I've gotten word back from Fortress on this issue. Here's what they said:
/The problems you were describing align with an issue in the earlier
eVault Max batteries that we call "ghosting." Batteries with this issue
would turn off like you described when being idle or taking very little
curren
I have filled out two different online Technical Support tickets with Fortress
in the last two weeks. Most of the time I get a response within 3 hours, and
follow up responses are normally even faster. However, one recently was in
regard to a very specific integration issue with an SMA inverter,
High SOC would be 96% or so. One of my sites has five eVault MAX. There is a little bit of SOC to Voltage difference, maybe one of them is going over causing the whole lot to trigger a shutdown. I would like to know the definite shutdown voltage setting. The next time I go there, I’ll bring a lapto
Just curious what high SoC is? I set mine for 95% or so and do not
worry about the last few %.
Have not seen this problem but do not use fortress. Should not have shut
downs offgrid except LBCO or lightning.
I really think that an SPD should be on the battery as well as AC in and
out these
RayI think you are on to something. I have multiple eVault MAX batteries on a Radian and I have had mysterious random shutdowns with high SOC before. Could be they were off grid at the time or had a big load shut off causing a voltage bounce. The batteries are comm’d together but not to the Radian,
Is it possible that a load shut off, and then the controllers over shot
the voltage long enough to shut the BMS off? If so, what's the
solution? Lower absorb voltages? I checked voltage calibration between
the various pieces of equipment.
Ray
On 8/27/2024 4:14 PM, Jerry Shafer via RE-wrench
I have both controllers set to the Fortress recommended absorb settings
of 54.4 vdc for 2 hrs. Its always possible that there was voltage over
swing or something. I did check that the voltage on the controllers was
within a0.1 vdc of the battery voltage at the Fortresses. I'm now using
a pair
High voltage disconnect would do this, is the site monitored
Fun times
On Tue, Aug 27, 2024, 2:47 PM jay via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> I have a buddy in tech support at Fortress.
>
> I asked him and he said that elevated absorb volts above 55.2 could cause
> this
I have a buddy in tech support at Fortress.
I asked him and he said that elevated absorb volts above 55.2 could cause this
situation.
And then the power cycle would reboot the BMS.
I am presuming its open loop, and the fact you mentioned that there was more PV
and then the shut down sure migh
The SPD was on one of the PV inputs before it came into the house.
There were two Classics, each fed with its own PV input and SPD. It
actually caused an underground splice to fail (high resistance) which I
replaced the splice and restored full voltage, and both Classics were
working fine. J
When I have had someone lose an SPD (I assume it was on DC buss) there
is often latent damage (shows up later) to many of the devices. In a Hi
Rel mode, it is recommended to replace it all. Most offgrid is not that
critical but try telling that to someone with rotten food.
The freezers and re
Fortress support is so bad I can’t use them anymore. JayOn Jul 25, 2024, at 1:26 PM, Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches wrote:Not sure what tell you about your Envy True 12 if its missing the terminal blocktheir tech support now takes hours or days to respond,(six months ago it was immediate) and
No wonder I'm confused, this inverter is missing the terminal block that
the manual references.
Does anyone have a good, direct number for Fortress tech support that will
pick up. I'm getting nothing...
Thanks!
On Thu, Jul 25, 2024, 7:39 AM Jay via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
yes it does. on pg 15 of the install manual. The diagram shows pinouts wilh
E-stop connected. These are normally jumpered together when not using an
external RSD.
On Thu, Jul 25, 2024 at 9:30 AM Mac Lewis via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Hello Wrenches,
>
> Does anyon
Hi Lewis
Yes both the 12 and 18 have RSD
It’s a button on the left side.
Shuts off AC and PV
Jay
> On Jul 25, 2024, at 7:30 AM, Mac Lewis via RE-wrenches
> wrote:
>
>
> Hello Wrenches,
>
> Does anyone know if the 12kW Envy inverter has remote stop capability? I
> need an external butt
The evault doesn’t see the multiple inputs, just like any battery. The envy % reading via web is working well. And yes it’s a bit weird to the solar from the inverter not add up to the daily charge numbers But it’s working fine If you follow oem charge instructions the open loop voltages are a bit
It would be sweet if the Fortress Envy had auxiliary shunts like the Radian
for measuring multiple power sources, but alas it does not.
I have systems with as many as -4- online platforms, due to multiple
inverter brand upgrades and AC-coupling.through the years. And when I need
to see critical po
Yes, remotely at least. You need a mate 3S to monitor any outback product
if you want to see it on opticsRE.
