Thanks for the advice, everyone! The problem has been ongoing since the system was first installed, it didn't just crop up. I have checked the battery bank (8x L-16) under load with a thermal imager and voltmeter and refractometer, no issues with cell voltage, SG or bad connections. I'll be looking into the Franklin Sub Drive and will report back as far as 2-wire.
Everything here seems to me to be pointing towards an antiquated 2-wire well pump with the internal hard start cap possibly blown, or the rotor sticky with sediment. It'll be a hard sell to get a new well pump set....but when we started talking auto gen start for a boost, an old honda 6500kw (that runs the well pump fine) that doesn't have a remote start port for the Magnum AGS (Honda piggyback wiring harness nightmare I'd have to homebrew), I went into "won't touch that with a 10-foot pole" mode....and the local Honda shop said I'd be nuts to attempt it. Thanks again, all -- I'll report back. The system is no longer accessible, this'll be a springtime project. 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 Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 1:39 AM, Ray Walters <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey Dan; > > If this just problem just started, I'm with Drake, you could have a > premature cell failure. I also agree with Allan, 2 wire pumps are > certainly problematic on inverters. Many well service folks don't even > install them because they don't last near as long as 3 wire pumps, so your > customer may end up needing to replace the pump soon anyway. > We've used the Franklin Sub Drive with a 1.5 Hp Pump that would start on > an SW 4024, but not on an Outback VFX3524. Worked well, no call backs. > I'm not sure if they will work with a 2 wire pump though. > Before you take that long trip, have the customer check individual battery > voltages while the pump is running. > > R.Ray Walters > CTO, Solarray, Inc > Nabcep Certified PV Installer, > Licensed Master Electrician > Solar Design Engineer303 505-8760 <(303)%20505-8760> > > On 12/10/2016 3:43 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Have you checked the condition of the batteries. Unless the L-16s are > Rolls or East Penn, it might be about time for some cells to be going bad. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: > "RE-wrenches" <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> > > To: > "RE-wrenches" <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> > Cc: > > Sent: > Sat, 10 Dec 2016 10:39:30 -0700 > Subject: > Re: [RE-wrenches] Retrofit variable speed drive to old well pump? > > > Michael; Battery bank voltage at 75% SOC is around 24.7v, so it's in the > ballpark and the battery bank has only about 3 years on it (8 x L-16) and > not much abuse. > > 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 Sat, Dec 10, 2016 at 10:34 AM, Shasta Daiku <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> What is the battery voltage when the client says that SOC is %75? >> >> VFD driven pumps are three phase. There are single phase “soft start” >> controllers for pumps and motors designed for that application, but not for >> a two wire fed submersible pump. The pump, for mechanical reasons, not just >> electrical, may may be resisting start up. >> >> Michael >> >> On Dec 10, 2016, at 9:11 AM, Dan Fink <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hi Bob; I checked the connections for corrosion, and the wire size looks >> like "the usual" for up here in this area, it's only about 100 feet and the >> usual well depth around here is 350 ft. Running stouter wire might be an >> option to consider...but that's a lot of digging. I'm just hoping VSD might >> be a quick and dirty solution. >> >> Dan Fink >> Adjunct Professor of Solar Energy Technology, Scotch Institute be >> IREC Certified Instructor™ for: >> ~ PV Installation Professional >> ~ Small Wind Installer >> Executive Director, Buckville Energy >> NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers™ >> 970.672.4342 >> >> >> >> On Sat, Dec 10, 2016 at 9:53 AM, RE Ellison <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Don't know about the variable speed but are the wires feeding the pump >>> large enough for the distance? >>> Sounds like it might be voltage starved because of a high resistance / >>> bad connection or a long wire run and the need for a larger wire ? >>> >>> Just a thought, >>> Bob Ellison >>> >>> On Dec 10, 2016, at 11:39 AM, Dan Fink <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Esteemed Wrenches; >>> >>> I have a client in a very remote mountain location who is having trouble >>> with his inverter starting his well pump when battery state of charge is >>> below 75%. 24v system, Magnum inverter. >>> >>> It's a 2-wire pump, unknown age, model, horsepower, or well depth. It >>> has always given him trouble, that's why he upgraded to 24v, and the >>> situation is better, but not ideal yet. I don't think adding a hard start >>> capacitor would help as there should be one inside the pump itself, though >>> I suppose it could be blown. >>> >>> Because of the distance and the rough road, it would be super expensive >>> for a well company to come up there, pull the old pump and set a new, >>> modern soft-start one. >>> >>> Has anyone here had any experience with retrofitting variable speed >>> drive units to an unknown pump? If so, what models have you tried and what >>> do you prefer? >>> >>> Thanks; >>> >>> 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 >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >>> >>> List Address: [email protected] >>> >>> Change listserver email address & settings: >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. >>> 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: [email protected] >>> >>> Change listserver email address & settings: >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. >>> 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: [email protected] >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. >> 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: [email protected] >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. >> 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: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & > settings:http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/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: [email protected] > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. > 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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