Re: [RE-wrenches] Small commercial or even smaller residential car ports

[Gary Rochlin]

Try Schletter

 

https://www.schletter.us/

 

Gary Rochlin / Managing Partner

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com

310.422.2908

 

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Sam Haraldson
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2018 1:32 PM
To: RE-wrenches ; dan...@greenwired.com
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Small commercial or even smaller residential car 
ports

 

Daniel,

 

We have worked with Orion Carport Systems in the past on a 25kW system.  

 

http://orioncarports.com/carport-systems/leto/

 

Cheers,

Sam

 

 

On Mon, Feb 5, 2018 at 2:20 PM, Daniel Tittmann mailto:dan...@greenwired.com> > wrote:

I am wondering if there is anyone out there that knows of a solar car port 
manufacturer that can supply equipment for smaller carport structures.  All of 
the companies I have reached out to only want to deal with larger projects, 500 
kw and up.  who is making structures for small commercial or even residential 
clients?  We happy to take on design and engineering in house we just want to 
use the racking equipment.

Thanks

Daniel 

 

Daniel Tittmann 

CTO

Greenwired

www.greenwired.com <http://www.greenwired.com> 

 

 

707-923-2001 Ext. 500   (office)

707-206-5088   (Cell)

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[RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa
2010-2012 iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an
older 48V Lithium Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in
parallel and 1 Xantrex 6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge
controllers.  Via a surge from SCE system shut down and sat before we were
called in.  Batteries are sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will
not turn on unless the batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made
for lead acid batteries.  I'm looking at finding the way to charge the iCel
batteries or goose the charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from
the batteries.  I think I'm making sense here.  

 

Blue Sky Energy 

  g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com

 

 

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Yes they are – I took one of the packs apart and each battery is made up of 7 
packs of 16 Panasonic CGR1865D Panasonic LI Batteries.  I think if we do a test 
charge and see if we can get the voltage to increase it will be an indication 
the battery is still good. Thank you for your Input.

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Darryl Thayer
Sent: Friday, February 9, 2018 7:14 PM
To: RE-wrenches 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

Gary I have been told that below a certain voltage the LI-ion cells suffer a 
permanent death.  I believe these batteries are small cells in parallel.strings 
 and then series connected strings. to make the voltage.can you use a lab power 
supply to start the charge?  I purchased one for about 60 to 90 $ that allows 
me to adjust the voltage and limit the current until the battery gets up to 
voltage IF it ever does..

 

On Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 7:16 PM, Gary Rochlin mailto:g.roch...@gmail.com> > wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa 2010-2012 
iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an older 48V Lithium 
Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in parallel and 1 Xantrex 
6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge controllers.  Via a surge 
from SCE system shut down and sat before we were called in.  Batteries are 
sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will not turn on unless the 
batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made for lead acid batteries.  
I’m looking at finding the way to charge the iCel  batteries or goose the 
charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from the batteries.  I think I’m 
making sense here.  

 

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com 
<http://blue-sky-energy.com> 

 

 


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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Hi Allen - Thank you for the input.  It is much appreciated.

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Sindelar Solar
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 12:38 AM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

Gary, you might try an old-fashioned approach: bypass the controller to send
the array straight to the batteries until threshold voltage is reached. More
specifically, bypass one of the controllers; assuming 48, 60 or 72 Vnom
depending on array. Let the other controller remain in normal operation.
Send the unregulated array to bring initial battery voltage up; then the
other controller takes over and the one that was bypassed now is
reconnected. Better if the unregulated array is the smaller of the two, I
would suspect.

What I'm suggesting will work with flooded lead-acid, and likely VRLA
lead-acid as well, as long as the unregulated array is taken out of the
system before voltage exceeds bulk. It may not work at all with these Li-I,
as I have no experience with restoring them. Daryl may well be right about
being unrestorable below a threshold voltage; also the batteries may need an
operational BMS to take a charge. So this is perhaps just food for thought.

