<br>We, too, do about 5 XW AC coupled systems per year and they can definitely be issue prone. The latest issue that we have is a system with 2 Sunpower 3300x (positively grounded GT3.3's) inverters and an XW6048. The system operates as expected when the grid is present but when the grid goes down craziness ensues. The 3300x's shut down for 5 minutes as expected but when they power back on they ramp up for anywhere from 1-15 minutes before shutting down again. After this happens 2 or 3 times the XW (which comunicates with the 3300x's via a daisy chained CAT-5 for overvoltage shutdown control, as persribed by Xantrex) shuts down as well even though the battery volatage is within limits, cutting power to the critical loads. Of course Xantrex tech support has been entirely unhelpful. I am thinking that the inrush of current through the output terminals of the XW is just too much for it to handle, but of course I can't get confirmation on that. It should be noted that Xantrex does say the AC coupling is an "unsupported" function of the XW, eve though they did put out that Tech Note on AC coupling and had at least 5 of the systems at the Solar Decathalon in DC 2 years ago... I should also say that Mike McGowen at Xantrex (I think one of the developers of the XW?) has been helpful, but he is not in tech support and had limited availablitity to troubleshoot systems.<br>
<br>So I have decided that, along with Sunpower we will foresake Xantrex for SMA. Our next AC coupled system will be with a Sunny Boy inverter and a Sunny Island. Incednetally, SMA is holding a webinar this Tuesday on the Sunny Island. The SMA system eliminates the need for overvoltage relays with some sort of frequency modulation (ingenious) and I am hoping will not be prone to the other issues that seem to plague AC coupled XW systems.<br>
<br><br>Andrew Truitt<br>Standard Solar Inc.<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 9:25 PM, Peter Parrish <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:peter.parrish@calsolareng.com">peter.parrish@calsolareng.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div link="blue" vlink="blue" lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">I would like to start a thread on
AC-coupled grid tied battery backup systems. We do a fair number of GTBBSs
(four to five a year) and I have gravitated from the Outback solution to the
Xantrex XW solution. I am not happy with the XW product and especially not
happy with Xantrex’s post sales technical support. I know I have more to
learn about these puppies in general, so I am genuinely disappointed with the
uneven TS from Xantrex.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;">I also had this nagging feeling that the
heart of a GTBBS should be the tried and true high voltage inverter. Enter the
SunPower positive ground requirement, and now an AC coupled system seems the
best solution.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;">From the white paper that Outback sent me,
there was no mention of a heavy duty relay. Doesn’t the Outback inverter
regulate the battery charge control?</span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;">Has anyone tried to order a SunWize “Solar
Ready Battery Assembly” without the charge controller (e.g. P/N SRB3.6).
It would seem that this is a nice package for small energy needs (13 to 26 kWh
of battery backup). </span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;">- Peter </span></font></p>
<p><img src="cid:image003.gif@01CA1530.B0110780" width="67" align="left" height="80" hspace="12"><font size="1" color="navy"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: navy;">Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D.,
President<br>
California Solar Engineering, Inc.<br>
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065<br>
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26<br>
<a href="mailto:peter.parrish@calsolareng.com" target="_blank">peter.parrish@calsolareng.com</a>
<br>
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax
323-258-8885
</span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;" align="center"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<hr size="2" width="100%" align="center">
</span></font></div>
<p><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma; font-weight: bold;">From:</span></font></b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;">
<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>
[mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">On Behalf Of </span></b>William Miller<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, August 04, 2009
5:55 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:jryago@netscape.com" target="_blank">jryago@netscape.com</a>;
RE-wrenches<br>
<b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [RE-wrenches] XW6048
parts problem</span></font></p>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jeff:<br>
<br>
I have a spare. They are not kept in the socket but are loose in a
bag. Send me your mailing address off list. I leave tomorrow for a
week, so I hope I see your address before I go.<br>
<br>
William<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
At 04:59 PM 8/4/2009, you wrote:<br>
<br>
</span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just completed a large residential grid/gen/solar/battery system using
a XW6048 inverter.<br>
<br>
We are using a SunnyBoy inverter at the array and doing an AC coupled
backfeed. To do this we have installed a heavy duty relay in the output
of the SunnyBoy, and are using the aux. relay contacts on the XW unit to close
this relay when battery voltage is at high limit (during no load power outage
to prevent over-charging)<br>
<br>
Not sure if we lost it during installation, if it shook loose in shipment and
fell out, or was missing to begin with, but to connect to the aux. contacts in
th XW requires a very small green flat 5-pin connector which is missing.<br>
<br>
I contacted multiple people at Xantrex and their service center, waded through
their web site, and finally talked to a service tech. He advised that
"he was looking for an extra one of these connectors 6 months ago and
still has not received it, as these compoments are made and assembled in China
and they do not stock anything that is considered an assembly part used in
China to build their units."<br>
<br>
First, I did not realize these inverters were being assembled in China, and
second, who ever heard of not stocking a replacement part just because its made
in China. If that were true, 95% of everything sold today in US would not
be able to order replacement parts.<br>
<br>
Anybody out their know if there is a Radio Shack type supplier where I can
order a bag of these and get on with the system startup and my life?<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Jeff Yago<br>
<br>
_____________________________________________________________<br>
Netscape. Just the Net You Need.<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
List sponsored by Home Power magazine<br>
<br>
List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
Options & settings:<br>
<a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
List-Archive: <a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
List rules & etiquette:<br>
<a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm</a><br>
<br>
Check out participant bios:<br>
<a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org/" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
No virus found in this incoming message.<br>
Checked by AVG - <a href="http://www.avg.com/" target="_blank">www.avg.com</a> <br>
Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.43/2281 - Release Date: 08/04/09
05:57:00</span></font></p>
<p><u><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Please note new e-mail address and domain:<br>
<br>
</span></font></u>William Miller <br>
Miller Solar<br>
Voice :805-438-5600 Fax: 805-438-4607 <br>
email: <a href="mailto:william@millersolar.com" target="_blank">william@millersolar.com</a><br>
<a href="http://millersolar.com/" target="_blank">http://millersolar.com<br>
</a>License No. C-10-773985</p>
</div></div></div>
</div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
List sponsored by Home Power magazine<br>
<br>
List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
Options & settings:<br>
<a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
List-Archive: <a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
List rules & etiquette:<br>
<a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm</a><br>
<br>
Check out participant bios:<br>
<a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>"Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And it's wireless!"<br>
<br>~William McDonough<br><br>