<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Last week we swapped 4 microinverters on a 2010 system in Naples, FL with Canadian Solar 230's. No issues whatsoever with the connectors. I probably oversaw installation of around 1,500 CS6P modules with Enphase M190s in the 2010-2012 time-frame and haven't seen any issues. Some installations are within 200 feet of the Gulf or on canals. M190s were very susceptible to ground fault issues, so the lack of CS6P issues in particular points to an isolated incident in your case perhaps. (Hopefully for my sake).</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Jason Szumlanski</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 6, 2016 at 5:28 PM, Kirk Herander <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:vtsolar@icloud.com" target="_blank">vtsolar@icloud.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">Hello,<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">I am debugging a Florida ocean-side 35 kw array using 4 year old Canadian Solar panels, which I\u2019ve never had a high opinion of, installed by others.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">I\u2019ve discovered several not-so-good problems, such as low insulation resistance through the panels, ONLY when raining, early to mid-morning condensation, or by using the last resort of spraying the panels with a garden house and watching the SMA inverters shut down due to failing their self \u201cRiso\u201d (that\u2019s the IRT) test creating a ground fault error.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">That aside, what\u2019s just as interesting is that about 8 or 9 of the module interconnections were basically oozing the aqua-blue copper tarnish. I\u2019ve never seen this in any installation before. Either the MC4s weren\u2019t crimped and tightened at the factory well, or the connectors were seated poorly, although that doesn\u2019t seem to be the case. BTW, I replaced all these dubious MC4 connectors and the ground faults still occur when the panels are wet.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">The bigger issue is the panel warranty, but is there anything on the market which could seal these connections, perhaps a type of \u201cclamshell\u201d to provide an extra layer of protection, which is removable if need be? There\u2019s always glue-filled heat shrink, but ideally I don\u2019t want anything permanent surrounding the connectors.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">Has anyone ever seen what I\u2019m describing in a marine environment?<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Kirk Herander<u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Owner|Principal, VT Solar, LLC <u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Celebrating our 25<sup>th</sup> Anniversary 1991-2016<u></u><u></u></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><a href="http://www.vermontsolarnow.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">www.vermontsolarnow.com</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">dba Vermont Solar Engineering<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">NABCEP<sup>TM </sup>2003 Inaugural Certificant<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">VT RE Incentive Program Partner<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><a href="tel:802.863.1202" value="+18028631202" target="_blank">802.863.1202</a></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></span></p></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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