderson plug on the charger and your battery busbar would make it more useful for easy battery top-up when your solar can't keep up in winter.
At 14:17 I hope you flipped the DC cables on the top to the left side of the charger as having the hot exhaust air blow directly on those cables doesn't seem like a great idea. Not an expert, just seems logical to me, this is an awesome video. I am of the opinion that it makes way more sense to have a generator available to charge your system if you plan on going off grid so you don't need to go over kill with solar panels and battery capacity in order to make up for those cloudy days or poor weather. I think it's way more practical and cost effective, it also has the added bonus of having a generator available should your inverter ever fail. I feel like most people wouldn't mind needing to run the generator for a few hours to top up when weather is an issue, and since you are capturing most of the electricity generated it's actually not bad on fuel cost. What are your thoughts?
My goal is to cover my electrical needs with solar 99% of the time. That leaves 1%, or 3.65 days per year that I need to run the generator. I'm OK with that.
Thanks for doing the test. I may eventually buy one if they appear to hold up over time. I have the Honda EU7000is and it can't start my 4-ton HVAC condensing unit even with a soft start. My Growatt 12k inverter likely can, so if I ever have a prolonged outage during a heat wave, I would be able to have the Honda run the Chargeverter while the Growatt runs the house loads and handles the large inrush spikes. This would prolong the run time of the 20kWh LIfepower4 battery rack provided that the average house load stays below the max continuous output of the generator which I converted to run on natural gas.
Will be working with small, non inverter generator. I use 3000 W AVR generator, and I must set on mppSolar controler about 10 Amps to start it, and then raise to 20, 30 and finaly to 40A. Maybe that charge controller have softstart.
This is cool. I'm planning on buying a chinese 4kw inverter, the new EG4 500v 100A MPPT charge controller, and maybe this now! I'm getting this setup instead of a EG4 AIO because they have extremely high idle consumption around 150w which is too much for my needs.
another great review david thanks for showing us alternatives for charging 👍🏽. total side bar your hair evolved from a young michael mcdonald to a slick morgan wallen lol. 🔥💯
Hey David there's a setting on the latest firmware of smartshunt to always retain the previous SOC when it loses power so no more jumping back to 100% (I always thought that was stupid).
I totally agree. I have a feeling my shunt isn't telling me the proper SOC on my batteries either I don't know really how to set it I have to read some directions somewhere again.
I purchased on an installed a 30amp 250 volt plug in battery room and couldn't make it charge mor than 49.8 amps I thought cord was wired wrong I turns out after opening the unit one of the chargers were unplugged and main positive lead in dc breaker was completely loose. tighten screw and pushed charger back into socket and now works fine 100 amps confirmed with amp meter.
Have you looked at how to do this? I may use the 7 pin connector on the generator and rewire the internal wiring to the connector. My generator uses the same push button to start/stop the generator.
Good video David. Especially liked the actual measurements which often are in specs but seldom given in videos. Do you have any idea of the need for inverter generators to supply this charger or of the tolerance for modified-sinewave type chargers?
100 AMP..lol Hope you’re planning on getting a new generator every six months, batteries every year because that’s one heck of a load. Neither the batteries nor the generator would like being run at that much load. I like that you can turn it down so as to bring it down to a more realistic level, however why not just get one of the millions of quality automotive style chargers? I’ve been using my little ten amp Solar Pro-Logix from Napa auto parts for 3 years now and it works great. I’ve been 100% off grid just using a 3500 generator to recharge everything. It even checks the batteries then runs special cool down modes and ramp up profiles to charge the best way possible. The downside is it only works on, AGM, GEL or flooded. $119.00 PS:Can you even charge Lithium batteries at that rate without damaging the BMS?
Hey DavidPoz. Looks like Growatt is about to launch the SPF 6000 ES Plus inverter. Would be awesoe if you could try get in contact with them and see if you can do a 1 phase/3 phase review on the units, im stoked on them because dual MPPTs.. Would be sweet to see you do a review on them like the ones you did for the 5kw units.. Keep up the nice work.
My battery bank is made of 6x EG4 batteries. Each EG4 battery is 100Ah. 6 in parallel means my whole battery bank is 600Ah. If I was at 0%SOC, and charged at the full 100A, then it would take 6 hours to charge the battery to 100%SOC. However, I don't suggest that approach. As I showed in the video, I'll be charging at 80A given my generator. And, I wouldn't wait until the batteries were dead, and I wouldn't charge all the way. It's far more typical to charge, perhaps, 40% of the total capacity in an off grid situation. That would be 600Ah*0.4/80= 3 hours.
