[RE-wrenches] Late 2010 Report: Magnum Advanced Remote & Magnum switchgear

[Mick Abraham]

Greetings, Mechanix~

The ARC-50 product from Magnum Energy--the Advanced Remote--has some
features not available on the regular RC-50--such as an internal clock to
manage things like generator quiet time. The ARC-50 is much less navigable
compared to the RC-50 but that's understandable.

Here's a warning about a "zero day defect" in the firmware on the ARC-50.
Version 2.1 is the first one that has been shipping and this version will
not play nice with the BMK Battery Monitoring Kit from the same company. The
glitch is subtle and not easily recognized but the "amp hours from full"
counter in the BMK counts incorrectly--by a factor of ten.

Version 2.2 is now available but I believe Magnum has not issued a recall of
the early version so some of the old firmware may be sitting on the shelves.
I was not pleased to learn that Magnum had known about this problem--and
even had named it internally--but was continuing to ship product with the
buggy code. The company will upgrade the firmware for existing units but
they do not offer any hassle compensation for the installers.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have recently worked with the Magnum Mini Panel (R) and also with an
MPSL-version (bigger) control box. Here's a report that some of the Mechanix
may find useful. Disclosure: I gain nothing from the switchgear choices
which are made by my fellow installers, so this is unbiased feedback.

Both of these Magnum control boxes use Torx fasteners extensively so just
getting the front cover off requires a tool quest beforehand. At least
they're not tamperproof Torx but one still must wonder why obstacles must be
erected. It's not like there are radioactive components inside.

Both of the above mentioned control boxes come with a charge controller
mounting bracket. That same part shows up on the Magnum website as if one
must purchase it separately but I found it included. This bracket is much
less robust--and more "floppy"--compared to what one would receive with a
Midnite E-Panel (R) or Outback (R) control box. On the Mini Panel the holes
for mounting the bracket were, um, missing so I had to drill my own. It was
fairly simple to devise something better but in future I will be aware that
the standard bracket needs help. In one case I backed up the charge
controller with a block of wood to deal with the floppiness, but these power
electronics should ideally be mounted on a non-combustible surface, right?

The Mini Panel clearly competes directly with the Midnite E-Panel but
instead of mounting the inverter to the "door" of an E-Panel, the inverter
and Mini Panel would both mount to the same vertical surface, over and
under. Magnum also sells a steel back plate to create a gap between the
inverter and the wall behind it. All of the breaker toggles face forward on
the Magnum control boxes and a 500 amp shunt is pre-installed as we might
expect. The MMP has some creatively formed bus bars to route the DC power
and the inverter studs bolt to those. E series breakers will bolt in for DC
controls as with a PV controller. Those switches are robust except for the
flimsy mounting tab at top, but those switches are 1" wide apiece--a concern
since every box seems too small and the Mini Panel is already the "compact
model". The MMP accepts either of the Magnum Remote Controls without a
side-mount bracket. A rectangular plate can be removed from the front cover
to accept the RC-50 or ARC-50; it looks nice that way. MMP can handle a
single inverter only.

The larger MPSL type control box can handle one inverter for starters with
room to add a second one in future. Other, bigger boxes can scale the system
even larger. The Magnum brochure shows something which resembles the RC-50
hanging on a side mount bracket but no bracket for that purpose is supplied.
That's a drawback, methinks. The photo actually shows the Magnum "router"
for which I have yet to find a sufficiently wealthy client. The bracket
comes along when one buys the router, I am told. MPSL does not use as much
in the way of creative metal bus bars but conservation of interior space is
slightly less critical. The unit I bought came with a 250 amp DC breaker but
the short DC cables to bolt onto the inverter studs are only 2/0. That
surprised me; I called Magnum to ask if those should not be 4/0 instead but
they're reply was, "Don't sweat it; the unit is ETL listed the way it is
built." I suppose since these jumpers are so short it's only a matter of
ampacity and not a voltage drop consideration.

Both boxes use the venerable Square D QOU unit mount breakers for AC. Maybe
I'm sentimental, but I like those. MPSL creatively allows one to bolt in a
DIN rail or leave it out. The DC side of that box can therefore accommodate
the Midnite gfi breaker set, 1/2" wide DIN rail breakers, E series one
inchers, etc. QOU's would also fit but I decided to not use those for DC.
QOU's are 3/4" wide, of course, and this bigger box also wound up too
crowded--it is ever thus.

I hope this report from the field will be helpful, and I thank all List
participants for their valuable assistance. The Wrench List is the Bomb!

Mick Abraham, Proprietor
www.abrahamsolar.com

Voice: 970-731-4675
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