Finally! Powerful 100AH EG4 battery charger installed and tested | Living off the grid

[@stormcrow1112]

Great video! I called Signature Solar immediately and had them add this to my solar panel order. I also had them add two of those disconnect boxes and breakers you show under your inverters.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Awesome, really hope everything works out for you! We have been living completely off-grid for over a year and a half now and we absolutely love it! Never want to go back to public utilitites.

[@stormcrow1112]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid our plan is to grow our own food and live off-grid for the rest of our lives. We hope to only have bills for insurance, propane (gas stove) and Starlink satellite service.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Nice, that is a very admirable goal! We have the same aspirations but we are taking it one step at a time haha once we finish the house and move in we will have more time to dedicate towards sustainable homesteading, although we do what we can right now with our chickens/ducks amd rabbits.

[@stormcrow1112]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I wish I was as young as you when I realized I wanted what I'm chasing now. The body is sore at the end of a hard working day at the farm. But it's a good sore building our dream of peace in the country living by God's rule off the land we have been blessed with. Today it's about planting pecan trees.

[@trevortrevortsr2]

You should leave the voltage setting at 55.5volts and let the current limiter do its job - Charging needs headroom ie the difference between charge voltage and the battery voltage for the current to flow - its normal for current to taper off as they approach equilibrium - Most Lithium chargers bulk charge cells at 57.6v( 3.6v per cell) then absorb at 55.2v (3,45v per cell) for 2 hr

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

That's what I have it set too

[@t.d.harris1311]

Running your generator at about 80 percent or less of its running watts will surely make it last longer. The sweet spot for the Honda clones is about 50 percent of the running watts. Great video!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

💯 Absolutely right. Thanks for watching!

[@chrisloving6647]

Help the fuel economy

[@AdamDeLayDIY]

Woohoo! Been waiting for this one. Saw it sitting on your battery cabinet in a previous video. Kinda felt like you were teasing everyone... 😁 Again, has to be a good feeling knowing that even on cloudy days you have the ability to recharge with clean power simply by turning on your generator and flipping a switch. Keep up the great work!

[@VinceBadovinatz88]

Very true after learning about these I was happy I had a charger on my system that I ran with the generator I just happened to do it on accident. cuz I needed a way to charge my system. But I'm sure glad I figured it out I will be buying one of these for my 48 volt system soon

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Yes, I was very excited to finally install and test this charger! So far I have been very happy. My ONLY beef with this charger is that it is specifically marketed by EG4 to work with the EG4 batteries but it does not have the ability to communicate with the EG4 Battery monitoring system to automatically adjust the charge profile. It is constant current output only and leads me to have concerns about longterm use affecting battery health.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Definitely a must have with a large battery bank capacity!

[@AdamDeLayDIY]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid yeah there’s a few things that have been discussed on the forum. One would be a slow ramp up to the set charging current as opposed to just going full blast as soon as it detects power. I think comms would be nice but also a relay that the inverter could control to turn it on/off would be a very helpful as well.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Yes, 100% agree.

[@mikekrueger3929]

Excellent! This is the best step-by-step video on the chargeverter I've found. Thank you for sharing!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Glad it was helpful!

[@loucinci3922]

Way to go. Installed and charging. Awesome troubleshooting the chargeverter to match your genny. Thanks for sharing

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Yes, that was trial by error and the user manual was not much help for understanding how to dial in the proper generator load current

[@loghomebuilder407]

The new EG4 chargeverter ramps up charging current slowly upon startup so the generator can handle it without a huge surge.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

@loghomebuilder407 nice! I was wondering what is different about the newer model. I think it can also communicate with the EG4 BMS, but don't quote me on that...