Allan

-- 



Allan Sindelar
 <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> al...@sindelarsolar.com
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738 cell

On 2/9/2018 6:16 PM, Gary Rochlin wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa
2010-2012 iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an
older 48V Lithium Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in
parallel and 1 Xantrex 6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge
controllers.  Via a surge from SCE system shut down and sat before we were
called in.  Batteries are sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will
not turn on unless the batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made
for lead acid batteries.  I'm looking at finding the way to charge the iCel
batteries or goose the charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from
the batteries.  I think I'm making sense here.  

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Hi Allen – Thank you for the input.  It is much appreciated.  I’m going to 
purchase a 48V Charger. 

Gary Rochlin / Managing Partner

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com

310.422.2908

 

 

 

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of John Blittersdorf
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 6:20 AM
To: RE-wrenches 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

Gary,

  I keep 24v and 48 v IOTA chargers with jumper cables attached for those times 
when systems are dead.  Just a minute or so plugged into my Honda 2000I or 
generator on bypass gets everything lit up and running. 

Just did one yesterday.  Got Kohler running but Mate 3 and inverter would not 
turn on. 

 

John B

Sent from my iPhone


On Feb 10, 2018, at 3:37 AM, Sindelar Solar mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> > wrote:

Gary, you might try an old-fashioned approach: bypass the controller to send 
the array straight to the batteries until threshold voltage is reached. More 
specifically, bypass one of the controllers; assuming 48, 60 or 72 Vnom 
depending on array. Let the other controller remain in normal operation. Send 
the unregulated array to bring initial battery voltage up; then the other 
controller takes over and the one that was bypassed now is reconnected. Better 
if the unregulated array is the smaller of the two, I would suspect.

What I'm suggesting will work with flooded lead-acid, and likely VRLA lead-acid 
as well, as long as the unregulated array is taken out of the system before 
voltage exceeds bulk. It may not work at all with these Li-I, as I have no 
experience with restoring them. Daryl may well be right about being 
unrestorable below a threshold voltage; also the batteries may need an 
operational BMS to take a charge. So this is perhaps just food for thought.

Allan

-- 



Allan Sindelar
 <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> al...@sindelarsolar.com
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738 cell

On 2/9/2018 6:16 PM, Gary Rochlin wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa 2010-2012 
iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an older 48V Lithium 
Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in parallel and 1 Xantrex 
6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge controllers.  Via a surge 
from SCE system shut down and sat before we were called in.  Batteries are 
sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will not turn on unless the 
batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made for lead acid batteries.  
I’m looking at finding the way to charge the iCel  batteries or goose the 
charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from the batteries.  I think I’m 
making sense here.  

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com 
<http://blue-sky-energy.com> 

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Noted - Thank you for the input.  It is much appreciated. 

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Steve Higgins
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 9:20 AM
To: RE-wrenches 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

That's probably what I would try also... but be really careful with Li, there 
may be an issue with the BMS already, doing this could cause thermal runaway... 
I would probably do so away from any structures, and I would be using an 
thermal camera to monitor for hot spots.  

 

I've done this with Li Po RC Batteries and a 12volt regulated power supply... I 
don't know how they will react to direct array voltage. 

 

 

 

 

 

On Feb 10, 2018 12:38 AM, "Sindelar Solar" mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> > wrote:

Gary, you might try an old-fashioned approach: bypass the controller to send 
the array straight to the batteries until threshold voltage is reached. More 
specifically, bypass one of the controllers; assuming 48, 60 or 72 Vnom 
depending on array. Let the other controller remain in normal operation. Send 
the unregulated array to bring initial battery voltage up; then the other 
controller takes over and the one that was bypassed now is reconnected. Better 
if the unregulated array is the smaller of the two, I would suspect.

