Kirpal, Just the other week I was faced with the exact same issue. I spoke with Robin over at Midnight and he confirmed that a Not-a-Gutter could be used with four SI's. He was sure that you could use two on top and two on the bottom, but that did not work for me due to size restrictions. He was then going to look at the possibility of placing two on top and one on each end of the gutter. You may want to check it out!
Best regards, Mark Dickson Oasis Montana Inc. _____ From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Kent Osterberg Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 11:18 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Island DC Load Centers, Sealed Batteries SMA uses a breaker for the switch in Sunny Island. Technically, it isn't a "disconnect" because it is part of equipment that may need to be removed for service. Kent Osterberg Blue Mountain Solar, Inc Walt Ratterman wrote: Hello Mick, The way I understand it, the DC switch on the SI is really an on off switch and not a circuit breaker. SMA recommends that the system has other overcurrent protection. The main value of the DC switch that I could see is that it provides an easier re-set point. (There are some power saving conditions that require re-setting rather than auto-re-start.) And.. Since Outback has in their catalog using the Flexware mounted in this configuration, I would say the breakers are fine to be mounted in this fashion. Worth checking though, of course. I do know that you are not supposed to mount the DC breakers upside down (such as on the bottom of the flexware, where you would have to reach under the can to operate the breaker...) Thanks, Walt SEPI From: Mick Abraham [mailto:m...@abrahamsolar.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 6:41 PM To: wratter...@sunenergypower.com; RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Island DC Load Centers, Sealed Batteries Hi, two questions: (1) Doesn't each Sunny Island unit already include a DC disconnect breaker for the connection to battery? (2) Aren't those big DC breakers in the Outback boxes restricted for "vertical installation only"? I've got my own 3 phase Sunny Island thing coming up (maybe) so I look forward to these answers. Mick Abraham, Proprietor www.abrahamsolar.com Voice: 970-731-4675 On Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 7:26 PM, Walt Ratterman <wratter...@sunenergypower.com> wrote: Hello Kirpal, Walt Ratterman here. I can respond to at least the first part. In Burundi, we used three 5 KW Sunny Island 5048's in a three phase configuration. For all of the DC and AC breakers, wireways, etc., etc., we used the Outback Flexware equipment. We put the DC on the bottom and the AC on the top. Due to the width of the SI's, we used 2 - FW1000 systems to do this. (And I am glad - we actually needed all of the wiring space. I think it would work really well for your system. Of course, there may be some other good choices that I would be anxious to learn about as well. You can see some good photos of this installation at our photo gallery - linked form our Home Page at www.sunepi.org. Click on the cover for the photos for the Burundi / Kigutu / Village Health Works / SELF project. Feel free to holler if you need any specifics on how we did anything here. OH - on your other question.I have no experience on large sealed banks, but Rolls now has AGM's that start at T-105 size, include the 8G8D sizes, and then go all the way up to 2V 3300 Ah. Thanks!! Walt From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Kirpal Khalsa Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 6:15 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: [RE-wrenches] Sunny Island DC Load Centers, Sealed Batteries Hi Folks......we have an upcoming Sunny Island/Sunny Boy AC Coupled system installation.....We have mostly done Outback and Xantrex battery based systems.......and like the available supporting DC load centers with main breakers and other DC load and charging breakers...... What are folks using for the Sunny Island products? Outback Flexware DC 500's? or 1000's? This particular system will consist of 4 Sunny Islands and therefore will need four main breakers...... We primarily need a breaker box to locate our main DC breakers coming from the battery bank.......Any advice, experiences would be appreciated...... Also on that note.....anyone wish to share any experience or advice on the GNB Absolyte GX series batteries or the East Penn Deka UnigyII as a standby grid connected back up battery bank....They both seem like they are good for primarily hanging out in float with occasional deep discharges not negatively affecting the health of the batteries.....This is the type of service we expect the batteries will be in primarily......Any recommendations of one brand over the other.....The vertical stacking seems convenient as far as space is concerned.....maintenece free......any recommendations on a good supplier on the west coast? Any other brands i should be looking at in the sealed battery category for a fairly large Ah battery bank? 100 thanks ! -- Sunny Regards, Kirpal Khalsa NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer Renewable Energy Systems www.oregonsolarworks.com 541-218-0201 m 541-592-3958 o _______________________________________________
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