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

[Maverick Brown [Maverick Solar]]

I just installed my first MMP. I love that box!

I agree that the charge controller bracket is whimpy. Make it from 0.125 or fold it to make it more rigid. 

I did not have trouble with the Torx head screws. I had been using a Milwaukee M12 Impact Driver and have the big set of bits to go with it. 

I bought the Milwaukee specifically to drive 10-32 type F philips screws to hold ground lugs to PV modules. Faster than a regular screw driver and no stripped Philips heads. 

You don't HAVE to use Torx for the MMP. And, I don't mind u$ing Torx for ground lugs if I could find them.
 

Thank you,

Maverick


Maverick Brown
BSEET, NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer ®
President & CEO
Maverick Solar Enterprises, Inc.
Office:     512-919-4493
Cell:        512-460-9825

Sent from an iPhone. 

On Dec 23, 2010, at 5:30 PM, "Brian Faley" <BFaley at magnumenergy.com> wrote:

> Thanks Mick for the post we always welcome feedback from installers
> after all you guys are the experts! A couple of notes to clarify Mick's
> observations.
> 
> Mick is correct, the version 2.1 of the ME-ARC release Feb 2010 did have
> a software bug where the decimal point was in the wrong place in the
> Amps IN/OUT meter. The calculation for the SOC meter was still correct
> so the actual SOC displayed was correct but the individual meter was
> wrong by a factor of 10. The bug was reported in May 2010 and the fix
> (along with some new features) was released Nov 2010. We apologize for
> the inconvenience this bug caused but we didn't recall the product as
> the SOC was still correct, which is the most critical meter to determine
> battery SOC. 
> 
> Again thanks for your insight on the MMP and MP panels. We use Torx
> fasters not as a deterrent but because the sheet metal is "funnel
> punched", which means when we receive it there are no threads for the
> screws. We use a special thread forming screw (not to be confused with
> self tapping screws, thread forming screws leave no metal shavings when
> forming the threads) to drive into the sheet metal which takes some
> force to achieve the threads. We use Torx instead of Phillips heads
> because Phillips heads screws strip out to easily during the process of
> using the thread forming screws. We have used Torx thread forming
> fasteners in our products from the very inception of Magnum and you may
> notice they hold the top covers and all the boards together in the
> inverters.
> 
> The original MMP units did not have a charge controller bracket. It was
> added later as were the PEM nuts for the mounting to the MMP, so there
> are no holes to drill on the current MMP. The charger controller bracket
> fits the right or left hand side and fits: MidNite, Outback and
> Morningstar controllers. The controller is mounted with the nipple at
> the bottom and the bracket holds the top of the controller from
> "pivoting". For the Outback controllers there is also a hole in the MMP
> if you want to take one of the controller cover screws out you can
> reinsert the screw through the MMP into the controller.
> 
> The last item I will mention is the lack of a bracket to mount the
> standard remote to the MP panels. The MP panels are designed for
> multiple parallel inverter installations which a ME-RTR (we call it a
> router, like a Hub and Mate in one unit) is required so you can parallel
> two or more inverters. We do provide a router bracket since most likely
> you would use an MMP for one inverter and the MP for multiple inverters.
> 
> Hope this helps, and again thanks Mick your insight.
> 
> 
> Brian Faley
> Chief Engineer
> Magnum Energy
> 2111 W Casino Rd
> Everett, WA 98204
> 425-353-8833
> bfaley at magnumenergy.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20101223/a4e3a05f/attachment-0004.html>