Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer

[Chris Schaefer]

Hey Jason,
Sorry to hear that. Any chance you can share a couple of pix so we can
build it ourselves? What were the trailer dimensions?
Thanks,
Christopher

On Mon, May 9, 2016 at 5:34 PM, Lones Tuss  wrote:

> Hello sir
>
> You might also want to look into
>
> http://www.mobilesolarpower.net/
>
> I hope this helps
>
> Take Care
>
>
>
> Lones Tuss
>
> Applications Engineer
>
> OutBack Power Technologies
>
> 17825 59th Ave NE, Suite B, Arlington, WA 98223
>
> 360.618.4383 Office | 425.213.8794 Cell
>
> www.outbackpower.com
>
>
>
> *From:* RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Dave
> *Sent:* Monday, May 09, 2016 1:02 PM
> *To:* 'RE-wrenches'
> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer
>
>
>
> Wrenches,
>
>
>
> I have a customer looking for a tow behind solar trailer with the
> following specs:
>
> Major features should include
>
> · 120/240Vac output
>
> · sealed Out Back inverters (because of moist and possibly dusty
> conditions)
>
> · approx. 12,000 Watt Hours of rated battery storage.  Thought is
> that (8) AGM 6v 250AH batteries would work
>
> · approx. 1,500W PV Array
>
>
>
> I am requesting a quote from Patriot Solar (Albion, MI)
> http://patriotsolargroup.com/products/solar-parent/solar-child/solar-trailers-2-4kw/
>
>
>
> Does anyone know of other trailers that are in this class, new or used?
> Hopefully cost effective units? Something like the tow behinds that Jason
> Szumlanski made at AMP Systems would be appropriate.
>
>
>
> David Palumbo
>
> Independent Power LLC
>
> 462 Solar Way Drive
>
> Hyde Park, VT 05655
>
> 802-371-8678 cell
>
> 802-888-4917 home
>
>
>
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-- 

Chris Schaefer’s


*Tel/Fax 585-229-2083 or Cell 585-748-1870 *
*5115 South Hill Road ~ Canandaigua New York 14424**www.solarandwindfx.com
 ~ E-mail: ch...@solarandwindfx.com
*


Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said,
"democracy" will cease to exist when you take away from those who are
willing to work and give to those who would not."
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer

[Lones Tuss]

Hello sir
You might also want to look into
http://www.mobilesolarpower.net/
I hope this helps
Take Care

Lones Tuss
Applications Engineer
OutBack Power Technologies
17825 59th Ave NE, Suite B, Arlington, WA 98223
360.618.4383 Office | 425.213.8794 Cell
www.outbackpower.com

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Dave
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 1:02 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer

Wrenches,

I have a customer looking for a tow behind solar trailer with the following 
specs:

Major features should include

* 120/240Vac output

* sealed Out Back inverters (because of moist and possibly dusty 
conditions)

* approx. 12,000 Watt Hours of rated battery storage.  Thought is that 
(8) AGM 6v 250AH batteries would work

* approx. 1,500W PV Array

I am requesting a quote from Patriot Solar (Albion, MI) 
http://patriotsolargroup.com/products/solar-parent/solar-child/solar-trailers-2-4kw/

Does anyone know of other trailers that are in this class, new or used? 
Hopefully cost effective units? Something like the tow behinds that Jason 
Szumlanski made at AMP Systems would be appropriate.

David Palumbo
Independent Power LLC
462 Solar Way Drive
Hyde Park, VT 05655
802-371-8678 cell
802-888-4917 home

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer

[Jason Szumlanski]

I responded privately to David, but just to let the group know, I don't
sell these anymore. Liability insurance drove the price up too high, and
the limited market was not attractive. The units I did build worked GREAT
and I just recently sold serial #0001 from 2009 and it was still in great
working order. That unit had Rolls S-530s and a Magnum inverter with some
Kyocera panels that just happened to fit the roof perfectly.

​Jason Szumlanski​



On Mon, May 9, 2016 at 4:02 PM, Dave  wrote:

> Wrenches,
>
>
>
> I have a customer looking for a tow behind solar trailer with the
> following specs:
>
> Major features should include
>
> · 120/240Vac output
>
> · sealed Out Back inverters (because of moist and possibly dusty
> conditions)
>
> · approx. 12,000 Watt Hours of rated battery storage.  Thought is
> that (8) AGM 6v 250AH batteries would work
>
> · approx. 1,500W PV Array
>
>
>
> I am requesting a quote from Patriot Solar (Albion, MI)
> http://patriotsolargroup.com/products/solar-parent/solar-child/solar-trailers-2-4kw/
>
>
>
> Does anyone know of other trailers that are in this class, new or used?
> Hopefully cost effective units? Something like the tow behinds that Jason
> Szumlanski made at AMP Systems would be appropriate.
>
>
>
> David Palumbo
>
> Independent Power LLC
>
> 462 Solar Way Drive
>
> Hyde Park, VT 05655
>
> 802-371-8678 cell
>
> 802-888-4917 home
>
>
>
> ___
> 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
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>
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Mobile solar trailer

