To much to cover right now but in short I have had no issues with the OB inverters, you just put one with and CC and mate 3 seams to do the trick. The Radian is nice, it is 240 VAC, its smarter but takes up allot of additional space. Cheap quick fix is to put a 2435 in the place of the SW and call it a day.
Jerry On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 3:02 PM, Allan Sindelar <al...@sindelarsolar.com> 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 input. Fortunately, relatively few generators are > 120V-only; pretty much just the smaller inverter-generators. Most cheaper > gennies are 240V, and either run through a step-down balancing transformer > (which would be taken out with the old 120V inverter) or run out of > balance. Many better portable generators have a 120/120-240 switch, making > it necessary to only replace a cable and plug to add a second hot conductor. > > Also, most older AC switchgear, such as QO403 inverter bypass switches, > are set up for single pole breakers, and would thus require replacement, > and reworking in general on the AC side to handle two hot input and output > conductors. > > But once the jumper between the two hot legs is removed in the AC main > panel, and two hots are connected, making the panel 120-240, what are the > concerns that I might not have anticipated? Are there any hidden dangers, > or situations where this change could cause problems, especially in AC > distribution? > > Thanks in advance. I hope that I don't regret posting this late on a > Friday... > Allan > -- > > *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 <505%20780-2738> cell* > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > >
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