Electrolysis Damage Story [RE-wrenches]

Fri May 6 08:10:11 PDT 2005

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Hello Allan,
Without seeing the pole, it's difficult to advise whether to repair or replace it. I think that the prime contractor is responsible for the work even if there is an explicit warranty time limit unless state law limits the prime contractor's liability. Aside from legal stuff, the right thing to do is to help the customer make his system right. Some people will disagree because the job is history or there's no profit in rework or touching the system makes you liable or other reasons/excuses for to not getting involved. I think the best measure of a person is to ask what would make me happy if I were the customer and then do it.
Best regards,
Joel Davidson

-----Original Message-----
From: Allan Sindelar <allan at positiveenergysolar.com>
Sent: May 5, 2005 7:06 PM
To: New wrenches posting <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Subject: Electrolysis Damage Story [RE-wrenches]

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Wrenches,
A simple mistake can have major consequences.

In 1997, in my first year of business, I designed and sold a SW4024-based
grid-tied system for a new home. As I wasn't licensed at the time, another
local electrical contractor with a history of doing solar installations was
separately contracted to pull the permit and do the installation. Upon
completion, I corrected a few things I didn't like (battery cables connected
at one end of the bank, rather than diagonally, for example) and have
supported the system and the customer in the years since. This is a good
customer.

The system has worked well, with only the Wattsun tracker and the E-Meter
requiring repair or replacement. The client called recently about tracker
malfunction, and today Mark (partner) went to the site to service it. What
he found was battery voltage at the tracker ground, which he determined was
from a ground fault at the array. The galvanic action caused by the fault
had rusted the 8-year-old 6" Sch 40 steel pole to the point that he could
poke a screwdriver through the pole at the base, and was concerned about the
whole thing toppling over any minute.

The cause of the ground fault was the use of two 1/2" Romex clamps for
strain relief where the USE-2 array input conductors entered a steel 3R
combiner box on the pole. Each of the two clamps held four #10 USE-2
conductors and one bare #8 or #10 grounding electrode conductor. One of the
clamps had shorted one of the PV+ conductors to ground. I am guessing that
it had been like this for a long time, maybe since installation, and I had
never detected the fault during routine service calls. An array GFDI wasn't
installed or required (and I'm not sure anyone even made one at that time).

The customer is looking at repair options for the pole, including outriggers
with driven steel posts and welded braces, and a poured concrete cap over
the base of the pole. We will head out soon to disassemble the array, to
reduce wind sail and the chance that it will come down, and to buy some time
 for a good repair to be devised. We are also looking at setting a 5" steel
pole inside the 6", with cement slurry between the two.

We haven't worked out a course of action yet. A couple of questions:

We use SO connectors for USE wire, and use Romex clamps for jacketed wire in
indoor locations. Is the use of Romex clamps on USE wire in this application
legal per NEC? What Code section addresses this?
If issues of liability and responsibility come up (and they probably will
not) who's liable? The contractor who installed the system and pulled the
permit? The inspector who signed off on the job? Us? How would you serve the
customer in this case? I supplied a one-year warranty on system design and
component failures, and the installer gave the same against failures due to
incorrect installation.

Has anyone ever repaired a rusted pole? Howdja doit, and did it work?

Thanks for any good advice. I'll share your responses with the client.

Allan at Positive Energy

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