Thanks Bob. We are using agm batteries and everything should have been turned off including the battery box breakers before the customer left. We could deal with a few months of self discharge. The array was snow covered at max tilt due to it being on a hillside and not tall enough. Controller cycling and inverter brought the system down. This customer also refused to have his generator hooked up to a auto start module for fear it would be completely snow covered. Go figure. Pulling the batteries to see if they are salvageable. Never working with diy homeowners again.
Aaron Mandelkorn Owner/Solar Specialist Renewable Energy Outfitters www.reosolar.com www.offgriddepot.biz 970-596-3744 719-221-5249 reoso...@gmail.com On May 31, 2016 2:12 PM, "b...@midnitesolar.com" <b...@midnitesolar.com> wrote: Aaron, lead acid batteries will "self discharge". Letting them sit for more than a couple of weeks may not be that good for them as they can sulfate without a good absorb charge cycle every once in a while at least for a couple of hours. The inverter and charge controller will always draw some power from the batteries just being connected. This is due mainly to the internal auxiliary supplies and microprocessors. If the main battery breakers were turned off when the customer left for the winter, the batteries will still discharge themselves and start to sulfate but the voltage dropping would not happen quite as fast. You might want to add a small backup generator and tilt the PV array more vertical to help shed the snow during the winter months if nobody is around to take care of the system. boB On 5/31/2016 10:43 AM, Aaron Mandelkorn wrote: Thank you everyone for your input. I am quite sure this controller was just doing what it was supposed to do. The inverter disconnected from low voltage and the solar modules were covered with snow for months. The classic was trying to reconnect all this time and I believe acted as a load on the batteries. Essentially the classic brought the system down but poor design and actions by the customer are what led to this disaster. I will be pulling the batteries and changing/ load testing at the shop. Hopefully we didn't destroy this battery bank. Aaron Mandelkorn Owner/Solar Specialist Renewable Energy Outfitters www.reosolar.com www.offgriddepot.biz 970-596-3744 719-221-5249 reoso...@gmail.com Hi Aaron, A customer of mine had a very similar situation happen couple years ago, except with the added fun of frozen batteries, split open and a resulting mess. (system was installed by others without a proper battery box / spill containment). This fault was traced back to a failed MX60 controller that was not only preventing solar input, but had a small parasitic load on the system that was enough to discharge the batteries. Replaced controller, new batteries (with spill containment!) and the system has been fine since. Kevin *From:* RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] *On Behalf Of *Aaron Mandelkorn *Sent:* May-30-16 9:35 PM *To:* RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Fried Classic150? The more I think about this the stranger it seems. All system breakers were left on before leaving for the winter. Inverter was also on to power two small AC fans. How can a 48 volt battery bank get so discharged to the point of almost complete depletion (13.7 volts). The inverter low battery cutout was programmed to 48.1v and there are no DC loads. Isn't the point of lbco to protect against this exact situation? What could have brought this bank down so low? I am wondering if my client may have reset the lbco and other settings by throwing the inverter breaker by accident. Aaron Mandelkorn Owner/Solar Specialist Renewable Energy Outfitters www.reosolar.com www.offgriddepot.biz 970-596-3744 719-221-5249 reoso...@gmail.com On May 30, 2016 8:43 PM, "Dan Fink" <danbo...@gmail.com> wrote: MPPT does need a minimum battery voltage to wake up and start charging, at least 9 volts -- I once arrived at a remote site on a sunny day, the PV input breaker had tripped, batteries were under 9v, no charging despite the sunny weather until I woke the MPPT up with jumper cables from my truck battery. Dan Fink Adjunct Professor of Solar Energy Technology, Ecotech Institute IREC Certified Instructor™ for: ~ PV Installation Professional ~ Small Wind Installer Executive Director, Buckville Energy NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers™ 970.672.4342 On Mon, May 30, 2016 at 5:59 PM, Aaron Mandelkorn <reoso...@gmail.com> wrote: Hi all. I returned to a off grid site today after having no winter access. It appears as though the classic 150 charge controller has failed. The batteries are completely discharged. The classics screen will flash occasionally as well as a yellow light on this left front of the controller but wont turn on. Does the classic have a minimum voltage requirement needed to turn on? Has anyone else experienced this? I can't figure out what happened to cause this issue. Thanks Aaron Mandelkorn Owner/Solar Specialist Renewable Energy Outfitters www.reosolar.com www.offgriddepot.biz 970-596-3744 719-221-5249 reoso...@gmail.com _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings:http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette:www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios:www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
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