I have 4, 2400 watt 12v power supplies, 220/240v they can be put in series, with little mods, they are server power supplies, if I could build a DC to DC converter, with constant current constant voltage, capable of outputting 60-70v, this would be one heck of a charger, it would require over 10kw, they output 2450 watts, or I could use 5 in series, using a buck converter, I believe are more efficient, also adding wattage this would be in the 12-13kw possibly more required for full output,, I was thinking about using 3in series for 37.5v , To charge a 24v system, but I'm thinking about going to a 48v system, I would only need a inverter, running a 14s lion battery, two of my 7s in series,
I bought one of these to charge a golf cart with the SPIM08HP batteries like the one you built awhile ago. Seems ideal for that. Heavy duty, programmable at about the same price as other lithium golf cart type chargers. I’m connecting them with Anderson 175A connector so when I park it’s easy to just plug & play. Plan to power directly from Outback AC inverters or generator via transfer switch. What do you think? I’ll send update when installed. Great video!
@davidpoz, i am wondering if you lose power input. Will the chargeverter retain the last setting once it gets back the power input back ? Or do you have to re configure the amp/voltage ?
David, thanks for the review of this. I'm interested in one to pair with a j1772 on my box truck so I can charge at public ev chargers. What I can't seem to get an answer on is if the neutral is required or not for the 240v input. The J1772 standard is two hots and a ground, no neutral. Any chance you could check?
Thank you for sharing I didn't realize that when you're charging your battery through the inverter that you weren't able to invert meeting that you don't have hydro so this is a great way to do it now I'm running a 24 volt system is this offered any 24 V configuration
Signature Solar sells a few different 24V chargers. They have an 10A, 30A, and 35A. Right now the 30A is on a really good sale: signaturesolar.com/eg4-battery-charger-24v-30a/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
Love it. That looks nice. I would love to have one of those. That's how I use my generator the most. Just put the power into the batts. Let the inviter do it's job. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Hey David, Great Video. Could you set up the Honda as a 2 wire auto start stop function that triggers when the battery reaches a certain level? Ive been looking for a 2 wire start stop generator thats budget friendly but cant seem to find anything in the USA thats quiet and smaller. I think you could make a great separate video on this setup. Im sure you could find a good way to do this.
Thanks for the review. I have a couple of questions. 1. Can the chargeverter be used while the inverters are operating? 2. Since there's no BMS what happens when the batteries reach full charge?
Yes, the chargeverter can be used at the same time your inverters are being used. This is a tool that mostly will be used for people living off grid. So, the inverter must be up all the time. As for the BMS. The chargeverter should be set to a lower Voltage than your batteries would be full. For example, my batteries can go up to 58.4V, but I set my chargeverter to 55.0V. This means the chargeverter will never fully charge a battery. However, this doesn't mean you don't need a BMS. You still need a BMS if you are using lithium batteries.
David, thanks for the video. I enjoy your videos, nicely done. I am not sure if I am seeing the benefit of using this unit to charge a battery bank. Are you saying the new Chargeverter is more efficient at charging a battery bank than the Schneiders and/or Growatts? Both inverter brands you have will charge the battery bank, I am not seeing the benefit, I guess. Do these inverters cannibalize power to charge battery banks vs when using a gennie? I bet I am over thinking this.
Actually, the Schneider inverter is a little more efficient at charging the battery than this is. In my previous video I showed how switching the loads back and forth from generator to inverter can make the lights blink. This charger eliminates that.
David, loved all of your solar/battery videos. I learned a lot from your videos. I'm in Florida and setting up an emergency power backup system using EG4 48V batteries and 3000W inverter/solar charger/ac charger combo unit. Since I don't have solar, if the power outage drags on, my plan was to use the gas power generator to charge up the batteries. The Chargeverter seem like a perfect fit. The one question I have is how do you keep providing the AC power via the inverter while you are charging the batteries? It seems like if you connect the Chargeverter to the power rails on the EG4 battery rack and not disconnect the inverter, then the Chargeverter is just going to be supplying power to the inverter. If you turn off the inverter or disconnect the inverter, then you have no power to the house. What am I missing? Thanks.
I don't think you are missing anything. You said you plan to use a 3000W inverter, but didn't mention the generator size. The Chargeverter can go up to 100A, so if the battery is at 54V, that's 5,400W. If you haven't bought the generator yet, I'd look for one between 5kW and 6kW continuous rating, and limit the Chargeverter to 90A. Let's say you are pushing 5kW into the battery busbars, and you are pulling 3kW to your loads through the inverter. That means 2kW will be charging the battery at the same time. But, if your loads drop to 1kW, then you have 4kW charging the battery. You still have 5kW from the Chargeverter.
@@DavidPozEnergy David, that all makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. My parts are scheduled to start arriving this Friday. Wish me luck 🙂. Thanks again.
