That has not been my experience. I have had to manually reboot Solark
systems numerous time off grid. If there is snow on the array or
otherwise low PV output for a few days, the no load draw of the BMS then
takes the battery voltage low enough to shut the battery off. This
would be a different situation with a knowledgeable owner onsite full
time, but for vacation properties, it will go into complete shut down,
not coming back.
Which gets into the manual and tech support for Solark: its really not
clear what the different settings do, and how they interact. I'm sure
there are engineers that know, but they aren't at Tech support. At least
you can change the programming on the touch screen, and you don't have
to get a quirky app up off grid to do basic changes.
BTW, what happens when the developers quit keeping the App updated, 10
years from now, and you can't access the programming? Planned
Obsolescence? That 33 yr old Trace Inverter is still doing its job.....
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 5/12/2025 11:33 AM, MDElectricSolar via RE-wrenches wrote:
We have been using the Solark inverter for GTBB and off grid clients.
In the case of low battery cut out the solar does stay alive in the
background and will recharge the batteries when the sun comes out the
next day and turn itself back on and provide AC power output.
Michael D Nelson
MD Electric & Solar, Inc.
707-684-0064 mobile
707-884-1862 office
www.mdelectricsolar.com
www.facebook.com/mdelectricandsolar
On May 12, 2025, at 10:13 AM, Ray Walters via RE-wrenches
<[email protected]> wrote:
So the bypass switch gets the house power on, and I too always
recommend a hard bypass switch. However, you still need a 48 v power
supply to get the battery system back up, and that's becoming a
serious pain in my aging backside. Until AIOs with Li+ batteries,
lead acid would have enough voltage to get the charge controller to
come back on, and eventually the customer could get the inverter back
on too. No special trip out.
We need an independent circuit that would sense array voltage, and
wake up the battery, so it could take a charge: a backup battery for
the offgrid battery. Without that, AIOs and Li+ batteries are not
self healing like Lead Acid. We are going backwards fast, but with
an amazing amount of new Chinese technology driving the jalopy in
reverse. (Danger Will Robinson)
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
On 5/12/2025 10:54 AM, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches wrote:
We always recommend a transfer switch to bypass the inverter and
send generator power to the loads. Most clients take us up on it.
For retrofits, sometimes there can be space limitations, however.
As for the function of the AIO, there is no integrated mechanical
bypass, and since there is an internal relay controlling the
generator input (or smart load output on that breaker), I think the
default function is for the relay to open when the inverter turns
off. AC voltage on the load side of the breaker does not close the
relay and turn the inverter back on automatically.
Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 9:49 AM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via
RE-wrenches <[email protected]> wrote:
All sounds wrong to me. Call Midnite.
Typically there is a AC bypass mechanical switch that allows the
gen to bypass the inverter and power loads.
*Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar "we go where powerlines don't"
<http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>https://offgridsolar1.com/
<https://offgridsolar1.com/><http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>
e-mail [email protected] text 209 813 0060*
On 2025-05-12 9:29 am, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches wrote:
Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like there is a flaw
in the logic for how generator integration works with this
product. Unlike some of the other AIOs, you can't put the
generator on the Grid input in an off-grid scenario. You have
to use the Generator smart load breaker, which isn't a
dedicated generator input, but a programmable circuit. This is
problematic because it seemingly has a normally open internal
relay that closes only when the inverter is ON. At least,
that's how it seems to work in my limited experience.
Why is this a problem? If the battery capacity drops below the
low voltage cutoff, the inverter turns off. You have to turn
the inverter ON for the generator relay to close so you can
charge the battery, but since the battery is too low, the
inverter won't turn on. You would have to reprogram the
inverter to drop the cutoff voltage/SOC below the current
battery state. For people who do not want to use AGS, or if AGS
fails to start the generator for any reason, getting the
generator to charge the battery manually is no easy task.
Moreover, turning the generator on manually when the inverter
is in an OFF state will not pass power to the loads, and will
not turn the inverter ON automatically. You have to get the
inverter turned ON somehow so that the generator power can pass
through to the loads. And since the startup sequence for this
inverter is very quirky, non-intuitive, and unreliable, that
makes the problem even worse. I'm not sure if you can even turn
the inverter ON when there is generator input and the battery
is too low. I don't think you can because the relay is open and
the inverter doesn't even see generator voltage when it is in
an OFF state.
This seems like a serious oversight and a reason to go with one
of the other AIOs on the market. I believe the Sol-Ark 15K and
EG4 18kPV will both immediately power loads and start charging
when the generator is on, regardless of whether the generator
is connected to the Grid or Generator input. Any AC input
immediately passes through to the loads. This is because those
inverters stay "on" when a low battery condition is met, and
they simply stop using the battery to invert power if the
battery conditions do not allow it, based on the settings.
The logic of the Midnite AIOs turning "off" when battery cutoff
is met and opening the generator relay doesn't make sense to
me. Am I wrong about how this works?
Jason Szumlanski
Principal Solar Designer
Florida Solar Design Group
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