Re: [RE-wrenches] enphase and racks

2010-01-15 Thread frenergy
Erika, Check out: http://www.enphaseenergy.com/downloads/EnphaseAppNote_RackingCompatibility.pdf from Enphase's website. Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nekson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 - Original Message - From: Erika M. Weliczko To: 'RE-wrenches'

Re: [RE-wrenches] Mounting to SIPs, revisited

2010-01-17 Thread frenergy
Luke, Direct Power and Water has an optional mounting foot with five holes in it for what I think Jeff Randall there referred to as 'Tech' screws to use in the field between rafters. They are referred to as 'easy feet'. It is designed to only attach into the roof decking, which I'm

Re: [RE-wrenches] Mounting to SIPs, revisited

2010-01-18 Thread frenergy
Positive Energy, Inc. 3201 Calle Marie Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 www.positiveenergysolar.com frenergy wrote: Luke, Direct Power and Water has an optional mounting foot with five holes in it for what I think Jeff Randall there referred to as 'Tech' screws

Re: [RE-wrenches] copper weatherhead?

2010-02-01 Thread frenergy
Nik, Is your concern the dielectric action between the copper roofing and a conventional galvanized roof jack? Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nelson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 - Original Message - From: Nik Ponzio To: RE-wrenches Sent: Monday, February 01,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Entertec service manual

2010-04-12 Thread frenergy
...and there it went again. gotta love it Bill Feather River Solar Electric - Original Message - From: robert ellison To: RE-wrenches Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 7:12 AM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Entertec service manual OOPS this was not intended to go to the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fwd: low voltage modules in high voltage applications

2010-04-27 Thread frenergy
I hate to up you guys on this but you know the emails we get from our friends over there in PV, China?? They had 159,354 solar powered calculators that the + button didn't work. OOOHH, what a deal we got on those little amorphous cells for the system we're installing at the local Building

Re: [RE-wrenches] Ideal platform for flooded type batteries:opinions wanted

2010-05-02 Thread frenergy
Alan, Thanks for sharing all that, pretty similiar to my take on offgrid batt pack install. Though I really like the idea of sloping the top to keep folks from putting stuff on it and thus avoiding that maintenance we all love to do. I know I've been caught a couple times with my

Re: [RE-wrenches] Heinz 57 off-grid array - What should I do with thesolar modules?

2010-05-02 Thread frenergy
Bob, Do everyone a favor and dump the modules. They can be used in classroom demos, power a greenhouse fan, an inspirational birthday present for the nephew/niece . esp because you want to re-rack! Although you haven't told us if they are ground or roof or pole mount. Geez,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Whats with Kyocera?

2010-05-17 Thread frenergy
Don, AEE has been good to me over the years. They have several flavors of PVs, though I believe no Kyo. Bill Feather River Solar Electric - Original Message - From: i2p To: List for complaining about anything RE. Cc: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Sent:

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV Module Favorite

2010-05-19 Thread frenergy
Joel, For me, I'd say rather than necessarily power, it would be power densitythough it's certainly more convenient to install 10, 205's, vs 17, 120's. Yes, we're all somewhat chained to price, cuz if we're not, the guy down the road will likely get the job. On the other hand,

Re: [RE-wrenches] two VFX3524's and a Franklin 3hp sub pump

2010-06-16 Thread frenergy
Chris, I've seen a bladder tank modulate the shut-down process in a up-the-hill gravity feed tank when using a (IMO) more reliable float valve rather than a float switch. Watts model number 1250 is an example of a toilet tank method of stopping/starting flow to a tank. With the

Re: [RE-wrenches] two VFX3524's and a Franklin 3hp sub pump

2010-06-19 Thread frenergy
clean well water straight into the septic. Our customer's electric bill was in the hundreds of dollars. I wouldn't quite say they're bomb proof. R. Walters r...@solarray.com Solar Engineer On Jun 16, 2010, at 10:32 PM, frenergy wrote: Chris, I've seen

Re: [RE-wrenches] Foam Insulation Install

2010-07-19 Thread frenergy
I have also had a great experience using Easy Feet from Direct Power. You use four of their screws per foot and Jeff Randall there can give you pull out specs in roof decking, as I recall they match or exceed that of the Lag/rafter combo. Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nelson St.