Good day David. Been thinking about getting one of these. Can you do a "tuned test" for fuel efficiency & KWh to batteries with tour Honda please. Perhaps run Honda at 75% load to whatever amps that equals on charger. Would love to see a max KWh charged per gallon on a full tank of fuel, without overloading the genny of course.
Thanks For your response. I Was wondering if you could power your loads from the charging power provided by the Chargeverter. I have a small gas generator, 2000 W, and this device may help me charging my batteries using my generator. I have a Schneider XW +so I have enjoy your recent videos on that inverter. Thank you again for your videos and please continue doing what you do.
@DavidPozEnergy I was wondering along with Charlies' question, IF you can safely turn on your INVERTER while charging with this new device? Will all that amperage fry the Inverter? I would think not, because they are ready to accept all the amperage from the batteries/banks, no issue... Your thoughts?
Thank you for the vid! It wasn't quite clear, wondering if you can you leave the unit off, fire up the generator, and then... come inside and throw the unit circuit breaker to start charging? Is there a reason to leave it on all the time or were you just showing what happens with battery only? .I ask because in my case it's a manual generator start about 200ft from the battery bank - e.g. start the generator without load and then go in and enable the charging at the battery but also cut-off charging at the battery if the generator struggles.
I wasn't sure, so I just went and tested it for you. It worked fine. I had the AC side connected with the battery circuit breaker off. Nothing bad happened at all. Then I switched off the DC breaker first with the generator still running. Yes, that's fine. If you decide to purchase one, it would help out the channel to use the affiliate link in the description.
Hello David, as always, your videos are simple but super educational. I have a question and whether you can put 2 charverters at the same time to charge the same battery bank since I have a generator that generates 15KWA and 22KWA to start and I would not like to waste time if I can do it in 1 hour it is much better than 2 hours and at the same time At the same time, it saves me energy since the generator will generate it in the same way, but it would not really be used. I would like to use the generator directly to the inverter, but the people at Signature do not recommend it because of those at Dirty Energy. Can you give me your opinion and options, thanks.
Morning David. Thanks for the video.
Thought I would share that the Victron Shunt has an update now which will allow it to remember the state of charge when it loses power. When you open the Victon app, you’ll see the red exclamation mark over the settings icon. That update made a world of difference for me and my testing! No more having to remember the SOC when you power down!
Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out.
I was going to say the same thing.
I think that is the best way to utilize a generator with solar. A few months ago I did the same but used a much smaller 48v charger. When I need to charge up my battery bank , I start the generator and run the charger only. You can really optimize your battery usage when you know you can quickly charge them up. If you calculate the cost of a larger battery bank to handle any eventuality and the cost of fuel for a generator, the decision to go this way is a no brainer.
I like how it's modular, those look very similar to server power supplies in their size... makes me wonder if that's what they are using in a custom configuration. Easy reparability.
hopefully it lets you run the unit at half capacity if one fails.
Identical to 48v telecoms power supplies
They sure do look like server supplies. Even the card edge connector appears as if it could be the same.
Server or telco power modules. I didn't see a model number. It's not repairable if you can't get the modules.
It's 100% some Huawei/Emerson Telco 48V power supplies. I have a few from a 4G Telco rack i tore down, and they are fully programmable via CANBUS where you can regulate voltage and amps, and ofc. read out vital data.
Just a couple server PSUs in the box - clever!
In the latest firmware of the victron smart shunt you can enable it to keep the SOC after a power loss!
I preordered this a week ago…hoping it would work for me. I feel better after seeing your review.
Thanks for posting, David. Always appreciate a straightforward review. We did get our unit - finally. Looking forward to seeing how it works on the Absolyte.
Thanks for the informative video!
I bought one of those today in person at Signature Solar... they have grown so much since the first two times that I shopped there. Remodeled reception area and office area and all the employees were so friendly and helpful! James S. has really done a great job with growing the business👍
That's an amazing price for a 48v 100a charger! Thanks for sharing!
What price ? I can not find a 100 A charger on the website.
@@typxxilps Its hard to find using his link but its $399
Awesome - just in time, my charger is arriving Monday. Signature just shipped it!
I pre-ordered one a while ago. Still not got mine. But glad to see a review on it.
60 degrees Centigrade is very safe for most power electronics, although it will depend on what the temperature of the components inside the PSU is, not just the surface of the unit.