What I'm suggesting will work with flooded lead-acid, and likely VRLA lead-acid 
as well, as long as the unregulated array is taken out of the system before 
voltage exceeds bulk. It may not work at all with these Li-I, as I have no 
experience with restoring them. Daryl may well be right about being 
unrestorable below a threshold voltage; also the batteries may need an 
operational BMS to take a charge. So this is perhaps just food for thought.

Allan

-- 

Allan Sindelar
al...@sindelarsolar.com <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> 
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738   cell

On 2/9/2018 6:16 PM, Gary Rochlin wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa 2010-2012 
iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an older 48V Lithium 
Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in parallel and 1 Xantrex 
6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge controllers.  Via a surge 
from SCE system shut down and sat before we were called in.  Batteries are 
sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will not turn on unless the 
batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made for lead acid batteries.  
I’m looking at finding the way to charge the iCel  batteries or goose the 
charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from the batteries.  I think I’m 
making sense here.  

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com 
<http://blue-sky-energy.com> 

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Hi Ray- Thank you for the input.  It is much appreciated.  I'm going to
purchase a 48V Charger and give it a go. 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Ray
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 10:24 AM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

Allan has a good approach as long as you are there to monitor it.  The
wiring is already there, you just have jump the array positive to the
controller output.  ( a little double lugging never hurt anyone?!!.)  

Even higher voltage arrays with MPPT can be used this way.  They will just
put out close to their short circuit current, as the batteries will pull the
array voltage way down on the IV curve. 

Ray Walters

Remote Solar

 

On 2/10/18 1:37 AM, Sindelar Solar wrote:

Gary, you might try an old-fashioned approach: bypass the controller to send
the array straight to the batteries until threshold voltage is reached. More
specifically, bypass one of the controllers; assuming 48, 60 or 72 Vnom
depending on array. Let the other controller remain in normal operation.
Send the unregulated array to bring initial battery voltage up; then the
other controller takes over and the one that was bypassed now is
reconnected. Better if the unregulated array is the smaller of the two, I
would suspect.

What I'm suggesting will work with flooded lead-acid, and likely VRLA
lead-acid as well, as long as the unregulated array is taken out of the
system before voltage exceeds bulk. It may not work at all with these Li-I,
as I have no experience with restoring them. Daryl may well be right about
being unrestorable below a threshold voltage; also the batteries may need an
operational BMS to take a charge. So this is perhaps just food for thought.

Allan

-- 



Allan Sindelar
 <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> al...@sindelarsolar.com
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738 cell

On 2/9/2018 6:16 PM, Gary Rochlin wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa
2010-2012 iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an
older 48V Lithium Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in
parallel and 1 Xantrex 6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge
controllers.  Via a surge from SCE system shut down and sat before we were
called in.  Batteries are sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will
not turn on unless the batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made
for lead acid batteries.  I'm looking at finding the way to charge the iCel
batteries or goose the charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from
the batteries.  I think I'm making sense here.  

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

[Gary Rochlin]

Thank you for the input.  I’m going to purchase a 48V Charger and charger each 
module and monitor it closely.   

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Darryl Thayer
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 4:03 PM
To: RE-wrenches 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries

 

Is there not a concern that if the batteries are showing such low voltage that 
they will not accept current, and the voltage will rise to module voltage and 
put array voltage on the output of the charge controller?

 

On Sat, Feb 10, 2018 at 12:24 PM, Ray mailto:r...@solarray.com> > wrote:

Allan has a good approach as long as you are there to monitor it.  The wiring 
is already there, you just have jump the array positive to the controller 
output.  ( a little double lugging never hurt anyone?!!.)  

Even higher voltage arrays with MPPT can be used this way.  They will just put 
out close to their short circuit current, as the batteries will pull the array 
voltage way down on the IV curve. 

