Modular Home Battery Systems are Getting Good: Anker SOLIX F3800

[@ElectricProAcademy]

Sorry we've gone under the radar recently, folks! Excited to share some more innovations in energy storage in the near future.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Happy Easter! Excited to watch your video on this as I just posted one about the Home Power Panel as well! Also, would you be interested in doing a video collaboration by chance? I think our KZbin audiences overlap quite a lot.

[@ElectricProAcademy]

😲 We're big fans, Ben! Please email us at [e-mail] and let's brainstorm!

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@ElectricProAcademy Will do!

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

30:28 Isn't 6awg supposed to be continuous white for the neutral by code? (NEC 200.6 Means of Identifying Grounded Conductors) Also, those wires are VERY COZY in that 3/4! 32:24 I was also confused by this. Obviously, the transformer would be the source, not the panel! I installed mine with the arrow pointed away from the panel and it worked great. Discovered later that the instructions said the opposite, so not sure what to think... Great content man!

[@lakorai2]

NEC allows 60% fill if the conduit nipple (straight pipe like Ridgid or EMT) is less than 24" in length. But yeah I would have gone with 1" just because pulling the wire would be easier.

[@dubas1974]

The biggest flaw with this unit is that when you are using it, you are not able to use shore power to charge the unit while using it. The only way to charge it is with solar while using it. There is no AC pass through. So if you have a grid power outage, and you run out of stored battery capacity, you can't hook up your generator to charge the F3800 as the 240 output will turn off. The only way is solar. For this reason, I won't buy it until they fix this.

[@mfiels]

Thank you for this comment, was considering getting one and this is a great limitation to be aware of

[@Bigsparky710]

The better option to do which I am going to do , when it dies I start my generator and plug it into my transfer switch then charge the Anker with either solar or AC. Then once it’s charged you can shutoff the generator. Seems like a better option. I want to use this to first off off set some electricity costs as well as allow me to run off grid for quiet some time as I also store propane with a generator and with this system would allow twice or 3 times longer.

[@cawarnick]

Add having to cut to fit those reducing washers to your list of 5 items of feedback at the end of your video?

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

From old school for last 50 years we always painted plywood especially if installed in basements or garages. I got a free piece of exterior plywood & Rust-Oleum paint for the plywood I installed 45 years ago for my basement panel. Paint still shiny and in great shape. Exelon electric states in their Blue Book that any meters including meter can for 4,160 & 13,200 the plywood MUST be painted .

[@SMARTHOMERGV]

Love this content. Battery home backup is definitely a must. Thank you!

[@lorenrickey5481]

I really like the lever lock products. No exposed connections on the sides of the receptacles.

[@rafflesmaos]

I have an Anker small portable power bank and I was surprised to see it UL certified as many aren't. Looks like Solix also recently got a bunch of UL certifications including ESS. Seems that this system is going to be on my shortlist if I ever finish building my house.

[@kc0eks]

Glad to see you back. I'm only here to watch your videos not the random other folks.

[@obediahanderson788]

Hello. I have the Anker SOLIX F3800 + Smart Home Power Kit. Is there an UL listing for both of these products?

[@Shalatee]

I'm confused. Doesn't the manual say to use 3 AWG wiring from the main panel to the HPP? You're using 6 AWG?

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

Not sure if I missed something or know what code cycle your area is in but my thinking is the newly installed duplex receptacle should be on at least a GFCI or AFCI protection.

[@PrestoMoto02]

I just ordered one, the expandability and split phase was too tempting 😅.

[@kenpolzel412]

Very nice work, and you are well spoken also

[@MikeDQB]

I would love to install this but I'm not an electrician. I am sure I can follow the directions - but I do worry about violating code and not knowing it. Fun fun fun.

[@Witcherworks]

My main panned does not have a main breaker within the panel. It’s actually outside in another sub panel. Do I need a main breaker or can I just add the 100 amp breaker without having the main?

[@slip0n0fall]

It's exciting to see these battery bank manufactures getting into what is essentially the hybrid inverter market. Price/kwh can't compete with a dedicated inverter + rack batteries but it is an attractive package no less. I believe it's only 60A to backup load panel? The other 40A, I suspect, is dedicated to charge batteries.

[@wills2262]

They are getting closer. If they could come up with a service rated "smart panel kit" that would be the ticket. Something similar to standby generator ATS's. The battery costs might be coming down, but tearing into a panel, to make a critical load subpanel. Lot of complexity.

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

Believe the short els that you used have too tight of a bending radius for #6 wire. Always tried not to bend wire or NMB cable less then 6 times the diameter of wire. Years ago a township inspector gave me a hard time when I pulled three #12 stranded THWN wires thru one short radius elbow. Was coming out of a trough to bypass safety switch that feed a three phase starter. This inspector never allowed you to run more then the wires for line , load & a ground wire in any safety switches.

[@hunterstark9556]

Love your old man type of jokes! 😂😂 huge fan of your channel wish I knew or could learn the trade from you man. Keep up the great work! ❤❤❤

[@lakorai2]

PECRON for the win

[@stevekraft4241]

Why did you NOT install a 20 amp outlet?

[@davidbailey3289]

Question Could you use this setup on a totally off grid cabin where say you wired up an anker f3800 or something to a generator inlet and then you run the wires from the inlet to the main lugs as L1 and L2? This is an idea I had and was told to me but I didn't know if there would be any issues I would need to address like a possible disconnect or something.

