Power Jack grid tie inverters

[rama]

Hi there,
I've been hearing a lot about these Power Jack grid tie inverters that are sold on eBay. It's really strange to me to see their so-called "grid tied" is defined by simply plugging a typical AC power cord into your household AC socket, and somehow this will feed electricity back to the grid??

I did some research on eBay and saw that these GT inverters are not UL certified either... not to mention they are quite cheap, so I have doubts whether it'll even work. Any thoughts?

Here are some examples-
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-300-WATT-GRI...item3365735fad
http://cgi.ebay.com/350W-Grid-Tie-In...item415869d699
http://cgi.ebay.com/600W-GRID-TIE-IN...item3a64edadea

Thanks,
-Rama

[niel]

until the federal government for this country, or any other country for that matter, makes it illegal for these inverters to be sold then they are free to sell to an unsuspecting public that it is illegal for them to use them as they are meant to be used. to sum this up is that it is not illegal to sell or own such inverters, but to use it as it is intended is. that is because they can bypass safety factors and other safety parameters that can make these gt inverters dangerous to use by simply plugging them into the wall.

[BB.]

Oh... They can work. They may even work well...

Just not safe per code.

-Bill

[dgsloan]

You will find that in the end they are not as cheap as you think. By the time you buy all the connectors and remote breakers and spare parts etc you will find that it is actually much cheaper to buy an enphase converter (for comparison only) - If you really want to plug it in = even though it is not safe - take an enphase and plug it into a dryer or stove outlet - I have heard of this being done to test out the electronics until a proper underground cable was installed. The other problem with the Power Jack is that they fail quite regularily. If you search on the internet you will find lots of different fixes (failures) and even eBay sites that sell parts for them. Their rating is way over specified - a 300watt inverter will only handle 175watts continuous.

[oil pan 4]

Saying they work well is giving them way too much credit.
They like to over heat and shut down. They are noisy.
In factory configuration a 300w unit might be able to run at 100 watts for extended time with out problem.
There are not really any saftys on them.
To make them use able you have to install a much larger fan, a breaker or fuse on the high voltage side, a push button power isolation relay and an over volt disconnect to get you started.
Unless you have a collection of these items just sitting around, you might want to go with the higher end inverters.

[SteveK]

Yep they work but not very well. A side by side with the SUN-500g model of these gorilla GTI's and a set of Enphase's show 20% production gain from the Enphases. This is using the best of the breed (SUN) and not Power Jack too. PJ is the worst of them.

We used a pair of Sun's for about a month last year. They do work but not very well. Had a hard time leaving the home in fear of fire. The Sun's will put out 72% efficiency but the power factor is pretty low ~ .7 until they are well loaded.

Still have the pair, never wil use them again.

[oil pan 4]

That is why to put them out side, away from your house.

[solar_dave]

That is why to put them out side, away from your house.

In the garbage can!

[russ]

Ask the neighbor - maybe he will let you install them in his garage. Might not be too happy if it burns down but then---

[silvertop]

I dinked with a Power Jack, but to be honest when I have excess power ,Ill just run my inverter for my refrig. I dont think I would leave the house with the Power jack running for fear of fire....