[RE-wrenches] OutBack Power MATE3 to MATE3S Upgrade

[William Miller]

Dan:



I have not yet used the 3S.  I have installed a number of Mate3s with and
without FN-DC units.  I have experienced a fair number of glitches and
problems with the Mate3 and Optics.  I have a list of incidents in a
spreadsheet and I am intending to publish them to a web site.  It is my
general belief that the Outback Mate3 and the Optics system are not as
reliable as they should be and were released prematurely.  It seems every
time they release a new version a new set of problems emerges.



Here is but one example that illustrates the frustration: I was encouraged
by a top level engineer to use firmware version 003.315.003.  Apparently
that version was Beta and never released  I experienced problems with the
display of KW being consumed and was instructed to upgrade to .005.
Afterword I noticed the Mate3 was rebooting frequently.  Then it was
revealed that an auto-reboot function that I had been urged to enable in
previous versions never really worked until version .005.  I understood the
reboot would only occur if the system was locked up but apparently it
reboots every 4 hours (or period it is set to) and sends a notification.
Why would one want to reboot equipment every 4 hours unless it was locked
up?  I request a lot of notices from my Optics systems (because it is
unreliable) and I don’t need more.  Also, it is quite lame, IMHO, to
recommend using a function that does not work.  Argh!!!  (Then I learned
that .005 does not solve the incorrect display of kw consumed…Waiting for
that to be resolved.)



I have been guilty of not reading the release notes.  Read them carefully!



I will say I have not had any problems interfacing the FN-DC with a Mate3.



In spite of the problems with the Optics and Mate3 systems, I am
desperately in need of the functionality these systems promise.  We have
more and more remote sites, more pressure to provide reliable power and
better access to broadband internet.  The remote reporting and monitoring
is essential.  I am sticking with Outback for the foreseeable future but I
am in constant communications with them to encourage them to fix the many
problems.  We are all invested in them succeeding.



I hope this information is what you were hoping for.



William







[image: Gradient Cap_mini]
Lic 773985
millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/>
805-438-5600



*From:* RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] *On
Behalf Of *dan at foxfire-energy.com
*Sent:* Thursday, September 21, 2017 9:24 AM
*To:* offgridsolar at sti.net; RE-wrenches
*Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] OutBack Power MATE3 to MATE3S Upgrade



Umm, anyone? anyone?




Dan Brown
Foxfire Energy Corp.
Renewable Energy Systems
(802)-483-2564
www.Foxfire-Energy.com
NABCEP #092907-44
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