After many weeks of disrupted comms on my inverter, it looks like my dongle has eventually given up the ghost. Can anyone tell me how I can obtain a replacement dongle for a Gen1 3.6 hybrid inverter - I don’t expect I’ll be getting an answer from GE support any time soon!
And while I’m here… I thought to connect my inverter via ethernet cable but it looks like the Gen1 inverter doesn’t have an ethernet socket. Is that right?
Thanks.
the gen 1 inverter doesn’t have an ethernet socket no, only gen 2 or 3
you can buy a replacement dongle from tradesparky or other electrical wholesalers, I think midsummer and its.technologies might have it in stock. They’re about £50 and despite the dongle being critical for your inverters operation, GivEnergy have in the past not included this as part of the warranty cover so you’re going to have to buy a replacement
when you get the dongle, plug it into a PC and you’ll need to copy the serial number file (MSN.TXT from memory) from the old dongle onto the new one. That serial number file is critical, it is how the portal recognises that the dongle belongs to your account and allows you to send data up. SImply copy the old one across
Thanks Geoffrey. To copy the serial number, I assume that I first copy from the existing dongle then copy to the new one? And is it obvious where I find the file on the dongle.
To buy a new dongle, will I need a part number or will the wholesaler know what I’m after?
Brilliant. Thanks Hollytree. Here’s hoping!..
One other question…
Should I shut down my inverter when replacing the dongle? If so, can someone advise on procedure. I have a PV isolator switch and an on/off switch on the bottom of the inverter. But no DC isolator.
Thanks.,
there is usually only one file on the dongle, that’s the one file to copy across
yes you should shutdown your inverter first. There are shutdown instructions in the givenergy installation guide (google for it). You should normally have AC, DC (solar) and battery isolators, and there’s a sequence of events to follow to shut everything down in the right order and prevent any risk of damage
All good advice. Yeah change serial of new Dongle to be same as Old.
Nothing needed portal side to be done
If you are anywhere near LN4 area, I got 2 spares in my toolbox
Thanks ‘The Dragon’. Unfortunately I live the other side of the country to you (Somerset) but thanks for the offer.
Maybe you can advise on my setup for shutdown of the inverter. I have a PV isolator switch (rotary) which is red/yellow (not black). I have a battery isolator (rocker) switch. And an on/off rotary switch on the bottom of the inverter. But there’s no DC isolator. Is this a problem?
The ‘PV isolator switch’ sounds very much like an AC isolator switch to cut the AC power to/from your inverter and batteries.
There should be somewhere a black DC isolator between your inverter and your panels.
If there isn’t then that sounds like an installation problem as you do need it because you don’t want to power off the inverter when it is under load, converting DC power to AC.
All is not entirely lost though, you can still shut your inverter down to remove the dongle, but do it ONLY at night when there’s no solar generation.
And maybe you need to get your installer back to fit the DC isolator. I thought it was an electrical wiring requirement
Thanks for all your continuing help folks…
My red/yellow switch is on the feed from the panels to the inverter and it’s clearly marked ‘PV isolator’. So I guess the installer used the wrong colour (it should have been black)! The isolator that I don’t have (that’s shown on the installation diagram) is the one on the feed from the inverter to my consumer unit (which it seems would normally be the red/yellow one). Is this a problem?
Thanks.
I’m no electrician
what is the difference between a red/yellow ac isolator and a black dc isolator - Search
it seems a DC isolator is made to handle the higher loads of a DC supply 5 Key Differences Between DC and AC Isolator Switches - ZHEJIANG YRO NEW ENERGY CO.,LTD.
this search says there are safety and electrical regulation compliance issues of not using the right isolator can you use a red/yellow ac isolator on dc pv solar panels connection to inverter - Search
from what I see its not just a question of “used the wrong colour isolator”, it looks like the wrong part has been fitted by your installer and they should rectify that
but on your question, your inverter feeds into your consumer unit. Is it connected to its own RCBO in the CU? You could use that to cut the AC to the inverter
Hi Geoffrey, Thanks for your incredibly well researched reply! One of the reasons I’m asking for this info is because my installer is out of business and I’m having trouble locating another who can help! Looks like I need to get an electrician to come and check this out.
And as to the feed to the CU, yes the inverter does have it’s own RCBO. Will need to find out if I need to get an isolator fitted.
Did you get an MCS certificate from your installer? With mine I had an insurance policy as part of the MCS in the event that the installer failed.
Might be worth looking into that, or getting MCS involved if the work hasn’t been done to electrical requirements.
Or if you paid or part of the install on a credit card you can get your credit card company involved under section 75.
Swapping the isolator and possibly fitting a new one isn’t a big job, wouldn’t imagine it would cost that much with an electrician who is familiar with solar.
Thanks again Geoffrey. Yes the install is MCS accredited. It was 5 years ago so whilst it may not be to standard it hasn’t actually failed. And I’m about to get an electrician on the job. As you say, I don’t imagine it will be expensive to sort it.
Thanks to all who offered advice - especially about changing the serial number on the dongle text file. The new dongle is in place and doing its job. My local installer believed that the DC isolator that’s integral with the inverter was sufficient and it shutdown and restarted just fine.
The setup was surprisingly straight forward apart from
