Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters

[Jerry Shafer]

Nick
I need some help with Enphase I have a customer with broken End caps (3)
and Enhpase is not inclined to help, can you help me get some replacements
please
Jerry

On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 11:51 AM, Nick Soleil 
wrote:

> Hi Jason,
>
> The Enphase C250 Microinverters for three-phase commercial applications
> does work with 72 cell modules.
>
> On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 12:58 PM, Jason Szumlanski <
> ja...@floridasolardesigngroup.com> wrote:
>
>> The ABB micros seem to be solid and easy to install. We have two sites
>> with them with no issues. Unfortunately, the monitoring system sucks
>> compared to Enphase and was far more difficult to set up. I really wish
>> Enphase would come up with a good 72 cell option because we find ourselves
>> competing with 300W modules occasionally, and consumers (irrationally) jump
>> to the conclusion that bigger is better.
>>
>>
>> [image: Logo-Sq-80.png]
>>
>> Jason Szumlanski
>>
>> Principal Solar Designer
>>
>> Florida Solar Design Group
>>
>> (239) 491-8010 office
>>
>> (239) 410-4985 mobile
>>
>> Authorized Sales Agent for Fafco Solar
>>
>> [image: Fafco-Solar-Enphase-Logo.png]
>>
>> License CVC56701
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Bill Hennessy 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi folks--
>>>
>>> We're planning a micro inverter install using 300W 72 cell modules for
>>> an area with a fair amount of shading. The choices we've found are ABB
>>> micro 0.3 or APS YC500A.
>>> Any stories to tell about either of these or another suggestion?
>>>
>>> Thanks for your time.
>>>
>>> Bill Hennessy
>>> Berks Solar, LLC
>>> 371 Centennial Rd
>>> Mertztown, PA 19539
>>>
>>> o 610 682 4300
>>> c 484 560 4666
>>> NABCEP certified installer
>>> PA contractor #44411
>>> www.berkssolar.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>> *Florida Solar Design Group is not an engineering or architectural firm
>> and acts only as a consultant and authorized independent sales agent. Any
>> advice or work product provided shall not be considered licensed
>> professional services provided under Florida Statute Chapters 471, 481, or
>> 491.*
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>
>
> --
>
> Cordially,
>
> Nick Soleil
> *Enphase Energy* | Field Applications Engineer
>
> office 707-763-4784 <%28707%29%20763.%204784> x7267
> cell 07-321-2937
>
> 
>
> *Powering What’s Next*™* | *The Enphase Energy Management System
> 
>   
>   
> 
>
>
> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer #03262011-300
>
> California C10 Licensed Electrician #986315
>
> Texas Master Electrician #284451
>
> 
>
> “Don’t get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It’s just that I prefer fusion
> to fission. And it just so happens that there’s an enormous fusion reactor
> safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could
> ever use in just about 8 minutes. And it’s wireless!”
>
> - William McDonough
>
>
> This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may 
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions

[Tump]

 One of my main reasons for owning and first choice is the SMA SI. One hel* of 
a product, yeah the price IS hi but...SMA is I believe the ONLY manufacture 
that will open a claim ticket for repair and give you 90 days to send in for 
labor compensation. As for the Sunny Island products I tell customers if 
these units fail, a  48 Hr delivery replacement from SMA, but SMA says 24hr. 
Round trip shipping IS INCLUDED! Tech support IS available and right on top of 
things. Someone at SMA may want to confirm but this has always been my 
experience. 
On Feb 9, 2015, at 6:22 PM, Larry wrote:

> Dan and Allan,
> 
> I was not going to comment on this thread since my info is a few years old. 
> But since you brought up recent failures I will tell my experience. A few 
> year ago we were having failures with new FM60 and FM80 controllers. Brand 
> new DOA controllers were replaced with used, warranty repaired controllers. 
> One customer had 3 controllers replaced in 30 days. After too many calls to 
> Outback and not one penny in compensation, we totally quit selling all 
> Outback products. 
> 
> Since then we have sold hundreds of Magnum Energy inverters. The only failure 
> we have had was very recently with their new MSH series. For charge 
> controllers we switched to Midnight Classic. We install 10-15 Classic 150's 
> per month. We have had 1 DOA but Midnite responded well and sent a new 
> replacement.
> 
> Attention manufacturers...Customer service is everything to me.
> Larry Crutcher
> Starlight Solar Power Systems
> On 2/9/15 12:14 PM, Dan Tittmann wrote:
>> AS someone who works almost exclusively with off grid battery based 
>> inverters for years.  I would recommend staying away from the outback line 
>> of inverters.  We are seeing outback failures in units that are only 2 to 3 
>> years old, once you get through to the Tech Support generally a 30 to 40 min 
>> hold time and forget about the "call you back feature" unless you want a 
>> call back in three days.  The board replacements that we get are a total 
>> crap shoot.  I have had replacement boards fail within minutes and many of 
>> them within in months and there is no warranty on the boards.  
>> 
>> I would go with Magun Hybrid as it is a 120 V AC unit and has load assist 
>> like the old SW's.  We are always sorry to replace the old SW units but 
>> after 20+ years of service I guess they have put in their work.  Magnum has 
>> provided us with reliable service since we started installing them 6 Years 
>> ago.  I hope they keep their product as reliable with the new owners.
>> 
>> my two cents
>> Daniel
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Daniel Tittmann 
>> CTO
>> Greenwired
>> www.greenwired.com
>> dan...@greenwired.com
>> 707-923-2001 (office)
>> 707-206-5088 (Cell)
> 
>> On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar  
>> wrote:
>> Esteemed Wrenches,
>> What I want to know, please, are answers to two+ questions: 1) what's 
>> the real scoop? what is now made where? and 2) what actual experiences, 
>> specifically product failures, have any of you had that directly relate to 
>> changes directly attributable to overseas production? In other words, how 
>> much of this is real and how much is rumor?
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Allan Sindelar
>> al...@sindelarsolar.com
>> NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
>> NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
>> New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
>> Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
>> 505 780-2738 cell
>> 
>> 
>>  
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> t...@swnl.net   www.SWNL.net
> Solarwinds Northernlights   
>Serving Mid Coast Maine & Northern California
>  207-832-7574   Cl. 610-517-8401  
> 
>   Blair "TUMP" May
>  MAINE'S CHARTER 
>   NABCEP"Certified PV Installer" 
>
>     MAINE'S CHARTER 
>   Trace Xantrex "Certified" Dealer / Installer"
> 


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Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions

[Larry]

Dan and Allan,

I was not going to comment on this thread since my info is a few years 
old. But since you brought up recent failures I will tell my experience. 
A few year ago we were having failures with new FM60 and FM80 
controllers. Brand new DOA controllers were replaced with used, warranty 
repaired controllers. One customer had 3 controllers replaced in 30 
days. After too many calls to Outback and not one penny in compensation, 
we totally quit selling all Outback products.


Since then we have sold hundreds of Magnum Energy inverters. The only 
failure we have had was very recently with their new MSH series. For 
charge controllers we switched to Midnight Classic. We install 10-15 
Classic 150's per month. We have had 1 DOA but Midnite responded well 
and sent a new replacement.


Attention manufacturers...Customer service is everything to me.

Larry Crutcher
Starlight Solar Power Systems

On 2/9/15 12:14 PM, Dan Tittmann wrote:
AS someone who works almost exclusively with off grid battery based 
inverters for years.  I would recommend staying away from the outback 
line of inverters.  We are seeing outback failures in units that are 
only 2 to 3 years old, once you get through to the Tech Support 
generally a 30 to 40 min hold time and forget about the "call you back 
feature" unless you want a call back in three days.  The board 
replacements that we get are a total crap shoot.  I have had 
replacement boards fail within minutes and many of them within in 
months and there is no warranty on the boards.


I would go with Magun Hybrid as it is a 120 V AC unit and has load 
assist like the old SW's.  We are always sorry to replace the old SW 
units but after 20+ years of service I guess they have put in their 
work.  Magnum has provided us with reliable service since we started 
installing them 6 Years ago.  I hope they keep their product as 
reliable with the new owners.


my two cents
Daniel



Daniel Tittmann
CTO
Greenwired
www.greenwired.com 
dan...@greenwired.com 
707-923-2001 (office)
707-206-5088 (Cell)


On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar 
mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com>> wrote:


Esteemed Wrenches,

What I want to know, please, are answers to two+
questions: 1) what's the real scoop? what is now made where?
and 2) what actual experiences, specifically product failures,
have any of you had that directly relate to changes directly
attributable to overseas production? In other words, how much
of this is real and how much is rumor?


