Battery charging with XW series equipment [RE-wrenches]

[Matt Tritt]

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But they were only 85% efficient. :-( Also, the relays are hardwired 
so's you can't replace them in the field, they weigh 125 lbs, the wave 
form is only sort of a sine, they only put out 120, the generator 
control circuit requires an external fuse, all the wire connections are 
awkward (if not nearly impossible), they have volatile memory and, and, 
and--------

Other than that, they are pretty good!

Matt T


Drake Chamberlin wrote:

>
> Is there any chance that Xantrex could be persuaded to rework the old 
> SW Series?  It was almost the inverter we needed, with a few maddening 
> glitches.  An updated FET board, better grid tie interface, and silent 
> sell, and it could be the inverter we have been waiting for.  Maybe we 
> could think of a few more rubs to address, such as a user friendly DC 
> box.
>
> Drake
>
> At 02:59 PM 7/9/2008, you wrote:
>
>> Colleagues:
>>
>> We installed our first XW system recently and it has caused some 
>> questions and consternation.  The client is very technically inclined 
>> (he owns a small telephone company) and has graciously agreed to work 
>> with us to familiarize with the equipment.  Here is a list of 
>> question/concerns:
>>
>> 1.      The 24 IBE batteries we have do not appear to be receiving a 
>> full charge.  At-rest voltage caves quickly at sundown to 48 or 
>> less.  I have observed the two-stage charge cycle performed by the XW 
>> charge controllers and I wonder if this is really superior to three 
>> stage charging.  Comments?
>>
>> 2.      The charge routine performed by the XW inverter is also 
>> suspect.  Apparently there is no way to require a specific absorption 
>> duration.  According to tech support, the absorption timer is simply 
>> a maximum timer and that absorption ends when the charge tapers down 
>> to 2% of the battery AH value.  We see the generator auto start and 
>> then shut off in about an hour.  For a 1600 AH battery bank, this 
>> seem too short a time frame to really get a full charge.  Should we 
>> increase the absorption voltage?? Comments?
>>
>> 3.      The programmed variables for a number of the functions were 
>> blank.   For example, the generator voltage start numbers (for 24 
>> hour, 2 hour, etc) were not empty.  This puts a lot of pressure on 
>> the installer to insert parameters where one would usually find them 
>> already programmed.  The possibility is high that the installer might 
>> miss an important parameter and have to drive back just for 
>> programming.  I thought that the default parameters for the SW were 
>> excellent and I encourage Xantrex to pre-program with these values.  
>> It may be also that I have older software and the new software has 
>> these values?
>>
>> 4.      What is the difference between newer version of the software 
>> and the older versions?
>>
>> Your replies are much appreciated.
>
>
>
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