Greendream
Off-grid Beginner
I'm going to shut down absolutely everything once the sun is down. With my headlamp I'm going to remove the old breaker and install the new one in the correct orientation. I took some videos today of my system running right about solar noon. Saw 63.1 amps on the PT100 once. About a 9A load on the AC side and 54-55A going to the batteries. I did see higher amperage going to the batteries at one point up to 58A but I think the AC load dropped at that point. I checked the combiner box and wow it was warm after I opened it up. You could smell hot electronics. I checked the temps with my fluke HVAC IR thermometer and read 150F on the anti-backfeed diodes. The wires at the top of the box were all fairly warm as well, maybe 120F I took video while holding the IR gun kneeling over so I need to go back and review the videos. The big 63A breaker wasn't as hot as the anti-backfeed diodes. Those were the hottest.
Never saw 3.4 Kw today so that part of the equation wasn't able to be replicated.
The fuses inside of the holders are 12A, pics below -
I dont find any specifications on the fuse size from the manufacturer. I will add this, the kit that this equipment came from I believe was setup to run 5 strings of 4 panels into a PWM controller then charging AGM batteries. Because I wanted to get a magnum inverter and charge controller for a more robust off-grid setup, I discovered that I needed to run 5 panels in series to get the voltage required to power the PT100. The combiner box is more than likely built around that configuration and not mine. It looks like I can upgrade the fuses up to 20A based on the fuse holder's rating? Would that reduce the heat?
I am having some concerns with the Llama's but I will save that for after I get this trouble at the combiner box resolved. The SOC was pretty low, it was 30% (345 total AH @ 48V) when I woke this morning and was basically in bulk mode until around 2:30PM. We constantly have a 3-9A draw on the system for the AC loads. This is our setup to power our campers while we build the house, then everything will move inside. Hoping by that point we have most of the kinks ironed out and we'll be able to decide if we need an additional battery or more panels.
Thanks again and I'll post an update tonight or tomorrow.
Never saw 3.4 Kw today so that part of the equation wasn't able to be replicated.
The fuses inside of the holders are 12A, pics below -
I dont find any specifications on the fuse size from the manufacturer. I will add this, the kit that this equipment came from I believe was setup to run 5 strings of 4 panels into a PWM controller then charging AGM batteries. Because I wanted to get a magnum inverter and charge controller for a more robust off-grid setup, I discovered that I needed to run 5 panels in series to get the voltage required to power the PT100. The combiner box is more than likely built around that configuration and not mine. It looks like I can upgrade the fuses up to 20A based on the fuse holder's rating? Would that reduce the heat?
I am having some concerns with the Llama's but I will save that for after I get this trouble at the combiner box resolved. The SOC was pretty low, it was 30% (345 total AH @ 48V) when I woke this morning and was basically in bulk mode until around 2:30PM. We constantly have a 3-9A draw on the system for the AC loads. This is our setup to power our campers while we build the house, then everything will move inside. Hoping by that point we have most of the kinks ironed out and we'll be able to decide if we need an additional battery or more panels.
Thanks again and I'll post an update tonight or tomorrow.