But the Evault state of charge should give an accurate calculation,
regardless of where the charging Current is coming from.
*Kirk Herander / **kirkh@vermont.solar *
*Owner|Principal, VT
You and the client lose the ability to monitor it all in one place do
you not?
Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
[1]https://offgridsolar1.com/ [2] [1]
e-mail offgridso...@sti.net
text 209 813 0060
On 2024-06-29 4:48 pm, Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches wrote:
All,
No problem at all. I just did a system exactly like that. Works fine. JayOn Jun 29, 2024, at 5:49 PM, Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches wrote:All,I'm wondering if there are any precautions if charging a Fortress Evault LFP bank using 1 or more OB charge controllers, in tandem with an Envy inverter P
Does the Avalon system have the ability to monitor an AC 400 amp service?
I know the Envy does not. I ran into this in one of my installs, the envy
does not support paralleling CTs to monitor paralleled main feeds.
And besides, you can’t, at least several months ago even monitor a single
feed 400 a
Hey Darryl,
I got involved with the Schneider Home all in one (same thing as
Fortress Avalon) Before that I was involved with another Schneider HV
all in one long before Solark. Omnia failed to get to market. I get the
hee bee jeebies with that kind of voltage offgrid. The numerous various
fa
It’s an interesting design. I went to a seminar on it. Wiring the main power distribution center, is a bit tricky with how they designed or not wire room. Probably want to use cobra wire. The battery voltage design is unusual in that more batteries increases the voltage, not bad just different. We
I am looking at going high voltage as opposed to 48 volts. This is my
largest battery system, I have a large distance between battery and
inverter, 40 feet, the cost of wire, 50 kW, at 50 volts is 1000 amps. I am
thinking this is too big for me.
On Tue, May 14, 2024, 7:29 PM Mac Lewis via RE-wren
Dave,
Just to play devils advocate, what are your reasons as to why high voltage
isn’t worthy of OG?
I say this being firmly stuck in 48VDC off-grid systems.
Kindly,
Chris
On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 8:42 PM William Miller via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Dave:
>
> H
Dave:
Have you actually used the product?
William Miller
Miller Solar.com
805-438-5600
www.millersolar.com
On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 5:38 PM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via RE-wrenches
wrote:
> Huge mistake to me to use high voltage battery. I am biased for offgrid.
>
>
>
> *Dave Angelini Offg
Huge mistake to me to use high voltage battery. I am biased for
offgrid.
Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
[1]https://offgridsolar1.com/ [2] [1]
e-mail offgridso...@sti.net
text 209 813 0060
On 2024-05-14 5:28 pm, Mac Lewis via RE-wrenches wrote:
Hello Wrenches,
*From:* Jay [mailto:jay.pe...@gmail.com]
*Sent:* Thursday, February 15, 2024 5:50 AM
*To:* will...@millersolar.com; RE-wrenches
*Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Fortress
Hi william
Could you share the equipment used and what issues you had?
Thx
Jay
On Feb 14, 2024, at 3:13 PM, William Mill
Yes, the site I mentioned is only for the fortress envy inverter.
I’ve had the same weather as you, being in northern Vermont, that is where
that system crashed that I mentioned in the previous email, definitely did
not reach a full state of charge in January.
The national weather service report
Kirk,
That site looks specifically for the Envy inverters. Do you know if the
Guardian site is working? My credentials will not get me in at this time.
www.app.fortresspower.io
My sites have no comms between the batteries and the inverter, since it is
an Outback system.
And yes, there is certain
So this is all open loop with outback correct? I can't even get into
Simplyphi. website today. Maybe the windows update...
The battery below was suppose to be networkable but it looks like not
much progress.
* Model: AmpliPHI 3.8kWh
* Inverter compatibility: Sol-Ark, SMA (coming so
Is it similar to my problem with my Simplify batteries? Over time, the BMS
did not allow all cells to charge the same. To correct this, I had to
charge each battery separately, and after this, they stayed equivalent for
more years.