Using a MidNite Solar CLASSIC 150 MPPT Charge Controller, Operating at 150 Volts with a Max Current of 96 Amps. And hooked to a #DC1248AC DUAL CORE PMG/PMA by Thermodyne Systems and powered by a 6+HP Diesel engine all for under $1,700 works the treat for me. It is cheap to build and operate and very efficient. We make our own fuel using waste Veggie-Oil that has settled for two weeks and filtered down to 25 microns. We add 10% gasoline and filter to 1 micron and use it in our diesel generator. All of our filters are polyester cleanable and reusable. So, we have an efficient generator and cheap fuel that cost between 3-9 cents per kilowatt hour depending on if it is a 10% summer or 30% winter blend. We live in Michigan where the grid is 17.4 cents per Kilowatt Hour. So, this cost is less than the power grid. Even if you do not make your own fuel, it is still a good way to make energy.
I ordered and just installed my new charger. Out of the box one of the two modules had slipped out of the socket during shipping. Noticed this due to the unit providing only half of the selected charge current. A couple of issues worth noting; as David mentions the unit does not have a delay feature to allow your generator to warm up. I will be adding a timing relay to do this. Also this unit would not work with economy mode on my Honda EU6500. The charger would instantly fault when the generator was attempting to throttle up. When the charger faults it looses the voltage and charge current settings. With economy mode off the unit does a great job changing my lithium batteries and eliminates the sketchy transfers that my inverter/charger produced when the generator came online. I would like to see some added features but do think the unit is very useful at a good price.
This is definitely better for your batteries not to mention cheaper to replace. Generators are tough on electronics.
I never knew all this stuff I'm glad I saw the video I haven't run my generator in awhile but it's good to know that they suck hahaha
So I’m off grid and have been buying from Signature Solar. Everything has been great. Have bought one EG4 battery, has been great and a growatt inverter. If this is done correctly, that is on a off grid set up, you will be using the lower voltage instead of 240. If you built your set up to run only 110-120 v, you will be using a smaller generator. The idea is to use small generators not 240. The bigger the generator, the more gas you use. If you have a shorter charge time it maybe a better deal.
I'm less concerned with run-time, and more concerned with kWh per gallon of fuel.
The hot exhaust air blowing on the DC cables might not be great, the insulation may begin to deteriorate over time. They probably should have routed those out the same side as the AC in instead, which would solve that problem and may allow for more efficient cooling. Overall looks like a good unit, I have the lower powered, older EG4 charger, but 5kw charging paired with a 240v generator is certainly a great option to supplement solar when the weather's not great.
After rotating so exhaust is up, I would route cable to the left and anchor them to stay out ot the way of the exhaust heat
Awesome thanks a lot I am supposed to be getting my eg4 chargeverter any day now and I have the same Honda 6500 generator so this video was perfect for me 👍
I have a little Predator 3500. And I have a Amitabh 4000 light pole I'm not sure the specs on that generator. I don't think my 3500 would do much haha I'd have to set set the charger at 50% or something or 50 amps I mean
I am off grid with a EG4 LifePower 4 48V battery bank. I just bought the EG4 Chargeverter and I want my generator to start automatically at 47V and shut down at 52V to power the Chargeverter when solar is not enough. Signature Solar recommended using the EAZY-VLC 2.0 12V dual programmable relay control cycle delay timer. I have a Westinghouse WGEN 7500 DF generator that has a remote start. I plan on
I've never used that Voltage controller. Looks like it can work well.
Alternatively you could also just rectify the 240v from the generator and feed it into a charge controller. Just have to make sure that it's within the charger max voltage. 240vac rectified is like 320vdc.
This is actually how those big, tens to hundreds of kVA UPS systems work. Instead of using normal diodes they just use SCRs which are basically diodes you can switch off at the crossing point, this way they can control the output voltage and keep the batteries charged 24/7, while the inverter is always running producing clean AC
I think it goes without saying that high voltage can be dangerous but is perfectly safe as long as proper safety methods are used.
Great product that will sure to get the batteries charges up .🤙🤙
Dear Brother David, I've been expecting this review from you, and you've not let us down. Many thanks for your menthodical, well-explained approach! Now, a request: Given that many of us off-gridders have been using "ordinary" (non-inverter) generators to charge our earlier generation (non-hybrid) systems -- mine is a Magnum 4kW 48v inverter with a Midnite Solar Classic 150 charge controller -- but now are embracing hybrid inverters, can you please kindly run this test again with any old non-inverter generator? Given that the guts of this Chargeverter come from the same Voltronics factory as the MPP Solar and EG4 hybrid inverters, it's crucial that we know the Chargeverter can accept "dirty" AC that our older inverters digested without issues. I don't want to have to buy an inverter generator to use this $400 charger! Best thanks!
If you are in MA, bring your generator by and we can test it.
You are not the only person with this request. I'll ask around to my friends/family and see if someone owns an older style generator to test.
@@DavidPozEnergy Given that I'm on the California coast, the odds of my schlepping my genny over are slim! But I do hope someone nearby will offer one up. What about your diesel genny? Can't imagine its signal is too pristine. Thanks again!