[Dave]

Wrenches,

 

I have a customer looking for a tow behind solar trailer with the following
specs:

Major features should include

. 120/240Vac output

. sealed Out Back inverters (because of moist and possibly dusty
conditions)

. approx. 12,000 Watt Hours of rated battery storage.  Thought is
that (8) AGM 6v 250AH batteries would work

. approx. 1,500W PV Array

 

I am requesting a quote from Patriot Solar (Albion, MI)
http://patriotsolargroup.com/products/solar-parent/solar-child/solar-trailer
s-2-4kw/

 

Does anyone know of other trailers that are in this class, new or used?
Hopefully cost effective units? Something like the tow behinds that Jason
Szumlanski made at AMP Systems would be appropriate.

 

David Palumbo 

Independent Power LLC

462 Solar Way Drive

Hyde Park, VT 05655

802-371-8678 cell

802-888-4917 home

 

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback Programming question

[Travis Jordan]

I resonate with Lonus' point on generator run time without the charger
being on, I see no point...

One of my many "oops" stories on this topic: I set up a customer on DC gen
to "solve" a problem about ten years ago in the mountains of N Idaho and
the following scenario occurred:

1) The generator charger got accidentally turned off by a "helpful"
caretaker trying to reset an error on the Mate after he started the
generator because the batteries were low.

2) The panels were covered with snow,

3) The customer was gone for the winter and the system was unattended

4) The DC Gen option did not have "max run time"

5) Two weeks of incessant run time later the generator got turned off
manually by the caretaker, the batteries were still not charged, and the
LARGE fuel tank was almost empty.

Point learned? Think through a few scenarios when I deviate from "normal"
Outback generator settings in the future!

This story has obvious connections to the post earlier about what to do
with batteries when the system is unattended, I followed that discussion
intently and agree with what has been said... I only offer this in
reference to the generator charger discussion.

Travis Jordan
tra...@jordansolar.net
tra...@mtsolar.us
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback programing question

[William Miller]

Wrenches, Mr. Tuss:



I have had many customers suffer due to the exact problems described
below.  That is, a generator running but no charging happening.  This is
due to either inadvertent changes in the AC Drop mode or Global Charge Mode
settings.



I think it was a big mistake on the standard Mate to put the Charge Control
Mode and the AC Drop menus in so easily accessible a location as the AC
dedicated button menu.  This is the menu you need to access frequently to
manually start a generator.  The Charge Control Mode and the AC screens are
very similar in appearance to the generator start menus and it is very
common for users to engage the drop mode or turn charging off
inadvertently.  I have had customers ruin expensive battery sets with this
mistake.



I approached Outback to suggest they rectify this problem with a firmware
update.  My suggestion was to relocate these functions behind the installer
password.



I was told this change was not possible due to lack of memory on the Mate
hardware.  I find this hard to believe as this change would not add any
functionality but rather move the aforementioned screens to behind the
password protection.  There would be not net gain in functionality.



It is my belief that Outback does not realize the seriousness of this
situation and the implications of this flaw in the design.  Mr. Tuss, what
is your opinion on this issue?  Is it truly impossible to fix this design
flaw?



Thank you for your participation in the Wrenches forum and in advance for
your reply to my questions.



Sincerely,



William Miller







Lic 773985

millersolar.com

805-438-5600



-Original Message-
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Lones Tuss
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 10:11 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback programing question



Hello Fellow Wrenches



  Due to customer feedback OutBack decided to automatically enable the
Inverters Ac Charger if the Mate(3) called for an AGS (gen run) condition.
The general opinion here is if the gen is running you might as well allow
it to charge your batteries. Before we did this there were instances of
generators running for hours/days before the end user discovered he had set
the charger to OFF.



That being said if charging by the inverter is not desired during a Gen run
there are several methods which will allow charging to be disabled.



The method you use will more than likely depend on your situation.

If you wish to stop charging for the current gen run simply turn the Charge
Off after the gen is running.

On the Mate3 press the Charger Button select OFF.

On the Mate and Mate2 press the AC Input button three times the Charger can
be turned  OFF there.



If it is necessary to turn the charger off on a more permanent basis there
are a couple of different approaches.

One method is to go to the inverter charger menu and set the absorb and
float timers to zero.

Another method and perhaps the easiest would be to change the gen type to
DC or None.

Of these two I would suggest DC as the preferred choice.

After setting the Inverter Charger to Off follow the path as described
below





On the Mate3 press the

LOCK button

Enter 141

Select

Settings then

System  then

System Information

change Gen Type to DC or None.

