[RE-wrenches] Suspect MX 60
jay peltz
jay at asis.com
Wed Nov 19 09:57:05 PST 2014
HI Tump,
I was just informed by OB that its $90 for a mate 1 firmware update.
If its a older version with the AGS bug, then they will upgrade for free.
4.1.2 I believe.
jay
peltz power
On Nov 19, 2014, at 9:30 AM, Tump wrote:
> To add; I am a firm believer that every few years I will send OB CC/Mates in for firmware up date. I will repole an off grid system at least twice a year. Temp sensor is imperative! and if the site is not maned do not set auto eq.
> On Nov 18, 2014, at 1:40 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
>
>> Drake,
>> I'll add just a bit to Jarmo's excellent reply:
>> You mentioned that you were unsure if the MX60 was set to auto-EQ. This could be a source of trouble. The MX60 had the unfortunate characteristic whereby if set to auto-EQ, it would continue to try to complete an EQ indefinitely once triggered. As such, if the array was not sufficient to hold the batteries above the EQ voltage for the set duration, or as the batteries aged and their internal resistance increased such that the EQ voltage couldn't be maintained, the controller would never complete and exit EQ mode. 31V, while conservative, is high enough to cause this.
>>
>> If that is what occurred here, then disabling automatic EQ and reducing the EQ voltage below gassing threshold should prevent recurrence.
>> Allan
>>
>> Allan Sindelar
>> allan at sindelarsolar.com
>> NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
>> NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
>> New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
>> Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
>> 505 780-2738 cell
>>
>>
>> On 11/18/2014 11:03 AM, Jarmo.Venalainen at schneider-electric.com wrote:
>>> Hi:
>>>
>>> This may not be the problem, but I wanted to bring it up as I have heard of a few cases of battery boiling issues with various charge controllers and want to suggest a possible cause.
>>>
>>> I'll do this point form. It's easier to describe it that way:
>>>
>>> 1. Solar charge controllers are programmed to go to bulk charge in the morning.
>>> 2. The intensity of the sunlight starts off low in the morning and depending on the weather during the day, the intensity can reach any level between virtually 0% and 100%.
>>> 3. The exit criteria for bulk is that the battery voltage reaches the Vbulk/abs volts setting or a bulk/abs timer times out.
>>> 4. If the sunlight conditions are just right to keep the charging voltage just below the Vbulk/abs setpoint, the exit from bulk/abs will be the timer.
>>> 5. Bulk/Abs timers are usually set for rather a long time, many hours is not uncommon.
>>> 6. Given the above, it is possible that the battery stays at gassing voltages for many hours every day at certain times of the year when the sunlight intensity is just right to support that.
>>> 7. As a consequence the boiling problem will show up only at particular sites, particular battery/charge controller sizes and particular times of year.
>>>
>>> Again, I am not suggesting that this is necessarily the cause of battery "boiling" in systems with solar charge controllers, but it could be a reason.
>>>
>>> 2nd ps. All manufacturers do precise battery voltage/current measurements on the bench with a wide variety of conditions, but we will never be able to simulate the 1000's of conditions that happen on the 1000's of installs out there. With that in mind, on-site battery voltage/current data logging is a very powerful tool when investigating these kinds of issues.
>>>
>>> JARMO
>>> _____________________________________________________________________________________
>>>
>>> Jarmo Venalainen | Schneider Electric | Solar Business | CANADA | Training & Development Specialist - Senior
>>> Phone: +604-422-2528 | Fax: +604-420-1591 | Mobile: +604-505-0291
>>> Email: jarmo.venalainen at schneider-electric.com | Site: www.SEsolar.com | Address: 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1
>>>
>>> <Mail Attachment.jpeg>
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>>>
>>> From: Drake <drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org>
>>> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>,
>>> Date: 11/18/2014 09:15 AM
>>> Subject: [RE-wrenches] Suspect MX 60
>>> Sent by: "RE-wrenches" <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hello Wrenches,
>>>
>>> An MX 60 boiled a 24 volt bank of 4 Trojan L-16 batteries last summer. The batteries all checked out to be in good shape. It is not totally clear that the CC was not set to auto equalize, but the EQ voltage was only set at 31.0 V.
>>>
>>> The battery bank has been replaced by 8 Full River L-16 AGM batteries. The parameters have all been reset for AGM with EQ disabled. The homeowners are concerned that the charge control may not work, and damage their new battery bank.
>>>
>>> If there is a problem with the CC, it is very intermittent. Has anyone ever seen an intermittent MX 60?
>>>
>>> Outback tech support says if we send it in they will update the firmware for $90, and do a 24 hour bench test. It appears that the firmware update will not do anything useful for this off grid system. There are no new boards available for this unit. I'm not sure if the bench test will show up an intermittent problem.
>>>
>>> Has anyone had this situation before? Would it be better to:
>>> Replace the CC
>>> Send the CC to Outback
>>> Do nothing
>>> Thank you,
>>>
>>> Drake
>>>
>>> Drake Chamberlin
>>> Athens Electric LLC
>>> OH License 44810
>>> CO License 3773
>>> NABCEP Certified Solar PV
>>> 740-448-7328
>>> http://athens-electric.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>> Tump at swnl.net www.SWNL.net
>> Solarwinds Northernlights
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>> 207-832-7574 Cl. 610-517-8401
>> Blair "TUMP" May
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