Re: [RE-wrenches] 690.31 pics

Very nice looking work, Dave. We do enough pole mounts that we started making our own racks. Similar to DP&W, but we weld the head directly to the pole, and incorporate a screw jack that makes tilt adjustments easier. Our inspector hasn't given us any trouble about the exposed wiring, but w

Re: [RE-wrenches] 2008 690.31

Glenn: Thanks very much. I bought myself an Ipod touch for a birthday gift and it has a wifi web browser. I have an old school cell phone and for the first time I have handheld web access (when in Wifi Range). This link should be even more handy now. William Miller At 05:19 PM 11/10/20

Re: [RE-wrenches] 2008 690.31

Sounds like a very nice install Dave, I'd like to see pictures if you could. Thanks, R. Walters r...@solarray.com Solar Engineer On Nov 10, 2009, at 6:51 PM, David Palumbo wrote: William, From 2008 Handbook (actual codebook is not at my desk at this time). IV. Wiring Methods 690.31 Meth

Re: [RE-wrenches] 2008 690.31

William, >From 2008 Handbook (actual codebook is not at my desk at this time). IV. Wiring Methods 690.31 Methods Permitted (A) Wiring Systems. All raceway and cable wiring Methods included in this Code and other wiring systems and fittings specifically intended and identified for use on ph

Re: [RE-wrenches] generator

Larry, Are you sure it is not a simple overload situation? Have you tried reprogramming the VFX with a Mate to lower critical values (AC Amps In, and Battery charger AC amps)? Seems strange a 8kW generator to have a 20A breaker protect a load like a generator (unless you were plugged into that o

Re: [RE-wrenches] 2008 690.31

>From an earlier post - I have used it in many a pinch! >From Dan Rice, Applications Engineer - Commercial Grid Tie, Conergy If you find yourself in need of an NEC reference, any your copy is not at your fingertips, here's a great resource: 2002 NEC:

Re: [RE-wrenches] generator

Larry, The single VFX3524 takes 19A plus loads from one leg, way overloading that 120V leg. Your best bet would be to add a T240 or PSX240 to balance both legs. Then use the 30A 240V receptacle on the Genereck. The twist-loc receptacle doesn't run through a GFI, so the tripping will go away. Plus y

[RE-wrenches] generator

Fellow Wrenches, On an off the grid system we did for a client a year or two back, we installed an Outback VFX3524 mounted on a Midnight Solar E Panel. They had a manual pull Homelight generator as back up. All worked well. Recently the client upgraded to an electric start 8000 watt Generac

[RE-wrenches] 2008 690.31

Friends: I have not received my 2008 NEC on CD. Pending it's arrival, could one of you good folks please post 690.31 to the wrenches as a personal favor to me? Thanks in advance. William Miller Please note new e-mail address and domain: William Miller Miller Solar Voice :805-438-5600

Re: [RE-wrenches] orientation data

Ian, What was the actual annual production for each array? I ran a simulation, using latitude 47, and weather data for Olympia, and using a module efficiency of 16%, which corresponds to Sanyo 190 watt modules, and used 95% for inverter efficiency. simulation at 47 lat, 36 tilt, south predicts

[RE-wrenches] Solar for greenhouse root-zone heating

Joel, We have done this with hot air into a gravel bed and Hydronic into concrete slab and into the grow bed. All were designed around the root zone concept. All work well and different installations for different existing conditions and also getting in before the green space was built and hav

Re: [RE-wrenches] peformance matters

Marco, I heartily agree with you about performance. There are 5 new PV solar startup "dealers" in my small town in the last year and they mostly promote the cheapest cost-per-watt modules. Why? Because in Arizona the utility rebate is based on the nameplate power of the module. So a cheap

[RE-wrenches] Solar for greenhouse root-zone heating

Solar Thermal Wrenches,   My client wants to solar heat the soil in his 30 x 96 commercial greenhouse. I found http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/ghrootzone.pdf but I do not know if solar for root-zone heating is practical. I can not find a solar equipment supplier. What do you think? Your sola

Re: [RE-wrenches] performance matters

Folks Back to the innovation axiom: more companies will deploy more web based solutions to measure real time data of a systems performance over time. This data is important to have and see to compare characteristics related to mods and inverter performance to bolster or ouster manu claims on ou

Re: [RE-wrenches] performance matters

Hence the need to be able to present objective, 3rd party-collected performance data demonstrably showing the superior performance of one brand over another. marco Marco: Good point, but how does a consumer quantify the expected long term harvest and reliability of a solar electric system?

Re: [RE-wrenches] China, Mexico, now what?

Jeff Perhaps the concern of any of these companies being around is real, but my sense is this market is just beginning to grow as we know it. http://earth2tech.com/2009/09/08/first-solar-to-build-worlds-largest-pv-solar-farm-for-chinese-government/ This is just one project, but it is inevitable

Re: [RE-wrenches] performance matters

Marco: Good point, but how does a consumer quantify the expected long term harvest and reliability of a solar electric system? Smooth talking sales people will assure customers that the lower priced system is of equal value as the name brand system offered by an established installer. Willi

[RE-wrenches] peformance matters

The common metric for many consumers when considering a PV system purchase is the $/watt cost of the installed system. This misleading metric allows low-priced bottom feeders (those licensed and unlicensed contractors working out of their garage or storage spaces) to clobber those of us who pay al

Re: [RE-wrenches] China, Mexico, now what?

A question added to your question Jeff - How many companies have turned over and been bought out will be around to deal with warranty issues? So far BP has stepped up and been pretty smooth in Solarex module warranty responses. In today's corporate longevity lifespan what companies will still be

Re: [RE-wrenches] Made in USA modules

During a recent tour of their plant, it was interesting to see SiE position their product not so much for its value for the WA state incentive (for which I have yet to see a strong case), but for specialized applications such as car ports, and for various qualities, such as durability, coolin

Re: [RE-wrenches] orientation data

We have such a system in our area, NW WA. It was featured in the cover story of HP124. The roof angles are not exactly the same, but close (and I'm guessing lower roof angle for west-facing would increase overall production -- ??). In the first year, the west-facing array produced about 14%

Re: [RE-wrenches] China, Mexico, now what?

OK, this earlier thread started with my concern that we are loosing our solar manufacturing industry, and the number of China module manufacturers have exploded in the past 2 years so its now impossible to tell which modules may have "lead paint toys" type problems that we won't know about until