Jeff Yago wrote:
First let me say that we almost never work on failed systems,
especially when its for somebody that picked our brains on pretense of
buying a system, then they went out and bought everything on the
internet, and when nothing worked they call us!
Also, let me say that the following project has nothing to do with us
other than a call from an electrician who is installing a grid-tie
system for somebody I don't know who had a few general install
questions and was hoping I would provide some guidance. My advice was
to run as fast as he can! Here is the story-
This commercial building owner went to Harbor Freight and purchased a
trailer truck load of 12 watt battery charging modules. You know the
ones you see advertised to trickle charge a car or boat battery. I
have not actually seen the modules this guy purchased, but based on
others I have seen they typically have a potted junction on the back
with 3 feet of very limited insulation wire pair out with bare wire
ends. A few more questions and answers indicated these were made in
China, had no label listing their ratings except indicating 12 watt at
14 volts. The very large physical dimensions he gave for such a small
wattage tells me they are those thin frame amorphous you see being
sold to keep your truck or tractor battery charged.
To make a long story short, this electrician said they had already
mounted "hundreds" of these modules on the roof of a warehouse, and
were wiring them in series for connection to a Fronius grid-tie
inverter. Also, he said the wires from each module was routed through
a separate hole in the roof and then tied together. I assume this was
by the ol ball of electrical tape wiring method.
Not counting the obvious code related problems with what they are
doing, and the almost sure need to have a fire truck nearby when they
start this thing up, does anybody know what a typical high voltage
rating would be for this type of module and the small wire pair? My
guess is the small wire and/or the modules will quickly break down and
start arcing, then the entire array will melt down which is what I
told this electrician could happen. However, since there is no label
on the module, I am only going on gut feeling as to the voltage rating
of these cheap modules which I am sure were clearly never designed for
series wiring to achieve high voltage.
Anybody know these ratings? Should I sell tickets for the fireworks show?
Thanks,
Jeff Yago
Is there any way someone could get a picture of this installation for
the "Hall of flame" gallery ?
I can just see those separate wires going through the roof, but I can't
print it.
boB
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