Re: [RE-wrenches] Ferrites for EMP/solar flare protection?

2022-02-08 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
No Problem !  If one of our SPDs break from a nuclear EMP, just send it back and we'll replace it ! Did you realize that if you rearrange the first two letters of the word "nuclear", you get unclear ? boB On 2/8/2022 9:35 AM, toddc...@finestplanet.com wrote: What about Midnight SPDs? T

Re: [RE-wrenches] Midnite HV combiners

2021-12-27 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
From higher up... We still make the MNPV4HV-DISCO3R-DLX and we some extra PSB to cover anyone how is short during an installation project.  If Jeremy is ok with new product, we can help him out through his distributor of choice. AND We probably do not advertise it with the PSB because the B

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback MX-60 - Li-ion charging

2021-12-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
than 3.8V (LFP chem.). Larry Crutcher Starlight Solar Power Systems On Dec 1, 2021, at 9:38 AM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: Depends on the requirement for the BMS. Usually, but not 100% always, the requirement is to get the voltage up to "absorb" and then stop charging. Just

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback MX-60

2021-12-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
newer and keep the MX60 as a spare. boB On 12/1/2021 9:10 AM, frenergy wrote: boB,             Interesting...Sounds like this is not a candidate for L-ion batteries. Bill On 11/30/2021 10:47 PM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: Hi Bill As I remember, the min is of course... Minimum time

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback MX-60

2021-11-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Hi Bill As I remember, the min is of course... Minimum time in Absorb. Max is maximum time in absorb but depended on how long it took to get from Bulk MPPT to that Absorb voltage. So if it took 3 hours to get to Absorb that morning and you had t set for Max 2 hours,  it would Absorb for

Re: [RE-wrenches] LG Chem RESU10 Storage Capacity

2021-10-23 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
FWIW, I was just looking at the specs for the RESU10  (48V) and it says the total kW-Hour is 9.8 kW-Hour which is at initial stage of life (note 1) Usable energy says it is good for 8.8 kW-Hour  (note 2) At first I thought that maybe they just don't let you discharge all the way to 0% and/o

Re: [RE-wrenches] Lithium battery cable lengths

2021-07-21 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Remember that cable resistance isn't the only thing to think about for battery cables from inverter to batteries... Cable inductance can matter too which is made better by keeping positive and negative cables close together and also keeping them short as possible. boB On 7/21/2021 3:19 P

Re: [RE-wrenches] Charging a 108V battery bank

2021-07-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
nternally separated in the inverter in a boat, so I'll stick to marine inverters for this one. Cheers, Dave On Wed, Jun 30, 2021 at 5:30 PM b...@midnitesolar.com <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com> mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com>> wrote: If you can'

Re: [RE-wrenches] Charging a 108V battery bank

2021-06-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
If you can't find a single compatible charger, what also works it to use 2 (two) separate MPPT charge controllers each with a separate PV array inputs and connect each CC's battery to half of the battery bank.  This has worked fine for both OB and MNS controllers in past years and should wit

Re: [RE-wrenches] MidNite SOB problem and possible solution

2020-12-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Eric, this is very interesting that the foil (Faraday shield) used in this way would help that situation ! A Faraday shield using aluminum foil will only shield electric fields and not magnetic fields of course so something interesting is going on here.   SO, the foil was not grounded in a

Re: [RE-wrenches] Quietest off-grid inverter HAM radio

2020-10-03 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
isadvantage to non transformer inverters? Jay On Oct 2, 2020, at 11:27 AM, "b...@midnitesolar.com" wrote: This is all great advice. Remember that long wires can radiate RF.  PV lines and the array can make a good antenna for  RFI as well as the battery lines. I agree with Dav

Re: [RE-wrenches] Quietest off-grid inverter HAM radio

2020-10-02 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
This is all great advice. Remember that long wires can radiate RF.  PV lines and the array can make a good antenna for  RFI as well as the battery lines. I agree with Dave that both of those inverters are more than likely similar.  I know that the XW has a good filter on the battery line r

Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 grid tie mystery

2019-12-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Forgot to say that if the inverters ARE grid tied, then they will NOT drift around in phase and will be synchronized  and therefore will stay in sync and be passing through from grid to output. boB On 12/22/2019 12:57 AM, Jerry Shafer wrote: Well l would start simple and get a sync cable

Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex SW 4048 grid tie mystery

2019-12-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
You can test to see if both inverters are staying in sync by just watching the voltage between L1 and L2 of the outputs for a while.  If they do not deviate much from 240VAC over several minutes, then they are probably sync'd OK...  You can also help verify this by unplugging the sync cable

Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Optimizers

2019-10-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
That notice not to use Tigo with the MidNite Classic controller was several years ago. Not long after that, Tigo did something to their optimizers to fix it and there has not been a problem since. Should be good to go. boB On 10/30/2019 6:06 PM, Mac Lewis wrote: I haven't noticed in a wh

Re: [RE-wrenches] Off-grid Sunny Island to backup

2019-02-21 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
A Sunny Island (SI) will export excess energy to the grid when the battery voltage is driven above its target voltage (IE absorb or float) so in the case of using a Classic or any other charge controller, the charge controller needs to be set to a higher voltage than the SI. Typically I re

Re: [RE-wrenches] Extending Midnite BTS

2019-01-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Yep.  No problem. It's polarity independent also so if one of the ends of the phone plug is backwards, it shouldn't matter. 10K Ohms nominal 25 degree C value for the thermistor if anybody cares. boB On 1/29/2019 7:29 PM, Jeremy Rodriguez wrote: Is it ok to extend the battery temp sensor w

Re: [RE-wrenches] Factory Over bent Wiring

2018-10-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Ray is coming at this from an electricians viewpoint. He is correct if talking about wiring outside of a UL or ETL listed product. The reason for wide radii in wiring is so the wires can be rerouted and terminated a few times. 8 times the diameter is a very large bend radii and would never

Re: [RE-wrenches] Surge arrestors on strings

2018-10-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The SPD-600 is evidently the one to use on the SMA TL inverters. In older grounded PV systems, if the negative or positive is grounded directly to ground, then you could get by without an SPD connected to that grounded conductor because it is, well, already grounded and that line will rise in

Re: [RE-wrenches] Surge arrestors on strings

2018-10-09 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
For an inverter with two MPPT inputs, you will need to treat the negatives and positive lines separate unless the manufacturer says something else.  That means one  SPD per array unfortunately.  Negative and positive connect to separate leads of the SPD and then ground in the middle.  As both

Re: [RE-wrenches] mod waveform LED dimmer

2018-09-05 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
If a regular dimmer doesn't work, which because of the sharp edges I would not expect to work very well, you could try a variac. boB On 9/5/2018 5:38 PM, Bruce Geddes wrote: I would doubt that dimmers will work as they look for leading or trailing edges to power switch. With Mod square w

Re: [RE-wrenches] Cell Cracks

2018-08-14 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
My cohort here that used to make PV modules thinks that something may have hit the back of the module ?  Maybe somebody weed-eating around the array and something hit it ? We notice the cracks in Ray's cells are white. Are the backs of these modules white too ? Interesting if they still wo

Re: [RE-wrenches] UL/CSA listed battery monitor?

2018-07-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
sting. I know that this was done for our wind Clipper in Canada not long ago. Email me directly and I can try to find the particulars of that situation if it might help here. Thanks, boB On 7/10/2018 11:36 AM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: Just to clarify, MidNite has two (2) batter

Re: [RE-wrenches] UL/CSA listed battery monitor?

