One of the issues to be aware of is power factor, and most people will not be able to determine power factor. If the Outback operates at a poor power factor, your 10KW generator will become a about a 6KW generator. A lot of the current will be wasted and will not produce charging power.
On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 11:25 AM, jay peltz <j...@asis.com> wrote: > Hi Matt, > > With two systems on the thread right now with pretty much the same > problem, I am suspecting a problem with one or more inverters. Most all the > Outback inverter issues I've have been have been on stacked systems. > Having installed a lot of these inverters I have yet to see the exact > problems cited here. Usually I've seen it with much smaller generators vs > inverter size, but not with what I would call properly oversized units. > And because it is with charger issues, turning down the charge rate, but > leaving generator size accurate has proved to be quite successful. > > I would try to run the inverters such that you can test to see how they > are each working. > For the quad stack, try 2 at full tilt, then the other 2 and see if you > can find something there, might take some rewiring to test all combos. > For the tri stack, well you get the drift. > > jay > peltz power > > > > On Feb 10, 2014, at 5:09 PM, m...@solar-energy-solutions.com wrote: > > > Wrenches, > > > > Based on Kevin's comments about Outback Chargers in the HUP thread I am > > hopeful that some of you well-versed in the off grid world can assist. > > Particularly I am curious if others can confirm deficiencies with Outback > > chargers and suggest strategies for overcoming these deficiencies. > > > > I currently have an off grid site with significant charging difficulty. > > The site has been online around eight years with a quad VFX3648 stack. > > Around six months ago the client began experiencing more generator issues > > (he had certainly had occasional problems before but engine overruns > > became almost a weekly occurrence which, considering the client is only > > there on the weekends except during hunting season, is not good). The > > client decided to buy a new generator based on a comment from Outback. > > They suggested his old 15 kW Briggs with mechanical governor should have > > the governor replaced with an electronic governor. This couldn't be done > > so he bought a new GE 20 kW with electronic governor. The GE does not > > work with the Outback chargers at all (sounds like immediate overrun) but > > will run the home just fine (and pass-thru Outback with chargers off). > > > > I am about at the point of asking the client to buy Iotas. However, we > > have a Honda 6500 that has worked as a backup generator for this system > > and that has worked for other Outback systems we have installed. The > > Honda no longer works well with this Outback system (routinely > disconnects > > after a few minutes charging and won't charge more than a few amps per > > port). Something has obviously changed for the Honda to no longer work > > well and I am beginning to think that maybe I am missing something else. > > We have checked grounding and switched around inverters to run off dual > > stacks without any noticeable difference. The client has tried three > > separate generators at this point and none work very well. After eight > > years the batteries aren't in great shape but they hold a charge and > > should be capable of more years of service (Surrette YS). Outback tech > > support seems willing to listen and empathize but incapable of helping me > > identify the issue. > > > > Any advice is welcome. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change email address & 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 > > -- Chris Mason President, Comet Systems Ltd www.cometenergysystems.com Cell: 264.235.5670 Skype: netconcepts
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