XW inverters [RE-wrenches]

[Mick Abraham]

jryago at netscape.com wrote:
> 
> I attended an XW training program last fall in Long Beach and thought 
> this new inverter had some great design features over others we have 
> been installing.  I recently purchased several XW inverters including 
> all options for stock but as yet have not found an application.   
> However, I have heard a few comments here and from others who have 
> installed XW systems and have described a few "bugs" they had to deal 
> with.  Since most of these related to software problems, I assume they 
> are easy to correct, but I do not know if these are being addressed at 
> this time, are going to be addressed, or updated software is already 
> available for us to download into inverters already purchased.
> 
> Having replaced boards in Outback inveters with little trouble, I was 
> concerned to hear that Xantrex is not allowing board replacement in the 
> field and hope someone on this list can address these concerns,
> 
Mick says: Part #865-1155 is a (fairly expensive) adapter to connect the 
USB port on a Windows computer into the Xanbus network. The Windows 
software is called XW config, and if you have a sufficiently recent 
version you can update the firmware on XW products. I did this just last 
night. My first update attempt failed, but not before erasing the 
inverter and the charge controller. Awkward.

I did finally manage to complete the upgrade but I had to read between 
the lines on the instruction .pdf. The most recent firmware files are 
not easy to find right now. It's like, if you have a problem, tech 
support will email the files to you.

For initial setup of an XW system, the "computer adapter method" is much 
easier than the "buttons on the SCP method". The computer interface box 
says Xanbus Diagnostic Tool on it; I presume there are some 
troubleshooting routines in the software, but I haven't gotten that far. 
All in all, I'm very happy to have this widget in my bag of tricks. The 
adapter does have a wall cube which requires a small bit of 120 volt AC 
power to operate, so that could be a challenge in some situations.

I have a client who will soon "field replace" the AC board in his XW 
inverter, so not all board replacements in the field are prohibited. My 
client toasted his relays by wiring the AC out from inverter #3 
backwards to the other two. Messy, messy, but this is in no way the 
fault of Xantrex. Now that we have two hots in each box we mustn't mix 
them up. 

Client, retailer, and manufacturer all suffered some brain damage and 
tense times before the problem was discovered. Kudos to Mike @ Xantrex 
for figuring this out! 

Mick Abraham, Proprietor
www.abrahamsolar.com


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