2018-07-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Just to clarify, MidNite has two (2) battery monitors  Sort of... The  MNBCM that Tom referred to is a shunt-less voltage monitor that lets you know when the battery has not received an Absorb charge cycle for 1 week and 2 weeks.  It also has somewhat of a voltage meter.  It is purely base

Re: [RE-wrenches] Low output

2018-06-20 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
All great questions.  Sounds like the battery voltage is below set-point (29V) using the heat gun which is the thing to do to drag its V down.  The Kid should have gone back to MPPT (Bulk, Float or EQ) in a few moments after doing that. The sanity check for tracking is to note the Voc (105

Re: [RE-wrenches] PV Cell Temperature Variation

2018-05-17 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I've checked several PV modules under load in past years and they all seem to do this. Just cell mis-match I was guessing. boB On 5/17/2018 3:19 PM, Corey Shalanski wrote: On a recent utility-scale PV installation we noticed a strange phenomenon on a single string on a single inverter. An

Re: [RE-wrenches] Li+ Systems Puerto Rico

2018-02-19 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I was in Puerto Rico last week up in the hills helping train with a small-ish off-grid combination systems. What I saw in our training building was a Sonnen system with OB Radian, Four Sonnen Li batteries, some external circuitry (relays, etc) and PV using Enphase inverters running in AC co

Re: [RE-wrenches] Air X Turbine with Positive Ground

2018-01-19 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The MidNite Chinook 200 is 100% isolated from ground and therefore would work well on a positive ground system. It has no up tower electronics other than a rectifier. These are currently in production and available. Thanks, boB On 1/19/2018 11:32 AM, Ray wrote: Hi All; I am doing a Pr

Re: [RE-wrenches] Breaker trip

2017-12-06 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
What can sometimes happen when the charge controller is wired electrically close to the inverter and long-ish battery cables are used from that connection point to the batteries is that surge currents from the inverter DC connection will be drawn from the charge controller and its batter

Re: [RE-wrenches] EMP - Faraday Cages

2017-09-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Interesting but scary subject for me !  I hope we don't find out how well they work ! The MidNite SPDs use MOVs  with a rating of  15 nano-second response time. This response time is in line for type 2 and 3 EMP events but your mileage may vary. Type 1 EMPs (pico-seconds ?) have faster ri

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Coupled Enphase

2017-08-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 8/30/2017 5:54 AM, Drake wrote: Hi boB, Would there be any issues with delayed control of the microinverters? We do  plan to  use disconnects for maintenance. Thanks, Drake I highly doubt there would be enough delay to worry about anything regarding battery damage Even with Rul

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Coupled Enphase

2017-08-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
SSRs, especially AC SSRs made from thyrisotrs (scrs and/or triacs)  are "leaky" in general so when turned OFF, can cause a shock  Maybe not enough to kill you but maybe enough to make you fall off the roof ! I'm not sure why the disconnects aren't good enough which should already be i

Re: [RE-wrenches] "DC current Injection": Whazzat?

2017-08-17 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Maybe the blender in question uses some kind of half wave rectification to control speed or something like that ? boB On 8/17/2017 8:43 AM, RE Ellison wrote: If getting rid of the blender which is the easier choice or at least trying a different blender to see if that does it is out of the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Over voltage error message

2017-07-21 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Concorde battery bank is 305 AH at 48 V for a C/6.5 charge rate. The battery bank should have been fully charged. If the grid went down and the Radian quit selling during a heavy selling period, could that not cause a 1 second voltage spike, or should the Classic catch it instantaneousl

Re: [RE-wrenches] Over voltage error message

2017-07-19 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The Classic can overshoot but not very much, normally. I would try this... Sell to grid while watching the battery voltage and then turn the inverter breaker off and see what the battery voltage does. If the battery voltage rises to the mid 60V range from a low sell voltage of around 52

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Island no Longer Supports TLs - How about New Series?

2017-03-26 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Battery based rapid shut down is not simple. Much of it is up to the AHJ. You can shut down the AC output or the battery or both. Shunt trip battery breakers do not cost much more than regular battery breakers. You do need to control them though. That is what the Birdhouse and MNbattery disc

Re: [RE-wrenches] Tesla 2.0

2017-03-11 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Tesla just announced that they were only going to be making the AC battery, which is what you are talking about here. No DC only battery. They are making their own inverter from what I understand. There is also a rumor that NFPA is going to limit Lithium batteries to 2 kW in or on a residen

Re: [RE-wrenches] Intermittent charge 4024

2016-11-03 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
You can replace the internal SW fans (if the fans themselves are the problem.) BUT the replacement fans must draw approximately the same current as the original fans because they are powered by a current source rather than voltage source. i.e. If you use a fan that draws less than the fan c