[@ralami6183]

Thank You, Learned A Lot!

[@larrymcintyre4407]

this is way to confusing for a non-electrician so I wouldn't even try it. Unfortunately I have been totally unable to find a certified technician who is familiar with the process. I provided the install instructions to 3 separate electricians and they never returned with an estimate. on their visit, Each of them told me that they had installed external generator interlock and that's how they would install this. It appears that the trades are slow to catching up.

[@crimsonburngaming]

What’s the average cost that an electrician would charge to install that?

[@israeljoseph5572]

Not sure if I am asking the right question, but why get this over something like a Tesla Powerwall or the Frankling Whole House battery backup? I understand that this seems more economical, but am just curious to make sure am not missing anything....Great video...

[@ElectricProAcademy]

Largely economical, though as we've reflected on it, we love this solution for non-solar customers who are just looking for battery backup because it allows the F3800 to still be used as a portable power station for outdoor or off-grid applications, instead of just the 3% of the time when a customer might lose power. If you are a solar customer, the F3800 + HPP is still a fantastic option, though a little younger in the market and lower capacity.

[@davidbailey3289]

Actually if there was some way to bypass the grid requirement and just use this for off grid then it would be perfect for my tiny cabin. Got a 100 amp panel and so basically I would switch everything over or something. Maybe grab an extra anker and run a inlet box instead or at least trick the system into thinking I have grid power

[@johnsandlinjr]

was the paper template not the right dimensions for the actual brackets?

[@ElectricProAcademy]

The template was large enough for the brackets, but not large enough to stand in for the footprint of the device, so positioning the HPP relative to the main panel and the critical loads panel just had to be trial and error. 😒

[@hodesto]

Love your content. Wish you would explain code with breaker spec and outlet spec. I guess it's legal to install a 15amp outlet on a 20amp breaker like you did. Thanks

[@michaeljavert4635]

I hope to get to a point in my life, I can afford to do this. I also want solar instead of a reliance on the grid. Really stick it to the Ameren Nazis too, as a bonus. I was unaware that Anker had these kind of products and was considering Eco Flow, per Everyday Home Repairs whom speaks highly of you. I like those lever ideas on these outlets, but I am not a fan of Decora style. The only exception to that is GFCI and I am not really a fan of those, either. Will change out the breakers when needed with GFCI breakers if that will work. Then change back to traditional duplex I like. Hope they get levers for those. It would also be nice if those, and the Wago people would work on connections with teeth so that wire need not be stripped. Make it super easy, especially for those of us with arthritis and dexterity issues. Advice, I noticed you used a nut on the back of your screw. Those tabs work, so you don't need a nut. Saves money and having the issues dealing with losing a nut. Their shape also make it tighten down without needing a wrench or using your fingers. My OCD caught that the box wasn't bonded with a wire, which I realize isn't necessary, since the receptacle is grounded, and carries to the yoke and the offset (fitting) as I call it, also carried ground. But like I said my "OCD" goblins in my head make me mention it. I like that neutrals are separated from the grounds. I realize it is required in sub panels. I hope I live to see the day it dawns on NEC to also require it in main panels. I am not a fan of this "SMART" stuff either. One little glitch and you've got really big bills because an electrician likely won't know how to diagnose or fix the electronic components. Electrical, yes, electronic components, not likely. I love Klein Tools, especially the NCV testers. I have 2 of those, I like it that much. I do wish they were plastic and rechargeable. Then I'd love them even more. I always test mine before and after too. Even double check. I don't know that I like the idea of those clamps on wires like that. Too much of something moving around. They should be marked clearly and more affixed to the wire if absolutely necessary, but I also don't like the idea of my house connecting to the Internet. It's just more tracking that can be done, and dire consequences if there is a cyber attack, and even worse, they figure out a way to steal your money.

[@user-hi2oi1yh6q]

Great video

[@masalachaimasta]

"Nice heavy foot pressure"? With those Sketchers??? Get some damn boots on, brother! JK. Nice video, Electric Pro. 😇

[@ElectricProAcademy]

😂

[@Panhead49EL]

Fun edit.

[@a.g8517]

super

[@Edsmedley]

New sub - stud pack sent me

[@johngammon6875]

👍

[@kickgas7171]

No they're not. They still use old fashion, high frequency, transformerless inverter tech that provides a far poorer surge capacity and a much shorter life expectancy than low frequency, transformer based inverters.

[@sybille2359]

"Promosm" 😌

[@DanielRichards644]

Please don't make intros like that with the flying text like you are making a KZbin Short, that crap almost made me turn off the video it was so annoying.

[@ElectricProAcademy]

Hey @DanielRichards644! We originally added the captions to the intro for browsing viewers to be able to understand the video when it auto-plays (which is muted); however, upon reading your comment and reviewing KZbin's home screen it appears that KZbin is already providing closed captioning, so we may need to revisit that. Thanks for the input.

[@dannybradley9346]

Surely it is good and less expensive than others, but...Who is Anker owned by? Anker is a Chinese electronics brand owned by Anker Innovations. based in Shenzhen, Guangdong.Nov 23, 2017. Made by Chinese communists, sorry.