Re: [RE-wrenches] low cost DAS systems - Follow-up

2010-07-21 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I am looking for an Evergreen EC-120-GL to replace the one dinged by the rock flung by my client weeding aroung the ground mounted array with a lawn mower. It may take me a couple days to respond as I'm on the road. Thanks in advance for any responses off-list. Bill Feather

Re: [RE-wrenches] The Genie Lens

2010-08-16 Thread frenergy
I think you're right-on Michael, Bill Feather River Solar - Original Message - From: Michael Welch michael.we...@re-wrenches.org To: RE-wrenches re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 12:41 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] The Genie Lens Hi gang. If you

[RE-wrenches] Shell SM110-12P Pvs

2010-08-24 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I installed a grid tied system 6 years ago consisting of 24, Shell 110 watt, 12V PVs ( Vmp = 17.5V, 6.9 amps short circuit), running through an SMA2500U inverter, one string, very short DC run ala 10 ga. USE-2 wire. At installation I documented a solar noon output

Re: [RE-wrenches] The Demise of WEEB

2010-09-12 Thread frenergy
Ray, Sorry I don't have a picture to share but the Ilsco GBL-4DBT lugs I've used here in the Sierras of NE Ca. are looking good after seven years on the job. I would rate their appearance as if they were outside in the weather/sun/rain/snow for about 2-3 months, slight discoloration,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Solmetric PVA-600 PV Analyser

2010-09-26 Thread frenergy
Hey Benn, I've been communicating with Paul Hernday the at Solmetric concerning the PVA-600 and also an issue I'm dealing with concerning a 6 year old array's output. My impression was that he was the lead person in making this tool happen. They are fine-tuning some of the software

[RE-wrenches] Battery chemistry

2010-10-04 Thread frenergy
Mark, It's probably just a brain fart, but it's lead-calcium Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nelson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 530-284-7849/6544 fax - Original Message - From: Mark Frye To: 'RE-wrenches' Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 8:11 AM Subject:

Re: [RE-wrenches] **Possible_Spam** Re: Battery capacity testers

2010-10-04 Thread frenergy
Hey Carl, Li ion batteries are awesome and will be used extensively in the first generation of electric cars (supposedly) coming to a showroom near you. However, a pack like the one you've described will only be affordable to those with the ability to buy a super yacht, not 98 % of

Re: [RE-wrenches] **Possible_Spam** Xantrex/Schneider GT inverters

2010-10-07 Thread frenergy
Hey all, Marco said: Makes you appreciate even more those other inverter manufacturers who get their warranty replacements out the door in days.. Last month I had a GFI circuit fail in SMA 2500U. SMA had a replacement inverter to me the next day. Big points in my book. Sorry can't help

[RE-wrenches] Bird repellant

2010-10-25 Thread frenergy
Lee, I don't get many complaints from customers about birds. However, I have personally had to do something about one of my arrays and have found the owl, with the rotating head, to be very effective in keeping them from landing along the top of the array. This particular

[RE-wrenches] Mounting L feet on corrugated

2010-11-26 Thread frenergy
John, Besides needing to know a better description of the corr roofing profile, what is that roofing mounted on? plywood decking, solid wood, spaced solid wood (skip sheating),...? Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nelson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 530-284-7849/6544

Re: [RE-wrenches] To insulate a battery bank

2010-12-10 Thread frenergy
- Original Message - From: Darryl Thayer To: RE-wrenches Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:00 AM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] To insulate a battery bank I have always been concerned with both high and low temperature. On case of a battery bank failure it was

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fire Fighters

2010-12-14 Thread frenergy
Dan, I recently installed a 4.6 KW system with TIGO maximizers http://www.tigoenergy.com/index.html at each PV, wired in with MC4's. A Gateway (mounted centrally amidst the PVs) communicates wirelessly with each maximizer, then relays (via cat5) status, info to the Maximizer

