[RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 inverter and Frigidaire

Ray Walters ray at solarray.com
Fri Mar 27 10:16:04 PDT 2015


Also, the Frigidaire washer is really delicate;  I had one cooking 
controls every year as described, and it was On Grid.  The solution 
there was to put it on an Outback backup power supply, as the grid was 
often out of voltage specs.
Another thing I saw once with the SW inverters is they can partially 
fail and put out very weird wave forms and voltages.  The onboard meter 
claims 120 vac, but independent true RMS metering was showing 144 vac.  
Lights were working, etc. but odd things were happening. We had the 
inverters repaired and it was attributed to lightning damage on the 
control board.

R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760

On 3/27/2015 7:55 AM, Dave wrote:
>
> Tump, Allan, Bill & Jay;
>
> Good advice as always. I spoke with homeowner this morning and he says 
> that it has been the control boards on the Frigidaire's that have 
> failed on the SW4048. He did get advice a couple of yrs ago to add a 
> capacitor and that did not help. Inverter is not having any other 
> problems that he knows of, as of yet. He will decide between changing 
> the inverter or changing his washer & dryer.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Dave
>
> *From:*RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] 
> *On Behalf Of *Tump
> *Sent:* Friday, March 27, 2015 5:52 AM
> *To:* RE-wrenches
> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 inverter and Frigidaire
>
> As for the older SWs we installed the cap on the output side, that 
> being said I have seen GFIC outlets causing problems but I have not 
> seen these issues w/ my SMA SI. Sounds to me that; being the 
> professional you are, suggesting the replacement of the older SW with 
> something that may be less frustrating ( new inverters and their firm 
> ware upgrades, less frustrating yeah right!?) better performance and 
> eliminating costly washer repairs. If I were to try and rectify the 
> issue, then I will usual start w/ the removal of the gfic, cap on the 
> ac output, (we would just installed it on the questionable load's 
> circuit,0 OR offer a credit for the old SW and try to sell them the 
> SMA SI 6K inverter and then work your way down to their budget.
>
> On Mar 27, 2015, at 12:30 AM, Allan Sindelar wrote:
>
>
>
> Dave,
> This was a Wrenches discussion topic, somewhere between 2001 and 
> 2005.There was a fundamental incompatibility between the SW series and 
> the electronics of certain new model washers. The early Maytag 
> Neptunes and front-loading, electronically-controlled Frigidaires had 
> issues with the mod-sine waveform of the SW series. I looked in my 
> archives but have nothing saved about that. You might find the 
> original thread in the online archives. If the "expensive controls" 
> include control boards or related, this could be an ongoing issue with 
> this combination.
>
> We only had one experience with the issue, and it doesn't offer a 
> useful solution. A Y2K installation with dual SW55548s wouldn't run a 
> Frigidaire front-load washer. Adding a large power capacitor across 
> the input (per Wrenches and possibly Xantrex tech support advice) 
> didn't solve it; switching the washer circuit to the other inverter 
> did. We never did figure that one out.
>
> Just yesterday there was a thread here on "charging multiple battery 
> banks" dual systems, 24 and 48V, sharing a switched array. The 24V was 
> a SW4024. Many of us still care for systems based on that series, and 
> have good respect for it, but as they get older and support gets 
> tougher, the energy seems to be shifting toward replacement.
> Allan
>
> *Allan Sindelar*
> allan at sindelarsolar.com <mailto: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 3/26/2015 8:29 PM, frenergy wrote:
>
>     Dave,
>
>         Do you know what it is that's failing?...electronics or
>     motor?  Is it the same in both?  Have these failures been
>     happening since the 4048 was fired up or more recently?  Is there
>     a lot of generator run time?
>
>     Bill
>
>     Feather River Solar Electric
>
>         ----- Original Message -----
>
>         *From:*Dave <mailto:dave at independentpowerllc.com>
>
>         *To:*'RE-wrenches' <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>
>         *Sent:*Thursday, March 26, 2015 5:24 PM
>
>         *Subject:*Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 inverter and
>         Frigidaire
>
>         Wrenches,
>
>         Older off grid system having trouble with Frigidaire washer
>         and dryer needing expensive repairs every year or so when run
>         on a Xantrex SW 4048/S inverter manufactured in June 2005.
>
>         Not one of my installs so I don't know the particulars.
>
>         Homeowners are looking for advice on what would work better
>         with this ten year old SW. Or, should they invest in a new
>         inverter?
>
>         Thanks,
>
>         Dave
>
>         David Palumbo
>
>         Independent Power LLC
>
>         462 Solar Way Drive
>
>         Hyde Park, VT 05655
>
>         802-888-7194
>
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