[RE-wrenches] Trace Replacement?

[Bradley Bassett]

I have one of the first batch of Ananda with the Heinemann breakers. I've
used it with FX inverters and an XW inverter. Mating it up with the FX was
difficult, I ended up with an 8x8 gutter between them, and 2" offsets on
both sides. Using the conduit box on the XW was easy. I'd expect using the
conduit box on the Magnum would be straightforward as well. If I were to
try it with an FXR again I'd use an FW250 as a conduit box. But definitely
take out the Ananda charge controls and convert to ones that match the new
inverter. Unless you're adding more solar that can do a good finish charge
then the on/off control for part of the array may be ok.

Brad
AEE Solar

On Sun, Oct 7, 2018 at 6:02 PM Ray <ray at solarray.com> wrote:

> Greetings Esteemed Wrenches;
>
> I have yet another customer whose 20+ yr old Trace SW inverter has flown
> off to inverter Nirvana.  I have replaced a few over the years and never
> quite solved the quandary of whether to replace the entire power board,
> or to retrofit a Magnum/ Outback in place of the SW, and keep the old
> Trace DC enclosure.  In this particular case, he has a pair of SW 4024s
> on an old Ananda power center. I'm considering taking the system to 48 v
> as well, since this will let us use the Magnum 4.4 kW inverters.  This
> however will also involve rewiring 20 yr old arrays of 50 and 75 watt
> modules......
> What is the consensus on the best replacement practices on these legacy
> systems?  I have several out there with the clock ticking down.  My
> current idea is to just keep the Ananda and use Magnum's extension boxes
> to connect up the new MS 4448 inverters.  Its a tough call: I've
> replaced a few single SW installs and reused the Trace DC enclosure, and
> cursed working in those tiny boxes.  In other cases, I've put up a whole
> new system, but wondered if that was over kill too.  It seems to be a
> case of more field installation hours vs more equipment costs.
>
> Sure be handy, if someone made an SW replacement kit, there are still a
> bunch of them out there.
>
> As always, thanks for all your comments and ideas,
>
> --
> Ray Walters
> Remote Solar
> 303 505-8760
>
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