[@basspig]

There must be a difference in the operating firmware between the earlier charge verders and the one that I got. Mine takes a full minute to ramp up from 0 to where it ends up at about 94 amps. It comes up at about 3 4 amps and then 7 amps then 10 amps eventually working its way up into the 20s and 30s and then after a full minute it finally reaches the setting which brings it to 94 amps. They must have changed the firmware to make it a soft start like this because of the problem you're experiencing.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

It is possible but I'm not even sure the original version has undateable firmware...it is very basic

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Now that I think about it mine acts similar; however, I attributed the ramping amps that are displayed on the display due to lag in the display hardware/software as it detects current go from 0 to whatever the device is set to. I can tell by listening to my generator that upon flipping the breaker full load is placed on the generstor immediately, so there is no actual current ramp up from a load standpoint.

[@basspig]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I think they discovered that generators were being shocked with the high inrush current and decided to program a ramp up soft start. Mine takes a full minute to reach full output.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Hmm I'll have to check with Signature solar and see if there are different versions

[@basspig]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I think it would be worth contacting them and letting them know. Maybe they might either find a firmware update or swap the unit.

[@Salbritt]

Very helpful, i have Sol Ark 12 k and trying to decide if i run through the inverter or do what youve done. My generator is a Champion Inverter Hybrid with clean power and 5500 running amps (6250) peak.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

If by clean you mean it has a pure sine wave AC output, then it should be fine to run through your inverter. It is also good to have a chargeverter as a backup too though

[@norsk54472]

I don't have eg4 batteries, but I want this charger. thanks for the review

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

It is a must have with a large battery bank capacity!

[@norsk54472]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid 60kwh

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Nice, just curious, what size battery cables are you using?

[@norsk54472]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid 4/0. I started with a 24v system and needed the bigger ones, when I switched to 48v just kept them. I use Tesla Model S modules

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Very interesting! Just curious because I have 30kwhr bank and i was told that in order to meet NEC requirements i had to use two 350mcm cables up to the first overprotective device and those cables are huge...

[@Sage-Preston]

Nice video good content. I bought one of these almost a year ago and I still haven't gotten around to hooking it up.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I use mine abount 4-5 times a month when we get full clouds/rain for more than a day. I've tried running my generator through the inverter AC input and the biggest problem I have is the inverters switch to bypass mode which causes the AC side to be powered directly from the generator, which causes load unstability with the generator as I turn appliances on/off. While I wish I could just run the input through the inverters, this little device just saves them from taking a beating and allows the inverters to just do their thing with inverting DC from the batteries to 120 AC output. It has worked great for me so far. My biggest concern with this device is that it does not sync with EG4 BMS and therefore does not follow the recommended EG4 LifePo4 charge profile. I do not know how repeated long term use of this device will impact lifetime performance of the batteries and I did not find any info from signature solar about potential performance issues.

[@michaelclark2704]

What does it do when the batteries are full. Do the charging amps go down. We never saw the end of the story. I want to use this for grid-assist and just plug it into utility power. My off grid system cannot back feed into the utility. And when the sun doesn't shine, need some help. Will the charge inverter figure out when to start and stop?

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

The newer model has a generator start-stop capability if you have a generator that can be wired for auto start. As it reaches the voltage setpoint current will go down to almost zero but the old model won't stop the generator. Check out the latest model and if you end up purchasing one consider using our affiliate link to support our channel (no extra cost to you) EG4 Chargeverter (new model): signaturesolar.com/eg4-chargeverter-gc-48v-100a-battery-charger-5120w-output-240-120v-input/?ref=diyordie

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

Thanks COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Thanks for watching!

[@jasonweb9720]

I have the same problem with the start up surge. They need the charger to ramp up slower. Mine works great. But i have so much solar gen is really just a back up. 💪

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Yes, ramp would be nice! What kind of solar setup do you have?

