Re: [RE-wrenches] PG&E NEM3.0

This list focuses primarily on solar and ESS technology and what is happening in California is going to drive that technology to do far more than its current, primary purpose of emergency backup. I live in Montana and it's only a matter of time before our utility adopts some form of time-of-use an

Re: [RE-wrenches] Seeking Advice on LG Solar Panel RMA Process

Lou, I did LG RMAs in 2018 and 2021 and the submittal forms and process look nearly identical to what Dave shared. The email address through which I communicated was different however: solarsvc Cheers, Sam [image: OnSite Energy]

Re: [RE-wrenches] Boot-strapping discharged lithium batteries.

> > Does anyone have good information about whether a regulated power supply > is necessary versus just a battery charger? > The two battery ecosystems that we've been required to revive are Fortress and Blue Planet. In both of those situations the manufacturers either mailed us or recommended w

Re: [RE-wrenches] Blue Planet Energy Alternatives

Thank you to all of you for these recommendations. We'll be analyzing these suggestions carefully. We have multiple Fortress installs in our portfolio and lots of Midnite BOS but haven't yet used their AIO nor battery products. We would be new to any of the products from Pytes or Discover. http

Re: [RE-wrenches] Blue Planet Energy Alternatives

> > You didn’t mention the kilowatt hours that you’re needing, but I can > imagine it’s quite a lot. I recommended the Pytes V5 battery. > Good point, Maverick, sorry for leaving out that detail. This particular instance will require 45 kWh of storage. Thank you for the Pytes recommendation. -

Re: [RE-wrenches] More Issues with Parallel Sol-Ark 15K System

> > ...I don't see how that would put at risk "safeguarding the customer’s > investment." > Jason, my understanding of the risk is the system is designed to output an amount of power greater than or equal to the load requirements. If one or more of the inverters fault but the load requirements re

Re: [RE-wrenches] Small Pole Mount Brand Recommendations

Professional* > > > > > > > --- > > > > On 2024-11-13 17:54, Sam Haraldson via RE-wrenches wrote: > > Wrenches, > > What are your preferred brands for small pole mount installs? I'm talking > really small (one or two modules, probably sub 1kw) that

[RE-wrenches] Small Pole Mount Brand Recommendations

Wrenches, What are your preferred brands for small pole mount installs? I'm talking really small (one or two modules, probably sub 1kw) that a client wishes to install for a DC-direct pump to fill a stock tank. My experience with ground mounts is mostly larger installs from MT Solar and All Eart

Re: [RE-wrenches] More Issues with Parallel Sol-Ark 15K System

> > Of course, I didn't have a long enough Cat5 cable with me, nor a Cat5 > splice connector. So I had to rig something, which I did successfully to > jumper from #2 to #4. But when I turned everything back on, #4 still would > not work. I eventually realized that you have to change the Modbus addr

Re: [RE-wrenches] Power Crimper and Stripper Recommendations and Questions

Thanks for the great discussion on this topic. It's always a treat to see the wide variety of preferences and knowledge this list offers. I contacted PV-Cables separately and Bryan had some good old school knowledge to add that he said I could share here for posterity and those interested. *Hey

[RE-wrenches] Power Crimper and Stripper Recommendations and Questions

Wrenches, We are embarking on a project in November that has enough battery cable and terminal crimps to justify researching and buying power tools specific to the task. If other Wrenches have product recommendations I'll take them. The battery wire we've spec'd is 4/0 copper (UL 1283 / MTW / THW

Re: [RE-wrenches] I sent in my Wrench List dues, have you?

I've easily gotten my money's worth since the suggested subscription model was introduced and am happy to continue supporting this list both financially and through the sharing of information. - Sam ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional me

[RE-wrenches] Looking for Empty Sol-Ark 15K Packaging

Wrenches, We were about to embark on the install of seven Sol-Ark 15k inverters and an 11th hour change by the client's design engineer has moved the install to a different inverter manufacturer. We literally had the inverters unboxed and set out ready to install when this occurred but the packag

Re: [RE-wrenches] favortie micro inverters?

