[RE-wrenches] DR>FX Compatibility Problem
Allan Sindelar
allan at positiveenergysolar.com
Sun Jun 14 22:09:05 PDT 2009
Darren and Bob-O,
Possible, yes, but while I was swapping the inverter I let the Solar Boost
go into Eq, and it hit 30.4, so the batteries were full when I left. She
would not have been able to drain them in a few hours. The new cables were
each only about 2½ long, just enough to go from the DC disconnect up on top
of the FX where the studs are. We make up our cables with a listed crimper.
Keep the ideas comin.
Allan Sindelar
Allan at positiveenergysolar.com
NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer
EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Positive Energy, Inc.
3201 Calle Marie
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
505 424-1112
www.positiveenergysolar.com
_____
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Bob-O
Schultze
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 5:35 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] DR>FX Compatibility Problem
Alan,
Yep, could be a LVCO. Any indication from her as to the state of the
batteries voltage-wise? Shouldn't have much effect one way or the other, but
with longer runs of inverter cables, I generally twist them together.
Bob-O
On Jun 14, 2009, at 3:59 PM, Darren Emmons wrote:
Allan,
Maybe it's not an overload, perhaps a low voltage cutout caused by some
issue with the either new 2/0 battery cables or their connections.
The Staber WEB site indicates only a 11 amp surge which shouldn't overload
trip a FX2524T.
Cheers
Darren Emmons
Allan Sindelar wrote:
Wrenches,
Heres one that has me quite stumped, and perhaps one of you esteemed
Wrenches has an answer or suggestion.
In 2000 we installed a clean, basic budget off-grid system in a new remote
manufactured home for a client, a single woman who lives quite consciously
and frugally. The system was 24V, 600W of PV, Trace DC175, DR2424 inverter,
Solar Boost 50, eight golf cart batteries and a Tri-Metric, along with a Sun
Frost RF16 and Staber washer. The system had worked perfectly for her, and
we replaced her batteries with same last year.
She called a couple of weeks ago because her life situation had changed and
she now worked from her remote home using cell phone and satellite internet.
The new satellite equipment had been troublesome and had already been
replaced, but would still shut down intermittently. Given that she had
already replaced the electronic equipment with same, I suggested that she
finally was facing the problem of modified-square wave DR waveform. I said
that while there were no guarantees, a switch to a sine wave inverter would
likely cure the problem.
On Friday I removed the DR and installed an Outback FX2524T. No other
changes, other than longer 2/0 cables. I changed a few settings for flooded
batteries and her generator using a service-truck Mate, but did not sell one
with the system. Everything booted up properly, job done, let me know how it
works out.
Friday evening she called with no power. The red error LED was lit. I had
her reboot the inverter with the DC breaker, and all was restored. The only
thing she had run was the Staber washer. I assured her that the inverter
could handle a DC reboot without trouble. The next day (yesterday) she left
a message that she had six times overloaded while completing the wash load
with the Staber. Everything else was fine.
On Monday she will call for an explanation of what is happening and advice
on how to correct it, and I wont have any. What would allow a Staber to run
fine on mod-square DR power, but overload an FX of the same capacity? The
Staber was likely ordered with notification of the need for a mod-square
control board, as they instructed in the early days, but I wouldnt expect
it to be incompatible with sine-wave AC.
Not having expected this problem, I didnt go hunting for problems such as a
ground fault in the washer circuit. I havent done any troubleshooting, of
course, but would like to have some idea what to look for. The only anomaly
that I noticed was that some of her Tri-Metric program settings had changed
from what I checked when I replaced the batteries: CEF of L98 instead of H97
meant she always showed 100%, and a couple of other settings werent what
they should have been. I noted this and reset it, but considered it an
unexplained glitch, as though a nearby lightning surge had scrambled some
settings without damaging anything, or she had inadvertently pressed the
wrong button sequence and changed settings. Now Im wondering about
extraneous things: a bad ground? Mice chewing through the laundry circuit
(although she has cats
)?
What would cause an overload to be detected by the FX that wouldnt have
tripped the DR all these years?
All ideas and solutions would be appreciated. I will likely have to make a
return trip, not under warranty, though.
Allan Sindelar
Allan at positiveenergysolar.com
NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer
EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Positive Energy, Inc.
3201 Calle Marie
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
505 424-1112
www.positiveenergysolar.com
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