[@jasonweb9720]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I have the full battery rack with the life power 48volt. One 6500 inverter and charger like you have. And 5300 kw of bi facial panels 445 watt on a gmx. For the price you can’t go wrong.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Nice! So are you just running 120V on one inverter? IF we didn't need to run AC all day we would be able to survive with our 4000W arrays (2 strings with 5 x 400W panels each). But I'm planning on adding 2 more strings for a total of 25 panels. This will bring us up to ~10Kw max power and should allow us to Run AC all day and still fully charge the batteries on sunny day

[@GavinStoneDIY]

Nice work. Keep up the good content.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback!

[@trumpingtonfanhurst694]

Informative and helpful, thanks!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Hope it was helpful!

[@Solar2go]

Your 4800 watts continuous 240v output for your generator is only 20 Amps. Trying to input more than that into your charger is overloading the generator. Set your charger to match the output of your generator and no more. You'll need to check the specifications for the EG4 Chargeverter 5000 to optimize the charger load to the generator output. As another example, my generator has 7200 watts continuous output which for 240VAC is 30 Amps.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

100%, I didn't include the math in the video but I did include a few clips of my in process tweaking of the Volt/current settings. Another factor that has to be considered is the surge current/voltage fluctuation on startup. This was the biggest issue I ran into was finding setpoint values that wouldn't trip the chargeverter when placing the generator under load. You can either start the chargeverter at a lower setpoint and then raise the charging voltage/current once the gen is loaded or you can just pick a setting that wont trip anything when you flip the breaker

[@rongray4118]

Why are your batteries at difference states of charge? I thought the entire point of these batteries was to have a balanced system on a continual basis. Thanks for any insight! I am just beginning to learn off grid electrical.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Great question, I'm not a chemistry expert, so I'm not sure how the actual LiFePO4 cells work internally....but the charging current and voltage is equally distributed between all batteries.

[@unionse7en]

@9:21 could make out what you said about the "On" button...... Can these be used "automatically"... i.e using AGS (Auto Generator Start) to start a generator with the chargeverter permanently connected to the battery and generator. No manual intervention any time. Will the generator bog down on starting etc. IF I had to, I could put my delay circuitry in between the chargeverter and the genny but.... It seems like this might not be intended for automatic operation.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I don't think the chargeverter was intended for automatic starting; however, I like the idea and with some modifications to the generator and using a raspberry pie or arduino, I think it would be possible to create an auto-start function

[@oswaldmosley6179]

I would like to get this, my generator is 3550 continuous watts, hopefully its enough. I am not experienced with this stuff but I am trying to put a solar system together and this is part of what I want to get.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Good luck with your system! The chargeverter is great, your generator would be fine. Charging time will depend on how big your battery bank is.

[@oswaldmosley6179]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I plan on 100ah 48v, I already have a 12v one but things have gotten SOOO much better since 2021 I regret not saving the money.

[@loucinci3922]

Good install. Nice job. FYI..@ 4:49 the big red wire going to battery bus bar looks as though you did not apply heat to the shrink tube to actually shrink the tube - its loose? Same for the black cable too. I'm sure that is okay as the conductors are covered. It just looks different?

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Yep, you're right. I just never got around to doing it. It's on the list of things to do, just really low priority 😄. Good eye!

[@offgridliving4128]

I’m kinda wondering if this is a Chinese all in one thing? I have a Magnum 4448 PAE I use it as a charger all the time. It will run off any generator I plug it into. It has so far ran off Honda eu2000 a cheap harbor freight 4k a Champion 2500 duel fuel on propane a Champion 3100 and now a Champion 8.5kw home standby. But Magnum gives me the ability to change the charge rate percentage and drop out voltage. So if the generator can’t keep up the Magnum just drops the low input voltage and returns to inverting.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I like that automatic dropout feature on the magnum. That is exactly what the chargeverter needs to solve this issue. I can manually set the charging voltage/Amps but if I set it too high it either trips a breaker or stalls out the generator instead of automatically reducing the load. Anyways, it works great once I find the sweet spot for my generator load.

[@lugo2214]

Excellent lesson

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Glad it was informative!

