Jason Szumlanski <mailto:ja...@floridasolardesigngroup.com>
January 6, 2022 at 5:52 PM
Is anyone installing Storz? From what I understand, they have closed
loop comms with Sol-Ark and a very close working relationship between
manufacturers. I believe all customer support for Storz supplied
Sol-Arks goes through Storz. They have a special Sol-Ark firmware that
they maintain.
Maybe users have a better experience with this collaboration.
Jason Szumlanski
Florida Solar Design Group
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Mac Lewis <mailto:maclew...@gmail.com>
January 6, 2022 at 5:09 PM
Eric and Wrenches,
We have come to the same conclusion. Sol-Ark isn't ready for
prime-time off-grid. Too many glitches...
One serious off-grid disadvantage with Sol-Ark is idle consumption.
It really is much, much higher than older style inverters so it
needs to be factored into the load analysis. The spec sheet is not
accurate. The firmware is all over the place, many glitches and issues.
I do admire that they are diving into the battery communication arena
but voltage control works quite well. If a system can't effectively
keep power on, do we care if the charging algorithm is slightly more
efficient?
My big question, that I've never really understood is why is it so
hard to standardize battery communication? Isn't CanBus, Modbus and
RS-485 a standard? Doesn't that mean that it should be easy
and structured? I must not really get it...
--
Mac Lewis
*
"Yo solo sé que no sé nada." -Sócrates
*
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Christopher Warfel <mailto:cwar...@entech-engineering.com>
January 6, 2022 at 11:59 AM
Eric, Have you had the same issues with SolArk when multi-mode? We
are getting ready to put one in. Chris
On 1/6/2022 1:25 PM, Eric Smiley wrote:
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Eric Smiley <mailto:e...@vecoop.ca>
January 6, 2022 at 10:25 AM
Kirk
We tried using SolArk for off- grid applications but stopped for
several reasons:
- surge on single phase loads
- too many firmware updates (i.e. bugs in the firmware or new
features that are standard in other inverters)
- too many service calls: false positive arc faults, AGS not working,
battery over charging,..
- not modular. If one component has an error, it can take out the
whole system.
- too reliant on an internet connection
- hidden settings that aren't described in the manual - including one
that could only be accessed via the internet and left a customer
without AGS for several months until they hooked up their satellite
internet. We thought we were going to have to replace the inverter.
We've gone back to equipment that does less and has a longer track
record; so we don't feel like we're beta testing equipment with our
clients and we know what the limitations are.
Tech support has been great and the monitoring is quite good. It just
hasn't been reliable enough for full time offgrid.
When we compare the service calls for our Magnum, Outback, Conext,
Trace (yes we still have two SW systems going strong) and SolArk
systems, the initial savings with SokArk disappear. I can't recall the
last time I had to repair/service a Magnum system unless it was user
error.
Keep it simple!
Eric Smiley
Project Manager, North Island
E: e...@vecoop.ca <mailto:e...@vecoop.ca>
T: 1-888-386-0116 ext 702 (toll free)
C: 250-703-6004
W: viridianenergy.ca <http://viridianenergy.ca>
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Jerry Shafer <mailto:jerrysgarag...@gmail.com>
January 6, 2022 at 9:28 AM
Kirk
You can also connect an outback through the NaMaka and the optics,
plus the Outback has better surge power then the SolArk, We use both
Solark and Outback coupled with the Blue Planet, 2.0 and now the 3.0,
Yes solark can do 3 phase including delta, has high voltage dual PV
input, Outback has one big benefit and that is surge along with being
modular from internals to charge controllers, all separate and
serviceable individually
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Kirk Herander <mailto:kirkh@vermont.solar>
January 5, 2022 at 6:44 AM
Hi All,
I am considering changing the inverters on several Blue ion HI LFP
storage systems I'm installing this Spring from Outback Radians to
Sol-Ark. I have no experience w/ Sol-Ark, but it seems more advanced
than the Radian. I'm wondering if Sol-Ark and the BI Namaka
gateway/monitor can directly interface as Namaka can with some
inverter brands. And I'd be interested in hearing of any experiences
you may have as to how nicely these different components play
together. Thanks.
--
*Kirk Herander / **kirkh@vermont.solar <mailto:kirkh@vermont.solar>*
*Owner|Principal, VT Solar, LLC*
*/Celebrating our 31^st Anniversary 1991-2022!!/*
*www.vermont.solar*
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