-- 


*Allan Sindelar*
al...@sindelarsolar.com 
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
*505 780-2738  cell*

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Off Grid Inverter Replacement Questions

[Dan Tittmann]

AS someone who works almost exclusively with off grid battery based
inverters for years.  I would recommend staying away from the outback line
of inverters.  We are seeing outback failures in units that are only 2 to 3
years old, once you get through to the Tech Support generally a 30 to 40
min hold time and forget about the "call you back feature" unless you want
a call back in three days.  The board replacements that we get are a total
crap shoot.  I have had replacement boards fail within minutes and many of
them within in months and there is no warranty on the boards.

I would go with Magun Hybrid as it is a 120 V AC unit and has load assist
like the old SW's.  We are always sorry to replace the old SW units but
after 20+ years of service I guess they have put in their work.  Magnum has
provided us with reliable service since we started installing them 6 Years
ago.  I hope they keep their product as reliable with the new owners.

my two cents
Daniel



Daniel Tittmann
CTO
Greenwired
www.greenwired.com
dan...@greenwired.com
707-923-2001 (office)
707-206-5088 (Cell)

On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 9:01 PM, John Blittersdorf <
john.blittersd...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Allan,
> I would replace with a VFX3524 and a Mate3 as long as the backup
> generator is big enough.  FX's don't load share or gen support. I have had
> lousy luck with getting several magnums repaired.  All have been switched
> to Outback.  The Radian would be a nightmare to install compared to a
> single FX.  I sell Radians primarily for grid tie backup systems and very
> high demand off grid. And to replace Magnums.  I have had no trouble with
> Outback service and getting boards for on site repairs. Quality of boards
> OK. The Mate 3 is more intuitive than the Mate and has lots more
> information.  Works fabulously with OpticsRE for monitoring.   I have a
> remote mountaintop transmitter site that has been a nightmare for years and
> now we finally got all the pieces together at one time to make it work..
> Good generator (EcoGen) new batteries, and 4000 watts of solar on top of
> pole racks (to self clear of snow) VFX3648 with IOTA 12v battery charger
> for the DC Loads, and the MATE3 hooked up to the internet and OpticsRE.
> All is now calm on the mountaintop.
>
> John Blittersdorf
> Central Vermont Solar & wind
>
> On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 PM, Allan Sindelar 
> wrote:
>
>>  Esteemed Wrenches,
>> This question is prompted by a specific customer's situation, and I have
>> a question related to this, but I'm mainly using the situation to ask a
>> broader question.
>>
>> The specific situation: A customer's Xantrex SW+2524 has been acting
>> erratically. Fixing the inverter is not the issue; the client is quite
>> remote, and costs of diagnosis, parts and labor for these legacy units have
>> gone up enough that the customer has already decided to replace the unit
>> with a current product. From my perspective, the issues at hand revolve
>> around how to safely and cleanly install a modern inverter into a system
>> structured around old equipment.
>>
>> The specific question: Outback's FX series is the current product that
>> most readily replaces the SW/SW+ series: it's also 120V in/out, and it has
>> DC on the right and AC in/out on the left of a horizontally-laid out unit.
>> However, several times in recent years I have heard disparaging comments,
>> both here and in private conversations, about the purported drop in quality
>> of Outback's inverters and controllers since Alpha bought them, but
>> specifically because units, or parts of units, are now made in China,
>> rather than in the U.S. What I want to know, please, are answers to two+
>> questions: 1) what's the real scoop? what is now made where? and 2) what
>> actual experiences, specifically product failures, have any of you had that
>> directly relate to changes directly attributable to overseas production? In
>> other words, how much of this is real and how much is rumor?
>>
>> The bigger question (and this issue will come up frequently in the coming
>> years): the SW+, like the SW before it, operates at 120V AC on both input
>> and output. More and more modern battery-based inverters input and output
>> split-phase 120/240V AC. When should I hesitate to replace a 120V legacy
>> inverter with a 120/240V unit?
>>
>> Among larger whole-house single inverters, Outback's FX and VFX units
>> operate at 120V, but these are older models. SMA's Sunny Island is 120V
>> only, but this is generally considered a weakness in typical SI
>> installations, and these expensive units don't adapt as well as
>> replacements in older home systems. Magnum's MS4024 is available in either
>> configuration. Outback's Radian and Schneider's XW and Conext SW are only
>> available as 120-240 units.
>>
>> Here are the issues that I see:
>> Don't do it if a backup generator is 120V AC-only. It will work, but is
>> hard on the inverters, as all charging current will come in on one leg of
>> the inverter's AC

Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters

[penobscotsolar]

What do you typically get out of a 300 watt panel for production when you
are grid tied? I know in theory (STC) it is a 300 watt module but we
rarely if ever (except in very cold weather)see near that for an output. I
use (as a general, 77 degrees F) design parameter, 77% for overall power
production output output. I'm sure you would get a little clipping, but I
guess a significant amount would depend on a number of variables on the
site, time of the year, weather conditions, etc.

Daryl


> Yeahif you're OK with a not insignificant amount of clipping going on.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
> Behalf Of penobscotso...@midmaine.com
> Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2015 2:33 PM
> To: RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 300W 72 cell micro inverters
>
> Hey Jason,
>The M-250's work well with LG 300 watt (60 cell) modules.
>
> Daryl
>
>
>> Hi Jason,
>>
>> The Enphase C250 Microinverters for three-phase commercial
>> applications does work with 72 cell modules.
>>
>> On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 12:58 PM, Jason Szumlanski <
>> ja...@floridasolardesigngroup.com> wrote:
>>
>>> The ABB micros seem to be solid and easy to install. We have two
>>> sites with them with no issues. Unfortunately, the monitoring system
>>> sucks compared to Enphase and was far more difficult to set up. I
>>> really wish Enphase would come up with a good 72 cell option because
>>> we find ourselves competing with 300W modules occasionally, and
>>> consumers (irrationally) jump to the conclusion that bigger is
>>> better.
>>>
>>>
>>> [image: Logo-Sq-80.png]
>>>
>>> Jason Szumlanski
>>>
>>> Principal Solar Designer
>>>
>>> Florida Solar Design Group
>>>
>>> (239) 491-8010 office
>>>
>>> (239) 410-4985 mobile
>>>
>>> Authorized Sales Agent for Fafco Solar
>>>
>>> [image: Fafco-Solar-Enphase-Logo.png]
>>>
>>> License CVC56701
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Feb 8, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Bill Hennessy 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Hi folks--

 We're planning a micro inverter install using 300W 72 cell modules
 for an area with a fair amount of shading. The choices we've found
 are ABB micro
 0.3 or APS YC500A.
 Any stories to tell about either of these or another suggestion?

 Thanks for your time.

 Bill Hennessy
 Berks Solar, LLC
 371 Centennial Rd
 Mertztown, PA 19539

 o 610 682 4300
 c 484 560 4666
 NABCEP certified installer
 PA contractor #44411
 www.berkssolar.com








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>>>
>>> *Florida Solar Design Group is not an engineering or architectural
>>> firm and acts only as a consultant and authorized independent sales
>>> agent.
>>> Any
>>> advice or work product provided shall not be considered licensed
>>> professional services provided under Florida Statute Chapters 471,
>>> 481, or
>>> 491.*
>>> ___
>>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>>>
>>> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
>>>
>>> Change listserver email address & settings:
>>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>>
>>> List-Archive:
>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillis
>>> t.html
>>>
>>> List rules & etiquette:
>>> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>>>
>>> Check out or update participant bios:
>>> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Cordially,
>>
>> Nick Soleil
>> *Enphase Energy* | Field Applications Engineer
>>
>> office 707-763-4784 <%28707%29%20763.%204784> x7267 cell 07-321-2937
>>
>> 
>>
>> *Powering What’s Next*™* | *The Enphase Energy Management
>> System
>>  
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>
>>
>> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer #03262011-300
>>
>> California C10 Licensed Electrician #986315
>>
>> Texas Master Electrician #284451
>>
>> 
>>
>> “Don’t get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It’s
>> just that I
>> prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there’s an
>> enormous fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It
>> delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And
>> it’s wireless!”
>>
>> - William McDonough
>>
>>
>>
>> This email message is for the