Re: [RE-wrenches] OB FW Lightning Protection w/ EPanel

2016-08-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On Aug 27, 2016, at 10:02 PM, "b...@midnitesolar.com <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com>" <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com>> wrote: MidNite Solar stopped making the skinny OB E-Panels but we still make many models of the wide OB E-Panels. It still works fine with the OutBack

Re: [RE-wrenches] OB FW Lightning Protection w/ EPanel

2016-08-27 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
MidNite Solar stopped making the skinny OB E-Panels but we still make many models of the wide OB E-Panels. It still works fine with the OutBack surge arrestor in their AC conduit box. boB On 8/27/2016 2:30 PM, Howie Michaelson wrote: H Jeremy, It has been years since I used Outback's Arr

Re: [RE-wrenches] Rapid Shutdown equipment restart. BH, Combiner and battery disco.

2016-07-26 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Jeremy, normally the way to reset the birdhouse RSS is to flip the PV combiner switch with the red handle on it, OFF and then back ON. Also... * **1-Make sure there is 120VAC to BirdHouse and it doesn’t say “Battery Low” ** **2-Reset combiner (Birdhouse should say “The solar system has been tur

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fried Classic150?

2016-05-31 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
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 dra

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fried Classic150?

2016-05-31 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Yes, the 9V is because of the auxiliary power supply that powers everything inside. Not just the Classic of course. Lots of voltages and various power levels required to run these things. And charcoal inside a Classic refurb ! Hmmm... You can be sure... There WILL be spankings ! bo

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fried Classic150?

2016-05-31 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Aaron, there may or may not be an explanation for WHY this happened. We really love it when there is one though. But being electronics and especially power electronics, it can go up without rhyme or reason even though lots have gone into catching failures before shipping units. Four to eig

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fried Classic150?

2016-05-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Uh OH !! Not good ! The Classic will turn on at around 9 volts DC input and will continue to run down to something around 4.5 volts input. So, maybe the batteries aren't "zero" volts at least. You can wait until tomorrow to call in OR go to the www.midnitesolar.com web site and start an o

Re: [RE-wrenches] Compressor motor/SW+5548

2016-05-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
t add longer real wire or a resistor. Fun Ohm's law stuff. boB Jeremy Rodriguez Solar Installation And Design Expert All Solar, Inc. 1463 M St Penrose Colorado 81240 Sent by Jeremy's iPhone. Sorry for typos and shorthand! On May 30, 2016, at 1:15 PM, "b...@midnite

Re: [RE-wrenches] Compressor motor/SW+5548

2016-05-30 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The (newer) SW5548 was harder on over current protection, mainly because it could put out more current than the SW4048... One trick to try is to place a long(ish) extension cord between the SW and the load to give it a wee bit of series resistance. Doing this would often reduce that OCP and

Re: [RE-wrenches] Generator factory wiring issues

2016-05-25 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
UL evaluates products on internal temperature rises while it is used normally. They also evaluate the products under abnormal use, in various ways. It may or may not have a fan. If you look inside an inverter, you will see the same type of things Large external battery cables connect

Re: [RE-wrenches] hermal Camera for PV Troubleshooting?

2016-05-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
We use several FLIRs here at MidNite... Invaluable tool for LOTS of reasons. You can by a FLIR E4: 80 x 60 resolution brand new on Amazon for $925. There are other deals for less than this as Marco pointed out, too. boB On 5/16/2016 2:39 PM, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote: Yes, Bill…I’d recomm

[RE-wrenches] NEC 690.12 Webinar

2016-03-18 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Hello Wrenches... I don't normally announce something things like this but since Rapid Shutdown is a fairly hot topic these days, I am posting info on a webinar that we are putting on March 30th. If you have any questions, please email or call Raechel raec...@midnitesolar.com Thanks ! An

