I have been contacted by the inverter sales rep that provided this product to us and he has asked that I clarify the situation.
first off the HiQ inverter system used was test equipment from the manufacturers so it may not represent their current product line. This project is located in Redway ca where we get an average of 58 Inches of rain a year. (predominately in large storms with high volumes of rain) The inverters were installed using S-5! brackets on standing seam metal roof so the balancers were not oriented vertically. (company rep was on site for installation and had no issues with the orientation.) This was a small system of 12 modules and we used 3 balencers. If I remember correctly the balencers have space for 4 modules so the final opening was sealed by method recommended by manufacturer. We had repeat failure of a single balencer (in the same location) due to water damage on the inside of the equipment. It was suggested that the cause of this water was due to a pore seal on one of the MC4 connections that allowed water to "wick" through the connection and into the inverter. Here is where the manufacturer rep and I part ways. Upon replacing the inverter a second time we checked connections and MC4 seals and found nothing indicating water or corrosion due to water damage and thus we did not replace them. This is what the manufacture is stating caused the inverter to fail the third time and perhaps it was. At the end of the day we ended up replacing the HIQ system with a string inverter and have had no issues with the system. (we did check the MC4 seals and connections again and found no corrosion or water.) Perhaps it was a connection issue and we just haven't found the proper connection causing the problem, and over time it will show it self. I did not mean to disrespect the company and the product line, it was simply my intention to share my experience with the product that we had with others in my field so that they might avoid similar headaches for other installers. I hear that they no longer use balencers and are just a string inverter manufacturer at this point. So perhaps the whole experience was of value and the issue that we experienced was solved. there are obviously many other locations out there that have functioning inverters from HiQ without this problem. The fact that the same balancer failed 3 times is suspicious and does point to some sort of environmental / installation reason. just wanted to outline the full story as I was not trying to sling mud, just trying to share our experience. cheers- Daniel Daniel Tittmann CTO Greenwired www.greenwired.com dan...@greenwired.com 707-923-2001 (office) 707-206-5088 (Cell) On Mon, Mar 14, 2016 at 2:17 PM, Daniel Tittmann <dan...@greenwired.com> wrote: > We were a test site for HiQ inverters at our warehouse in Redway ca. long > way from the ocean, but plenty of rain. We had to replace the "Balancers" > three times due to water damage before we switched to a string inverter. > even at free HiQ wasn't worth the hassle. > Maybe they have fixed the issues but I would not put them in any sort of > challenging env. > Daniel > > Daniel Tittmann > CTO > Greenwired > www.greenwired.com > dan...@greenwired.com > 707-923-2001 (office) > 707-206-5088 (Cell) > > On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 1:19 PM, Patrick Shortell <pshorte...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Hi Jay, >> I did cut open one of the inverters. >> The electronics are potted but I noticed that there were studs that >> appeared riveted to the external casing which appeared to be aluminum. It >> appeared that the saltwater had entered along this stud and eventually made >> its way to the circuit board. I assume that the stud performed a grounding >> function since that model inverter is externally grounded. >> I could see the green evidence where the stud entered the potting that >> salt water had indeed passed through the potting and encountered some >> copper. I think Enphase has gone with a ground wire in the cabling >> nowadays. Maybe a new design has eliminated that route to the board. >> Pat >> >> >> >> On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 12:58 PM, jay <jay.pe...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hi Patrick >>> >>> I would add that the NEMA 6 rating is for dust/water intrusion, not >>> corrosion resistance. >>> >>> I don’t know what the metallurgy of the Enphase was/is or the HIQ. >>> But I would not make the assumption that whats bad/good for one is the >>> same for any other. >>> >>> jay >>> >>> Peltz power >>> >>> >>> On Mar 11, 2016, at 9:29 AM, Patrick Shortell <pshorte...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>> Hi Chris, >>> My experience with microinverters rated NEMA 6 in a salt environment was >>> an absolute disaster. I have a 50KW ground mount, Enphase M210's, Sanyo >>> 220's and within three years more than half failed. >>> The system is approx a 1/2 mile from the Ocean and about 300 Yards from >>> a bay and is also on an island. >>> We removed the microinverters and installed SMA string inverters. >>> We have similiar installations in the immediate area and the SMA product >>> has held up for 12 years. >>> My microinverter experiment ended badly and as an electrician for over >>> thirty years, the enphase product was the only product I ever saw with a >>> NEMA 6 rating. >>> My Opinion, you cant beat an SMA product in this environment. >>> Pat >>> >>> On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 11:39 AM, Christopher Warfel < >>> cwar...@entech-engineering.com> wrote: >>> >>>> We are designing a 480Vac, 3 phase system for a school on an island. >>>> The system will be outdoors, about 1/2 from the ocean shore. Corrosion via >>>> salt is a real problem. We submitted some pictures to Solar Pro for an >>>> article they are writing. HIQ are NEMA 6. I have no experience with them, >>>> and was wondering if anyone did. Thank you, Chris >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Christopher Warfel, President >>>> ENTECH Engineering, Inc. >>>> PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807 >>>> 401-466-8978 >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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 >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Patrick A. Shortell >>> *Licensed Master Electrician* >>> *Certified Solar Installer* >>> 71 Oregon Street >>> Long Beach N.Y. 11561 >>> cell: 516-477-0221 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Patrick A. Shortell >> *Licensed Master Electrician* >> *Certified Solar Installer* >> 71 Oregon Street >> Long Beach N.Y. 11561 >> cell: 516-477-0221 >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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