> > Enphase DOMINATES the space. I can't see any reason to go another > direction. Reliability and service just continues to improve. > I wholeheartedly echo Jason's sentiments on this. Enphase had a bad run of things 8 or 9 years ago but that has long since been smoothed out. Their micros are r

Re: [RE-wrenches] ATS Brand Recommendations

> > Now that the major ESS manufacturers have Microgrid Interconnect Devices > (MIDs) for their systems, we don't have any reason to use these. > August, thank you for the recommendation of the Briggs & Stratton. And in case others have commentary to add that references the point that you made abo

[RE-wrenches] ATS Brand Recommendations

Wrenches, We are primarily a grid-tied solar EPC but like many solar companies have a long history with small off-grid installations. In the past few years we have been tackling a handful of large, complex, grid-tied battery-backup systems (sub 90 kwh) range with some working flawlessly and some

Re: [RE-wrenches] Repairing malfunctioning Mate buttons

A step further beyond Todd's alcohol suggestion is trying to put some Deoxit on the troublesome parts. - Sam ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org C

Re: [RE-wrenches] Will SolarEdge optimizers work with other string inverters?

The Solaredge "Key" and "Safety & Monitoring Interface" have cut sheets dated 2014 and 2016 - so take their feasibility with a grain of salt - indicate that at some point SE optimized systems could be paired to third party inverters. Based on a quick read it looks like this technology requires opt

Re: [RE-wrenches] REC modules - review?

Our experience with REC is similar to previous respondents. We almost solely installed REC modules for the better part of a few years and have over 12,000 (4.31 mW) of them in the field. Ironically enough our first warranty claim for one was a couple weeks ago (failed diode). The information sub

Re: [RE-wrenches] alte gone?

Nicholas, If we take a deep dive into this issue we may be able to close the loop on whether the industry is in lock step to leverage its synergy and make the necessary paradigm shift to pivot. Alternatively if there aren't the necessary boots on the ground nor tools in the tool kit to think outs

Re: [RE-wrenches] Plaques

Lou, It was mentioned among the myriad responses you got to this question but it's definitely worth trying the custom placards from PVLabels.com. https://www.pvlabels.com/custom-placards/ You upload a simple graphic through their website and they'll ship them out within a day or two. We only us

Re: [RE-wrenches] SMA 22 series inverters, resetting AFCI fault

> > ...Can’t believe SMA thought this was a good way to do this. > > The confused silence on the other end of the phone when you're talking to a homeowner about resetting this error message themselves as you describe bashing the inverter with your knuckles directly on the screen about as hard as yo

Re: [RE-wrenches] Clamping CTs Around Live Conductors - White Paper References and/or Anecdotal Information Requested

A quick note of thanks to the wide variety of responses I received last week regarding my question about safely clamping CTs around live conductors. I genuinely appreciate the supportive responses. Sincerely, Sam > ___ List sponsored by Redwood Allianc

Re: [RE-wrenches] TPM Search

Adding in my vote for MT Solar. Quality product, quality customer service. I saw someone mention Wattsun as well but their product is trackers not simply pole mounts. They too have superb customer service but not for static racking. - Sam OnSite Energy, Inc. Bozeman, MT _

[RE-wrenches] Clamping CTs Around Live Conductors - White Paper References and/or Anecdotal Information Requested

Dear Wrenches, I'm trying to determine whether or not it is acceptable to clamp monitoring CTs around hot conductors. For this question please assume the CT wires are landed in their proper terminals and that proper PPE/safety protocol is employed. The monitored currents in question are resident

[RE-wrenches] Solarworld Warranty Claims Through Sunpower

Wrenches, A colleague is inquiring about how to proceed with Solarworld warranty claims after its 2018 acquisition of the Solarworld brand. If anyone can provide successes or failures along those lines I would appreciate being able to share that info with my colleague. If I am able to determine

Re: [RE-wrenches] Automatic load control

We have two Sol-Ark / Fortress deployments just finished/in progress and one uses seven Lumin panels for load shedding and the other has SPANs. In retrospect the Lumin project should have used SPAN since it was a new construction project and the Lumin is more of a retrofit product in my opinion.

