[RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions

[Tump]

Allan, are you planning on replacing the battery bank as well? If so SMA is always first choice, despite their price point.  As with ANY inverter you will probably have an issue. As remote as site is, I always consider what manufacture really does compensate you and how quickly do they get you a replacement...... Hands down SMA. 120 SPh works with the old gen set, works well with the Trace DC250, (and these expensive units don't adapt as well as replacements in older home systems) NOT!, talks to Midnights CCs any 220 load is readily installed w/ a t former. No longer are the manus making boards readily available so no more field servicing.
If the battery bank is not to be replaced then the OBVFX product line, these units do not need additional software/computer/internet service to service unlike the some others.. .. "oh yeah you need to remove the 01-27 & replace it with the right file 01-277" sound familiar to any one else?  
TIME VERSES LABOR your last sentence would be a wake up call all the $$$$$$$ you will need to upgrade this old system why would you use anything other then the SMA SI if you too are going to replace the batteries. 
I also will do a bench test so I am not surprised with ANY remote install. Pain in the butt but certainly lot less problematic for you and your reputation.
On Jan 30, 2015, at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:

> Esteemed Wrenches,
> This question is prompted by a specific customer's situation, and I have a question related to this, but I'm mainly using the situation to ask a broader question.
> 
> The specific situation: A customer's Xantrex SW+2524 has been acting erratically. Fixing the inverter is not the issue; the client is quite remote, and costs of diagnosis, parts and labor for these legacy units have gone up enough that the customer has already decided to replace the unit with a current product. From my perspective, the issues at hand revolve around how to safely and cleanly install a modern inverter into a system structured around old equipment. 
> 
> The specific question: Outback's FX series is the current product that most readily replaces the SW/SW+ series: it's also 120V in/out, and it has DC on the right and AC in/out on the left of a horizontally-laid out unit. However, several times in recent years I have heard disparaging comments, both here and in private conversations, about the purported drop in quality of Outback's inverters and controllers since Alpha bought them, but specifically because units, or parts of units, are now made in China, rather than in the U.S. What I want to know, please, are answers to two+ questions: 1) what's the real scoop? what is now made where? and 2) what actual experiences, specifically product failures, have any of you had that directly relate to changes directly attributable to overseas production? In other words, how much of this is real and how much is rumor?
> 
> The bigger question (and this issue will come up frequently in the coming years): the SW+, like the SW before it, operates at 120V AC on both input and output. More and more modern battery-based inverters input and output split-phase 120/240V AC. When should I hesitate to replace a 120V legacy inverter with a 120/240V unit?
> 
> Among larger whole-house single inverters, Outback's FX and VFX units operate at 120V, but these are older models. SMA's Sunny Island is 120V only, but this is generally considered a weakness in typical SI installations, . Magnum's MS4024 is available in either configuration. Outback's Radian and Schneider's XW and Conext SW are only available as 120-240 units.
> 
> Here are the issues that I see: 
> Don't do it if a backup generator is 120V AC-only. It will work, but is hard on the inverters, as all charging current will come in on one leg of the inverter's AC input. Fortunately, relatively few generators are 120V-only; pretty much just the smaller inverter-generators. Most cheaper gennies are 240V, and either run through a step-down balancing transformer (which would be taken out with the old 120V inverter) or run out of balance. Many better portable generators have a 120/120-240 switch, making it necessary to only replace a cable and plug to add a second hot conductor.
> 
> Also, most older AC switchgear, such as QO403 inverter bypass switches, are set up for single pole breakers, and would thus require replacement, and reworking in general on the AC side to handle two hot input and output conductors. 
> 
> But once the jumper between the two hot legs is removed in the AC main panel, and two hots are connected, making the panel 120-240, what are the concerns that I might not have anticipated? Are there any hidden dangers, or situations where this change could cause problems, especially in AC distribution? 
> 
> Thanks in advance. I hope that I don't regret posting this late on a Friday...
> 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
> 
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