Re: [RE-wrenches] Low grid voltage fix

2010-12-19 Thread frenergy
Joel, Unrelated, mostly. I got a call from a customer a few weeks ago that was claiming his inverter had failed working. When I arrived it was in fact not working and gave a code that the grid voltage was too high. I called Fronius and they said they sometimes have had to replace a

Re: [RE-wrenches] SolarEdge

2011-01-29 Thread frenergy
I don't know about Solaredge, but Tigo has optional irradiance monitoring to compliment the module level performance monitoring that comes with their package (Maximizer at each PV, Gateway wirelessly collects info from maximizers and sends it to the Management Unit. Info is then sent via

Re: [RE-wrenches] large array string sizing

2009-12-07 Thread frenergy
Your also going to have to consider what's going to happen to your high temp voltages in 5-10-15 years as the PVs derate with age plus add in dirt/dust etc. You'll be losing more and more of those summer hours as time goes on. Seems like an extremely narrow voltage window on the inverter

[RE-wrenches] Battery 'Automatic'' Watering

2009-12-10 Thread frenergy
For all of the rest of us Bozos that still manually water cells, try using a set-up used by those who have made their own beer. It's called a bottle filler in beer making, this is connected to a racking cane via 4-6 feet of 3/8 clear tubing. I hang a one gallon jug of distilled water 2-3

Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery Automatic Watering

2009-12-14 Thread frenergy
Maybe one way to express it would be hydrocaps are great if you use the the same charging parameters no matter what the age, condition of the battery is. This seems to be critical to sizing the HCs properly. And you (or the always attentive and willing customer) don't (doesn't) mind removing

[RE-wrenches] Peerless Ranges for Off-Grid Homes

2011-11-23 Thread frenergy
We still have ours (of about 15 years) and other than the clock lighting, it's working like a champ. It does get used less these days since we installed a ceramic (electric) cooktop also (we're offgrid) and have found creative ways to use the electric more and more. Thanks for the

[RE-wrenches] Pole mount PVC

2012-01-02 Thread frenergy
I've installed 20-30 pole mounts with the PVC conduit running from underground, through the 3' sonotube into the concrete. It then sweeps up to meet the pole/pipe, exits the concrete right next to it and continues to the DC disco. Never had an issue with the AHJ. It doesn't really

[RE-wrenches] Off-grid, on grid ground mount

2012-03-23 Thread frenergy
I've been using Direct Power and Water racks for ground mounting for some 14 years. Jeff offers a lot of support for custom needs/situations, easy to assemble, can be adjustable (or fixed for a lower price). Never had any issues, except very infrequently they'll forget to send some fasteners.

[RE-wrenches] Trace Change out

2012-04-14 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I have a customer that may be having some issues with the reliability of his 11 year old Trace4024. If my current fix doesn't solve the problem, I have suggested having the unit fixed, which I think still happens on these puppies. I have also suggested replacing it with

[RE-wrenches] Trace Change out

2012-04-16 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I had not thought of using AC1 for the gennyI had some thinking in the back of my mind that AC1 had to meet tighter input requirements to be practical for a generator and was thus delegated to grid use, which is not used here.. I'll keep that one in my toolbox. Customer

[RE-wrenches] Where's Santa?

2012-12-13 Thread frenergy
Uh oh, I can see it now.a bunch of working guys that already have truckloads of tools, but are always hoping for an excuse to buy another one. You KNOW you need it, yeah that IR camera because not only is it going to find rafters, but you can also find bad wire landings, circuit breakers,

[RE-wrenches] Electric car chargers

2013-02-22 Thread frenergy
William, I would have to concur with Randy's chart pretty much. A couple months a go we bought a 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV. I had just recently completed an upgrade system here (4.5KW PV, Classic, 84 KW of Rolls batts and a Radian). We are off-grid. The research I did before

Re: [RE-wrenches] Cleaning Modules

2013-04-19 Thread frenergy
benn and interested others, Just a side note due to benn's comment about cold water on a hot panel possibly resulting in cracked glass. My 45 degree tilt, roof mounted shop array (5KW, Solarworlds) gets covered with snow in the winter at times...when I need the power the most

[RE-wrenches] CU 200 error

2013-04-27 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I have been asked to repair a Grundfos SQ installation for our area Land Trust. Pump is not pumping and the controller (CU200) is throwing a code of: F3. The manual says loose wires, bad connection, failed CU200 or failed pump. I'm looking for more experience than mine in

[RE-wrenches] Tax credit question.

