7.2KW ProPower for Off-Grid Cabin

[Snakebitten]

Not at all. I think there is a little something in his solar configuration that cause the problem with the 7.2KW. As you stated probaly the provider of his solar system might be able to help him. I had a proper panel installed for my house and I run most of my electrical except for oven/dryer and few plugs. I love my 7.2kw and the truck that came with it

Ahhhh. OK.

I'm certainly not an electrician, but I find it intriguing to consider designing an off-grid solar/battery dwelling with the Powerboost as a second source. I figured without the complexity of grid power and the danger of feeding the grid unintentionally, that there would be more options. In fact, couldn't it be designed similar to an RV with solar and big batteries?

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[Hullguy]

The reason you need the proper transfer switch is to isolate your solar power system from the truck When it is suppling power.

do not listen to anyone telling you to lift the bond on the truck!!! The ground fault system is there to protect you. This removes the protection.

you will need a Reliance XSeries or Generac 6852. I don’t know how your inverter is feeding your 120/240v appliances or how the generator is tied in to feed the batteries. I highly suggest bringing a licensed electrician out to install this for you

 

[jeffcrum]

No way you need a transfer switch. Nothing against @Hullguy. I am very impressed with his electrical knowledge.

But, @Snakebitten has the right path here. Your setup should work just like an RV with solar and batteries that can also plug into shore power!

 

[Yves]

Ahhhh. OK.

I'm certainly not an electrician, but I find it intriguing to consider designing an off-grid solar/battery dwelling with the Powerboost as a second source. I figured without the complexity of grid power and the danger of feeding the grid unintentionally, that there would be more options. In fact, couldn't it be designed similar to an RV with solar and big batteries?

Potentially but I don't have a clue about the electrical design of a RV

 

[daemonic3]

Hello,

I've been loooking around the forums and see some discussion about powering a home with the ProPower, the need for a transfer switch, etc. I have an off grid cabin with a solar system and am wondering if there are some cheaper/easier options for me since I'm not connected to the grid? I have a 30A 240V plug that I typically plug into a generator to charge my solar batteries/run the cabin. It faults immediately when I plug into my ProPower.

I've read that I can remove the ground from my cable that goes truck to the solar inverter inside the cabin but not safe. I appreciate any comments/help with this. Thanks.

What's intruiging to me here with all the talk of transfer switches and isolation from the solar in order to use the propower... is that he ALREADY has a system designed to have an external generator as a 2nd source to charge the batteries and run the cabin. I feel like this got overlooked somehow?

What it *sounds* like to me is that his existing generator is a floating neutral and the propower is known to be bonded neutral. The propower is likely throwing the ground fault because of the double bonding (truck and home). Since his house and solar are already designed to have this external generator connection without additional isolation, wouldn't he only need to "transfer" his neutral over from the home bond to the truck bond?

Not trying to argue just trying to learn from the experts here.

 

[Atlee]

The reason you need the proper transfer switch is to isolate your solar power system from the truck When it is suppling power.

do not listen to anyone telling you to lift the bond on the truck!!! The ground fault system is there to protect you. This removes the protection.

you will need a Reliance XSeries or Generac 6852. I don’t know how your inverter is feeding your 120/240v appliances or how the generator is tied in to feed the batteries. I highly suggest bringing a licensed electrician out to install this for you

A transfer switch similar to a Class A or Class B or Class C. All 3 of those have an automatic transfer switch which automatically switches from on board generator and shore power, dependinf on the source of electricity.

 

[Hullguy]

The reason you need the proper transfer switch is to isolate your solar power system from the truck When it is suppling power.

do not listen to anyone telling you to lift the bond on the truck!!! The ground fault system is there to protect you. This removes the protection.

you will need a Reliance XSeries or Generac 6852. I don’t know how your inverter is feeding your 120/240v appliances or how the generator is tied in to feed the batteries. I highly suggest bringing a licensed electrician out to install this for you

Not to be argumentative, but to state how I see it.
the current off grid system has it’s own existing grounding/bonding system. When you introduce the Powerboost you add a second grounding/bonding system. The Powerboost “sees” the off grid bonding system and goes into fault. This is why I feel you do need the transfer switch.

 

[Gros Ventre]

The issue here is that there is a ground inside the house that the truck is sensing. Since the house is not grid connected there is no need for the transfer switch. I suspect the simplest solution would be to disconnect (eg open the breaker) the solar system when using the truck.

 

[jeffcrum]

So, we aren't talking about switching from generator to shore power. He is using a generator as shore power.

The 'shore power' should take in a bonded neutral/ground just fine.

There is something not wired correctly with the charge controller.

 

[daemonic3]

So, we aren't talking about switching from generator to shore power. He is using a generator as shore power.

The 'shore power' should take in a bonded neutral/ground just fine.

There is something not wired correctly with the charge controller.

This is why I'm so confused. The battery charge controller is already seemingly designed to have 2 sources (generator and solar) to manage itself. I don't know why a portable genny would not need a transfer switch while a propower genny would require it (as suggested by others here) unless it is strictly for that neutral.

Curious why 'shore power' should be able to take in a bonded neutral ground though? I've read elsewhere (probably on this forum) how you can't have the neutral bond in 2 places. I thought that was part of what the grid-based home transfer switches do - switch the hots and neutral to the propower.

Perhaps I'm just way lost and confused.

 

[Yves]

@OT66 do you have information than you can provide about your current configuration? We are guessing solutions/options for you but we don't have a clue about your configuration.....

 

[OT66]

@OT66 do you have information than you can provide about your current configuration? We are guessing solutions/options for you but we don't have a clue about your configuration.....

I'll give as much info. as I can. I have a L14-30 male plug outside that for years has plugged into a portable generator/inverter. That goes to my Magnum inverter (MS 4024 PAE). When I turn on the generator it will charge the battery bank and it also powers the cabin at the same time. When the generator is turned off it runs off of battery/solar. I have a 60 amp electrical panel that the Magnum inverter is connected to. This system was already in place when I got the cabin, so if I'm not providing enough info. I apologize.

 

[Snakebitten]

Just curious....
What portable generator have you used successfully? And did it come with the cabin or did you bring it?

I'm envious of your cabin!

 

[Gros Ventre]

Where is your ground in the cabin? The cause of the shutdwon of your truck is that it's sensing a ground other than its own neutral ground bond. Second item: can you find out if the generator you've been using is a floating neutral or a bonded neutral?

 

[daemonic3]

I'll give as much info. as I can. I have a L14-30 male plug outside that for years has plugged into a portable generator/inverter. That goes to my Magnum inverter (MS 4024 PAE). When I turn on the generator it will charge the battery bank and it also powers the cabin at the same time. When the generator is turned off it runs off of battery/solar. I have a 60 amp electrical panel that the Magnum inverter is connected to. This system was already in place when I got the cabin, so if I'm not providing enough info. I apologize.

Fascinating! That inverter seems to (from the product page) only take in 24V DC. I don't see a "bypass mode" where it can take in a generator 240V AC and pass it through on its outputs. So now I have no idea where that male cord taps into your existing system.

Maybe you have a 2nd AC->DC converter on the genny input directly to the battery bank charger, so when running off genny you are actually charging the battery and running off battery, effectively going AC->DC->AC again? If so that is very lossy, but it does allow you to charge the battery bank. The more efficient way would be a bypass of the battery and you put a transfer switch between the inverter and panel, because your inverter is effectively your "grid" in this house. You'd lose the ability to charge the battery in that case.

Again, I defer to the experts here but this is a very interesting saga!

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