Ray Walters

Remote Solar

 

On 2/10/18 1:37 AM, Sindelar Solar wrote:

Gary, you might try an old-fashioned approach: bypass the controller to send 
the array straight to the batteries until threshold voltage is reached. More 
specifically, bypass one of the controllers; assuming 48, 60 or 72 Vnom 
depending on array. Let the other controller remain in normal operation. Send 
the unregulated array to bring initial battery voltage up; then the other 
controller takes over and the one that was bypassed now is reconnected. Better 
if the unregulated array is the smaller of the two, I would suspect.

What I'm suggesting will work with flooded lead-acid, and likely VRLA lead-acid 
as well, as long as the unregulated array is taken out of the system before 
voltage exceeds bulk. It may not work at all with these Li-I, as I have no 
experience with restoring them. Daryl may well be right about being 
unrestorable below a threshold voltage; also the batteries may need an 
operational BMS to take a charge. So this is perhaps just food for thought.

Allan

-- 

Allan Sindelar
al...@sindelarsolar.com <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com> 
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738   cell

On 2/9/2018 6:16 PM, Gary Rochlin wrote:

Does anyone have any information or specifications for an older circa 2010-2012 
iCel System Lithium Ion Battery.  We are doing a repair on an older 48V Lithium 
Ion system consisting of 3-6 ICel batteries wired in parallel and 1 Xantrex 
6848 and 2 Xantrex Conext MPPT 60 150 Solar Charge controllers.  Via a surge 
from SCE system shut down and sat before we were called in.  Batteries are 
sitting at 6.67V and the charge controller will not turn on unless the 
batteries are at 40V since at the time they were made for lead acid batteries.  
I’m looking at finding the way to charge the iCel  batteries or goose the 
charge controller into thinking 40V are coming from the batteries.  I think I’m 
making sense here.  

Blue Sky Energy 

 <mailto:mtnri...@verizon.net> g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com 
<http://blue-sky-energy.com> 

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries (Steve Higgins)

[Gary Rochlin]

Hi Tom;

Each battery consists of 7 pack of 16 Panasonic CGR 1865D batteries making
up a 48V system from what I understand from Panasonic 1.5 kWh.  The
Panasonic tech mentioned he knew of the firm and gave me the name of one if
the tech officers.  I'm going to look him up and see if I can get some info
from him.  Going to purchase a 48V charger and test each battery to see if
it hold a charge.  Thank you for your input.  


Gary Rochlin / Managing Partner
Blue Sky Energy 
g.roch...@blue-sky-energy.com
310.422.2908



-Original Message-
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Tom Ruscitti
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2018 12:16 PM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Older iCel System Lithium Ion Batteries (Steve
Higgins)

Some of my non-solar consulting involves test engineering for lithium ion
materials development. I'm no expert but I do get to work with folks
developing and testing cells and sit in on industry training and conferences
now and then. I would discourage trying the jump start described here
without direct guidance from the cell / battery manufacturer and a properly
operating BMS. Li-ion batteries can be much less tolerant to over-charge and
over-discharge than the lead acid we're used to working with in the solar
business. Li-ion batteries require a strictly enforced minimum cutoff
voltage. For example, the discharge cutoff for one recent client's battery
is spec'd at 2.5V per cell. There can be damage to the anode If voltage
falls below that. Also, if you try the jump-start on compromised packs with
no BMS, different cells will charge at different rates due to differing
internal resistance (one function of BMS is cell balancing). Over-charging
can result in permanent capacity loss and also electrode damage. Depending
on the chemistry this sort of damage can increase the risk of thermal
events. 
I've heard that some BMS will prevent recharging if the minimum cell voltage
limit has been busted, but no first hand experience myself. If you do a web
search on "lithium ion damage over discharge" you'll see plenty of
discussion. I tried to find specs on the iCel system but didn't find
anything useful.

be careful,

Tom

--
Tom Ruscitti
Senior Engineer

Taitem Engineering, PC
110 S. Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
Mobile: (607) 220-7022
www.taitem.com

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Ilsco Insulated Tap Connectors

[Gary Rochlin]

Simpliphi batteries, lithium ferro, are safe but a little expensive. 