2013-07-27 Thread frenergy
Alan, I have always defaulted to that advice also. Just last week, after I had told a customer a 30% ITC is still available and told him to confirm that with his tax advisor to be sure he could take full advantage of it (some folks have to take the 30% over a couple years), he came

[RE-wrenches] Hawker versusu MK

2013-08-13 Thread frenergy
Here's a third for 2V Surrette's... However you should discuss details with this list or someone at Surrette regarding your application. For an example, Solar Power source? C/rate? Are you replacing a set of golf cart batts or batteries with similar charging needs as these large cells?

[RE-wrenches] Looking for EC-110's, or?

2013-09-04 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, We installed 12 Evergreen EC-110's on a 16PV top-of-pole rack 9 years ago for a customer. They just bought a Nissan Leaf and wants to charge it with his off-grid system! (I warned them). The 2 Outbacks and HUP pack should be able to keep up somewhat but I'm looking for 4

[RE-wrenches] Sundanzer questions

2013-09-12 Thread frenergy
I asked a dealer friend of mine in Southern British Columbia of his experience with Sundanzer and got this response: I have sold only 7 of the 8cuFt. SunDanzers and know of two other owned by an electrician. No complaints from anyone and I have no experience with manufacturer support other

Re: [RE-wrenches] Energy usage for an electric car

2013-09-28 Thread frenergy
William, We've had a 2012 RAV4EV for the last 8 months. On average we are consuming 13.5 KWhrs/day driving it. This translates to about 46 mi/day, average. For what it's worth the RAV is Tesla inside (battery, motor, controller...) though is the 'small' 42 KW battery. Tesla was

[RE-wrenches] On demand WH

2013-09-28 Thread frenergy
Off-grid Wrenches, I'm working on a load sheet and am having a hard time finding standby and while firing electrical usage for a propane-fired on demand water heater. Do they some/all have standing pilots, glow bars, something else? I'm guessing the standby power needs are very low

[RE-wrenches] EV energy usage

2013-09-28 Thread frenergy
If my calculations are correct, with a gallon of gasoline containing around 40 kW/Hours of energy, that would give Bill's RAV4EV an equivalent of 136 MPG and David's Leaf an MPG of 112 MPG boB boB, Your numbers look good. David should be doing better than I, however he is afflicted

Re: [RE-wrenches] On demand WH

2013-09-29 Thread frenergy
Dan, I am with you on that onestandby power consumption makes me think of battery sulphation. The 30 watts Ray mentioned for the Rennai would be a deal breaker for me. Hopefully I'll hear from a few others regarding standby losses...doesn't seem very important what

Re: [RE-wrenches] Oddball wire request

2013-10-10 Thread frenergy
Yes, the 14 gauge I found was USE-2. Bill - Original Message - From: Allan Sindelar To: RE-wrenches Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2013 10:48 PM Subject: [RE-wrenches] Oddball wire request Wrenches, I do a fair amount of work on ancient systems, just because there's been

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV Wiring methods

2013-11-14 Thread frenergy
William, Billfrom another Bill, Two things: For the rest of us (maybe it's just me?!) that's still trying to figure out how (or why) to stuff a MC4 connector into conduit and my hesitation in using SS wire ties for fear of the sharp edges cutting or chaffing into cables, I'm open