Re: [RE-wrenches] Rapid Shutdown

2016-03-15 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 3/15/2016 5:23 PM, Ray Walters wrote: Hi Brad; I think that remotely tripping the inverter might work with Outback, but definitely not with Magnum. (I checked with them today) Also, if the battery cables are more than 5 ft long, the rapid disconnect /might/ have to be closer to the batte

Re: [RE-wrenches] Rapid Shutdown

2016-03-15 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
MidNite's Rapid Shutdown Sustems are UL listed. If you have any questions, please email Ryan at r...@midnitesolar.com. Ryan said we were actually having a webinar on this subject later this week, too. No solenoids so no night tare loss on the battery side or the PV side. *

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback OpticsRe

2015-12-18 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
more control over a system ? I know that I certainly would but I don't think the new MM2 does much, if any of that. Any input is appreciated. boB Gudgel b...@midnitesolar.com On 12/17/2015 8:05 PM, Lou Russo wrote: Wrenches, I have several existing off-grid sites that now requ

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-11-06 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
ld replace? Daniel Tittmann CTO Greenwired www.greenwired.com <http://www.greenwired.com> dan...@greenwired.com <mailto:dan...@greenwired.com> 707-923-2001 (office) 707-206-5088 (Cell) On Thu, Oct 29, 2015 at 4:19 PM, b...@midnitesolar.com <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com> <mailt

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-11-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
happening with a scope and a current probe. I've seen some very strange things happen. boB Sent from my iPhone On Oct 29, 2015, at 4:19 PM, "b...@midnitesolar.com" wrote: Larry, because these MPPT CC's are bi-directional (for efficiencies' sake), they can convert

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-10-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
appen. boB Sent from my iPhone On Oct 29, 2015, at 4:19 PM, "b...@midnitesolar.com" wrote: Larry, because these MPPT CC's are bi-directional (for efficiencies' sake), they can convert a large current at the battery side to a smaller current at the PV side if not adjuste

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-10-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
hrough the breaker unless the Classic is presenting a load? I suppose something else could be wired through the breaker but I’m guessing Daniel would have looked at that. <<>> Curious Larry On Oct 29, 2015, at 1:06 PM, b...@midnitesolar.com <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com> wrote:

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-10-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
e and just now seeing this problem ? boB On 10/29/2015 11:13 AM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: You don't want to drive for hours and hours to do something that might not fix the problem. Without knowing exactly what is happening, I would bring a spare Classic and also a new breaker whic

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp output breaker tripping?????

2015-10-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
You don't want to drive for hours and hours to do something that might not fix the problem. Without knowing exactly what is happening, I would bring a spare Classic and also a new breaker which I think I heard we were sending you If the Classic is plugged into the internet, there is the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Classic 150 100 amp utput breaker tripping?????

2015-10-26 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Daniel... This one is kind of unusual... Especially tripping only in the morning. Temperature ? Something moving or shaking the breaker box ? Have you tried changing the circuit breaker ? What is the approximate maximum current output from the Classic in the morning ? You can access rece

Re: [RE-wrenches] AGS sensitive battery charger

2015-10-15 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
on whats going on. My listeroid has been running into an MX60 for many years (7 or 8 years) without issues at around 3kw into 48v bank, and has proved to be the most reliable way to couple a generator that I know of (for what its worth). On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 6:28 PM, b...@midnitesolar

Re: [RE-wrenches] AGS sensitive battery charger

2015-10-15 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
We are not really advocating doing this. It can cause nightmares in service and support. If one really knows what they are doing, it can be done (and has been done) but mere mortals should not be attempting to do this. I would get a real AC to DC charger. If IOTA isn't good enough, maybe

Re: [RE-wrenches] Five L16s in a 24V string?

2015-10-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I would think that doing this would be asking for un-balanced batteries in the string (un-equal battery voltage) But I guess I can't argue with success ? Put the positive battery in the middle then so it won't be on the end ? :) :-) boB On 10/1/2015 2:07 PM, Starlight Solar Power Sys

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC-coupling Enphase/XW Causes Flickering of Lights

2015-09-21 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
If the inverter were in search, I would think that there would be no AC power produced by the micro inverters at all because of anti-islanding. boB On 9/21/2015 4:40 PM, Jay wrote: Nope wasn't in search when I had flicker. If the loads were greater than the enphase production then no flick

Re: [RE-wrenches] remember the pirate solar inverter?