Sent on the run from my phone. Please excuse brevity and typos.

> On Jun 7, 2018, at 6:05 AM, cwarfel  wrote:
> 
> Hello Wrenches, I am trying to redesign a couple hundred watt load off-grid 
> system by first focusing on the battery technology.  The Li based battery 
> "packages" I am aware of are essentially for a residence, which is too large 
> for this application. Can you recommend a manufacturer of Li batteries that 
> can be used in an off grid application that had safe battery charging 
> capabilities as part of its product line.  Currently, 2 Trojan L16s are being 
> used, which, while is a fine battery, is limited in its depth of discharge.  
> Thanks for any info/help.  Chris
> 
> -- 
> 
>  Christopher Warfel, PE
>ENTECH Engineering, Inc.
> PO Box 871, Block Island, RI 02807
>(401)466-8978
>  
> 
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

[Gary Rochlin]

We have been having problems with the Mate 3 Optics RE since we installed it at 
the beginning of 2014.  Ours is a battery backup system for a grid tied 
install.  We just got off the phone with Outback this morning after upgrading 
to Rev. 15 two months ago and we are still having the going offline issue.  
Currently we have only been able to keep the monitoring running for about half 
a month and then it needs to be manually rebooted even with the 4-hour reboot 
function activated.  This morning we went out to the site to replace the 
original Mate 3 and tech support told us we would lose all historic data on the 
site - We had to pull off again.  The only saving grace is the solar system is 
still working as planned providing power to the back-up system we just can’t 
see the metrics and this is the last thing we expected from Outback when we 
made the choice to utilize the Radian system instead of the SMA sunny Island.  
From what I can tell Outback released their new system without sufficiently 
beta testing the monitoring and we are all paying for it.  

 

Gary Rochlin

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Chris Mason
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 1:15 PM
To: RE-wrenches 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

 

We have reported to Outback that the Mate3 OpticsRE will stop reporting if the 
internet goes down for a while. In the Caribbean, we have some outages and the 
M3 does not handle them well. I think there is an option to reboot the M3 
daily,  I would try that. You can be pretty sure it is not a cable failure. 

On May 16, 2016 4:07 PM, "William Miller" mailto:will...@millersolar.com> > wrote:

Friends:

 

We just installed our first Optics RE systems.  They are both at the same 
location connected to a satellite data system.  In the three weeks these two 
systems have been on line, they have become disconnected several times.  The 
latest time both Mates disconnected but we were able to reconnect one by 
remotely rebooting the router.

 

I have invested a lot of money, time and reputation on these systems.  I am 
hoping reliability improves.  I am on a long hold with Outback right now in an 
attempt to trouble shoot. I am guessing the resolution will be a two hour drive 
each way to unplug and plug the Cat5 cable in.

 

Ten minutes later:  I received helpful information from Outback tech support, 
as usual. I will be swapping Mates to see if the trouble moves, etc.  I will 
also be setting the auto reboot function.  

 

Can anyone else suggest how to resolve these issues?

 

What experience have the remainder of you had with the Optics RE system?  Is it 
reliable for you?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

William Miller

 

 

 

 

 


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Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

[Gary Rochlin]

Yes, by manually disconnecting the power but as mentioned not with the auto 
reboot with Rev. 15.  

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of William Miller
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 3:06 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches' 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

 

Gary:

 

Are you able to reliably re-establish connectivity by rebooting the Mate3?  

 

I was informed today that the power to the Mate3 is on the Orange/White pair.  
I have the ability to control a relay remotely that could open a relay on these 
leads.  If this will reestablish communications, then this might be a solution. 
 (The device has a ping function wherein you can program it to ping an IP 
address and perform a prescribed action if the ping fails after a programmable 
number of attempts over a programmable time period.)