On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 7:50 AM Jay via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@
I also have been having some issues with reported SOC through the Guardian
with Fortress. Fortress is generally responsive, although no one has
specifically addressed my concern yet. What I have seen with two recent
eFlex installations (replacing an existing battery bank on an off-grid
system) is t
Hi williamCould you share the equipment used and what issues you had?ThxJayOn Feb 14, 2024, at 3:13 PM, William Miller via RE-wrenches wrote:Peter: I have only purchased one set of Fortress batteries. There have been issues, I am sure many of them self-induced. Fortress has been overall very re
Peter:
I have only purchased one set of Fortress batteries. There have been
issues, I am sure many of them self-induced. Fortress has been overall
very responsive. There have been a few days where I could not get through
to technical support but with persistence I always manage. Fortress has
Hi Peter,
I was called in to consult on a new existing 4x Fortress E flex /
Schneider XWP system that worked fine open loop but never communicated
with the Schneider gateway. Fortress to their credit sent a tech out and
he did Fortress FW and a PC exchange. Still not working.
The owner was u
The BMS in the eVault Classic has been a headache.
Fortunately, we were able to convince Fortress to let us proactively
replace the BMS in some of our systems - especially the remote off-grid
systems. We are still having problems with weird SOC readings on many of
the batteries. Apparently the SOC
AM
*To:* RE-wrenches
*Cc:* Kirk Herander
*Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Fortress remote monitoring
Yep, I found this out when I installed my first Fortress Evault / Envy
inverter combo last month.
What was also a bit different at first is the fact there are -2- different
apps: the Guardian
Yep, I found this out when I installed my first Fortress Evault / Envy
inverter combo last month.
What was also a bit different at first is the fact there are -2- different
apps: the Guardian gateway app and the Envy inverter app. I bought the
guardian thinking it was the only way to see the syste
Here is an official communication from Fortress that we received recently
when inquiring about monitoring Fortress batteries as an Installer. Some
of you may find the info relevant.
-- Forwarded message -
From:
Date: Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 12:37 PM
Subject: Re:[## 5635 ##] Remote M
Interesting on the "mesh" wifi. That is good to know.
And yes, the site I linked is for the Guardian data. I don't know if there
is a separate site for the Envy data, but I'll find out in a couple weeks
when I install my first Envy inverter system. For what it's worth, their
tech support has been e
Yeah, I tried that site the other day, my browser gave me warning messages,
so I left it alone. So that site will be online access to the Guardian
gateway data? I wonder if thats true for the Envy app also.
PS I found out the Guardian gateway will not recognise a newer "mesh" wifi
signal. Fortress
Kirk,
I know that with the Guardian Battery monitor the app is working, but they
are doing a major overhaul on the website. My login info does not work on
the website right now, and I am told that it will not be available until
the new year. The website is:
https://app.fortresspower.io/
Cheers,
D
Kirk,
I was going to make the jump to Fortress Envy after the recent NABCEP
conference. Seemed like a good way to go, i.e. one company to deal with and
about same features as SA. When I went to purchase from well known (unnamed)
dist, I was warned away due to unresolved issues with AC coupling.
Kirk
Personally I would go with solark that's what they do, make inverters not
other stuff just like I would use Fortress for the battery because that's
what they do, is it similar sure but why? If it's the same then go with a
known product and track record, we are seeing this mre and more and that
Hello, just an onion of an old person. I have needed a lot of tech help, I
find Sol-Ark the best tech, So I would go with experiance.
On Thu, Jun 1, 2023 at 11:19 AM Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I am sizing my first Fortress system, 1
This is incorrect. Deye does not make the ENVY.
Contact me off list if you want to discuss
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 1, 2023, at 12:28 PM, Jay via RE-wrenches
> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Kirk
>
> It’s the same Chinese company who makes both. Deye
>
> If I understand correctly sol ark’s excl
Kirk,
I have not tried the new Envy inverter, and at the moment am slightly
reluctant to do so, mostly because I have gone all in on Sol-Ark/eVault Max
setups for battery based systems and I hate having more and more different
products to stay on top of. That being said, I attended an Envy webinar
Hi KirkIt’s the same Chinese company who makes both. Deye If I understand correctly sol ark’s exclusive arrangement with Deye ended. JayOn Jun 1, 2023, at 10:19 AM, Kirk Herander via RE-wrenches wrote:Hello All,I am sizing my first Fortress system, 18.5kwh LFPs w/ their new ENVY inverter. Or woul
olar LLC (installation and consulting company)
maxfieldso...@hotmail.com<mailto:maxfieldso...@hotmail.com>
(801) 631-5584 (Cell)
From: RE-wrenches on behalf of
Chris Schaefer via RE-wrenches
Sent: Thursday, February 9, 2023 11:01 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Cc: Chris Sc
Ray,
I'd suggest reaching out to the Fortress techie's as they just introduced a
heater product for their enclosure products. While I don't believe they
have a unit specif to the eVault but you should be able to make it work.
