[RE-wrenches] Delta LA's in or out? It's our choice.

Wed Sep 15 14:19:09 PDT 2010

Bill,

I checked with Delta and they say the LA's are designed to be mounted
inside, or, outside the box. On their product sheets that came with the
arrestors in years past they clearly showed the LA's inside the load center.
In fact that is the way they are still showing them used on their sales web
site http://www.deltasurgeprotectors.com/home.cfm 

Maybe the lawyers want them shown in the box for liability concerns. The
tech person I spoke with says they recommend  putting them in the box if
they are around combustible material such as insulation. Could that also be
dry grass around a ground mount?

They did say that on LA's manufactured  2009 and later that the jar no
longer cracks, they have a "VIP plug" on the bottom of the jar that pops out
when the LA is done. They did say that on big, close by strikes, all bets
are off on just the VIP plug popping out. Expect more damage in that case.

BTW, great article in Solar Pro on PV array voltage issues.

Thanks,

Dave

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Bill Brooks
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 12:46 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Delta LA's

David,

They are supposed to be mounted outside boxes so that you can clearly see
when they have been used up. Sand makes glass that expands and breaks the
plastic. They used to be porcelain for the very same reason. If you are
concerned about unqualified people coming in contact with conductors, put a
guard around it.

Bill.

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Dave Palumbo
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 5:32 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Delta LA's

I am concerned with Delta LA 600VDC cans being mounted exterior from J-boxes
(or disconnect switches) on ground mounts.

I remember hearing  from an old hand that these devices can fail in a manner
that could possibly expose the wiring to human hands. The wires would have
high voltage DC potential. Not  something we need in our industry.

Am I worrying about something that can't happen? Or should these be in PVC
boxes?

David Palumbo 

Independent Power LLC

Offices in Lamoille and the Champlain Valley, Vermont

802.888.7194 

www.independentpowerllc.com 

NABCEP Certified Solar PV InstallerT

Vermont RE Incentive Program Partner

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of North Texas
Renewable Energy Inc
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 10:07 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Testing LSAs

For the first time since 2004 we got a residential PV red tag for non-listed
surge supressors. I just took them off and replaced them after we got the
green tag. Of course he also red-tagged the copper ground plate because it
was not thick enough. Go figure....

Jim Duncan

North Texas Renewable Energy

-----Original Message-----
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org]On Behalf Of Andrew Truitt
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:09 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Testing LSAs

Question: Since the Delta lightning arrestors are not UL Listed, do they
threaten the UL compliance of the PV system as a whole?

- Andrew Truitt
Currently of Standard Solar
Free agent in the Denver area as of 10/6/10

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 6:02 PM, Peter Parrish
<peter.parrish at calsolareng.com> wrote:

I would think that an ohmmeter set to the 10 Mega-ohm setting (or the
highest setting possible), would be the first test. I would like to see
something on the order of 750 k-ohms (3/4 of a mega-ohm).

But the system should be tested at a higher voltage, than that available
from a DMM. Apply 240 Vac and measure the RMS current. It should be should
be 0.3 mA or less.

Finally, these puppies really need to be tested at much higher voltages,
perhaps someone knows how to use that megohmmeter to test? What does the
manu recommend, "if suspect, throw it away and buy a new one"?

- Peter

Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885

________________________________________
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Kristopher
Schmid
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 1:30 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Testing LSAs

What is the best method for testing the integrity of a DC and/or AC
lightning surge arrestor?  Specifically, i use the Delta LA units.  I know
they should be replaced if they look Bar-B-Qued, but otherwise...?

Thanks,
Kris Schmid

Legacy Solar
864 Clam Falls Trail
Frederic, WI 54837
715-653-4295
solman at legacysolar.com
www.legacysolar.com

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