[RE-wrenches] solar ramp

Does anyone know of any specific instances of a "solar ramp" problem in California? In that the curtailment of solar production (clouds) has caused a problem on the utility grid? -- Paul N. Israel, President Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc. 541/322-1910 Direct 860/617-6527 Cell p...@sunlightsolar.

Re: [RE-wrenches] Question re fine stranded cable with Sunny Islandinverters

Alan: Use a ferrule on the inverter end of the wire. Makes fine strand cable suitable for "normal lugs" Burndy has some that they say are for fine strand (Class K) cable. http://www.burndy.com/products/new-products/bare-ferrules.aspx They look exactly the same as the cheaper un-insulated ferrule

Re: [RE-wrenches] bad battery = system overvoltage = dead inverter

Hi Dan, You can do it! You are looking for a circuit called a crowbar. It is a SCR that turns on when a certain voltage is exceeded. Typically implemented with an SCR and a zener diode. The SCR, when turned on, shorts out the battery. And BAM you blow the big fuse in the battery bank or befor

[RE-wrenches] bad battery = system overvoltage = dead inverter

This has been happening all too frequently here. We live in a big area of off grid homes, dozens of systems. Lost a customers Trace 2624 this morning; One L-16 in older 24v bank opened internally. PV array/MPPT control zorched inverter as soon as the sun came up. First indication of problems last n

Re: [RE-wrenches] Batteries and customer service

Lou, In addition to what Allan said, if you perform the discharge test, measure the terminal voltage across each battery. If you find one battery that drops in voltage more than the others, continue to check/record that voltage over time. This method will expose a weak or bad cell in a series s

Re: [RE-wrenches] 14 inch aluminum standoffs?

I've used hot dipped galvanized 4" x 4" square tube for the "backbone" (lack of a better term) of a pole mount on a dual axis tracker. I worked on it with Darryl Thayer so maybe he could add more info... Jesse Sent from my iPhone On Mar 15, 2013, at 4:11 PM, William Miller wrote: > Andrew:

Re: [RE-wrenches] Question re fine stranded cable with Sunny Island inverters

We used to use ferrules on smaller conductors. Both insulated and uninsulated are available. A quick search came up with this source: http://www.ferrulesdirect.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY

[RE-wrenches] Question re fine stranded cable with Sunny Island inverters

Wrenches, A small issue, drawing on the collective wisdom here: For an upcoming quad-stack installation of Sunny Island inverters, I foolishly ordered some fine stranded copper 1/0 Cobra X-Flex Cable because of its f

Re: [RE-wrenches] Batteries and customer service

Lou: Allan presents the better advice below. Ignore my previous post until you are sure the battery is bad. William Miller At 02:57 PM 3/15/2013, you wrote: Lou, There is nothing in your message that definitively tells me that you have either a bad cell or a bad battery. "Minor corrosion

Re: [RE-wrenches] Batteries and customer service

Lou: At 1 year you are just within the allowable window. I would monitor the bank over the next two months after replacement to see if the SG remains consistent from cell to cell. William Miller At 01:38 PM 3/15/2013, you wrote: Hello Wrenches, Assuming the one battery is bad, is it wo

Re: [RE-wrenches] 14 inch aluminum standoffs?

Andrew: DPW has aluminum stand-offs at least 12", and quite possibly 14". They are custom order. They are good quality. William Miller At 01:52 PM 3/15/2013, you wrote: Fold Two: Does anyone know of a source for 'standoffs' that are greater than 7"s but less than say 20"? Sincerely,

Re: [RE-wrenches] Batteries and customer service

Lou, There is nothing in your message that definitively tells me that you have either a bad cell or a bad battery. "Minor corrosion on one terminal" is normal behavior, especially if the installer didn't coat the terminals at installation. "One cell was not using

[RE-wrenches] 14 inch aluminum standoffs?

Dear All, While not participating much in the dialog  I greatly appreciate your time and knowledge on matters of the Sun. My question is two fold.  Are folks using galvanized or hot dipped galvanized in any way, shape or form out there for their mounting systems?  I feel like I need to know th

[RE-wrenches] Batteries and customer service

Hello Wrenches, This is my first go around here in the mailing list. I ve been a "lurker" for years, I much appreciate all the insight you all have provided. Here is the situation: I have a client with 12 Interstate UL16HCs (24v system, 3 x 4 battery bank) purchased and installed exactly 12 mont

Re: [RE-wrenches] RF interference XW

The only time I ever dealt with this it was bad grounding in the house wiring. Same deal, AM radio interference. I can't remember whether it was a soft ground or a ground loop, but that's where I'd look. Hilton -- Hilton Dier III Renewable Energy Design Partner, Solar Gain LLC 453 East Hill Rd

[RE-wrenches] RF interference XW

Hello Wrenches, I have a customer, installed about a year ago, a complete Schneider Electric XW grid-tied system. He claims to be getting very bad AM radio interference around his property, the worst being near the inverter at about 800 kHz. I have yet to investigate this very thoroughly, but I