[RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 grid tie mystery
Tump
tump at swnl.net
Fri Dec 20 17:37:57 EST 2019
With this set up the AC feed into the grid is not constant. The current will ramp up then back down. Open the connection end of the inverters and you will see a small black (behind the cardboard) cord/plug that can be disconnected to confirm operation & disable ramping effect. As long as the inverters are connected to L1/L2 respectfully as individual inverters then this should work. I do have the cable, but its really not the most efficient AC coupling design out there.
The SWs still can be repaired using older boards but its pricy, there is a market for them so you might be able to sell them and purchase something a bit more up to date. I have the cable & a refurbished XW5548 contact me off list if interested. Tump
> On Dec 20, 2019, at 2:18 PM, Lloyd Hoffstatter <lloyd at sunstruckconsulting.com> wrote:
>
> Dave,
>
> Guessing it’s a synchronization problem between the two inverters.
> Depending on the placement of the grid tie breakers, the two inverters are presenting themselves as either in parallel (2 x 120v sources on the same leg) or “series” (120 / 240 on two 120V legs).
> The attached manual excerpt and tech note talk about both. Seems that you need a synch cable in either case, recently did a rebuild on an SW 5048 (pm for internals rebuilder info) and needed cable to get both inverters to work properly.
>
> Have at least one grid-tie / backup system that has been running for years with dual SW / GTI’s – time for battery replacement, rest of system still going…
>
> Best regards,
> Lloyd
> Lloyd Hoffstatter
> Sunstruck Consulting
>
> Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10
>
> From: Dave Tedeyan <mailto:dtedeyan at taitem.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 20, 2019 1:03 PM
> To: offgridsolar at sti.net <mailto:offgridsolar at sti.net>; RE-wrenches <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 grid tie mystery
>
> Dave,
> Sorry, misspeak on my part. It is DC negatives and grounds that are tied together. No neutrals in the DC box.
> Cheers,
> Dave
>
> Dave Tedeyan, PE
> Senior Engineer | Taitem Engineering, PC
>
> 110 South Albany Street | Ithaca, NY 14850
> o. 607.277.1118 x121 f. 607.277.2119
> www.taitem.com <http://www.taitem.com/>
>
> Solar • Sustainability • Energy • Design
> Certified B-Corporation since 2013
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 20, 2019 at 12:57 PM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar <offgridsolar at sti.net <mailto:offgridsolar at sti.net>> wrote:
> Why would neutral be in the DC conduit box? This just wrong but I doubt this is the problem.
>
> Since this never worked properly or has not in 13 years, I would suggest replacement with modern equipment. SW from xantrex has been out of support for around 15 years and always was a headache grid tied, in my opinion.
>
> Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
> "we go where powerlines don't"
> http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/ <http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>
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> On Fri, 20 Dec 2019 12:44:42 -0500, Dave Tedeyan <dtedeyan at taitem.com <mailto:dtedeyan at taitem.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I am someone's last ditch effort to get their system working which has been non-functional since a few months after installation, 13 years ago...
>
> After getting some new batteries in there, I can at least fire it up. It is a grid tie with battery backup situation with two Xantrex SW4048 inverters. Each inverter is kind of like its own system with two Outback MX60 CC's per inverter, and each inverter powers its own 120V backed up loads panel. They do not see each other until their 60A single pole breakers in the main panel.
>
> What seems to be happening is that after turning on the inverters the AC1 in good light will flash for about 30 seconds, then it syncs up to the grid and the light stays on solid. But then after a little bit, that light will start flashing, indicating that the utility power has been dropped, when it has not actually been dropped. Then at some point the backed up loads would lose power. The customer says that every 1-10 minutes, they would lose the backed up loads for 10-90 seconds. This happened all night long until they bypassed the inverters.
>
> There are a few other things of note:
> 1. There is a Xantrex GTI for each inverter.
> 2. I see in the manual there is information about stacking the inverters, but I am guessing in this setup this not necessary or would even be counter productive to stack the inverters. Not sure if the inverters not being stacked could cause one of them to unsync with the utility?
> 3. Neutrals and grounds are bonded in their main panel, but also in each of the Xantrex DC breaker boxes. I was going to separate them in the DC breaker boxes, but found that there is no way to isolate the battery negative bus from the box itself, and figured it would be dodgy to unground the enclosure. So I am also not sure if the multiple N-G bonds could be causing these issues.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas?
> Cheers,
> Dave
>
> Dave Tedeyan, PE
> Senior Engineer | Taitem Engineering, PC
> <5DD17443B6814684BEA5BA6A3C5C2E3A.gif>
> 110 South Albany Street | Ithaca, NY 14850
> o. 607.277.1118 x121 f. 607.277.2119
> www.taitem.com <http://www.taitem.com/>
>
> Solar • Sustainability • Energy • Design
> Certified B-Corporation since 2013
> --
>
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