Re: [RE-wrenches] Fortress remote monitoring

Here is an official communication from Fortress that we received recently when inquiring about monitoring Fortress batteries as an Installer. Some of you may find the info relevant. -- Forwarded message - From: Date: Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 12:37 PM Subject: Re:[## 5635 ##] Remote M

Re: [RE-wrenches] Metal Truss Roofs

James, I can think of one install I performed in 2017 that was a metal roof over metal purlins and we opted to through-bolt the entire array using one installer on a ladder inside and another on the roof. We employed butyl mastic and large fender washers to attach a strut frame to the roof, and t

[RE-wrenches] Back Issues of SolarPro Magazine

Wrenches, I have a dusty stack of SolarPro magazines and am curious if there are folks on the list who might want them. At a glance I see issues from 2014 and 2017 and presumably they're all from around that time. There are also some copies of Home Power in there. Please contact me off list if

Re: [RE-wrenches] Snapnrack end caps

> ...Kevin at S&R was wondering if this is a common occurrence. Is it > something we are doing, is it freezing and thawing or is it the design of > the caps. > Can confirm. We receive email from customers on the regular that these are popping off. I haven't attempted to draw a correlation betwee

Re: [RE-wrenches] AC coupling with Solar Edge, pre HD Wave

Good Morning, Dave, Take a look at this pdf and see if the info about setting up "Grid Protection" gets you anywhere. Starting on page three it shows how to make the Vmin/max and Fmin/max for screened inverters. What I can't verify for you is whether the A series has the same menu structure as h

Re: [RE-wrenches] Metering

The following are brands I have used and trust. eGauge - https://www.egauge.net/ Emporia Vue - https://www.emporiaenergy.com/how-the-vue-energy-monitor-works Verify there is available space within the main service to install the current transformers for the mains. Also verify there is space and

Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex AC Fault 186.6v

I visited this site this morning and found AC and DC voltages at the inverter terminals to be within expected range (432 Vdc and 246 Vac). Since the error code on the inverter specified it being an AC problem I removed the upper cover of the inverter and traced all the terminal and soldered connect

Re: [RE-wrenches] Xantrex AC Fault 186.6v

Barton, Jerry, Ron, and Drake, Thanks for adding your initial insight into this situation. It provided me a few perspectives I hadn't considered right off the bat. There were also questions that some of you posed that I don't have the answers to yet as I haven't visited the site nor spoken with th

[RE-wrenches] Xantrex AC Fault 186.6v

Howdy Wrenches, Any "old timers" here care to chime in with some basic info on what I might be heading out to see at a 10+ year old ground mount? It's a Xantrex displaying the message AC Fault 186.6v. I'm prepared to head out there and troubleshoot blind if no one has anything to offer up but fi

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sunpower Performance Warranty Claim

*> Was surprised by one manufacturer who advised us to read that bypass diodes were not an warranty defect * *> even though the module was making half power.* Forgive me if I'm daft but someone please tell me WHAT IS a module defect if a failed diode ISN'T?!? Unacceptable. Sam Haraldson Installa

Re: [RE-wrenches] IQ8 "line noise" issues?

> ...A cheap solution that we have had some success > with is to put ferrite core snap together chokes around L1 and L2 PV Lars, If your company installs SMA Core1 inverters you'll find these ferrite chokes inside every box of them in the bag with the amphenol connectors and other miscellaneous p

[RE-wrenches] Megger Recommendations

Wrenches, In order to step up our commissioning and testing game and to take proactive steps to spot isolation faults and test insulation resistance prior to our systems getting PTO it is time to invest in a Megger. I am looking for your recommendations for being able to test both AC (single and

Re: [RE-wrenches] Direct to decking racking attachments

Carl, We are fans of the Rooftech RT Mini product for applications that don't allow us to employ rafter attachments. We are primarily a SnapNrack installer and the RT Mini base works well with the SNR uppers. We have been using them for perhaps four years, maybe five and have seen no issue in th