SW-4024 blowing well pumps [RE-wrenches]

[Travis Creswell, Ozark Solar]

Well pumps motors are really hard to blow.  Low voltage during starting
surges aren't very good for motors and that might be what's getting this
one.

Undersized battery cables and length would be one thing to check.  They can
really limit the surge ability of an inverter if they are too small.

Lightening might be getting them as well.

Like Ezra said have him put a start capacitor on it.

I have never been a fan of the T240. Does anyone know what happens to it's
voltage as is surges past its rated 3500 watts. 

The rest of this message is just fluff so you can quit reading now if you
want to.

One horse ~ 6.4 amps (746 watts/117 volts).  I have measured the peak on
many 1 1/2 hp well pumps and have never seen it go past 14 amps per phase
(that's with capacitor start).  I like the well pumps with the capacitor
start and for what it's worth I haven't seen one without it for years.

Of course, I don't know your dealer and it's not your fault but it's pretty
much rule #1 that someone who is installing inverters has a True RMS meter.

I always wring out my systems very hard while I am on site.  I carry at
least 2000 watts worth of quartz lights and another 3600 watts worth of
those little space heaters.  Some customers almost faint when they see me
plugging all this in!  They really get nervous when after I get it all
plugged in then tell them to turn all the water taps on. I take a system to
its max rated amps with my "inverter testing loads" then I start turning
things on in the house.  It's pretty neat to have a dual 4048 running at a
little over 30 amps on each inverter then turn the pump on and watch the
inverters run it with no problem.  I feel its important that a customer see
what their system can do.  Just the other day I was doing some service work
for a guy who had never run his 4024 hard enough to heat the cooling fans
turn on.  He didn't know what they were.


Travis Creswell


----------
>From: "Windy Dankoff, Dankoff Solar" <windy at dankoffsolar.com>
>To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
>Subject: SW-4024 blowing well pumps [RE-wrenches]
>Date: Thu, Aug 3, 2000, 6:01 PM
>

>Gentlemen,
>
>We have a dealer whose customer has blown 3 well pump motors.
>
>He has an SW-4024 properly installed. Pump is 1 HP 230V run thru a 
>T-240. He has an Onan generator backup on propane.
>
>No other appliances have blown, though he has relatively few.
>
>I suppose it could be that blown FET problem that you've been 
>discussing. The dealer doesn't have an RMS voltmeter (yet) but he 
>will now get one. Do you guys think that the known FET problem will 
>be indicated by a high RMS volt (ie. 140V) reading with some 
>consistancy? Or only under certain conditions? Any specific test 
>suggestions?
>
>I'll find out later whether his generator ever ran out of gas.
>
>Has this problem ever been traced to lightning/static?  -- likely 
>from DC or AC end?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Windy Dankoff
>
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