[@bearupfarm1818]

I have been advised by Signiture Solar tech and there recommendation that I should not charge the batteries with the inverter providing power to the house it may cause problems to the inverter. Have you any problems with yours.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I use my EG4 charger abount 4-5 times a month when we get full clouds/rain for more than a day. I've tried running my generator through the inverter AC input and the biggest problem I have is the inverters switch to bypass mode which causes the AC side to be powered directly from the generator, which causes load unstability with the generator as I turn appliances on/off. While I wish I could just run the input through the inverters, this little device just saves them from taking a beating and allows the inverters to just do their thing with inverting DC from the batteries to 120 AC output. It has worked great for me so far. My biggest concern with this device is that it does not sync with EG4 BMS and therefore does not follow the recommended EG4 LifePo4 charge profile. I do not know how repeated long term use of this device will impact lifetime performance of the batteries and I did not find any info from signature solar about potential performance issues.

[@JonOffgrid]

I had 2 aims burn up I been thinking about trying a eg4

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Good luck! So far mine have been workhorses. I've put over 3 megawatt hours through them in 6 months

[@benkanobe7500]

Can you clarify? My HONDA 2200i is an inverter generator with a Pure Sine Wave. It is a "small" generator compared to my HONDA EB6500 (crude sine wave). While it would take some time, is there any risk to my EG4 Inverter using my HONDA 2200i to charge my batteries through my EG4? Does the Chargeverter 5000 have dip switches or something that adust it for 12VDC, 24VDC, 36VDC, and 48VDC?

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I don't think inverter generators that run a near perfect sine wave output should have any problem with the EG4 inverters. However, if you are concerned about it that would be a good question to ask the technical team at signature solar.

[@benkanobe7500]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid Good idea, I will do just that. Thanks! Excellent presentation!

[@GoodmanMIke59]

Love that you showed every step of the way. Very professional. No herky-jerky cuts. Supplemental video link on a tear down, technical assessment. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYGom4WqdqeWaLcsi=IU-GFR8mJUzDb5rq What you're doing is impressive. I have an older off grid system from about 2011. It's come a long way. Just know that the air duct on this is such that another guy decided to put the output vertically. Doesn't look as good, labeling would be bad. But air flow matters.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Thanks for watching and sharing your feedback. Always appreciate hearing from fellow Off gridders 😁

[@benkanobe7500]

At 7:20 you stated there was not enough solar for it to contribute to charging. If there was enough (solar) for the inverters to add to the charging being provided by the Chargeverter 5000, would that be a problem or would the batteries just charge that much faster?

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I believe the max charging current for the EG4 LL batteries per the manual is 120A @ around 55V...so it can handle a LOT of charging current and I have 6 batteries im parallel so they all equally share the charging current from my two inverters. I would have e to be able to provide 600+ Amps of charging current at 55V to even get close to the batteries max charging current capacity. That would be 33,000 Watts of charging power...even if I had no loads the max power generation from my solar is 10000 Watts and the Max from my generator is 7200 based on my 30A 240V breaker, so I still don't come close to the charging limit even if my generator and Solar were charging the batteries together at 100% power.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

So the short answer is yes, the batteries would just charge faster if I had e generator and Solar charging together. But my goal is to minimize my generator usage since it consumes fuel.

[@benkanobe7500]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid Thank you. I am in the pre-purchase stage and so asking lots of questions of folks with your experience so I don't make so dumb mistakes. Thanks again!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

@benkanobe7500 very smart! Hope it works out for you. I can't say how long the inverters and batteries will last, but they have been a workhorse for the past 6 months and I've ran over 3 megawatts of power through them so far with no major issues.

[@benkanobe7500]

Is your 30amp breaker 220VAC or 120VAC (there are 30amp 120VAC)

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

It is a dual pole 30A breaker. Essentially it is two 120V breakers tied together so that they operate/trip together if either leg is tripped.

[@P81OS2]

Great video!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Hope it was informative!

