Quandry(was Help needed in Tuolumne County) [RE-wrenches]

[matthew tritt]

Bob-O,

Follow-up to this story: The lady called me this morning from her cell phone
from the top of a mountain
to let me know that the "wrench" who did the install had been there in her
absence. He told them that he had been on the internet to find out how to
wire the inverters and had it figured out. This guy actually has a solar
company!

He also told them that they need the external charger because the built-in
chargers aren't strong enough to do the job! Give me a break. My bet is that
he's also got the battery banks mis-wired, the wrong size cable, mis-sized
breakers, etc. I informed her that the Trace's need to be doing the charging
to properly control the gen. run time and other control functions. She
wasn't aware of any of this. He probably is using one of the n/o battery
voltage controlled contacts to start/stop the generator. (This is what you
do if you've blown the internal relay dedicated for the purpose by not
installing an in-line fuse!)

Allan: I was just being discreet by not saying China Diesel. Woops! It just
slipped out. As for the wrench in question, all I know is that his company
name has the word "Advanced" in it. He is supposedly a "young" guy. My bet
is that he's one of the new-wave of installers that only knows grid-tie but
doesn't want to miss a job.

Also, it turns out that the inverters are actually 12 volt versions (why is
the big question) so the 10 k genset should be quite adequate. She thought
they were 24 volt when I first talked to her.

So it goes.

Matt


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection" <econnect at snowcrest.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 8:34 AM
Subject: Re: Quandry(was Help needed in Tuolumne County) [RE-wrenches]


> Matt, etal,
>
> Well, there you are. It was as I suspected, just not who I expected.
> I figured that since JM was doing the posting, it was their baby.
> Turns out that Wes was just trying to do the woman a favor. Shows to
> go me-again-that things are rarely black and white.
> Still, you've got to wonder why she turned to ANOTHER mail order
> house for advice. Either she's just not getting it or-just as
> likely-she doesn't have access to a decent roster of RE Wrenches.
> Frankly mates, this is our fault. What we need, IMO, is a national or
> international organization like IPP, SEIA, or ??, that is funded to
> the point where we can have a listing in every phone book with an
> 800#. A computer at the other end where you can key in your Zip Code
> and get a list of member Wrenches within 100 miles or whatever. Since
> the dough for that sure as hell ain't gonna come from the Shrub
> administration, WE need to fund it. THAT means this band of fiercely
> independent missionaries which is us need to become joiners and pony
> up some bread. Whew! But, IF we can do that, we can- as a group- go
> to the Shell, Kyocera, Xantrex, fill-in-the-blank manufacturers of
> the world and say: "Ya want us to schlep your products? You need to
> kick down some serious change to the Wrench National for our
> education projects." I believe the time has come to think hard about
> this sort of thing. Ya know?
> Best, bob-O
>
> >Bob-O,
> >
> >I talked with the owner of the system in question today. Turns out she
> >bought the equipment from one of my least favorite outlets. Not to
mention
> >names but think Diesels from China.
> >
> >These guys advertise themselves as "experts" in the solar energy field
and,
> >literally, don't know anything more than what's in the advertising
> >literature. When she asked them to help they directed her to Trace. How
> >typical. She was never aware that the SW's have internal battery chargers
> >and has been running for a couple of years with an external charger!
Also,
> >they were recently sold a 10 kW generator which is somehow trying to
charge
> >a large, new battery bank. The previous one gave up after only 2+ years
of
> >mis-treatment.
> >
> >She also mentioned that the sparky who installed the system told her he
> >didn't know what he was doing.
> >Pretty amazing.
> >
> >Matt
>
> --
> Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection
> PO Box 203, Hornbrook, CA 96044
> 800.945.7587 or 530.475.3402
> fax 530-475-3401
> www.electronconnection.com
>
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