 

Thanks,

 

William

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Gary Rochlin
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 2:37 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches' mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> >
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

 

We have been having problems with the Mate 3 Optics RE since we installed it at 
the beginning of 2014.  Ours is a battery backup system for a grid tied 
install.  We just got off the phone with Outback this morning after upgrading 
to Rev. 15 two months ago and we are still having the going offline issue.  
Currently we have only been able to keep the monitoring running for about half 
a month and then it needs to be manually rebooted even with the 4-hour reboot 
function activated.  This morning we went out to the site to replace the 
original Mate 3 and tech support told us we would lose all historic data on the 
site - We had to pull off again.  The only saving grace is the solar system is 
still working as planned providing power to the back-up system we just can’t 
see the metrics and this is the last thing we expected from Outback when we 
made the choice to utilize the Radian system instead of the SMA sunny Island.  
From what I can tell Outback released their new system without sufficiently 
beta testing the monitoring and we are all paying for it.  

 

Gary Rochlin

 

 

From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of Chris Mason
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 1:15 PM
To: RE-wrenches mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> >
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Optics RE reliability

 

We have reported to Outback that the Mate3 OpticsRE will stop reporting if the 
internet goes down for a while. In the Caribbean, we have some outages and the 
M3 does not handle them well. I think there is an option to reboot the M3 
daily,  I would try that. You can be pretty sure it is not a cable failure. 

On May 16, 2016 4:07 PM, "William Miller" mailto:will...@millersolar.com> > wrote:

Friends:

 

We just installed our first Optics RE systems.  They are both at the same 
location connected to a satellite data system.  In the three weeks these two 
systems have been on line, they have become disconnected several times.  The 
latest time both Mates disconnected but we were able to reconnect one by 
remotely rebooting the router.

 

I have invested a lot of money, time and reputation on these systems.  I am 
hoping reliability improves.  I am on a long hold with Outback right now in an 
attempt to trouble shoot. I am guessing the resolution will be a two hour drive 
each way to unplug and plug the Cat5 cable in.

 

Ten minutes later:  I received helpful information from Outback tech support, 
as usual. I will be swapping Mates to see if the trouble moves, etc.  I will 
also be setting the auto reboot function.  

 

Can anyone else suggest how to resolve these issues?

 

What experience have the remainder of you had with the Optics RE system?  Is it 
reliable for you?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

William Miller

 

 

 

 

 


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Re: [RE-wrenches] favortie micro inverters?

[Gary Rochlin via RE-wrenches]

Enphase 

Sent on the run. Please excuse brevity and typos. 

> On Sep 23, 2024, at 9:43 PM, greg egan via RE-wrenches 
>  wrote:
> 
> Michael, thank you.  Any particular reason you like them best?
> 
> 
> Greg Egan
> Remote Power Inc.
> Fairbanks, AK
> 
>> On 9/23/2024 7:29 PM, MDElectricSolar wrote:
>> Enphase…
>> 
>> Michael D Nelson
>> MD Electric & Solar, Inc.
>> 707-684-0064 mobile
>> 707-884-1862 office
>> www.mdelectricsolar.com
>> www.facebook.com/mdelectricandsolar
>> 
>> 
 On Sep 23, 2024, at 7:30 PM, greg egan via RE-wrenches 
  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Esteemed wrenches,
>>> 
>>> Have a client that is grid connected (not my usual client) and looking to 
>>> do solar without back up.  Has shading issues so I'm thinking micros would 
>>> work best for this application, plus take care of rapid shut down without 
>>> needing extra devices/wiring.  Problem is I have not ever installed micros.
>>> 
>>> Any recommendations on brands /models that have been reliable? Decent tech 
>>> support?  Customer just wants something that works and is relatively simple 
>>> to navigate the online monitoring.  Probably 4-5 kW so not a huge system.
>>> 
>>> Thanks in advance, I appreciate it!
>>> 
>>> Greg Egan
>>> Remote Power Inc.
>>> Fairbanks, AK
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