Christopher
On Wed, Feb 8, 2023 at 6:43 PM Jerry Shafer via RE-wrenche
Pet heater have worked for me, I air gap a sealed heater box under the
battery, thermostat inside the top of the battery. It's slow and low power
but does the trick
Fun times
On Wed, Feb 8, 2023, 3:05 PM Ray Walters via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
> Hi All;
>
> I have
@hotmail.com<mailto:maxfieldso...@hotmail.com>
(801) 631-5584 (Cell)
From: RE-wrenches on behalf of Ray
Walters via RE-wrenches
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 1:14 PM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Cc: Ray Walters
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Fortress Bat
Hey all, I really like Fortress and I’ve had amazingly good experiences with
their support. I have had 3 different interactions with Fortress technical
support. They’ve supported me very very well. They don’t have a good phone
number for me to call, but I fill out an online ticket and then the a
Fortress has been great for me/and my clients and they have webinars all
the time.Not sure why you guy's are not going to them?
Below is one this week.
Aloha Jeremy,I would like to join this call.We have numerous Fortress systems installed.Sent from a IPhone, with touch screen keys on the fly. Please excuse shortcuts and typos. Roland ShackelfordNABCEP CERTIFIED PV INSTALLERPresident Renewable Energy Services (RES), Inc. Mobile: 808-938-9239www.r
This is great to hear even as l have used fortress with no tech support
issues but rather than a phone conversation a zoom might be better as you
can hear and see from the horses mouth. Add in all the notes of all of the
questions and get an answer back one time not a dozen.
Just a thought
Jerry
O
HI Wrenches,
A couple of weeks ago this thread came up - main topic was lack of tech support
from Fortress. A few days later I was contacted by Marc Zeitlin, Fortress’s
Regional sales manager Midwest. We haven’t used Fortress yet, but I basically
reiterated the concerns that were expressed on
Wrenches and Ray
So did you properly configuer the master slave battery config, I have
several set up with no issues SOC is within1 to 2% and volatge is the same,
what inverter/chargers are you using are you still connnected to bat temp
sensors I assume there is no connection to the inverter(s)
Jer
I finally heard back from Fortress, I'm going to try their suggestion of
"equalizing" the batteries at 55.5 v, and adjust some settings. I'll
report back to the list on what I come up with. This is an interesting
application: quad stack of VFX inverters with Midnite CCs. Using the
aux out o
Hi Ray,
I would suggest pushing the latest firmware update to both units.
https://www.fortresspower.com/firmware/
re: tech support…
I have had good luck speaking directly to Tom:
Thomas Honey
Fortress Power
Applications Engineering
(215) 613-4318 x4318
t...@fortresspower.com
I agree that Fort
Hi Ray,
I have been having a difficult time communicating with Fortress as well. I
filed a support ticket several times and only got a response a couple of
days later asking another question that was easily answered, but then do
not receive any reply to that without filing another support ticket,
My experience and advice from Tech Support at Fortress was NOT to network
the eVault 18.5 with only 2 batteries. We just installed two eVault18.5
with one Sol-Ark12K. The communication doesn't work properly with only two
batteries. The tech advised to run both batteries independently as Masters,
wh
I think this was mentioned by others, but Fortress confirmed to me today
that closed loop only works with one or two evault batteries with Sol-Ark.
More than that and communications breaks down. They're working on a fix,
but they told me that there are no guarantees. They could not give me a
date.
Hi Jay,
Yes, when installed in a closed loop configuration, the Sol Ark uses the
SOC% provided by the BMS...which can be used to control the AGS.
On Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 1:58 PM Jay wrote:
> Thx Chris.
>
> Does the sol ark use the % info from the batteries for ags operation?
>
> Jay
>
> On Feb 1
Thx Chris.
Does the sol ark use the % info from the batteries for ags operation?
Jay
> On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:10 AM, Chris Sparadeo wrote:
>
>
> Jay,
>
> I have installed the eFlex paired with Sol Ark and it was very straight
> forward. You need to make a modified RJ45 cable, but other tha
Jay,
I have installed the eFlex paired with Sol Ark and it was very straight
forward. You need to make a modified RJ45 cable, but other than that, it’s
pretty much plug and play. I believe that Fortress is still working on
their WiFi monitoring for the eFlex...They say the eVault will be closed
lo
Jay,
I worked with them on the XW to close the loop. They did get it working
with Eflex and it is easy to commission. However, they were not able to get
the conext insight data out to the cloud totally implemented. Until they
prove that to me, I will stay with Discover AES. The site at the bottom
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