[RE-wrenches] Dual Radian install

[William Miller]

Nathan:
 
Thanks to you and all the others for the speedy replies.  We installed one
single Radian and I will never again buy a pre-wired GSLC.  The wiring was
sloppy and it is unrealistic to try and cram the AC and DC switching into
one or two of these cabinets.  
 
More and more frequently we forego using the standard BOS AC Cabinets for AC
distribution and instead go directly into standard outboard AC cabinets.
This is true for FX, SW, MX and Radian installations.  Here's how we used to
do this with SW inverters:
<http://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/Portfolio/Inverters/battery_iinverters/f
ull_size_photos/3_input_sw.JPG>
http://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/Portfolio/Inverters/battery_iinverters/fu
ll_size_photos/3_input_sw.JPG
 
We have been designing and building our own bypass interlock brackets.  With
some aluminum stock, a band saw and a little ingenuity we have been able to
build any interlock we need.  For this installation we will back-feed the
generator into an extra breaker in the inverter-fed panel  We will interlock
it with the two inverter fed breakers and have a very reliable and
inexpensive bypass.  I am fixing to do an article on my web site featuring
the various interlock solutions we have built.
 
(This is off the subject, but one can use a single phase panel to handle the
output distribution for a 120 only inverter system as well as provide a
bypass.  One bus is inverter fed and the other is gen fed.  Properly
configured breakers with an interlock provide the bypass capabilities.)
 
I am curious about why you would recommend the Petametric.  It handles only
three shunts just like the FNDC.  I understand you can install an unlimited
number of charge controllers to the FNDC (and maybe the Pentametric as well)
as long as you shunt the combined negatives with any shunt having the
correct amps/mv ratio.  The FNDC integrates with the Mate 3 which seems
desirable to me over the Pentametric.  Comments?
 
Again, thanks to everyone.
 
William
 
 
 
 
 
 


17395 Oak Rd. Atascadero, CA 93422
www.millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/> 
805-438-5600 voice*
*Note: above number replaces cell number
 


  _____  

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Nathan
Stumpff
Sent: Monday, August 05, 2013 2:04 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Dual Radian install



We have installed one dual Radian system. We looked at the prewired
distribution boxes from OutBack (MidNite's wasn't out yet at that time) but
they had no bypass solution for two inverters. We ended up using an external
100 A, 2 pole, double throw safety switch for an AC bypass from the
generator feed, a little spendy but the only thing we could come up with.
The newer MidNite E-Panel Master & Slave setup deals with the bypass, I
haven't gone through to price it out to see if it makes sense yet, but I bet
it does, especially since you can use dinrail breakers instead of all panel
mount, as is the case with OutBack.

 

Not sure if you like or are planning on using the FlexNet DC, but on our
install we had two inverters and two charge controllers, so the otherwise
convenient triple-shunt-busbar option (OutBack) didn't really do much for
us. Kinda dumb you can't use two FlexNet DCs. When I do it again I would
probably steer the customer towards a Pentametric.

 

Ditto to the comments on the firmware upgrade and spacing the inverters.
Next time I will definitely use a few nipples between the distribution
boxes, the doors are way too tight when spaced right next to each other.

 

Cheers,

-Nathan

 

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