[RE-wrenches] HIQ Inverter Experience?

[Patrick Shortell]

Hi Jay,
I did cut open one of the inverters.
The electronics are potted but I noticed that there were studs that
appeared riveted to the external casing which appeared to be aluminum. It
appeared that the saltwater had entered along this stud and eventually made
its way to the circuit board. I assume that the stud performed a grounding
function since that model inverter is externally grounded.
I could see the green evidence where the stud entered the potting that salt
water had indeed passed through the potting and encountered some copper. I
think Enphase has gone with a ground wire in the cabling nowadays. Maybe a
new design has eliminated that route to the board.
Pat



On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 12:58 PM, jay <jay.peltz at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Patrick
>
> I would add that the NEMA 6 rating is for dust/water intrusion, not
> corrosion resistance.
>
> I don’t know what the metallurgy of the Enphase was/is or the HIQ.
> But I would not make the assumption that whats bad/good for one is the
> same for any other.
>
> jay
>
> Peltz power
>
>
> On Mar 11, 2016, at 9:29 AM, Patrick Shortell <pshortell6 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Hi Chris,
> My experience with microinverters rated NEMA 6 in a salt environment was
> an absolute disaster. I have a 50KW ground mount, Enphase M210's, Sanyo
> 220's and within three years more than half failed.
> The system is approx a 1/2 mile from the Ocean and about 300 Yards from a
> bay and is also on an island.
> We removed the microinverters and installed SMA string inverters.
> We have similiar installations in the immediate area and the SMA product
> has held up for 12 years.
> My microinverter experiment ended badly and as an electrician for over
> thirty years, the enphase product was the only product I ever saw with a
> NEMA 6 rating.
> My Opinion, you cant beat an SMA product in this environment.
> Pat
>
> On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 11:39 AM, Christopher Warfel <
> cwarfel at entech-engineering.com> wrote:
>
>> We are designing a 480Vac, 3 phase system for a school on an island. The
>> system will be outdoors, about 1/2 from the ocean shore. Corrosion via salt
>> is a real problem. We submitted some pictures to Solar Pro for an article
>> they are writing. HIQ are NEMA 6.  I have no experience with them, and was
>> wondering if anyone did.  Thank you, Chris
>>
>> --
>> Christopher Warfel, President
>> ENTECH Engineering, Inc.
>> PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807
>> 401-466-8978
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Patrick A. Shortell
> *Licensed Master Electrician*
> *Certified Solar Installer*
> 71 Oregon Street
> Long Beach N.Y. 11561
> cell: 516-477-0221
>
>
>
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-- 
Patrick A. Shortell
*Licensed Master Electrician*
*Certified Solar Installer*
71 Oregon Street
Long Beach N.Y. 11561
cell: 516-477-0221
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