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sick pack

2013-12-20 Thread frenergy
and no maintenance required. One thing for sure, I would check the programming of the Trimetric. You can undercharge a battery and never know it if the configuration is not done properly. Make sure to calculate and use P1, P2 and P14 to determine SoC. Larry On Dec 19, 2013, at 9:23 PM, frenergy frene

[RE-wrenches] Flickering LED lights on and Outback Dual 7248VFX system

2014-01-06 Thread frenergy
Another $.02 I have 2, FX3524's and 35 KWhrs of HUP's behind themjust cleaned and torqued the terminals/cables. I run 6-7 brands, sizes, styles of LEDS and some of them of them flicker while, in my case, the convection oven is running. It quickly pulses (~10-20

Re: [RE-wrenches] Huge battery bank recommendation

2014-03-11 Thread frenergy
As a side note, if you use the 2YS31 Surrettes, as I did for a single 48V string about a year ago. You may want to have them shipped from Canada as a batch. I'm almost certain that my pack of 24 2v cells was a mixture of manufacture dates, 3 of which were in the distribution chain for too

Re: [RE-wrenches] NEC 690.10(C) talking points

2014-03-19 Thread frenergy
Dan, If your client is stuck on the idea of a stick welder, the 120 volt models are pretty cheesy...240V is the way to go. However, I've welded many miles of steel with a Miller 120 volt wire feed machine that does 3/16 material easy and 1/4 if the joint design is set up right. Yes,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Solar World shattered module

2014-04-22 Thread frenergy
John, It's hard to imagine how the bolt could work it's way out with all that weight on it but obviously it did. I have ~40-50 DPW TPMs in the field (since late '90s) and have not had a failure of any kind other than snow and that was pretty easily repairable. I just finished

Re: [RE-wrenches] high efficiency modules in U.S.

2014-04-26 Thread frenergy
I am a very small solar bozo in the woods of NE CA, but I have a $.02 burning a hole in my pocket. Jim's comment struck a nerve: I don’t know how to bring that about but you can imagine how installed costs would benefit if inverter prices dropped 50% and PV prices rose 10%. I don't know, the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Lumos LSX250 modules

2014-06-12 Thread frenergy
Hey Chris, Sorry I can't help. I'm sure you've already researched this and I certainly see where you're coming from concerning the snow's effect on PV frames but is too much strength lost being frameless? Their data sheet says the static load is 50 psf, pretty low for snow country,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Canadian Solar

2014-07-13 Thread frenergy
Well, just to be fair, many Chinese Co.s are propped up by the Chinese gov't...favorable tax structures, free land, zero interest loans. Solarworld seems to be somewhat of a target for failing US manufacturers, however let's not forget the others here that have failed or may soon thanks to

Re: [RE-wrenches] Magnum Energy sold to tax dodger

2014-09-07 Thread frenergy
Bill, Interesting because at InterSolar in SF this June, they were still bragging about being made in the USA. I guess you'd want to right up until: Another one bites the dust (there's a song isn't there?) It's getting terribly lonely out there for a US made offgrid inverter. Bill

Re: [RE-wrenches] Magnum Energy

2014-09-10 Thread frenergy
Hey Folks, I was authorized by Alan at Magnum to share this with the list. Hello Bill, Recently you wrote:How sad you'll have to be taking down the made in USA flag waving (good-bye) on your website. This is simply untrue. What is true is that Magnum is now a wholly owned

[RE-wrenches] Xanthrax XW BTS

2014-09-12 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I just replaced a failed XW. is the XW BTS compatible with an FM60? Thanks in advance, Bill ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address settings:

Re: [RE-wrenches] BTS

2014-09-12 Thread frenergy
/Schneider is 100K Magnum has a couple of swapped lines compared to the other BTS' but ~may~ or may not work for others in some instances. boB On 9/12/2014 2:48 PM, Jerry Shafer wrote: No it will not work right On Sep 12, 2014 2:56 AM, frenergy frene...@psln.com

[RE-wrenches] Metering

2014-09-28 Thread frenergy
CA wrenches, I'm trying to (for the sake of my monetarily impaired customers) figure out a less expensive way to meter/monitor small enphase systems. One of my local utilities will allow me to just use a remanufactured utility-grade meter (ala AEE) These meters are inexpensive, robust