@@DavidPozEnergy id like to see that as well
My system was designed with help from the EG4 design department. Here's what they said in regards to something similar to your request:
"If you wanted to use a generator to charge the batteries you would need a transfer switch to go from the grid to generator power since the inverters only have one AC input port. For a generator we recommend a generator with twice the wattage rating of your inverters. This is to account for dirty power. Dirty power tends to happen when a generator is operating at over 50% capacity and will produce voltage spikes and lulls that the inverters will not like. Since you have 13kW of inverter capacity it would take a pretty large generator. If you didn't want to buy a large generator you could use battery charger plugged into a generator."
At the time, he pointed towards a different, smaller charger they had, but then the 5000 came along, so I think that it would apply as well, meaning, these battery chargers account for dirty power.
Hi... I'm Enock from Ghana and living in Germany. I just subscribed your channel and I really like what you do.
just got mine set up. in alaska i have some short days, so this is something i will use for probably 3 months out of the year. i use an 8000w generac. charged my 300ah bank at 75amps, from like 60% in 1.5 hours….i’m excited about being able to run my bank lower and charge faster instead of having to top off more frequently.
Yeah, Alaska would need a pretty good generator system. Thanks for sharing.
@@DavidPozEnergy was using the 18a with a 2000w generator and it’s just to much wear and tear and time. so this unit is super helpful. i wish that it could be mounted differently. or atleast had longer leads.
Best video on this product that I've seen. Thanks.
You're welcome.
Cool project. I'd like to see an update on the house and garage. I'm buying a 100-year-old house that needs some work. I've already started on improvements. By the way, solar is definitely on the list because the roof is perfect for it. You were an inspiration for both the house and the solar. I can't give you all the credit for that, but you DEFINITELY deserve some credit. I may even try cellulose insulation in the garage. Thanks for the videos!
I'm glad my videos help in some small way.
@@DavidPozEnergy Well, I just found that there appears to be no insulation at all on the exterior walls. I live in Ohio, so that's not good. I'm probably going to do a blown-in insulation, but I'm not sure I'll have time to do it myself. Either way, your insulation videos are a BIG help in my understand of that process. I'm still a little concerned about how much that cellulose settles.
Morning Dave from Sunny Hot Australia looks good, mate. Two server power supplies type modules.
Thanks for Celsius 😀 during temperature measurement.
What a great product. One improvement I would suggest is upgrading this charger to allow charging for 12v/24v batteries. Lots of us out there with smaller systems that would love this feature.
Yes, I'd like a 24v option. A selectable one would be even better.
You don't have to depend on an app to tell you your readings, break out ohms, Watts and Joule’s law and a meter.
Good vid as usual.
sure use a rock and branch as a hammer as well
Got mine coming now! After two years off grid I haven’t had to run a generator yet but it always caused me anxiety since I bought a normal non inverter generator and didn’t want to run it into the utility in on my inverter.
I wish this charger was out a year ago! Then I'd probably grabbed it. Right now, I just use a 16-amp 48v charger a few days out of the year to keep my 50KW battery bank alive. It seems to put out around 600 watts. It runs usually for 12-18 hours whenever I need it. I've got it connected to a 20amp Wi-Fi switch currently. So, I can switch it on and off remotely from anywhere. I guess next step would be to get it to kick in automatically when my batteries are low. But I'll probably just buy a generator or run 240v grid power to my solar shed. This way I could take advantage of my dual 100amp chargers built in my Victron inverter. The huge Victron inverters utilize software that helps them use less running power. I've seen my 15KW inverter running on 90 watts before.
You can make something similar from a Huawei R4850G2 power supply - they are used to charge backup lithium batteries on cell towers - they used to be really cheap to buy (less than 50 bucks) but looking now they seem to be expensive now.
You can also get dedicated 48v generators as well now - which avoids the need for the genny to invert to ac mains and the power supply to convert back down to dc
The Huawei gear would be going up because they've been banned from the US so anything you see is new old stock.
Thanks Dave! The instructions for this unit left me with many questions. You answered them all!
Glad to help
I've been wondering about this charger. Thanks for doing this video. It certainly helps take the guesswork out of my decision making process. Someday I hope to figure out why I've never been able to get my two spf 5000 GW inverters to run in parallel.
Nice charger. I wonder how long it will last? A 175 amp Anderson plug on the charger and your battery busbar would make it more useful for easy battery top-up when your solar can't keep up in winter.
At 14:17 I hope you flipped the DC cables on the top to the left side of the charger as having the hot exhaust air blow directly on those cables doesn't seem like a great idea. Not an expert, just seems logical to me, this is an awesome video.
