Combiner Solutions / Warranty [RE-wrenches]

[jberdner at sma-america.com]

Don:

My best guess on your failure was a manufacturing defect in the box or in
the fuse holder.
All the voltages and current levels sounded ok me.
Call Trace or Pulse (depending on where you bought it)and they should get
you a new one under warranty.

Pulse also makes 500 and 600 Vdc UL Listed combiner boxes with midget fuses
in flip type holders.
I am sure you could get warranty credit from Pulse towards one of these if
you wanted one instead.
Let me know if you have any troubles and I'll try to help out if I can.

I agree with Kent and Bill that midget fuses in touch safe holders and power
distribution blocks are definitely a robust way to go.
As you pointed out though, the main issue is cost.
You can also go with RK5's in holders with touch safe covers (per Bill
Brooks) but here again the cost is high.

As an aside - one concern UL has voiced to me of late is the possibility of
accidental contact with unprotected fuse clips mounted on PCB's .
They are concerned that with the fuse removed one side of the clips is at
Voc from Array #1 and the other side of the clips is at Voc from the bussed
connection to Arrays #2 to #N.
Fuse clips can get bent pretty easily and they are concerned that someone
could reach in and try to bend them back with fingers.  Not very bright, I
know, but I can see it happening.

I spoke to Bill Brooks about his feelings on the TCB-10 holders and the
failures he has seen.
So far his main concerns (and failures he has seen) have been mechanical not
electrical.
Although I am out of the loop these days, I only know of two electrical
failures to date.
If there are more out there please let me know.

I agree with Bill that the fuse holder is a bit too wimpy but there are not
allot of low cost touch safe choices out there.
By the way, I did get input from Bill and others (including the factory reps
from Bussman)before I did the design.
At the time the market was telling me they wanted a "LOW COST!" combiner or
48 Vdc systems.
Perhaps it is time to look at a little better quality for a little more
money.
There are some other fuse and holder options out there between the TCB-10
and the 600 Vdc designs.

Best Regards,

John Berdner













-----Original Message-----
From: Don Loweburg, Offline [mailto:i2p at aol.com]
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2001 1:58 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: Fried Combinor Box [RE-wrenches]


In a message dated 03/26/2001 8:11:01 AM Pacific Standard Time,
kentsheldon at tracetec.com writes:



Will 600Vdc boxes work for you? We have one design which uses a KLKD midget
fuse and clip holder, and another design that uses break away fuse holders
(I think this design is similar to John's high voltage boxes). Both are
UL1741 listed, but they may be a bit more expensive that the PCB10. Sorry
we didn't consult you first Bill, but I would appreciate your input... I
think.

Kent




Thanks Kent, I get that you are suggesting I use the 600 v box. I like
overkill and guess the main thing is how much will it cost me.

Best, Don
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 michael.welch at homepower.com

____________________________________________________________
T O P I C A  -- Learn More. Surf Less. 
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose.
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01