Geoff, It's never that simple, is it? Yes, there are two settings. The charge amps setting exists to limit max charge rate, such as for a small battery bank with C/rate limits. William's point is that the loads can exceed this, and indeed exceed the AC in setting.
The SW could provide true generator support, meaning that the two settings (Set AC2 in and Set Gen amps AC) were hard limits. As the AC load increased, the SW reduced the charge rate as needed to meet the load. If the load continued to increase beyond the "Set AC 2 in" limit, the SW could actually invert from the batteries to supply the load, thus supporting the generator while it's connected and operating. The Outback can't do this; I'm not sure if any modern inverters can. I discussed this issue with John Pfeifer, CEO of Apollo, at SPI; his inverter doesn't either, but he sees the value of it and will look deeper into whether it can be designed in. Silent Power has a separate charger, and I heard that the new Samlex does too, so this isn't an issue with those units. The Outback can reduce charge current, but as well as I can tell, it either is too slow or too soft a limit, and a surge can overload the generator. This is why Steve H. has suggested sizing the generator as a rule of thumb at 2X the AC input setting. I would welcome further info and corrections to my understanding here. Allan Sindelar al...@positiveenergysolar.com NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer EE98J Journeyman Electrician Positive Energy, Inc. 3201 Calle Marie Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 505 424-1112 www.PositiveEnergySolar.com -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Geoff Greenfield Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 1:39 PM To: 'RE-wrenches' Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Sync problem William - thank you for completing my thoughts... wish we had hooked up at the show - oh well. I believe on the Mate there are TWO amps one can play with - AC charge as well as another "total" AC input that includes the charger as well as the loads. I have still popped genny breakers using this one.... For a brighter energy future, Geoff Greenfield President Third Sun Solar & Wind Power Ltd. 340 West State street, Unit 25 Athens, Ohio 45701 (740) 597-3111 fax: (740)597-1548 www.third-sun.com Clean Energy - Expertly Installed -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of William Miller Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 3:34 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Sync problem At 12:18 PM 10/30/2009, you wrote: Sorry, incomplete sentence in original post. Corrected below: Friends: In addition to ramping down the charge amps, you also need to ensure that the loads are removed for testing. Even with charge amp at 1, if the loads exceed the capabilities of the generator to maintain adequate voltage and frequency the inverter will disconnect the generator. I discussed this very issue with Outback at the show yesterday. The GFX series inverter has tighter input tolerances on the AC input than a none grid-tie model. This is because there is only one AC input and that input needs to comply with grid tie requirements. Another short coming of the Outback is: if the loads exceed the source capabilities, once the transfer occurs, the source will overload, be it to trip a source breaker or bog down a generator. If this were an SW or XW inverter, the inverter would synchronize with the source and assist in delivering power to the loads. William At 12:07 PM 10/30/2009, you wrote: Hi Drake- You may be overloading the genny (and it either pops a reset breaker or just shows a red light that there is an internal overload, requiring you cycle the on/off switch to reset. To "test" I suggests ramping down the charging AC amps on the mate to 1 or so, see if the genny charges, then step up the charger amps until the unit cuts out. Kinda like the Appalachian torque wrench: tighten until the SS bolt breaks off, then back it off 1/2 turn. _ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.423 / Virus Database: 270.14.39/2469 - Release Date: 10/30/09 07:52:00 _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