[@JamesAmbrose48]

You have a 5500 watt generator that should be plenty for a steady sine wave output. I think Signature Solar invented the need for their patented and very expensive device.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

It is a known issue with small engine gasoline generators that the voltage output is only stable within a certain range of optimal load. Also, with major fluctuations of load the voltage can break down as well. The inverters were not designed to handle large voltage fluctuations and the "sensitive electronics" inside the inverter can be damaged. Either way, it's not a risk I really want to take by putting it to the test. The chargeverter has worked out great for me so far.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I don't think they made up the voltage issue, but they are doing the math for max generator size as based on maximum charging current, which can be controlled and reduced in the settings to accommodate a smaller generator. I think a good 10-15kw generator would probably suffice for a whole house backup to run critical loads and be able to charge the batteries within a reasonable time

[@JamesAmbrose48]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I have a Westinghouse 9500 DF. These generators are designed to compete with Generac for whole house emergency power generation. Signature Solar could be honest and only target those trying to charge their expensive server rack batteries with a 1500w Predator they bought at Harbor Freight, but that’s not what is happening. You may feel safer with the device but I think it’s an unnecessary precaution. BTW, if people have $400 lying around to buy gratuitous devices, they could just pay $400 more and buy a better generator.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

@@JamesAmbrose48 that is a nice generator. The issue isn't that the inverter can't handle the house loads, they are saying house loads plus max charging current (per inverter) could easily double the load of the generator depending on how many batteries/inverters you have. Also, the inverters operate in bypass mode when switched to AC input as primary source. This means that the inverter just allows the AC generator current to "pass through" to power the house. So it is just like having your generator run the house loads directly. Now, at the same time the inverters will also place load on the generator to charge the batteries. This is why Signature Solar is warning people that they need to properly size the generator to include all house loads AND account for battery charging load. And the rapid fluctuations in load when large house appliances are turned on/off can affect the stability of the generator output voltage and sine wave. They are being transparent with people by letting them know that the Inverters are more sensitive than house appliances and require a more stable voltage and current. House appliances generally have a larger operating voltage/sine wave tolerance than "sensitive electronics " like the inverters.

[@MyWasteOfTime]

The problem with connecting it to your buss bar is that you won't be able to track the charging with your shunt!

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

I don't have a shunt, but the chargeverter records the charging watt-hrs.

[@matthewknight5641]

I really like your system you have put together. It's nicer than mine for sure. My camper tiny home has a couple separate systems but neither are as large of a system as you have. Thanks for the videos it's cool seeing what other people build

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

We are using it for our RV, but I designed this system to be able to support our entire house off the grid one day. It is much more than what we need just for the camper. If I didn't need to run 240V for the Well pump I would have went with a single inverter just for the RV.

[@matthewknight5641]

@@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid I have 110 3000 watts and 220/110 split phase in my 30 foot camper. It's a bit much also but I run a 220 minisplit so I needed the 4000 watt splitphase also. Hopefully my system will help power my home ine day as too. I wanted the split phase low frequency for the air-conditioning but as you stated for a well pump also. I'm trying to find property at the moment but finding properties where my stuff will be safe while I'm on the road is a challenge. I'm a over the road truck driver and it's nearly impossible to find property I can leave for a month at a time without being robbed while I'm away

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Wow, that is awesome! Best wishes for you to find land that works for you! It's unfortunate that you can't trust your own property to be safe. How many solar panels do you have and do you have then mounted on your RV?

[@buixote]

Mine was DOA. Save your packaging.

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

Ouch, that sucks! Hope Signature Solar made things right for you. I've probably run half a megawatt through mine so far and it has worked great. Who knows how long it will last though

[@Tiersmoke92555]

pulsar 7.5kw

[@dalek2547]

I'd love to see a 10kW chargeverter

[@DIYorDIE_Off-Grid]

That would be cool. I saw a video of a guy who put 12 chargeverters in parallel 😆