I am of the opinion that it makes way more sense to have a generator available to charge your system if you plan on going off grid so you don't need to go over kill with solar panels and battery capacity in order to make up for those cloudy days or poor weather. I think it's way more practical and cost effective, it also has the added bonus of having a generator available should your inverter ever fail. I feel like most people wouldn't mind needing to run the generator for a few hours to top up when weather is an issue, and since you are capturing most of the electricity generated it's actually not bad on fuel cost. What are your thoughts?
My goal is to cover my electrical needs with solar 99% of the time. That leaves 1%, or 3.65 days per year that I need to run the generator. I'm OK with that.
Thanks for doing the test. I may eventually buy one if they appear to hold up over time. I have the Honda EU7000is and it can't start my 4-ton HVAC condensing unit even with a soft start. My Growatt 12k inverter likely can, so if I ever have a prolonged outage during a heat wave, I would be able to have the Honda run the Chargeverter while the Growatt runs the house loads and handles the large inrush spikes. This would prolong the run time of the 20kWh LIfepower4 battery rack provided that the average house load stays below the max continuous output of the generator which I converted to run on natural gas.
Will be working with small, non inverter generator.
I use 3000 W AVR generator, and I must set on mppSolar controler about 10 Amps to start it, and then raise to 20, 30 and finaly to 40A.
Maybe that charge controller have softstart.
This is cool. I'm planning on buying a chinese 4kw inverter, the new EG4 500v 100A MPPT charge controller, and maybe this now! I'm getting this setup instead of a EG4 AIO because they have extremely high idle consumption around 150w which is too much for my needs.
Great. If you decide to use any of the affiliate links in the description, it would really help out the channel.
Nice tools
It would be awesome to see the Kw of charge through this charger per gallon of gas in the honda so perfectly matched.
another great review david thanks for showing us alternatives for charging 👍🏽. total side bar your hair evolved from a young michael mcdonald to a slick morgan wallen lol. 🔥💯
Thanks.
I'm having some fun seeing how the hair evolves. It's nice not being forced to have a high & tight any more.
I just ordered one of these from signature solar it's supposed to be shipping in about 2 weeks.
Hey David there's a setting on the latest firmware of smartshunt to always retain the previous SOC when it loses power so no more jumping back to 100% (I always thought that was stupid).
I totally agree. I have a feeling my shunt isn't telling me the proper SOC on my batteries either I don't know really how to set it I have to read some directions somewhere again.
Looks like 2 Meanwell hot-swap RCP-3K1U maybe...
I made something similar for my 4kw 100v ebike
I purchased on an installed a 30amp 250 volt plug in battery room and couldn't make it charge mor than 49.8 amps I thought cord was wired wrong I turns out after opening the unit one of the chargers were unplugged and main positive lead in dc breaker was completely loose. tighten screw and pushed charger back into socket and now works fine 100 amps confirmed with amp meter.
I'm glad you figured it out. Sounds like quality control is lacking.
As always, thanks David.
Have you looked at how to do this? I may use the 7 pin connector on the generator and rewire the internal wiring to the connector. My generator uses the same push button to start/stop the generator.
Pretty nifty little unit. Thanks, David.
Idle loss should be readers at the input (AC) side
Good video David. Especially liked the actual measurements which often are in specs but seldom given in videos. Do you have any idea of the need for inverter generators to supply this charger or of the tolerance for modified-sinewave type chargers?
Give the 120v a try on the review. Wonder how well that works
Right. on.
Congratulations on 200k Subs! 👍🏻
Thank you.
100 AMP..lol
Hope you’re planning on getting a new generator every six months, batteries every year because that’s one heck of a load. Neither the batteries nor the generator would like being run at that much load.
I like that you can turn it down so as to bring it down to a more realistic level, however why not just get one of the millions of quality automotive style chargers?
I’ve been using my little ten amp Solar Pro-Logix from Napa auto parts for 3 years now and it works great. I’ve been 100% off grid just using a 3500 generator to recharge everything. It even checks the batteries then runs special cool down modes and ramp up profiles to charge the best way possible. The downside is it only works on, AGM, GEL or flooded. $119.00
PS:Can you even charge Lithium batteries at that rate without damaging the BMS?
good teardown and review...thanks!
I was hoping to see you share how it compares to using the other gen-to-battery setups, in over efficiency that is.
Hey DavidPoz.
Looks like Growatt is about to launch the SPF 6000 ES Plus inverter. Would be awesoe if you could try get in contact with them and see if you can do a 1 phase/3 phase review on the units, im stoked on them because dual MPPTs.. Would be sweet to see you do a review on them like the ones you did for the 5kw units.. Keep up the nice work.
David, Great video. One thing I think you forgot to mention, How long did it take for your gen to charge your battery bank ? Thank-you, Mike.
