[RE-wrenches] AC Backfeed from Radian.
Chris Worcester
chris at solarwindworks.com
Mon Feb 17 10:57:29 PST 2014
Hi John,
If this is the LPG unit, I have had really long cold days here in Truckee, diagnosing erratic engine behavior, trying all sorts of motor diagnostics, as we could get her running when we arrived after the sub zero nights, waiting a bit for the sun to warm up enough to hold a wrench without it sticking to the fingers. Then we’d leave to have the off grid owner calling us in the evening saying the Kohler went off line again.
Finally we traced it to icing in the LPG regulator, as the Gas company was delivering “dirty fuel” with some moisture in it. Calling the gas company they came out and added some “alcohol” or some sort of de-icer to the tank. This cleared up the problem immediately. Whew.
Chris Worcester
Solar Wind Works
NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Office 530-582-4503
Cell 530-448-9692
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www.solarwindworks.com
chris at solarwindworks.com
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of dan at foxfire-energy.com
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 6:10 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Backfeed from Radian.
Have the genny guy check the valves. and control fuse (and holders) for intermittent contact.
Dan Brown
Foxfire Energy Corp.
Renewable Energy Systems
(802)-483-2564
www.Foxfire-Energy.com
NABCEP #092907-44
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Backfeed from Radian.
From: Tump <tump at swnl.net>
Date: Mon, February 17, 2014 7:51 am
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
John, How many hours on this unit? There have been issues w/ intake air freezing the TPS throttle positioning sensor. Has to do w/ poor crankcase ventilation, is the gen located inside or out? The nylon throttle bushings also wear out and cause all kinds of problems. It would seem to me that having isolated the gen from the inverter (all disconnects/inverter bypassed) and you STILL are seeing a failure then I suspect there IS one in the gen. Those units did also have a wire chaffing /pinching issue at the brush cover, check that. I believe they also have fuses for the exciter circuit so I would hope they would trip on "LR" situation.
On Feb 16, 2014, at 10:02 PM, john wrote:
Wrenches,
I have an off-grid installation with an Outback Radian using a Kohler RES 13 for backup. The generator has had problems from day one and has had control boards replaced and other work done on it. This system started out with a Magnum 4024AE but was undersized for the loads and battery size so we upgraded to the Radian. The current problem is the generator running erratically (frequency and voltage) and running rough. The Kohler repairman said that the problem is that the inverter had damaged the generator with a measured 12 VAC at the inverter side of the AC IN breaker when the generator is off. When I arrived, we started the generator with the MATE 3 and it worked fine for about 10 minutes charging at 4.5 kw and then the engine started running erratically. The frequency readout on the MATE 3 ranged from 56 Hz to 67 Hz and the voltage was sometimes steady at 238 and at times varying from 236 to 244. The MATE 3 showed several manual starts previously where the Initial voltage was 277 briefly (1 second) and then leveled out and locked on. Eventually the generator shut down with Error 13. We also had it fail to start with Locked Rotor error. I did measure 3.1 VAC on the AC out bus of the inverter when the generator was stopped. Is that small voltage present normal for the Radian and is there any way that could affect the generator? When I set the MATE 3 to DROP to disconnect the charging, we could still read the hz and Voltage at the bus and the erratic behavior continued. I think there are serious problems with the generator but the Kohler tech says it is the inverter interference . When we started the generator manually with the input breaker off, it ran erratic and eventually shut down.
The customer wants the generator guy and myself there tomorrow to figure out how to fix it. I say a new generator might take care of the problem but the customer doesn't want to hear this.
Any ideas? I have dealt with lots of generators and to me this seems like a worn out genny.
John Blittersdorf
Central Vermont Solar & Wind
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