AS someone who works almost exclusively with off grid battery based inverters for years. I would recommend staying away from the outback line of inverters. We are seeing outback failures in units that are only 2 to 3 years old, once you get through to the Tech Support generally a 30 to 40 min hold time and forget about the "call you back feature" unless you want a call back in three days. The board replacements that we get are a total crap shoot. I have had replacement boards fail within minutes and many of them within in months and there is no warranty on the boards.
I would go with Magun Hybrid as it is a 120 V AC unit and has load assist like the old SW's. We are always sorry to replace the old SW units but after 20+ years of service I guess they have put in their work. Magnum has provided us with reliable service since we started installing them 6 Years ago. I hope they keep their product as reliable with the new owners. my two cents Daniel Daniel Tittmann CTO Greenwired www.greenwired.com dan...@greenwired.com 707-923-2001 (office) 707-206-5088 (Cell) On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 9:01 PM, John Blittersdorf < john.blittersd...@gmail.com> wrote: > Allan, > I would replace with a VFX3524 and a Mate3 as long as the backup > generator is big enough. FX's don't load share or gen support. I have had > lousy luck with getting several magnums repaired. All have been switched > to Outback. The Radian would be a nightmare to install compared to a > single FX. I sell Radians primarily for grid tie backup systems and very > high demand off grid. And to replace Magnums. I have had no trouble with > Outback service and getting boards for on site repairs. Quality of boards > OK. The Mate 3 is more intuitive than the Mate and has lots more > information. Works fabulously with OpticsRE for monitoring. I have a > remote mountaintop transmitter site that has been a nightmare for years and > now we finally got all the pieces together at one time to make it work.. > Good generator (EcoGen) new batteries, and 4000 watts of solar on top of > pole racks (to self clear of snow) VFX3648 with IOTA 12v battery charger > for the DC Loads, and the MATE3 hooked up to the internet and OpticsRE. > All is now calm on the mountaintop. > > John Blittersdorf > Central Vermont Solar & wind > > On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 8:02 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 >> >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > 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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