[RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

Hello Wrenches, Have any of you looked into Vehicle to Grid systems and how they will play with existing solar installation. I have residential customers asking questions about how we ensure that our installation is compatible with these systems. I've seen announcements from Ford, Nissan, and Mi

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

This just proves the weak link is the BMS. I had the honor of replacing the BMS in that exact model in a stack of 3 batteries. Luckily it was on the bottom shelf so I could pull the monster out onto the floor to get access to the lid. The lid is sealed shut but with persistence it opened. I was

[RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Wrenches, I’m looking to tie in a Generac Powerpact 7.5kW generator with transfer switch to a Sol-Ark 12kW. The Sol-Ark has a two wire start (NO or NC) capability, however, the Generac transfer switch operates on loss of 240V. Is my only option to use a relay driven by the two wire start to dro

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Hi Rick, I have a similar situation with a GE transfer switch, but am curious to hear what others have to say. My assumption was that the switch transfers based on loss of 240V from the grid. But I believe (at least with the GE generator) that the transfer switch sends a two wire start signal to th

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Wrenches Venerac does have a two wire start programming option on their 22 k, may be in there, On Thu, Jun 17, 2021, 6:41 AM r...@solshineenergy.com < r...@solshineenergy.com> wrote: > Wrenches, > > I’m looking to tie in a Generac Powerpact 7.5kW generator with transfer > switch to a Sol-Ark 12kW

Re: [RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

If you are talking about chargers for electric vehicles, we even do that offgrid and it is just basic system design. If you are talking about using the electric vehicle to power the house, you would run into safety of the battery, Insurance for the house, and the building code for each area. M

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

My .02 on this, and just a guess, the open loop charging parameters were not set right or charge limits for the battery were too high. The other way to kill LFP is large loads exceeding the battery max discharge current. Closing the loop eliminates just about all of those issues. It brings the

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Rick, On most of their home standby models, Generac defeats the two wire start capability in programming and ships them set up to auto-start on a loss of utility power only. On most of these models with the Evolution or Nexus controller there is a way to re-program them for two-wire start capab

Re: [RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

Hi Carl - V2G (Vehicle to Grid) is one of the most exciting areas of technology coming down the pipes. It's easy to imagine a day where you can tap into ~100 kWh or more of storage sitting in your EV and benefit from bi-directional charging with PV. I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the sta

Re: [RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

Wrenches Would you use the gas in your car to run your genny till empty, much the same, l remember talking about this years ago and I do not recommend doing this, I dont know of any utilities that would alo that. I work in Hawaii and California when we have a PSPS the last thing you want to do is n

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

I have the same question. I assumed an ATS would transfer upon utility loss, but I'm learning that some do not transfer until the generator starts up. I'm wondering how this works with Sol-Arks given their schematics that use ATS in multi-inverter setups for whole home backup (with no generator inv

Re: [RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

Jerry - there are some key difference between V2G with PV and fuel based vehicles and generators. Mainly, the V2G would allow the home to stay on when the grid goes down and thus keep the PV system running. The PV system could then power the home and charge the vehicle. All of this can be controlle

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Yes, you need to have a transfer switch with its own brain that doesn't need the generator controller to decide which source to latch to. A good example of this is the Kohler line of transfer switches: The RXT line of transfer switches needs the RDC2 controller (in the generator) to actually swit

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

I wish Sol-Ark would better document this and/or have a list of suitable options. Details are minimal. Short of getting these things in your hands it's hard to tell from documentation alone how it will all play nice together. Better yet - how about a 12k inverter with 200A pass through/xfer capabi

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Friends: I dislike jury-rigging a generator loss-of-grid start signal to a two-wire start. If the inverters need to be shut down for service or happen to shut down on their own, the generator will start. Not a good design. William Miller www.millersolar.com > On Jun 17, 2021, at 6:48 AM, Dave

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

HI All, The cover never got all the way off before it was blown off, it was just started to be opened, so no way there was an external ignition source. If it was an explosion it was all from internal components except for possibly some O2 coming from the outside. My other question still hasn’

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

Maybe the BMS was never tested by Relion for all of the possible failure modes? Maybe it was tested and it got thru QC. I know very little about this company. Do they meet the standards like, manufacturing facilities are fully certified to ISO 9001/14001 and OSHA 18001 standards. Meets UL 9

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

I have to agree... the gasses that come out of these cells can still be flammable... My guess is the settings were too high, or a cell or two were already in thermal runaway, causing internal gassing. When the cover was pulled off that gas found an Ignition source and ignited. Inverter and char

[RE-wrenches] Substitute for Bussman PVS-R-200 fuse?

Wrenches, I’ve checked every cross-manufacturer table I could find and have found no exact equivalent for this fuse, which presently has an extremely long lead time from manufacturer. Any chance anyone has had the same issue and found something that works? Or some existing stock you’d be willing

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

As a Generac dealer, I would say the right answer is "No". As in, don't use a Powerpact generator as a two wire start generator. The Powerpact are a glorified portable in a box. The Powerpact has to have constant power to maintain the battery and electronics. The generator powers the load center tr

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

And just like that, I found the instructions for two wire start of a Powerpact generator. https://rexel-cdn.com/Products/Generac/7109.pdf?i=3DE90BD8-3F92-4C63-A833-FEDC1C27B8F7 On Thu, Jun 17, 2021 at 9:41 AM r...@solshineenergy.com < r...@solshineenergy.com> wrote: > Wrenches, > > I’m looking

[RE-wrenches] Bricked Mate

Friends: A client somehow managed to brick her Mate3. Anyone know how to resuscitate one of these? William Miller www.millersolar.com ___ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org List Address: RE-wrench

Re: [RE-wrenches] Exploding LFP battery

I thought of a few more ways this could have happened. The installer over torqued the battery terminals. There was not SPD protection in the system and it got zapped and escalated. Working on SPD's now for a guy. He does not see the value and knows everything! Pretty hot out here in the West! 5PM

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

We have started doing away with the ATS all together. Generac recently released a FW code you can enter to indicate to the generator you want it to Start/Stop with 2-wire configuration. A generator that size I would feed directly into the SolArk and let the SolArk Start/Stop function. This will

Re: [RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 12k w/ Generac Transfer Switch

Hey Rick, are your loads in this scenario not all behind the SolArk (and already capable of all no-back feed scenarios including zero export?) Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone Get Outlook for Android From: MiJo Nel

Re: [RE-wrenches] Vehicle to Grid

August have seen it work, sure but l have had customer loose power after three days of smoke filled sky, no regen and l have the same customers with EV's then what no escape if the killed the car too. I understand all of it, we did testing in Hawaii and here in California, in a hail Mary, use what