I been living off grid for over 20yrs and have 2 Trace 4024 inverters that are synced, however when we set up my brother's system about 10-12 years ago, we set him up with outback equipment being as Trace was now Xantrex and I was unsure of quality and reliability. I currently have pretty close to 5Kw solar with a small wind gen, with lead acid battery storage but I recently acquired 12 each 435 watt panels that I am going to add to the system. I was seriously considering up-grading the critical equipment being as it's 20+ years old. But, I have noticed that only a few places now sell outback, and most of the inverters up in the 4Kw range in the various brands are 48VDC which means that I would need to re-configure the complete system and add another set of batteries (current batteries are only 3-years old). So the quandary is what is the most highly recommended / best reputed brands of inverter/charger on the market. My Trace units have never faulted all I have had to change cooling fans 2X is all in the 20-years.
New here from ID "inverter Confused"
- Thread starter moonpower
- Start date
Welcome to the forum.
There are many 4kW 24V options. Magnesine MS4024PAE comes to mind. It provides 120/240VAC split phase and can be joined.
Outback, Midnite Solar, Victron, Xantrex, Schnieder, etc., are all on the same field with your old Trace. Most have 4kW offerings.
IMHO, stick with your Trace SW4024. They are beasts, and they just don't seem to quit.
Your biggest issue is the # of charge controllers you need to add another 5220W @ 24V. 5220W/24V = 217.5A - that's 3X Outback FM80 running 4 panels each.
Hopefully, you have about 2000Ah of battery to keep that much charge current from hammering your FLA/AGM/GEL.
There are many 4kW 24V options. Magnesine MS4024PAE comes to mind. It provides 120/240VAC split phase and can be joined.
Outback, Midnite Solar, Victron, Xantrex, Schnieder, etc., are all on the same field with your old Trace. Most have 4kW offerings.
IMHO, stick with your Trace SW4024. They are beasts, and they just don't seem to quit.
Your biggest issue is the # of charge controllers you need to add another 5220W @ 24V. 5220W/24V = 217.5A - that's 3X Outback FM80 running 4 panels each.
Hopefully, you have about 2000Ah of battery to keep that much charge current from hammering your FLA/AGM/GEL.
All I need for charge controler is 1 outback Flexmax 100 AFCI for the panels, as for batteries I have FLA Trojan SIND 042145 (2145 Ah @ 100Hr ea. bank) and my Trojan's have been changed 1 X in 20-years; so storage is no problem. The question is reliability and support on brands, everybody and their dog makes inverters now-a-days. I have helped many people with unscrewing their systems over the years (many supposedly installed by qualified solar people) and I can tell you from experience that several brands are not worth the time. Xantrex is owned by Schneider which "was" unknown as to is, so-so to deal with. That is the rational behind the inquire regarding recommendations, things like, why do only a few sell outback now (price maybe), these type of things my me nervous. And yes the older TRACE product was top-notch.
FM100 can only handle 100A, so if you have more than 3kW of panels on it, you're missing peak power:
You didn't indicate your wind to solar ratio on the 5kW claim, but I seriously doubt you get anywhere near 2kW of wind unless you have a Bergey or some other giant wind turbine.
If you go adding another 12 * 435W = 5220W of solar, then you're going to need 2X FM100 or 3X FM80
I have seen a few posts on the forum about Schneider support being horrific.
You didn't indicate your wind to solar ratio on the 5kW claim, but I seriously doubt you get anywhere near 2kW of wind unless you have a Bergey or some other giant wind turbine.
If you go adding another 12 * 435W = 5220W of solar, then you're going to need 2X FM100 or 3X FM80
I have seen a few posts on the forum about Schneider support being horrific.
Bill Taylor
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2020
- Messages
- 75
I will second that. I've seen plenty of those in service for 25 years or more. And they are repairable, if you do have trouble, you should be able to find someone who can repair them. Although, the Magnum 4024 PAE is my favorite these days. And BTW Schneider sold last year to a company based in L.A. I have heard mixed reviews about their tech support.
And I will agree, I have a well worn Magnum MS4024AE which is an earlier version of the PAE, it is a real workhorse, very well built and designed. But I have had a Trace SW4024 and it was even better. I sold it along with the boat it was on.
The older Schneider Inverters were good but Schneider does not support end users, only qualified installers that have an agreement with them, so if you have an issue with your Schneider you will need to hire a “Schneider Qualified Installer” A total deal buster for me.
MidNite is in the process of a new line of “Made in USA” inverters. The MidNite Rosie will be 4kw & 6kw in 24 and 48 volt parallable.....
Bob & Robin Gudgel were the founders of Trace, Outback and now MidNite
So you know well what they are capable of.....
Disclaimer......I really need Ultra Reliable 1st. teir gear, no Chinese in my system, im done with Neverreiiables....I admit that I am a MidNite kind of person......
@Bill Taylor
That is the first that I heard of Schneider selling the solar division, or selling the company... just searched the internet, can you please provide a link to that....
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