Just got my new PJ LFPSW-8000 Inverter

'll have a clamp meter soon, and will do more testing. I would be happy to add capacitors (have only 2 on mainboard) , if that would boost my starting amps

A picture of a damage  15kw main board  cause by internal crosstalk and  mosfets fire   that I  repair and  use  to add 6 capacitors  externally  to the  PJ  8kw  to start the microwave .    

42 minutes ago, dickson said:

'll have a clamp meter soon, and will do more testing. I would be happy to add capacitors (have only 2 on mainboard) , if that would boost my starting amps

A picture of a damage  15kw main board  cause by internal crosstalk and  mosfets fire   that I  repair and  use  to add 6 capacitors  externally  to the  PJ  8kw  to start the microwave .    

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That's interesting. I might just upgrade the motor starting capacitor first. I could either replace it, or add another one to the existing capacitor. I will look at the values of the caps I have saved from earlier pump controllers. My thought is that boosting the starting capacitors would be safe, if I do it in small increments, and only run them when the inverter is connected.

Hi Robert,

Most of what you guys are saying sounds right to me.  (Just my un-expert opinion) 

If you have them on hand, add a second battery cable set.  It's at least part of the problem.  More batteries would also be good, but now we're getting into $money$.

A beefier start cap on your well pump to replace the existing one is not a bad idea.  They make "hard start kits" for air conditioner and refrigerator compressors.  I wonder if they sell them for well pumps?

Finally, do add those caps to your inverter mainboard.  PJ knows they should be there but they are just pinching pennies, at your expense.

All  and/or any of these things should improve your motor starting ability.  Keep us posted.

12 hours ago, RobertM said:

So, you're suggesting more than one cable for each battery to the inverter?

Any additional cables in parallel to what you have reduces the potential voltage drop caused by high demand.  Any way you can accomplish that will improve things.

Thanks. I will add some more cables. The limiting factor might be how many cables can fit in the inverter DC terminals.

On 2/9/2022 at 5:07 PM, RobertM said:

Still no luck pumping water with my new LFPSW-8000 inverter. The pump will start for a split second, and then the inverter seem to shut down. It will initially measure 115V on each hot wire, but then no power after a start attempt. There is a start capacitor in the pump control box, and I wonder if that is coming in to play. When the inverter shuts down, I can turn it off, then back on, and it seems fine. Plenty of battery capacity (I think), ~170 AH @ 24V. 

A 1/2hp 230V 3-wire well pump (like mine) are supposed to be the very easiest to start. The amps when running are just 6.0, and the starting amps, that you might need for 5 seconds are 21.5.

I've ordered a clamp meter, that will arrive Monday, and I will test the electrical surge both when the pump is running with grid power, and then, when I try to start it via the Powerjack inverter.  I can also expand the battery capacity another 40% more.

So i'm in good company. Glad i'm not the only one.

It's not a "surge capacity" problem. Put a resistive load of the same size, i bet the inverter will carry it just fine.
I have 400AH @ 24.8V and a "12000W" U-Power. The U-Power fails to start my 1hp pump 1 out of 5 times. The GS6 (which spec matches the U-Power advertised specs) works every time.

I think it must have something to do with the interaction between the regulator and output safety limits when handling an inductive(?) load. I was reading something Sid posted somewhere about slowing the regulator down, the voltage drop/spike lasts slightly longer, but the inverter doesn't abort either.

Unless your cables are too small for the amps/length, i doubt those are the issue either. Try a resistive load to confirm this. (Something like an electric range/oven has sudden resistive load) I use 2x 4/0 @ 6ft cables.

50 minutes ago, NotMario said:

So i'm in good company. Glad i'm not the only one.

It's not a "surge capacity" problem. Put a resistive load of the same size, i bet the inverter will carry it just fine.
I have 400AH @ 24.8V and a "12000W" U-Power. The U-Power fails to start my 1hp pump 1 out of 5 times. The GS6 (which spec matches the U-Power advertised specs) works every time.

I think it must have something to do with the interaction between the regulator and output safety limits when handling an inductive(?) load. I was reading something Sid posted somewhere about slowing the regulator down, the voltage drop/spike lasts slightly longer, but the inverter doesn't abort either.

Unless your cables are too small for the amps/length, i doubt those are the issue either. Try a resistive load to confirm this. (Something like an electric range/oven has sudden resistive load) I use 2x 4/0 @ 6ft cables.

So, there is some PJ design flaw that shuts down the inverter during startup? That's discouraging. Did you ever try a higher value starting capacitor in the pump control box?

41 minutes ago, RobertM said:

So, there is some PJ design flaw that shuts down the inverter during startup? That's discouraging. Did you ever try a higher value starting capacitor in the pump control box?

I presume that's the case. But i think it's a programmatic thing, not a hardware limitation.

No, my control box is a few months old. (had to replace 20 year old well pump)

So, there is some PJ design flaw that shuts down the inverter during startup? That's discouraging

I think PJ  design the new   rev 11.1  and the new rev 11.3 control board to shut down  and save the FETs  when a high inductive load   will  blow up the FETs .   The old rev 10.3 control board  in my  8kw PJ  will start the 5hp  air compressor but NOT  with the rev 11.1 control board .   

Be careful  if too much capacitance  for the start capacitor may burn up the windings in your well pump .   Should be 20 percent or less than original start capacitor .    

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I found a control box starting capacitor one step beyond (86-103 uf) the stock one (59-71 uf). Will try that for starting with the inverter. If my new split phase, low frequency, pure sine wave  PJ inverter, bought on EBay can't start a 1/2 hp motor, I'm screwed.

I found a 86-103 uf cap and the stock one is 59-71 uf.  If the inverter doesn't provide adequate boost won't a slightly larger capacitor make up for the deficiencies? If it's truly risky I won't try it.

Your  86-103 uf  is ok to try .    PJ did not put enough capacitor on  your  mainboard inside the inverter .    My 8kw PJ has 4 capacitor inside on the mainboard  and I  added  6 more outside the 8kw PJ inverter  so I can start a microwave oven 3000 watts  .      The 4 capacitors inside will  not  start a microwave oven .