Re: [RE-wrenches] Metering

2014-09-29 Thread frenergy
-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of frenergy Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2014 2:26 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Metering CA wrenches, I'm trying to (for the sake of my monetarily impaired customers) figure out a less expensive way to meter/monitor small

[RE-wrenches] TL inverter with long DC Feeder

2014-10-06 Thread frenergy
William, Just about a week ago I asked Greg Smith at SMA to confirm that it would be appropriate to use THWN-2 in the buried PVC conduit for the DC run from a pole mount array with it's DC disco to the SMA DC disco below their inverter..Just to be sure you're not thinking you have

Re: [RE-wrenches] TL Inverters

2014-10-07 Thread frenergy
Mark, The only thing I would add to all your good points is the addition of a 7700 watt TL which is of course perfect to stay under the 20% for load side connection of a 200A service. Bill - Original Message - From: Mark Byington To:

[RE-wrenches] SMA TL meter communication interference?

2014-10-17 Thread frenergy
Kris, I've installed about a dozen TLs and no complaints from PGE and the other small Electric Coop here in CA yet. Some installs have had Smart meters, some not. Bill - Original Message - From: Kristopher Schmid To: RE-wrenches Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 6:51

[RE-wrenches] Mounting height

2014-10-21 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I can't seem to find a reference to the heights allowable for inverter installs, either minimum or maximum (need both). For that matter, AC combiners, DC discos, any switchgear related to the inverter(s). Any help appreciated. Bill Feather River Solar Electric solar

Re: [RE-wrenches] Mounting height

2014-10-22 Thread frenergy
Professional™ From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of frenergy Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2014 11:02 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Mounting height Wrenches, I can't seem to find a reference to the heights

[RE-wrenches] AC combiners

2014-10-24 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, ...its the little things. Recently someone here brought up the issue of combining AC outputs prior to backfeeding the solar CB in the mains panel. In the past I've run AC outs from inverters into a small AC dist panel, backfeeding CBs and then ran my combined AC out from a

Re: [RE-wrenches] Passive Battery Venting

2014-10-31 Thread frenergy
.a heck of a lot easier to water the darn thing. - Original Message - From: Steve Higgins st...@surrette.com To: RE-wrenches re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Sent: Friday, October 31, 2014 2:07 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Passive Battery Venting Hey Wrenches. Looks

[RE-wrenches] Comp roof care

2014-11-09 Thread frenergy
Fellow wrenches, During a pitched composition roof install, I'm very conscientious about avoiding any foot placement/movement/twisting that may damage the shingles. I try to stay in the array footprint as it will see much less wear after the install. Chicken boards on steeper roofs

Re: [RE-wrenches] New washers and dishwashers on inverter power -any problems?

2014-12-07 Thread frenergy
Hugh, We've done a similar scenario around here the last several years, even charging an electric car. However, there is certainly more to the story than an added inverter, eh? I've also added PVs (lots for the car) from the days of heavy propane use. And I know that some of the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Small Exterior Weather Proof Battery Boxes

2014-12-23 Thread frenergy
Wouldn't an ammo box work well?...assuming its an AGM battery, though you could vent the box a little. Bill Feather River Solar Electric 4291 Nelson St. Taylorsville, CA 95983 530.284.7849 / 6544 fax - Original Message - From: Tom Lane t...@ecs-solar.com To:

[RE-wrenches] Backsheet camo?