2015-09-17 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Yep. The OK4U was like 100 watts or 125 watts maybe ? I was the first one in the US to hook one up (I'm pretty sure ?) after Bill Ropenecker, the then CEO of Trace Engineering handed me after his trip to Europe and brought it back with him. boB On 9/17/2015 4:02 PM, Michael Welch wrote:

Re: [RE-wrenches] Query for Old Trace guys.....

2015-08-26 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The two remotes are completely different from each other... If by SWRC you mean the black (typically) rectangular remote for the SW that looks the same as the one on the SW inverter itself with the LCD and the 4 big (ish) square buttons. (The HAL 9000) The SWRC has a bunch of separate wire

Re: [RE-wrenches] Trina Module Annual Degradation

2015-07-18 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Darn ! I must have been talking about myself !!! I said "short term memory" when I mean "short term warranty" boB On 7/18/2015 11:09 AM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: Hi Bill From what I understand, and I have asked this question to different people at differe

Re: [RE-wrenches] Trina Module Annual Degradation

2015-07-18 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I bet that Bill Hoffer could offer way better information than I can about this. boB On 7/18/2015 3:29 AM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote: boB, Can you expand on the warranty coverage in this situation? TIA, Bill - From: "b...@midnitesolar.com"

Re: [RE-wrenches] Rapid Shutdown

2015-07-17 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
FYI... Every [Midnite] SMA E-Panel comes with a shunt trip breaker. SMA requested this when they asked MidNite to design an E-Panel for them. You will need the battery disconnect module to go with each E-Panel though. The battery disconnect modules connect to the Birdhouse and to the shunt

Re: [RE-wrenches] Trina Module Annual Degradation

2015-07-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
It's too bad that when a module goes to a REAL high degradation, like, 100% down to nothing before that 25 year "warranty" is up, that it is NOT considered degradation and is not covered under "warranty". P.S. This has nothing to do with Trina or any PV company in particular. boB On 7/16/2

Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery Bank to Inverter Wiring

2015-06-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
antrex.com_ <http://www.xantrex.com/> | *Address:* 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1 <http://www.xantrexrebate.com/> <http://www.xantrex.com/> <https://www.facebook.com/Xantrex> <https://twitter.com/Xantrex> <https://twitter.com/Xantrex&

Re: [RE-wrenches] Solaredge Storedge

2015-06-29 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I would think that Solar City would know all about this. Or, maybe I wouldn't ? boB On 6/29/2015 11:06 AM, Rebekah Hren wrote: I don't have any info, but the StorEdge diagram is confusing to me when it says "energy independence." I can see a simple compatibility between the Powerwall DC vo

Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery Bank to Inverter Wiring

2015-06-28 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 6/28/2015 9:20 AM, Allan Sindelar wrote: I'm not an EE, but I can't see what difference twisting would make in the absence of a building/collapsing field as is normal with AC. It is little known that with the typical inverters that use the heavy power transformers, have a lot of AC 1

Re: [RE-wrenches] MidNite Solar SMA Relay Board (MNSMARB)

2015-06-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
After spending a lot of time and money to make the SMA Sunny Island work with a grid tie inverter system of twice the Sunny Island capacity we dropped the project. The problem we had is that the system is complicated and we were spending far too much time working with the people in the field

Re: [RE-wrenches] Voltage Degradation with Uni-Solar laminate

2015-06-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Oooo... Or maybe a module or more are shorted and being bypassed ? A FLIR can sometimes come in handy to look at the entire array and of course detect bad/hot connections. But a shorted module will be almost as hot as a working module at MPP voltage. boB On 6/1/2015 11:28 AM, b

Re: [RE-wrenches] Voltage Degradation with Uni-Solar laminate

2015-06-01 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Partial shading will also reduce the MPP voltage and to a much smaller extent, the Voc. I don't suppose there are some new trees or something at the site ? Jarmo, I like your presentation. boB On 6/1/2015 11:21 AM, Starlight Solar Power Systems wrote: Luke, For reference, we sold/instal

