Wrenches, On the issue of Outback Mates failing to control the AGS function properly, I forwarded a few of the recent posts to one of our off-grid clients who has a two-year-old quad-stack with 4.4kW PV and a 20kW Onan generator with two-wire start. This client is very sharp. He sent a description of the solution that worked for him. He has not swapped his Mate for a newer one. Allan at PosE -----Original Message----- From:
I assumed that it was a software bug, so I did my best to force the software to "rethink." First, I tried unplugging the Mate and plugging it back in. That did not work. Then I did this, and it has been working fine since: 1. put generator AGS in manual-off; 2. reset the setpoints away from where they were, including setting the 2 minute point above where the batteries were currently sitting so I could monitor whether the auto-start was working; 3. put AGS to "auto" - exit with "okay"; 4. found that the generator started properly; 5. let the generator run till it turned off by itself; 6. reset the setpoints back to the settings I actually wanted them at; 7. turn off AGS and turn AGS back on. Also, on the various AGS pages, even if a setting is what I want it to be, I always hit "okay" instead of just moving past it. Seems that Outback ought to test my simple fix and if it works consistently, put out at least a bulletin on it. But of course, we still don't know how it got stuck in that bug. -fred -----Original Message----- From: Allan Sindelar [mailto:[email protected]] Fred, You may find this recent RE-Wrenches thread interesting. It supports your "software glitch theory". Allan Hi Jeff, Yep had this problem a many times. The only "fix" I came up with was a new mate. Every time a new mate went in, problem went away. On the same note, I've got a Flexnet on a system and it seems less reliable than the mate. For example it was currently set to start at 55%, customer has seen it at 45% without genny being on. Seems to be some room for improvement. jay peltz power Hello Jay and Tump, I set up a mate for autostart six weeks ago. Before leaving the remote job site I started the genny from the mate by raising the two minute start voltage above the current battery voltage and waited two minutes. The genny started confirming that the AGS was functioning properly. I recently talked with the mostly savvy client and he claims that the generator has never autostarted and that the battery voltage remains below the ags 2h and 24h settings for extended periods of time without the genny starting. He has been starting the genny manually from the power center to get the batteries charged. Is this the problem that you have seen? It was only a two hour drive each way in October when the short cut through the mountains was open. Now I am looking at a 3-4 hour drive each way over icey roads otherwise I would visit the site with a spare mate without hesitation. Is the time and date loss a problem in conjunction with the ags issue? Jeff Thirsty Lake Solar PO Box 538 Eureka, MT 59917 Jeff Wongstrom NABCEP Certified Solar Installer 406-889-5324 thirstylakesolar <http://www.thirstylakesolar.com/> .com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tump Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 6:37 AM To: 'RE-wrenches' Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Mates Losing time & dates OUTBACK/CHRIS you out there?????? Jay this sucks! I too have seen this way too often. It has gotten to the point despite changing out the mate I now suggest to my clients, that every month they "repole" their mate. I also mark the port that the mate plugs into & tape the dead front mate 2 port just to be on the safe side had that happen before plugged into the wrong port. This problem & it is a PROBLEM! seems to be going on for a long time! How about addressing this problems Chris F? -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jay peltz Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 11:33 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Mates Losing time & dates Hi Mark, No this issue I've had is that the mate just won't start the generator with usual symptoms of system shut down. But when I go to the mate and press start, generator starts right up. All setpoints are correct. Replace the mate, and all is good, again same setpoints. So I can only surmise the problem is a mate issue that I've yet to track down, but have a fix. jay peltz power On Dec 15, 2008, at 8:38 AM, Mark Dickson wrote: Jay, Funny you should mention this. A customer just called today to say that his Mate has been failing to shut down his generator and they have been walking into a smelly room full of boiling batteries each time. Is this what you are referring to when the AGS's are going bad? I recently replaced an older Mate with this one that has the updated firmware. Mark Dickson Oasis Montana Inc. 877-627-4778 toll-free 406-777-4321 (0830 fax) <http://www.oasismontana.com/> <http://www.oasismontana.com/> www.oasismontana.com www.grid-tie.com <http://www.grid-tie.com/> <http://www.pvsolarpumps.com/> <http://www.pvsolarpumps.com/> www.PVsolarpumps.com _____
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: [email protected] Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