2014-12-23 Thread frenergy
Dearest Wrenches, Due to roof obstructions, valleys, snow, etc, I recently ran the top row of an array a couple inches beyond the ridge of a roof. Of course one can see the top of this row of PVs from the north side of the roof. The customer was apprised of this happening ahead of

Re: [RE-wrenches] module testing

2014-12-24 Thread frenergy
Marco, Chinese and Taiwanese continue to get hammered with these tariffs. In any game, if you're not playing fair, you get penalized. Yes, I too thank SolarWorld for producing a very high quality product here in the USA at a reasonable cost, less polluting production

[RE-wrenches] Solar DHW

2015-01-14 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, Occasionally I get wrangled into doing hot water. I used to source stuff from Solar Depot, but they are gone. For those wrenches in the NE California area, I would appreciate leads on suppliers for thermal panels, tanks (with heat exchangers), circ pumps, etc. Is UMA a

Re: [RE-wrenches] Extreme snow load ground mount?

2015-01-16 Thread frenergy
Lars, Yes, the only way you can even consider an install like this is a pole mount, with a steep tilt in the winter to shed most of the snow. It would help to know if the place will be used in the winter or summer and how big of an array in KW or Sq Ft. Customer would have to

Re: [RE-wrenches] California wrenches PGE

2015-01-16 Thread frenergy
Jay, Is this an existing home or to-be-built home? PGE hasn't let me run anything bigger than 10% over the customer's last 12 months average monthly consumption through their interconnection/engineering. If this is a yet to be built home, the system size will need justification

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback quad stack X240 breaker tripping

2015-03-16 Thread frenergy
Kevin, Not to add any confusion but I recently had to re-program the slave in a 2 VFX with Xfrmr system as it was doing the same thing...the 2 pole xfrmr breaker was tripping when a moderate load was on. Granted this was not happening during charging though. I think I changed the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Off grid loads Load sheet

2015-03-20 Thread frenergy
-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of frenergy Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2015 8:56 AM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Load sheet Wrenches, I'm always trying to update my reference for KWhrs/day for various loads, especially as time

Re: [RE-wrenches] Acid containment

2015-03-30 Thread frenergy
Technical Sales Professional New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc. 505 780-2738 cell !--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-- !--[endif]-- On 3/30/2015 10:03 AM, frenergy wrote: Fellow Wrenches, I just called Tap

[RE-wrenches] Acid containment

2015-03-30 Thread frenergy
Fellow Wrenches, I just called Tap Plastics hoping they would solve my problem of battery acid containment within a plywood battery box. I was surprised by their response that the acrylic was not impervious to acid and polyethylene would not work because sealants nor caulking adhere

Re: [RE-wrenches] Tilt Racking vs Roof Mount for Shedding snow

2015-03-27 Thread frenergy
Hey Dan, Of course we need to discuss the surroundings of any particular roof...valleys, vents, type of top-down clamps, are the PVs at, below or slightly above the ridge of the roof, etc. I assume we're talking about a metal roof? Some roofs see more warmth than others from the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Chofu Hot Tub Heater

2015-03-02 Thread frenergy
Hey Allan Around these parts the Snorkel Tub is the backwoods basic hot tub of choice. Its just a hot...tub, woodfired, in the past, no circ pumps. www.snorkel.com/ Of course by now they may have some of the amenities of today's conventional tubs. Oh, I see they now have gas

[RE-wrenches] Load sheet

2015-03-19 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I'm always trying to update my reference for KWhrs/day for various loads, especially as time marches on folks are of course wishing to power the latest gizmo with an off-grid system. I can't seem to find very current info. The days of going into search are certainly long

Re: [RE-wrenches] RTS interference?

2015-04-14 Thread frenergy
interference? Never had a problem with DC . Jerry On Apr 12, 2015 6:16 AM, frenergy frene...@psln.com wrote: Hey folks, Has anyone found a problem running a RTS cable in FMC conduit with the battery-to-inverter cables? Thanks, Bill Feather River Solar Electric

Re: [RE-wrenches] Manufacturers warranty......

2015-04-22 Thread frenergy
My recent experience with SMA was $150 for the warranty change out of one of their string inverters. It was a significant hassle and took months to receive a check. You have to know that they offer the $150, If you don't ask, they won't offer it. Whereas Fronius almost insists they pay you

Re: [RE-wrenches] Milwaukee Sub Scanner versus Bosch D-Tect versusothers?