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

2015-05-23 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 5/23/2015 11:37 AM, Luke Christy wrote: Jay's point about adding PV to offset daytime AC for the battery bank brings up the issue of active cooling. How many folks out there are installing some form of cooling for LA battery banks, and how are you implementing it? As long as some FLA bat

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

2015-05-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 5/22/2015 6:43 PM, jay peltz wrote: agreed. Again, maybe Steve has an view of the builder, but having it on the post is pretty close. If it's the typical flat type of BTS, wedged right between two batteries will give a good average temperature of the two of them. boB Maybe there

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

2015-05-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
On 5/22/2015 12:56 PM, Ray Walters wrote: Hi Bill; If the battery is in an insulated box indoors, it definitely can over heat. Also if ambient temps get into the 90s, the additional heat from charging can push the battery into the danger zone. In hot desert or tropical climates, it may actu

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

2015-05-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
In addition, when someone leaves the system for long periods of time, the ending amps can help BUT that is not the same as giving them a good de-sulfating Absorb cycle once in a while. This is where it is nice to give them a good Absorb for some hours without the ending amps but only every s

Re: [RE-wrenches] Tesla Powerwall battery paired with solar

2015-05-02 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
When I was at Intersolar 2 years ago in Munich I saw Solar Edge's system. This article mentioned them as one of their partners. This was for Europe's "Self Consumption" program. The solar array is somewhere around 400 volts DC, regulated somewhat by the optimizers, and feeds into the input of

Re: [RE-wrenches] Apprentice interview

2015-04-28 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
May I please add 1) Must know the difference between AC and DC. 2) Must be able to identify what each prong is when shown an AC plug. boB On 4/28/2015 6:35 PM, Dan Fink wrote: Esteemed Wrenches: I teach hands-on /Intro to PV/ and/Intro to Solar Therma/l at a 2-year technical colle

Re: [RE-wrenches] Trace DR Series-Control Board Commonality Between Units

2015-04-20 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
You didn't touch the power board ? If changing out the control board seems to make it work and regulate output voltage properly, it's probably good and I would try running some larger loads to test it. You may have gotten lucky. Unless you want to keep that old replacement board for a speci

Re: [RE-wrenches] Using a Midnite Classic for Hydro

2015-03-19 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
ttery voltage from rising above the charging set point and to give the battery maximum power/current when it needs charging. Most MPPT charge controllers operate this way. boB On 3/19/2015 11:57 AM, b...@midnitesolar.com wrote: Jeff, I am sorry you did not get a proper answer from tech support

Re: [RE-wrenches] Using a Midnite Classic for Hydro

2015-03-19 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Jeff, I am sorry you did not get a proper answer from tech support to a very basic question like this. I don't know who you talked with so we will flog all of them equally. I am glad that particular sentence was removed from the manual as it was not correct. You can only keep the charge co

Re: [RE-wrenches] Aquian Energy Batteries.

2015-02-15 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
They have made quite a bit of progress since they first started out. Getting better. I don't know personally but one of our employees lives off grid with a couple stacks of these things. So far, so good. boB On 2/15/2015 6:55 PM, Kirpal Khalsa wrote: Hi Wrenches!! A customer just passed m

Re: [RE-wrenches] How Is Rapid Shut-Down Not A Farse...

2015-02-05 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
>>>but the first time there is a system out there that does not work some guy may just go and bypass it, hell its a cheap fix. now who thinks they are protected and they are not, bad deal.<<< Sounds like a good reason for the system to have proper feedback to let the firefighters know that t

Re: [RE-wrenches] How to isolate the array DC

2015-02-02 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The inverters' input capacitors may be charged and so that must also be isolated near the inverter. A grid operated contactor will not work for a battery-back up system. Also, 600V DC can weld contacts closed and if this happens and there is no feedback to show that the contacts definitely

Re: [RE-wrenches] Spare SW4024 anyone?

