diy solar

diy solar

Just got hit by a hurricane. What to do with my Equipment

SolarSamSurfer

Here to learn.
Joined
Apr 24, 2022
Messages
83
Hey guys, on Monday I got hit by a level 2 hurricane and my Growatt inverter got alittle wet. When I opened it up I could only see a little water on the display and the buttons for the settings. The main components all looked dry. It has been air drying for 4 days. Am I stupid to want to turn it on and see if it survived? My town won't have power for a few weeks so I want to try to get power for the people. Anyway here are some photos.
 

Attachments

  • 16543612965638523763848893850317.jpg
    16543612965638523763848893850317.jpg
    195.8 KB · Views: 18
  • 16543613305861367980545017697203.jpg
    16543613305861367980545017697203.jpg
    273.3 KB · Views: 18
  • 16543613784951865439628089648016.jpg
    16543613784951865439628089648016.jpg
    145.3 KB · Views: 18
I can't see any water damage in the top part but the second last photos I can see some rust so I'm guessing water touched there.
 

Attachments

  • 20220531_103732.jpg
    20220531_103732.jpg
    210.8 KB · Views: 18
  • 20220531_103735.jpg
    20220531_103735.jpg
    128.4 KB · Views: 18
  • 20220531_103928.jpg
    20220531_103928.jpg
    140 KB · Views: 16
  • 20220531_104122.jpg
    20220531_104122.jpg
    362.6 KB · Views: 18
  • 20220531_104412.jpg
    20220531_104412.jpg
    262.9 KB · Views: 20
  • 20220531_104451.jpg
    20220531_104451.jpg
    535.1 KB · Views: 19
  • 20220531_115447.jpg
    20220531_115447.jpg
    155.9 KB · Views: 18
  • 20220531_115447.jpg
    20220531_115447.jpg
    155.9 KB · Views: 18
  • 20220603_173058.jpg
    20220603_173058.jpg
    201.8 KB · Views: 18
Sry to hear of your predicament and hope that you are ok. Generally 12 hours for electric components to dry out and as you have been able to open it up and left if for 4 days then it should all be dry. I’m no expert but if I was in your situation I would turn it on and give it a try. What I would do when you get a chance is to brush off the rust and put some dielectric grease on the rust areas to reduce future corrosion.

Good luck.
 
dear @SolarSamSurfer

Very sorry to hear of the unfortunate damage your home has sustained from natural disaster. May you recover completely in time.

From description and photos, it seems like the device had relatively little water exposure.

Water from storm can carry pure water And other stuff that might conduct a small amount of electricity, which May in part disrupt the operation of the device.

However, the photos show that the inside of the device has Potting or some form of protection for the major connection points from water intrusion.

Powering it up as a test, "probably worth a try" (please monitor for malfunction of course).

One time, I dropped my game boy in the ocean bay. Ocean water has water and conductive stuff. It never woke up, sadly. However, using a distilled water spray and evaporating the water might have washed away the conductive residue and revived it.

Only an amateur, to disclaim my own advice.

My advice:

try powering it on. if anything goes wrong, a pop, a snap, a smoke, non-operation, shut it off and safely remove power immediately.

if failure, either:
A) spray some distilled water on the parts thought to be exposed to water, and allow to dry thoroughly (please treat this as unsubstantiated advice)
or
B) decommission the device

Wishing I could provide simple instruction to ameliorate all issues, but cannot.

Best wishes to you, and all around. ☮️☀️
 
Back
Top