2015-05-10 Thread frenergy
I wasn't going to say anything but I have to now say right-on. I only saw one image (hammer) in your email, William, so maybe the other image is the other high-tech tool we use...a fist. If its one comp roof layer, this method is very accurate, maybe because I've used it so many

[RE-wrenches] DC conduit

2015-05-14 Thread frenergy
Esteemed Wrenches, One of my customers (who is also an Electrical contractor) asked me why metal conduit is required from the combiner to the inverter. In this case the DC run will go under the house in the crawl space before exiting the foundation and up to the DC disco on the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Off-grid deep well pumps

2015-04-12 Thread frenergy
Maybe equally as important is performance. I also have a conventional 1/2 HP 120 vac Sta-rite submersible supplying our water for 21 years with no issues. It certainly has it's surge at start however the 2, OBFX3524's (120 vac only) running it seems to have dealt with it for many years.

[RE-wrenches] RTS interference?

2015-04-12 Thread frenergy
Hey folks, Has anyone found a problem running a RTS cable in FMC conduit with the battery-to-inverter cables? Thanks, Bill Feather River Solar Electric ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address:

Re: [RE-wrenches] washing machines

2015-06-01 Thread frenergy
Kirk, Staber used to tout the tolerance their machines had to Mod sine inverters and they are made in the US. I guess you'd have to define local. We just replaced our old Staber a year ago, which suffered through our family of 4 for 17 years...and we bought another Staber. Bill

[RE-wrenches] Ham Radio interference

2015-06-01 Thread frenergy
Folks, I looked back in the archives with no luck. Specifically, has anyone experienced any problems with RF/Ham radio operation and SMA TL-22 inverters. I seem to be pretty partial to them lately and I have a potential job with the customer asking about possible problems with

Re: [RE-wrenches] Lithium batteries for Polaris Ranger EV

2015-05-27 Thread frenergy
Jay, I hate to throw cold water on the Li-ion alternative for an ATV, but I did exactly that when my Li-ion pack caught on fire in my E-Force ATV that was converted to Li-ion. I'm now back to sealed LA. The cells and BOS were about 4 years old so maybe all that is getting more dialed

[RE-wrenches] Mitsu 170's

2015-06-30 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, I'm trying to find at least 2 Mitsubishi 170's (PV-MF170EB3). Please contact off-list. Thanks, Bill Feather River Solar Electric___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change

[RE-wrenches] Supply side

2015-05-25 Thread frenergy
Wrenches, Customer currently has a hacked up 200 amp Sylvania meter/mains panel. He also is averaging a load of 74 KWhrs/day! which will require about 15 KW system size at this site. Obviously a system this size cannot backfeed the busses in the load center. Because the exiting

Re: [RE-wrenches] FLA battery setpoints with larger arrays

2015-05-22 Thread frenergy
This is good stuff, enlightening...but begs another small? detail that has obvious big ramifications. Where o where does the BTS get placed to best read the actual temperature of the battery? It's too big to fit on many terminals especially once cabled, it's certainly not very accurate when

Re: [RE-wrenches] Discrepency between inverter kWH reading andsolar production meter

2015-05-22 Thread frenergy
Hopefully there tech department can shed some light on this for you, however, it would certainly be to SolarEdge's benefit to appear to be producing more power than it really is, well, unless, H .. Bill - Original Message - From: jarmo.venalai...@schneider-electric.com

Re: [RE-wrenches] FLA battery setpoints with larger arrays

2015-05-22 Thread frenergy
Hey Jay, From what I've heard form battery manus, the C rates likely even in a well PV-ed system still will not produce C-rates high enough to approach a high or longevity reducing internal battery temp, assuming a typical bulk, absorb, float cycle. Of course, battery environmental

Re: [RE-wrenches] Water Heater Heat Pumps

2015-05-26 Thread frenergy
Dana, I am no expert with ground source heat pumps, but I suspect that the measurement you took was when the resistance heat strips were on, which will only be used very infrequently in a properly designed and operated GSHP system. Despite that, GSHP can be used off-grid with the heat

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