2014-12-22 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
In addition to the others, don't forget Craig who worked with us for many years at Trace Engineering... http://www.phantompowerservices.com/ boB On 12/22/2014 2:15 PM, Baxter, Gary wrote: Try Inverter Sales and Service Whitehouse TN Local: 615-672-1142 They have been repairing SW since

Re: [RE-wrenches] Panels with 20.1% efficiency rating?

2014-12-20 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
If you ~really~ need high efficiency solar panels, you could go here... http://www.spectrolab.com/solarpanels.htm Greater than ~30% efficiency if you don't mind paying about $250 per watt. boB On 12/20/2014 2:34 PM, Larry wrote: Hey Marco, I pulled the data sheet to scan it and what did

Re: [RE-wrenches] Programmable Battery Charger

2014-12-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Mobile:* +604-505-0291 * Email:* _jarmo.venalainen@schneider-electric.com_ <mailto:jarmo.venalai...@schneider-electric.com> | *Site:*_www.SEsolar.com_ <http://www.sesolar.com/> | *Address:* 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1 _ _<http://%20www.sesolar.com/> *** Please consider the environmen

Re: [RE-wrenches] Programmable Battery Charger

2014-12-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
tp://www.sesolar.com/> | *Address:* 3700 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, BC V5G4M1 _ _<http://%20www.sesolar.com/> *** Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail From: "b...@midnitesolar.com" To: RE-wrenches , Date: 12/16/201

Re: [RE-wrenches] Programmable Battery Charger

2014-12-16 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Larry, Pitfalls ? The biggest pitfall I would say is if you have a VERY stiff grid. If your Voc is say, 170V DC and the CC current limits it output at say, 169 V DC, they you are going to need to add an input power resistor of a couple Ohms to help cushion the input to be more like a PV module

Re: [RE-wrenches] Parallel Wire combining

2014-12-02 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
The "area" of the conductor will be 3 times and you would think that the NEC Ampacity would also be 3 times that of one conductor. But one LARGE conductor with the same area might not be as high as you think because of insulation. I would think that ampacity of 3 cables in parallel would be

Re: [RE-wrenches] Aqueous Hybrid Ion batteries

2014-11-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
;t go low enough on the low side and still produce peak AC voltage. Seems these batteries are catching on might need to revisit this again. Gary Baxter Product Manager Magnum/Dimensions On Nov 10, 2014, at 11:29 AM, "b...@midnitesolar.com <mailto:b...@midnitesolar.com>" <mail

Re: [RE-wrenches] Aqueous Hybrid Ion batteries

2014-11-10 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
Aquion's technology is evidently getting better and better from what we have seen. Ryan Stankevitz from MidNite may be able tell you more if you would like an external opinion boB On 11/10/2014 9:10 AM, Dave wrote: Wrenches, I have a customer with a grid-tied w battery back-up (former

Re: [RE-wrenches] Controlling a Generator without an inverter

2014-11-08 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I was going to say to check out the Atkinson gen start unit. The Classic and other simple voltage sense auxiliary switches can be used to start generators but there isn't necessarily any feedback to tell if the generator actually started or not. One thing that can be done for feedback is t

Re: [RE-wrenches] Code reference request

2014-11-05 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
FWIW, remember also that if there is a Neutral connection on the AC side that this line is grounded (usually) so there is also that ground connection. boB On 11/5/2014 9:55 AM, Rebekah Hren wrote: Hi Dana, If you bond the the ac and dc grounding systems using the optional method outlined

Re: [RE-wrenches] TL inverter with long DC Feeder

2014-10-09 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
I do not see any reference to an 8 pole disconnect. Could you clarify, please? Thanks, William Miller Gradient Cap_mini Lic 773985 millersolar.com <http://www.millersolar.com/> 805-438-5600 *From:*RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] *On Behalf

Re: [RE-wrenches] TL inverter with long DC Feeder

2014-10-08 Thread b...@midnitesolar.com
William, There is this DLTL disco with 8 poles. I understand that the "street price" is very possible less than the $579 4-pole you cited earlier. For future reference, this is also rapid shutdown ready. http://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=583&productCatName=RAPID-SHUTDO

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