Was Outback woes.
Hi Ray,
I agree completely. Off grid reached its peak reliability and then
declined. I thought it peaked with the VFX and Radian inverters, both of
which could have stood some improvements. With the VFXR and the Radian
A, The inverters seemed to be made more cheaply and more prone to
problems. The rest is history.
The reliance on cell phones and internet seems to me to be completely
against the spirit of self reliant off grid systems. In the old days, I
would set up a system and after a bit (or lot) of messing around would
work for years.
What is the best off grid inverter to use these days?
Thank you,
Drake
_Drake Chamberlin_
_Athens Electric LLC_
_Ohio Electrical Contractor's License 44810_
_NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional_
---
On 2025-05-11 14:37, Ray Walters via RE-wrenches wrote:
I agree Michael, my call backs and free trips are way up with Li
batteries and AIO. I just don't know what the system is doing or what
to expect from the settings. Dark Start has now become a normal thing.
My blood pressure is off the charts trying to talk to tech support
with one bar of cell service. I have a DC power supply and inverter to
restart the batts. I now own a PC laptop that's sole purpose is
firmware updates.
Guess what? Lead acid almost never needed a trip out to restart. The
sun comes out, and it starts recharging. Lead acid is SELF HEALING. I
just can't get LVD settings that keep Li bats out of dark start
territory. All is fine until its not. Here's some experiences:
1) A Fortress firmware glitch that shut the whole system down when it
reached 100% SOC.
Result: rotten food in both freezers, customer confidence: they sold
the property.
Solution: upgrade Fortress Firmware.
2) Simpliphi and XW system works fine for 5 years, then a low battery
issue during bad weather causes all 4 Simpliphi batteries to fry.
Result: customer is on generator full time for 2 months.
Solution: finally get replacement batteries and replace XW inverter
with Magnum.
3) Homegrid batteries go into dark mode after solar shuts off for a
couple of days. No battery voltage to turn on charge controller again.
Result: 3 trips out to restart batteries, and hang out for hours to
make sure the inverter will reconnect, and stay connected.
Solution: still not sure, I raised the LVD and reconnect voltages, but
the battery's no load draw from the BMS seems to be very significant.
4) Midnite AIO won't connect to phone app, which is the only way to
program it. I turn on the inverter, and it just bricks.
Result: It can't function out of the box without being setup with the
phone app that doesn't always work.
Solution: after 2-1/2 hours on a bad connection with Tech support, we
finally get the inverter to reset and start working properly. I had to
delete and reload the phone app 5 times before it would finally connect
to the inverter. What's going to happen when you come back in 5 years
with a different phone?
I can share more with other companies I've tried including Rubix, and
Blue Planet. The only Li battery I've not had trouble with was LiFe
Blue (thanks Larry), but they're only for 12v systems. I am still
installing lead acid for many of my customers, because we know what to
expect. A lesser evil is better than the unknown that can be much
worse. Retirement can't come too soon.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 5/11/2025 9:47 AM, Michael Morningstar via RE-wrenches wrote:
I wonder where all this is going? A plethora of Chinese ( I understand
virtually everything electronic is manufactured there) AIOs and
batteries, each with their own communication protocols, programing
parameters, and individual peculiarities. I say this with all modesty
and humility, that until a few years ago, it was a rare troubleshooting
situation that I needed guidance from tech support for most anything.
Now the extent of my prowess has been reduced to: "power cycle" it and
if that doesn't work call tech support, and then be prepared for a
frustrating, protracted, and costly in terms of my time, experience.
I also wonder if it's sort of a "race to the bottom" (thanks for that
one Bob-O) as far a quality goes. Discover discontinued it's AES
battery which I think was the pinnacle, and replaced it with the Helios
(which I have high hopes for). I'm hoping it's not a clone of all the
others that are similar and I understand that the AES simply couldn't
compete.
Just my mind dump sans edit
On Sun, May 11, 2025 at 8:17 AM Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
Fortress and eg4 both use the same basic LUX made inverters.
Sol ark is made by DEYE.
On May 11, 2025, at 8:04 AM, Michael Morningstar via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
How does the Lux, Envy, and Sol-Ark compare to Midnite's AIO? I was all
on board the Midnite train but I'm coming to the conclusion that they
released it prematurely. Glitchy and Quirky.
On Sun, May 11, 2025 at 7:40 AM Jay via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
One of the things I like about the LUX is that you can do programming
with the built in display.
The online monitoring is good as Maverick says.
I also think it's way more accurate as well.
The LUX 12kw is a solid unit.
Jay
On May 11, 2025, at 7:35 AM, Maverick Brown via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
William,
I have both the ENVY and Radian (and XW at my own home).
The ENVY online experience is great. It may have replaced the Sol-Ark
online monitoring as my favorite. (I have installed about 20 Sol-Arks
and they also have tons of data and a great overall online experience).
The data collected by ENVY is far greater than OpticsRE, many more
parameters are saved. ENVY also has a working smart phone App that
shows more data than the now offline / defunct OpticsRE app.
OpticsRE does log enough data to understand that the system is
functioning, but the additional AC data and way the information is
presented gives ENVY far superior results. I do lean more towards the
way OpticsRE allows editing parameters on the Devices section. That's
likely because I am more familiar with the terminology. But, The ENVY
Inverter has a built in display / touch screen that allows you to edit
all of the values and make the system work without any internet /
wireless / bluetooth connection. That is a great fall back. I am used
to the MATE3s, but new customers have a crazy time with learning how it
works and where values are able to be changed. The ENVY App bridges
that gap!
Now the dream part is that since Outback is now owned by the same
people that also sell the EG4 18kPV (which is also made by Luxpower
just like the ENVY), the best of both worlds could come about == more
data collected and an available and a solid smart phone app for
customers that want such a thing.
The screenshot of the app is straight forward and the tabs at the
bottom show charts, alarms and settings.
The screenshot for desktop is very detailed and you can scroll down on
the first page and get 3-4 screenfuls of data for just about anything
you want to know.
Let me know if you have a specific question, I can give you a
comparison.
<Screenshot 2025-05-11 at 9.11.09 AM.png>
<IMG_3420.PNG>
Maverick Brown
Off-Grid Solar Commander since 2006
Maverick Solar Enterprises, Inc.
* Solar Commander Remote Power
* SunFlow Systems Cathodic Protection
[email protected]
512-460-9825
On May 10, 2025, at 9:58 PM, William Miller via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
Bought a VFXR3648 and two FXR3048s recently. They actually worked!
Miracle.
The client for which I am suggesting an Envy 12 instead of new FM100s
is really attached to Optics. Now that Optics is unreliable it is
easier to suggest an alternative.
I'd like to hear about the Envy on-line interface. Is it ok?
William Miller
Miller Solar.com
805-438-5600
www.millersolar.com [1]
On Sat, May 10, 2025 at 12:23 PM Jay via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
As a follow up.
Has anyone purchased a new OB inverter or CC or mate.
I mean specifically remote new outback company.
Jay
On May 10, 2025, at 11:19 AM, Todd Cory via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
Well, Outback's Optics RE is down yet again, also the back up site too
and also the users forum... which had a massive database of current and
past problem solving archives.
What a clusterfuck this new company is.
Wise wrenches should beware of patronizing this obvious sinking ship.
Todd
<img-0.png>
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