[RE-wrenches] LG RESU10 alternative

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Hey wrenches,

I'm sure I'm not the only one. Has anyone found an alternative to the LG
Chem RESU10 for the Solaredge Storedge inverter? LG keeps pushing back
their RMA replacement time first for Q3 of 2021 and now fingers crossed Q2
of 2022. I can't seem to source the Solaredge battery. Are there any
Chinese manufacturers that work? I was told by my supplier that the new LG
Prime 16 will probably be available in June but most likely later than
that. Any info would be great!

Jon
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[RE-wrenches] Solaredge/LG Troubleshooting

[Jon Siegenthaler]

 Hi Michael,
I've been there with Solaredge and LG so many times I just call them after
it's all installed and make them walk me through the commissioning process.
Yes, we are solar professionals and yes we can read and follow instructions
BUT, I've sent back fully working inverters after tech support couldn't
figure out an issue they programmed.
You'll have to sit on call waiting for a couple of hours but DO NOT let
them hang up until it's working. While I cannot remember ever seeing this
error code, and as you may be suspecting it could do with the; battery
wiring either comm or power, the auto transformer either comm or power, or
the inverter comm or power. If the owner can get really clear photos and if
everything is easy to follow (like different colored comm wires rather than
all black wires) then you might be able to see if that is the problem. It
could be a bad inverter but it could just be a simple thing that tech
support can change remotely.
Side note, if folks are waiting a year for interconnection but passed local
inspections, can't you start out as zero export and change once the utility
gives PTO? Maybe not but it's worth asking.

Jon


Michael Morningstar

Sat,
05 Feb 2022 18:55:31 -0800


Wrenches,

I received a call from a person who is having issues with his Solaredge/LG
system. He’s got a SE7600A-US, StoreEdge connection unit, autotransformer, and
LG battery. I’ve never laid hands on SE or LG equipment and could use some
guidance here. He’s located several hours from me, and I’m the only Solar Bozo
around>
His Words:

Happy Saturday Michael, thanks again for taking an interest in my solar
situation.  In June 2020 my 9.920 KW (15,752 kWh estimated production) solar
system was installed by now bankrupt "Empire Solar".  Thirty-one (31) 320W
panels were installed on my roof. My system included a battery back-up system
which utilizes an LG Li-Ion RESU10H battery (model #R15563P3SSEG).

Unfortunately, more than a year passed after installation for a net metering
agreement (NME) with Pacific Power to be put in place. Pacific Power installed
a new compatible meter on my home the same week I learned Empire Solar filed
for bankruptcy.  Empire sent me an email with easy-to-follow instructions for
turning my system on. I followed the very simple instructions with zero
results. Pacific Power since confirmed my system is not generating any power.


Currently, my "Solar Edge" inverter displays error code "2x1A - Faulty AC
Relay".  The inverter cycles through a 5-minute "wake-up" routine in which it
counts down from 300 before it displays the aforementioned error code, then
begins the wake-up countdown again and repeats this cycle endlessly until I
power off the LG battery.

Thanks everyone


Michael Morningstar

Morningstar Electric
PO Box 1494
Mount Shasta, California 96067
530-921-0560
CSLB 949635
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Re: [RE-wrenches] LG Chem RESU10 Storage Capacity

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Thanks Jerry,

This system was installed in May of 2021. So with just under 6 months of
service I'm still underwhelmed by the performance. The cycling is
relatively slow at around 1-.3kWh.

Jerry Shafer

Sat,
23 Oct 2021 14:00:22 -0700


As the LG battery ages so does its capacity go down, the harder and deeper
the cycling the faster the downward trend in capacity
Jerry
NAPCEP PV Inspector
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[RE-wrenches] LG Chem RESU10 Storage Capacity

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Hey Wrenches,

I have a site with an LG Chem 9.8kW battery. This is coupled with the
Solaredge Energy Hub. According to the data sheet the battery is listed as
a 9.8kWh battery and has a usable capacity of 9.3kWh.

On the Solaredge portal for the customer I can download the CSV file for
the system production and consumption as well as the battery discharge.
When I add up the kWh on average the battery will feed between 6.6-6.8kWh
at a DOD of 85-84%. The elevation of the installation is 500ft above sea
level, the battery is installed in the laundry room in the house where the
highest temperature is 85°F.

I had spoken to a Solaredge tech about the remaining 15% of the battery and
if the client could use this portion. He had said that 5% was reserved for
the inverter to keep operating and 10% was for the battery to stay
awake/alive. Even with this added 15% as the "reserve" we're seeing nowhere
near the supposed 7.9kWh. We seem to be missing around 1.3kWh of storage.

On another site I have already had one battery internally explode back in
July that wasn't on the recall list and am supposed to get the replacement
in Q1 of 2022. Needless to say I'm less than impressed by LG and their
under performance. Is anyone else experiencing anything similar with the
storage capacity?

Jon
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[RE-wrenches] Outback Radian 8048 Main AC Breaker Trip with Generator

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Hey folks,
I went to investigate 3 Radian 8048A's that had the master inverter slowly
die from salty air. The newest slave that was added to the existing system
of 2 radians was programmed to be the master and the AGS was set to the new
master as well. The corroded ex-master was replaced with a new radian (now
a slave) and the system runs fine.

Except when the generator runs for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes the
main AC breaker trips and the power goes out on the system. It's clear that
the AC output must be seeing more than or equal to 50A and that's causing
the trip but I cannot figure out why this only happens with the generator
running.

Also when the generator is running an error of overcurrent will occur and
show an imbalance of 34A to 108A from phase A to B. Eventually the current
will come closer together and the error will disappear. However during the
imbalance I will check the actual generator output conductors with my
amprobe and see around 43A to 48A phase A to B.

