[RE-wrenches] Combiner breakers tripping

[Dana Orzel]

Is this high elevation?
Is the PV charge controller maxed out on PV so therefore edge of cloud effect definitely could be an issue.?
Does it happen more often when it’s cold?

Sent from my iPad

On May 1, 2026, at 3:22 PM, jay via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

 They are both made by CBI of south africa

I’m wondering if age is the main issue?



On May 1, 2026, at 3:08 PM, Ray Walters via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:


I've also seen some Outback 15A breakers in combiner boxes just trip when they shouldn't.  Replaced with Midnite and quit having problems.  As others mentioned, going to larger breakers is usually fine.  I usually match the fuse rating for the module itself.  Many are 20A, which gets away from any edge of cloud stuff too.

Ray Walters
Remote Solar

On 5/1/2026 1:55 PM, David Coale via RE-wrenches wrote:
It could be that the breakers are tripping due to the cloud-edge effect.  This happens when you have a sunny day with a few puffy clouds drifting by.  As the clouds start to shade the array, there is a focusing effect around the cloud that will increase the sunlight on the array.  If the breakers are close to the max output of the array, then they can trip during these sunny/cloudy days.  Increasing the breakers to the next size up, if the wiring will handle it, will fix the problem.  I have seen this in a few installations.  Changing the breakers from 10 amps to 15 amps fixed the problem.

David


On Thu, Apr 30, 2026 at 9:31 PM All Solar via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org<mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>> wrote:
Wrenches,
I've got a c client with an Outback PV combiner with DIN mount CBs. He's let me know a few times that 9 of 10 , or at least 50%
of the breakers are tripping for no apparent reason. He resets, and all is fine for a few months.

I suspect something is wrong with the array vs. the breakers needing replaced.

What should I be looking for and checking?

The client has made sure the breaker screws are tight.

  *   Off grid
  *   Pole mounted array
  *   Solarex 110 w Modules



Regards,

Jeremy Rodriguez
All Solar






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