Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
OK Jay that makes sense. This must mean that there is a significant difference in the function of the BB inverter when it is in off-grid mode vs when it is in grid connected mode. On 11/3/2019 5:45 PM, jay wrote: No, older non frequency shift BB inverters don’t communicate that way. They

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread jay
No, older non frequency shift BB inverters don’t communicate that way. They have no communication with a Rule 21 GT inverter. The BB, it will just keep charging and charging with any extra energy coming from the GT inverter. The BB has no regulation, there is no absorb or float, just

Re: [RE-wrenches] hueRe: Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread jay
Hi mark, Not quite. The BB will keep charging unregulated until the battery voltage reaches high battery voltage cutout set point. jay peltz power > On Nov 3, 2019, at 5:05 PM, Mark Frye wrote: > > OK, great, I am really getting the message, but I would like to understand, > if for

Re: [RE-wrenches] hueRe: Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
OK, great, I am really getting the message, but I would like to understand, if for some reason the BB does not raise the frequency or the GT does not response, or the BB fails to stop on HBCO the ultimate consequence is unregulated charging of the battery until failure? On 11/3/2019 4:56 PM,

Re: [RE-wrenches] hueRe: Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Glenn Burt
Indeed, as long as nothing goes wrong with the BB inverters ability to shift the freq, and the GT's ability to follow the UL 1741 requirements, nothing bad should happen. However it is best practice to have a secondary method in place to ensure the GT drops out of the picture. That most

[RE-wrenches] hueRe: Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
Happy Hour, yes it is that time here in our home. Thanks again, but I guess I don't see that there is a catastrophic result here, the BB raises the frequency and trips the GT. So what, as long as the BB returns to a standby. On 11/3/2019 4:31 PM, Mark Frye wrote: OK, I am hearing this over

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
OK, I am hearing this over and over and I just want to confirm that is true even if the BB is older and does not have "NEW Frequency Shifting AC Coupling". On 11/3/2019 4:26 PM, Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar wrote: The BB inverter will drive the grid inverter off frequency because it is

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
The BB inverter will drive the grid inverter off frequency because it is full/floating and the grid tie will stop producing power. This is how AC coupling works but if something goes wrong, like programming gets corrupted by surges or the battery hits an LBCO or HBCO AC power will stop. Or if this

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
Folks, Please allow me to ask another question: Suppose I have a bi-direction inverter/charge with no connection to the grid. I have GT inverter ac coupled and producing 2000w. The battery is in float, and I have 2000w of load connected. All is well. Now suppose I remove the loads without

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
Folks, I do not want to be obdurate here, perhaps just a slow learner. I have to ask the question though: In the case of a BB inverter connected to the grid only, with no GT inverters, you don't have to shutdown the whole inverter when the battery is full because you are not required to

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread jay
An option that will work for sure is a diversion load and controller. This can be done with most standard CC’s and or inverters using the AUX relay driving another SS relay, and then the diversion load. The load can be a standard AC oil heater, safe, inexpensive, reliable. ( this is what I

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Ray
What everyone else is saying appears to all be good info.  My summary (which could be off): 1) You don't want to signal the relay based on AC voltage. Period. 2) the BB inverter will signal the GT inverter through frequency shift, once the batteries reach absorption voltage. 3) The relay is

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Glenn Burt
Doesn't the BB inverter have a relay output that can be linked to 'batteries are full' and energize a relay to drop out the AC line to the GT inverter, thus causing it to go offline?-GlennSent from my 'smart'phone, so please excuse typos and spelling errors.-- Original message--From:

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Kienan Maxfield
Mark, Sorry, my post must not have been perfectly clear... I have total confidence in how the BB inverters work, and no, the GT inverter there will be no measurable deduction in impedance, even if you have a very sensitive sensor and there are no other loads on the system. It just doesn't work

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
OK, the posts are coming in on the "no" side, but with uncertainty about how any given BB inverter might work. I still think that the BB charger is in charge (no pun) of sending power to the battery and if it the battery is at it's set point then the duty cycle on the transistors in the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Kienan Maxfield
Mark, I think that you're not understanding what Brian is saying. In any case, your proposal will not work with most equipment. There may be some equipment that would work that way, but not anything I'm aware of. Let me tell you what will happen in a normal system, assuming that the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread William Miller
Mark: I do not think line voltage is an appropriate criteria for controlling an AC coupled system for these reasons: 1. My understanding of how an AC coupled system works does not match yours. The concept is still black magic to me, but as I understand it, when you use GT inverters to

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
Marc, High or low battery cut-out on a battery based inverter is lights out. There is usually a warning period that becomes a fault. I still think this is crazy for offgrid unless it is a very large system 20+KW of battery inverters in a microgrid type mindset with onsight knowledgeable people.

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Brian Mehalic
More like “could work let us know how it goes!” Brian > On Nov 3, 2019, at 10:01 AM, Mark Frye wrote: > > OK Brian, > > So I think you are confirming that monitoring AC side voltage is an > acceptable way of deciding when to disconnect the GT inverters. > > With my parts list, I have a

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Brian Mehalic
Hey now I didn’t say that! Brian > On Nov 3, 2019, at 10:01 AM, Mark Frye wrote: > > OK Brian, > > So I think you are confirming that monitoring AC side voltage is an > acceptable way of deciding when to disconnect the GT inverters. > > With my parts list, I have a delay time that would

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
OK Brian, So I think you are confirming that monitoring AC side voltage is an acceptable way of deciding when to disconnect the GT inverters. With my parts list, I have a delay time that would hold the GT inverters off-line for some period of time (I would probably set to 1 hour) before

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Brian Mehalic
With frequency-on/off, frequency power control, or other “inverter integrated” control based on battery voltage/state of charge there is also control in regards to when the ac coupled inverters come back on. And yes, this is definitely needed to prevent overcharge (or get three-stage charging

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parts List For AC Couple Disconnect

2019-11-03 Thread Mark Frye
Hi William, Thanks, you bring up issues that are important to me here. In particular, my situation is that the GT inverter is inter-tied a couple sub panels upstream of where I want to put the BB inverter. The distance is long, so I am looking for a solution where I don't have to run a cable

Re: [RE-wrenches] Stiffening an AC buss

2019-11-03 Thread Michael Morningstar
Canyon Hydro and Thomson & Howe Controller? There are all kinds of things that can be done to upgrade late 20th century hydro systems. Michael > On Nov 3, 2019, at 5:46 AM, Mac Lewis wrote: > > Hi wrenches, > > I have a site visit coming up on a hydro system, I believe its ~ 20 kW range,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Stiffening an AC buss

2019-11-03 Thread Kienan Maxfield
Mac, Most Multi-Mode inverters I know of should work for your intentions. You feed the hydro source into the generator input terminals on the multimode inverter, and you program the inverter in "generator support mode," and then you program the inverter with the maximum stable output of the

[RE-wrenches] Stiffening an AC buss

2019-11-03 Thread Mac Lewis
Hi wrenches, I have a site visit coming up on a hydro system, I believe its ~ 20 kW range, and an older unit, 30+ years old. This info may or may not be reliable until I see the site. However, I'd like some options to consider while I'm looking at their system. My hydro knowledge is weak but I