My battery bank is made of 6x EG4 batteries. Each EG4 battery is 100Ah. 6 in parallel means my whole battery bank is 600Ah. If I was at 0%SOC, and charged at the full 100A, then it would take 6 hours to charge the battery to 100%SOC. However, I don't suggest that approach. As I showed in the video, I'll be charging at 80A given my generator. And, I wouldn't wait until the batteries were dead, and I wouldn't charge all the way. It's far more typical to charge, perhaps, 40% of the total capacity in an off grid situation. That would be 600Ah*0.4/80= 3 hours.
thanks for the review.....I just ordered on of these
I have 4, 2400 watt 12v power supplies, 220/240v they can be put in series, with little mods, they are server power supplies, if I could build a DC to DC converter, with constant current constant voltage, capable of outputting 60-70v, this would be one heck of a charger, it would require over 10kw, they output 2450 watts, or I could use 5 in series, using a buck converter, I believe are more efficient, also adding wattage this would be in the 12-13kw possibly more required for full output,,
I was thinking about using 3in series for 37.5v , To charge a 24v system, but I'm thinking about going to a 48v system, I would only need a inverter, running a 14s lion battery, two of my 7s in series,
thats a lot
I bought one of these to charge a golf cart with the SPIM08HP batteries like the one you built awhile ago. Seems ideal for that. Heavy duty, programmable at about the same price as other lithium golf cart type chargers. I’m connecting them with Anderson 175A connector so when I park it’s easy to just plug & play. Plan to power directly from Outback AC inverters or generator via transfer switch. What do you think? I’ll send update when installed. Great video!
Backordered until April arrrrrrrgh!
@davidpoz, i am wondering if you lose power input. Will the chargeverter retain the last setting once it gets back the power input back ? Or do you have to re configure the amp/voltage ?
mine retains the info
David, thanks for the review of this. I'm interested in one to pair with a j1772 on my box truck so I can charge at public ev chargers. What I can't seem to get an answer on is if the neutral is required or not for the 240v input. The J1772 standard is two hots and a ground, no neutral. Any chance you could check?
80A divided by like 8 banks meass easy charging conditions for LFP. Light tickle.
😎Thanks David! Very good information you provided.
Thank you for sharing I didn't realize that when you're charging your battery through the inverter that you weren't able to invert meeting that you don't have hydro so this is a great way to do it now I'm running a 24 volt system is this offered any 24 V configuration
Signature Solar sells a few different 24V chargers. They have an 10A, 30A, and 35A. Right now the 30A is on a really good sale: signaturesolar.com/eg4-battery-charger-24v-30a/?ref=4_rHcgZ9x-TiF-
So, you should do a show on how long it takes to charge different size battery banks at different c rates ECT. With this charger
Love it. That looks nice. I would love to have one of those. That's how I use my generator the most. Just put the power into the batts. Let the inviter do it's job. Thanks for sharing. God bless.
Thanks for the comment Bobby.
i love how your hair is coming along, I didn't watch a lot of your vids from the time you had shaved your head so was surprised to see it :)
Thank you. It's fun not being required to have a high & tight anymore.
Man there expensive but look amazing thanks for video
should be measuring the idle consumption on the ac side
The generator is turned off when the charger is not needed.
good Morning David. Thanks for the video i had a aims it ,s cook this may be a batter one
Nice charger, Runs a bit hot. Cheers
Hey David, Great Video. Could you set up the Honda as a 2 wire auto start stop function that triggers when the battery reaches a certain level? Ive been looking for a 2 wire start stop generator thats budget friendly but cant seem to find anything in the USA thats quiet and smaller. I think you could make a great separate video on this setup. Im sure you could find a good way to do this.
My Honda EU6500 doesn't go to 2-wire easily. But, the newer version is EU7000, and that one will do a 2-wire easy.
By the way, I love all your content.
I expected to see 2 meanwhile power supplies in there. And that unit on sale right now for 399 not a bad deal really.
Awesome charger. Looks great.
With no grid this would be my preferred method for emergency charging
Good stuff. Liked and subscribed.
Exelente siempre compartiendo contenido de calidad y escaso . Saludos !
Are the battery terminals isolated from the neutral/ground on the generator side ?
Thumbs up 👍 good demo!
Wow you've really turned into a Gilfoyle
Thanks for sharing David! Like #598
Thanks for the review. I have a couple of questions. 1. Can the chargeverter be used while the inverters are operating? 2. Since there's no BMS what happens when the batteries reach full charge?
Yes, the chargeverter can be used at the same time your inverters are being used. This is a tool that mostly will be used for people living off grid. So, the inverter must be up all the time.
