[RE-wrenches] Deka Duration batteries [Off-Topic]

Thu Jun 12 12:50:15 PDT 2025

Look up Mersen specialty products. They have a big variety of pdbs rated up
to 1500V AC/DC. And some of the individual spec sheets list, slightly
different wire gauge windows of fitment based on wire type, such as fine-
stranded DLO Cable versus other types.

*Kirk Herander / **kirkh at vermont.solar <kirkh at vermont.solar>*

*Owner|Principal, VT Solar, LLC*

*Celebrating our 34st Anniversary 1991-2025!!*

dba Vermont Solar Engineering

802.559.1225

On Thu, Jun 12, 2025 at 3:06 PM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> Question about the Power Distribution Blocks...
>
> I can't seem to find these with 4/0 main and four 4/0 taps. Does anyone
> have a source that is knowledgeable? The catalogs are not much help - too
> many parts, too confusing.
>
> Also, are PDBs all rated for fine-stranded cable like this? I know only
> some Polaris taps are. We normally use PDBs for parallel inverter AC in/out
> splicing, but I never considered them for battery bus connections. It seems
> that might work well when the ampacity requirement is modest to get a
> compact battery combiner.
>
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
> NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
> Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
> Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 12, 2025 at 2:34 PM William Miller via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> Indeed, the lack of wiring infrastructure is troubling. Attached is my
>> first run at it. I am not satisfied.
>>
>> I bought some 6x6 gutter stock today. I will chop it into ~12” sections
>> to set on top of each battery with an opening to the connections. I will
>> post a photo afterwards.
>>
>> I am supposed to host a tour next week with some Deka staff. I will ask
>> about the questions posed. I hope there is no hidden problems that make
>> these batteries unsuitable. They seem solid
>>
>>
>>
>> Ps:  the photo cuts off the inverter but it is just out of frame at top.
>>
>> PPS:  I’m trying to not be amused at the Italian stereotype. We have an
>> Italian surrogate son that is in the commercial solar industry in Italy. I
>> will ask him about the cultural nuances.
>>
>>
>> William Miller
>> Miller Solar.com
>> 805-438-5600
>> www.millersolar.com
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 8:18 PM Bradley Bassett via RE-wrenches <
>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I've just heard that WM is using the Deka Duration batteries. At AEE we
>>> had a very good relationship with MK Battery and I brought in the Deka
>>> Duration to sell without really looking at all the potential issues first.
>>> However, I did become aware of them after looking at how to install them in
>>> detail. I'm curious how anyone does this with multiple batteries. I came up
>>> with lots of configurations trying to get around the extreme lack of wiring
>>> room in stacked batteries. I ended up doing drawings showing them stacked
>>> on their rear end on the floor 3 deep from the wall with a battery combiner
>>> on top of each 3 stack. Contact with tech support was always referred to
>>> the Italian company and every time I received a very condescending and
>>> arrogant response. Then I finally read the warranty in detail,
>>> unfortunately after selling some, and having to buy them back. Turns out
>>> that at that time (still?) the warranty excluded in entirety any system
>>> installed with an inverter that did not have closed loop comms with the
>>> battery. Also the temperature range to stay under warranty was basically
>>> room temperature only. After discovering all of these issues I decided that
>>> we would no longer carry them. I will say that I had no problem getting one
>>> to communicate with my XW+ inverter through the gateway CAN bus. The one
>>> that I ended up with has certainly worked fine, but of course is not under
>>> any warranty, and never has been since put into operation with an open
>>> communication inverter in a utility shed that gets down to 40°F.
>>>
>>> Brad Bassett
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