[RE-wrenches] Outback question

[Ray Walters]

If he's not running the generator through a transformer, then he's 
probably just running 120 vac off one leg of the generator, with no load 
on the other leg.  This imbalance will definitely cause generator 
failures long term, and not reliably charge the batteries.

Ray Walters
Remote Solar

On 8/15/2024 7:36 PM, Jay via RE-wrenches wrote:
> My question would be what is the combined generator load?  Did anything change?  Anything new, solar parts or ac loads or new person around?
>
> The max charging is around 20 amps or 2400 watts, + loads can get pretty large.
> Most generators don’t have that kind of 120v capacity. I ask because he’s burned out 2 generators which says to me his programming might be incorrect.
> I’ve seen odd behavior if the generator is running too hard, if so I have people turn down the ac input amps. It doesn’t matter where the charge amps is, loads are priority.
> And
>
> I’ve not seen this exact set of issues. Could be settings or an actual board.
> Probably not the fet board but could be either the ac or control board.
> Jay
>
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>
>
>
>> On Aug 15, 2024, at 7:02 PM, Ron Young via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Wrenches, I have a client who has a 6 year old Outback 3524 inverter. It has performed well for him until two months ago when he started seeing huge fluctuations in the charging behaviour indicated on the Mate and flaky behaviour in the household loads. He said he’s also “burned out” a couple of generators. The AC loads remaining constant while the charging loads would fluctuate, doubling sometimes.
>>
>> Because he’s pretty remote I’ve had him troubleshooting and he has replaced the battery pack, switched generators, checked all the wiring. He found a loose wire incoming from the generator but when repaired it made no difference. I believe the problem may be the charging board in the Outback is failing. Appreciate any comments or suggestions. Also what is the current status of boards from Outback? From reading the Wrenches list I see that Outback has changed hands recently.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Ron Young
>> earthRight Solar - Solareagle.com
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