[RE-wrenches] Delta LAs
Dave Click
daveclick at fsec.ucf.edu
Tue Sep 14 13:05:52 PDT 2010
On my own system I have a DC suppressor from
http://www.surgesuppression.com/
It's UL listed with a 25-year warranty. Not as cheap as a Delta (or
Citel as far as I know) though, but I felt a lot more confident with
this given our crazy lightning storms in FL.
DKC
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Delta LAs
From: Mick Abraham <mick at abrahamsolar.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Date: 2010/9/14 15:17
> Citel products do have a listing mark but this is European style CE, not
> American style UL/ETL. Citel is reputedly working on American
> certification but one would be advised to not hold one's breath.
>
> The Citel products which mount to a DIN rail have an LED indicator which
> goes dark once the surge elements have been sacrificed. Also some of
> their units have an auxiliary switch which can remotely indicate a blown
> condition. This is in the form of dry contacts..a normally open and a
> normally closed one, so various indicator circuits can be designed
> around that. The contacts have a low amp AC rating and also a (lower
> amp) DC rating but I do not remember the numbers at present.
>
> Jolliness,
>
> Mick Abraham, Proprietor
> www.abrahamsolar.com <http://www.abrahamsolar.com>
>
> Voice: 970-731-4675
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 12:43 PM, R Ray Walters <ray at solarray.com
> <mailto:ray at solarray.com>> wrote:
>
> You could buy several ground rods for the cost of one Delta.
> Ground Impedance is the real issue. Both the Delta and the
> Polyphasor need a good ground to work.
> While I haven't seen much of a correlation between Deltas and
> reduced lightning damage, (lots of system damage with and without)
> I have found that well grounded systems (tied to a steel cased well)
> have never had a problem, even with direct strikes to a wind turbine
> (did lose the $40 turbine rectifier, but nothing else)
>
> I now own a clamp-on ground impedance tester, and the results were
> miserable. Some electrodes were over 800 ohms to ground! (code
> requires under 25 ohms)
> I'd spend more time and money reducing ground impedance, and then if
> it makes you feel good inside, throw the little "lightning faeries"
> in, if the AHJ isn't looking.......
>
> If its really lightning country, and a really expensive off grid
> system, I use Polyphasor, but they have their own issues. (very
> expensive, no UL listing, loose internal connections, nuisance
> tripping, need a large J-box to mount them inside, etc.)
> I haven't tried the Citel stuff, but it looks to be listed, and
> mounts on a DIN rail. After installing a couple hundred Deltas, I'd
> try something else at this point.
>
>
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com <mailto:ray at solarray.com>
> Solar Engineer
>
>
>
>
> On Sep 14, 2010, at 10:22 AM, Kristopher Schmid wrote:
>
>> My thought here is that nothing will protect the equipment from a
>> direct strike, but a near strike that may induce a significant
>> surge may be absorbed by the LA and protect the equipment. I like
>> the feedback so far. It would not break my heart to stop using
>> them altogether.:-}
>> Kris
>>
>> Legacy Solar
>> 864 Clam Falls Trail
>> Frederic, WI 54837
>> 715-653-4295
>> solman at legacysolar.com <mailto:solman at legacysolar.com>
>> www.legacysolar.com <http://www.legacysolar.com>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> *From:* re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
>> <mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>> [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
>> <mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org>] *On Behalf
>> Of *August Goers
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 14, 2010 10:39 AM
>> *To:* RE-wrenches
>> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Delta LAs
>>
>> All -
>> I guess my thought is a little off topic, but are lightning
>> arrestors even worth using at all? My logic has always been
>> that if lightning does indeed strike that it's likely going to
>> blow the arrestor and and inverter. We don't have much of a
>> lightning issue issue in the Bay Area so I don't have any
>> direct experience.
>> Best,
>> August
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 6:29 AM, Kristopher Schmid
>> <solman at legacysolar.com <mailto:solman at legacysolar.com>> wrote:
>>
>> It is quite ironic that just a week after I posted a
>> question to the group
>> on testing the integrity of lightning arrestors, I had one
>> apparently faulty
>> out of the box. The manifest of this was interesting:
>> when the AC LA
>> (LA302R) was connected in parallel on the AC input to a
>> SB3000 inverter,
>> there was 125vac neutral to L1, 125vac neutral to L2, and
>> 1Vac L1 to L2.
>> SMA tech support suggested the LA as the issue and sure
>> enough, it was.
>> Attempting to test good and faulty arrestors with an
>> ohmmeter gave the same
>> result - off scale open.
>>
>> Any thoughts or comments from the group?
>>
>> Kris Schmid
>>
>> Legacy Solar
>> 864 Clam Falls Trail
>> Frederic, WI 54837
>> 715-653-4295
>> solman at legacysolar.com <mailto:solman at legacysolar.com>
>> www.legacysolar.com <http://www.legacysolar.com/>
>>
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>>
>> --
>> August Goers
>> VP, Engineering
>>
>> Luminalt Energy Corporation
>> 1320 Potrero Avenue
>> San Francisco, CA 94110
>> O: 415.641.4000
>> M: 415.559.1525
>> august at luminalt.com <mailto:august at luminalt.com>
>>
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>
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