If the inverters charger is disabled it will remain so when AGS calls for a
gen run.

On the Mate or Mate2

In the AGS program menu select DC gen and the Auto Charge feature will be
negated.



The above will work if the gen run is caused by the following AGS triggers.

Load Start, Must Run, Generator Exercise If the gen run condition is a
Voltage Start the trigger to turn the gen off is the batteries must reach
the Absorb Voltage for the Absorb Time.

If the gen run condition is SOC the trigger to turn the gen off is the
batteries must reach the end SOC set point.

These points may be unachievable with the inverters charger set to OFF.

If this is the case lack of fuel may be the gen stop reason.



Lones Tuss

Applications Engineer

OutBack Power Technologies

17825 59th Ave NE, Suite B, Arlington, WA 98223

360.618.4383 Office | 425.213.8794 Cell

www.outbackpower.com



-Original Message-

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org
] On Behalf Of Darren Emmons

Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 10:57 AM

To: RE-wrenches

Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback programing question



When the generator is auto started, the inverter's charger will be enabled.
After the generator is stopped, the inverter's charger will be returned to
the mode before the generator started. The logic is if you are running the
generator the Inverter's charger should be enabled. You could lower the
charger AC limit to 0 Amps.



08:00 Inverter charger OFF

10:00 Must run start -> charger ON

11:00 Must run stop -> charger OFF



>Darren





On 04/27/2016 05:31 PM, jay wrote:

> HI All,

>

> 

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback programing question

[Lones Tuss]

Hello Fellow Wrenches

  Due to customer feedback OutBack decided to automatically enable the 
Inverters Ac Charger
if the Mate(3) called for an AGS (gen run) condition.  The general opinion here 
is if the gen is running you might as well allow it to charge your batteries. 
Before we did this there were instances of generators running for hours/days 
before the end user discovered he had set the charger to OFF. 

That being said if charging by the inverter is not desired during a Gen run 
there
are several methods which will allow charging to be disabled.

The method you use will more than likely depend on your situation.
If you wish to stop charging for the current gen run simply turn the Charge Off 
after the gen is running.
On the Mate3 press the Charger Button select OFF.
On the Mate and Mate2 press the AC Input button three times
the Charger can be turned  OFF there.

If it is necessary to turn the charger off on a more permanent basis there are 
a couple of different approaches.
One method is to go to the inverter charger menu and set the absorb and float 
timers to zero.
Another method and perhaps the easiest would be to change the gen type to DC or 
None.
Of these two I would suggest DC as the preferred choice.
After setting the Inverter Charger to Off follow the path as described below 


On the Mate3 press the 
LOCK button
Enter 141
Select 
Settings then
System  then 
System Information
change Gen Type to DC or None.
If the inverters charger is disabled it will remain so when AGS calls for a gen 
run.
On the Mate or Mate2
In the AGS program menu select DC gen and the Auto Charge feature will be 
negated.

The above will work if the gen run is caused by the following AGS triggers.
Load Start, Must Run, Generator Exercise
If the gen run condition is a Voltage Start the trigger to turn the gen off is 
the batteries must reach the Absorb Voltage for the Absorb Time.
If the gen run condition is SOC the trigger to turn the gen off is the 
batteries must reach
the end SOC set point.
These points may be unachievable with the inverters charger set to OFF.
If this is the case lack of fuel may be the gen stop reason.

Lones Tuss
Applications Engineer
OutBack Power Technologies
17825 59th Ave NE, Suite B, Arlington, WA 98223
360.618.4383 Office | 425.213.8794 Cell
www.outbackpower.com

-Original Message-
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Darren Emmons
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 10:57 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outback programing question

When the generator is auto started, the inverter's charger will be enabled. 
After the generator is stopped, the inverter's charger will be returned to the 
mode before the generator started. The logic is if you are running the 
generator the Inverter's charger should be enabled. You could lower the charger 
AC limit to 0 Amps.

08:00 Inverter charger OFF
10:00 Must run start -> charger ON
11:00 Must run stop -> charger OFF

 >Darren


On 04/27/2016 05:31 PM, jay wrote:
> HI All,
>
> I've got a problem that outback tech hasn't been able to figure out.
>
> off grid system
> mate 3
> quad stacked VFX 3648
>
> The generator is set to specific start/stop daily timer.  This works fine.
>
> The client has plenty of solar for the day, and when he runs his generator he 
> doesn't want the chargers to operate.
> OK so just hit charge off, and yes the chargers will turn off.
>
> But next day, genny starts up, and the chargers come back on as well.
>
> Outback says that shouldn't be happening, but it is.
>
> Anybody have this issue or know of a fix?
>
> Thanks
>
> jay
>
> peltz power
>
>
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