Has anyone experienced this or know what the best solution would be to
resolve this issue?
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[RE-wrenches] Outback AC Backfeed Error

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Hey wrenches,

I have a client who has a couple of the Radian 8048's and has an error code
of "AC Backfeed Error GS-1". Looking at the manual it states that "Usually
indicates another AC power source (out of phase with the inverter) was
connected to the unit’s AC output. Can also occur if an out-of-phase AC
source is connected to the inverter’s AC input."

However when this happened the generator wasn't running and it's an off
grid system. Is there a way that the master is looking to the slave as
another power source? The system had been running fine this week, auto
running the generator early morning and shutting down on its own.

Anyone seen something like this before? Thanks,

Jon Siegenthaler
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[RE-wrenches] Storedge LG Chem Resu Surge Fail

[Jon Siegenthaler]

 Hey Wrenchers,

This is an installation with two Solaredge Storedge 7.6 inverters and the
LG Chem Resu 10 batteries. When the utility goes down the two inverters for
the solar switch over to back up mode and feed two separate dedicated loads
panels. One panel works fine and all of the dedicated loads connected to it
work as normal. Within the other panel there are just two loads, some
lights and some sump pumps that are connected to a controller.

Before the pumps will operate the controller that monitors their operation
also monitors the utility voltage so that the pumps don't see too high or
low of voltage from the utility (or back up power). In normal utility mode
the controller works fine. However when the system switches to backup mode
the controller trips off.

 The voltage window for the pump controller is relatively narrow, however
I'm not sure if that is the problem. The pump(s) will surge to a maximum of
20A at 240V for about a second and then hold between 7A-14A respectively.
Which is within the operating window of the inverter (6600w surge 25A max
continuous).

I connected the controller load to my Eguage and logged the controllers
usage both while connected to the utility and while connected to the
battery back up. The data while connected to the utility is pretty typical
with no irregularities. However when I switch to the battery side my
logging disappears (measuring second by second and the results only show
minutes). I believe that this is due to the inverter shutting down
momentarily and then the Eguage needs to reboot. In all of the starting and
stopping of the inverter I do see that the voltage spikes to L1-149V and
L2-150V together with 299V L1&L2.

Has anyone else encountered this problem before or something similar that
may be able to offer some advice? I had an issue once before and added a
50mf capacitor to the line to smooth out the surge but this was for my home
experiment and not a professional installation. Any luck with power line
conditioners? Thanks in advance,

Jon Siegenthaler
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[RE-wrenches] Trojan Reliant L16 AMG

[Jon Siegenthaler]

Hey Wrenches,

I just did a site visit for a client who's had a few iterations of PV
installed. The main reason for the call was that the battery bank would
never charge to 100%SOC but rather appear to charge to 100%SOC and actually
hover around 70%SOC. At  the end of the day the client would top it off
with the generator for 30-60min. This has been happening since October, I
just got the call the other day.

The site is less than code compliant to say the least and the programming
of the 3 charge controllers were not equal.

Array 1 South Facing 4-Canadian 250w (one string)
Flexmax 80
Absorb 29.3V 6hrs
Float 27.3
End Amps 10A
Rebulk 25V

Array 2 South Facing 6-205w 2-195w (one string)
Flexmax 60
Absorb 29.3V 6hrs
Float 27.3
End Amps 10A
Rebulk 25.6V

Array 3 North Facing 8-295w Renosola (4 strings)
Flexmax 80
Absorb 29.4 1hr
Float 27.3
End Amps 0
Rebulk 24

20-Trojan Reliant L16 12V (5 parallel to a bus) purchased the end of 2017

Apart from the not so great design to say it lightly, the bank is
consistently showing a stepping voltage of about 70%SOC up to 100%SOC from
negative to positive. I changed the charge controllers to an equal
absorption voltage and time (28.8V and 4hrs) to try and slowly bring up the
lagging side of the bank. I was cautious not to raise them all to 29.4 at
4+hrs because I don't know their history and didn't want to cook them
further if they are indeed headed that way. At the time of inspection the
batteries were about 84F and the thermal camera showed no variations or hot
spots.

I asked the owner to report back if it gets better, worse, or the same. He
reported back and said that the total kWh production daily is gradually
going down over these past few days. Any suggestions on how to bring this
bank back to 100%SOC would be appreciated.

Jon Siegenthaler
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[RE-wrenches] Physical of Electrical Interlock

[Jon Siegenthaler]

 Hello wrenchers,
I have a client we're building for who is going to have installed two of
the SolarEdge Storedge inverters with two of LG Chem RESU batteries. This
electrical system also has a backup generator which then requires there to
be an interlock between the inverters and the generator. I was hoping
because this was a zero export system (as required or by punishment of
paying the utility for your overproduction) that the SolarEdge smart meter
would detect and not export to the generator, but as a fail-safe it would
be better not to trust a $300 meter against a $10,000 generator and install
an interlock.

My question is; has anyone found an interlock that would work with this
system? From my understanding the inverters would need to switched off, but
then the dedicated panels that the inverters are powering would need to be
transferred over to the generator power. The simplest answer I can come up
with is a panel with no bussing (mounted on din rail) on one side with 4-2
pole breakers, each is set consists of 2-2 pole breakers with jumpers on
the backside so that the inverter has a jumper to the dedicated load panel
breaker. On the other side of the panel would be either on a bus or also
with jumpers that went to 2-2 pole breakers for the generator in and out
and then also the 2-2 pole breakers for the dedicated load panels. Then
there would be an interlock that slides from left to right to control which
system was on, this being either PV or generator.

Thanks ahead of time for any help or product suggestions,

Jon Siegenthaler
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