As for the BMS. The chargeverter should be set to a lower Voltage than your batteries would be full. For example, my batteries can go up to 58.4V, but I set my chargeverter to 55.0V. This means the chargeverter will never fully charge a battery. However, this doesn't mean you don't need a BMS. You still need a BMS if you are using lithium batteries.
David, thanks for the video. I enjoy your videos, nicely done. I am not sure if I am seeing the benefit of using this unit to charge a battery bank. Are you saying the new Chargeverter is more efficient at charging a battery bank than the Schneiders and/or Growatts? Both inverter brands you have will charge the battery bank, I am not seeing the benefit, I guess. Do these inverters cannibalize power to charge battery banks vs when using a gennie? I bet I am over thinking this.
Actually, the Schneider inverter is a little more efficient at charging the battery than this is. In my previous video I showed how switching the loads back and forth from generator to inverter can make the lights blink. This charger eliminates that.
David, loved all of your solar/battery videos. I learned a lot from your videos. I'm in Florida and setting up an emergency power backup system using EG4 48V batteries and 3000W inverter/solar charger/ac charger combo unit. Since I don't have solar, if the power outage drags on, my plan was to use the gas power generator to charge up the batteries. The Chargeverter seem like a perfect fit. The one question I have is how do you keep providing the AC power via the inverter while you are charging the batteries? It seems like if you connect the Chargeverter to the power rails on the EG4 battery rack and not disconnect the inverter, then the Chargeverter is just going to be supplying power to the inverter. If you turn off the inverter or disconnect the inverter, then you have no power to the house. What am I missing? Thanks.
I don't think you are missing anything.
You said you plan to use a 3000W inverter, but didn't mention the generator size. The Chargeverter can go up to 100A, so if the battery is at 54V, that's 5,400W.
If you haven't bought the generator yet, I'd look for one between 5kW and 6kW continuous rating, and limit the Chargeverter to 90A.
Let's say you are pushing 5kW into the battery busbars, and you are pulling 3kW to your loads through the inverter. That means 2kW will be charging the battery at the same time. But, if your loads drop to 1kW, then you have 4kW charging the battery. You still have 5kW from the Chargeverter.
@@DavidPozEnergy David, that all makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. My parts are scheduled to start arriving this Friday. Wish me luck 🙂. Thanks again.
Good day David. Been thinking about getting one of these. Can you do a "tuned test" for fuel efficiency & KWh to batteries with tour Honda please.
Perhaps run Honda at 75% load to whatever amps that equals on charger. Would love to see a max KWh charged per gallon on a full tank of fuel, without overloading the genny of course.
Yes, I plan to do a part 2 video to my previous fuel economy test.
Thumbs up for this!!😊
i need to check if it for Eu as well
How many inches of barn corns does it weight? Liquid, Alabama type.
Wonder how this could work with a automatic generator start system
Hi David, thank you for videos. Did you try powering your loads with the inverter while charging? Thanks
No. I wanted to measure power at the shunt during the test.
Thanks For your response. I
Was wondering if you could power your loads from the charging power provided by the Chargeverter. I have a small gas generator, 2000 W, and this device may help me charging my batteries using my generator. I have a Schneider XW +so I have enjoy your recent videos on that inverter. Thank you again for your videos and please continue doing what you do.
@DavidPozEnergy I was wondering along with Charlies' question, IF you can safely turn on your INVERTER while charging with this new device? Will all that amperage fry the Inverter? I would think not, because they are ready to accept all the amperage from the batteries/banks, no issue... Your thoughts?
Very cool
This man just saved me $1.5k
Thank you for the vid! It wasn't quite clear, wondering if you can you leave the unit off, fire up the generator, and then... come inside and throw the unit circuit breaker to start charging? Is there a reason to leave it on all the time or were you just showing what happens with battery only? .I ask because in my case it's a manual generator start about 200ft from the battery bank - e.g. start the generator without load and then go in and enable the charging at the battery but also cut-off charging at the battery if the generator struggles.
I wasn't sure, so I just went and tested it for you. It worked fine. I had the AC side connected with the battery circuit breaker off. Nothing bad happened at all. Then I switched off the DC breaker first with the generator still running. Yes, that's fine. If you decide to purchase one, it would help out the channel to use the affiliate link in the description.
Hello David, as always, your videos are simple but super educational.
I have a question and whether you can put 2 charverters at the same time to charge the same battery bank since I have a generator that generates 15KWA and 22KWA to start
and I would not like to waste time if I can do it in 1 hour it is much better than 2 hours and at the same time At the same time, it saves me energy since
the generator will generate it in the same way, but it would not really be used. I would like to use the generator directly to the inverter,
but the people at Signature do not recommend it because of those at Dirty Energy. Can you give me your opinion and options, thanks.
Yes. Inside the Chargeverter there are two power supplies in parallel. So, right there, it's not a problem to parallel them.