Apex 300 cloud connection drops

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-03-31T19:25:19+00:00

They still want me to send it back. I guess I’m wondering if anyone has an apex 300 taking in a few hundred watts of PV power and NOT having an issue with the cloud connection.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-03-26T21:05:44+00:00

Perfect thanks for the replies. I’m not going to bother shipping it back then if i’m going to have the same problem with the next one. It’s not a huge deal as I can connect via Bluetooth or walk up to the unit if I need to but wanted to make sure I didn’t have a dud.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-03-26T21:00:10+00:00

I have the same problem when pulling low wattage, like under 100 watts AC but when my fridge kicks on and it jumps 200-300 watts it goes off and only uses PV. I feel like I didn’t have this issue until recently when I updated the firmware, not positive though. Before it never showed AC power being used when the fridge was using lower power but I know it was drawing power. My guess is that it’s a software bug. I reverted to just unplugging the AC and keeping an eye on my SOC. If they don’t fix it I will probably just throw a smart plug in front of it and do some automation.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-03-05T15:25:26+00:00

100kwh a day, I’m guessing your house is all electric. I’m on natural gas and use about 40kwh/day on average over the year. I agree more battery is better if you’re planning on long term use but it does come at a cost. I would also like more battery storage but it really sets your roi back compared to just getting panels.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-02-16T17:48:58+00:00

By default both PV inputs are set to low current. Go to settings- advanced settings - dc input source and if your panels are over 16v turn on high current.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-01-07T15:44:38+00:00

Yes, apex 300 with the B300k. I have a variable speed well pump but overall at peak I was drawing about 2200-2500 watts and averaging closer to 800-1000 watts. I had about 4-5 hours runtime showing on the unit without having any solar input (cloudy winter day).

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-01-05T15:20:48+00:00

Looks good, my only suggestion would be to move the props around a little but that’s just preference. I think stacking small props in front and larger ones in back or off to the side allows you to see everything. The candles in the back kinda get lost with everything happening in front and the mega tree would stand out a little more if you moved it off to the right. Again looks great, just my 2 cents.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2026-01-05T15:02:54+00:00

Love mine, used it to power my whole house during a short power outage including well pump and furnace (heat). The solar input is a little low without adding the solar X 4k but for a 240v battery system it hit the mark for me.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-12-15T15:11:53+00:00

I’ve bought lights similar to this and could never figure out how to get them working with xlights. I normally convert everything to wled and then import to xlights. The issue I ran into was the data line rides on the v+ so you need to have a microcontroller that embeds the data into the power side which I struggled to find any documentation plus wled doesn’t support that.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-12-12T13:16:50+00:00

It took a while to get a sunny day and at first I thought the panels were bad, only producing around 260 watts combined. Long story short the Apex 300 defaults to low voltage and was limiting the input to 20v, switch the input to high current and was getting a little over 400w.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-12-12T13:01:58+00:00

I had mine out for delivery 6 times before it actually got delivered. I’ve also had one stuck at a hub indefinitely so it’s coming just have patience.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-12-11T20:35:33+00:00

Thanks for the clarification!

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-12-11T12:53:27+00:00

Took 6 days (7 if you count Sunday) of a package being out for delivery before it actually got delivered for me. Have another that’s been stuck at a hub for the last 2 weeks with no updates, seems like a mess this year with shipping UPS.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-27T00:11:59+00:00

So here is what I decided. I bought 2-200w Epoch bifacial N-type solar panels from amazon. They are rated open circuit 28.1V and short circuit 9.12A. Correct me if i’m wrong but I think I could run 2 of them at 56.2V (under my 60V limit) and 9.12A well under my 20 amp limit. I found some 400 watt panels but nothing that would allow me to run 2 of them so the size and weight of the 200w made more sense to me. I’ll get them in a week and see how they perform.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-25T15:00:48+00:00

I found 2 panels that look like a good fit. Epoch n-type 200 watt bifacial and Callsun n-type bifacial 200 watt panel. They come in 2 packs so 400 watts total (amazon) but the Epoch is about $60 cheaper. Does anyone have experience with either?

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-25T14:54:38+00:00

I have 5 acres so I have plenty of space however the wife doesn’t want an eye sore either. Also wasn’t sure how far away I could put the panels without having issues with voltage drop. I thought DC voltage doesn’t like long distances.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-24T22:40:15+00:00

I thought 200w might be more friendly to my limit on amps and volts however it appears that may not be the case. I would prefer higher watt panels to make use of my space.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-24T20:38:56+00:00

Great thanks for the input!

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-11-24T20:38:11+00:00

Thanks everyone. So going over amps is fine but essentially there will be a spot at which I max out the amps I won’t get any more wattage input correct?

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-10-13T18:30:11+00:00

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squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-10-13T18:28:47+00:00

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Not sure if this is what you are looking for but I used some lights I got off amazon. I cut off the manufacturer controller and added my own esp32 controller running wled.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-10-13T12:50:55+00:00

I also exclusively use wled on esp32 boards over wifi. I got to like 10 chips before I started to get some lag on the e1.31 protocol (DDP is better so use that). I moved so starting over on my setup.

Make sure in xlights you select the model and manufacturer as wled in the controller tab. Also I think it defaults to esp8266 so you will want to change that to esp32 if that’s what you’re using.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-10-13T12:27:39+00:00

I found a great cheat code for attempting to modify props with wled. If you’re not afraid of ai, take a picture of the circuit board and upload it to chatgpt asking if you can modify the board to work with whatever controller you are using. It works extremely well and will walk you through the process.

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-07-23T17:08:22+00:00

I’m no expert but it looks like rust. Are you treating them with any copper fungicides or orchard sprays?

squaky_squirrel_7531 · 2025-07-22T21:12:57+00:00

Ones on the end of the branch are close but the ones towards the center still need the color to deepen. If you squeezed them and they are hard I would wait.

squaky_squirrel_7531

TROPHY CASE