Unless you want old firmware. So you can use Sunny Island Charger or Midnight Classic and have them talk to SI.
Yeah, have/had no plans to go with DC coupling and the SI might need to be in Lithium mode for the REC to communicate (??? not sure). IMHO DC coupling defeats the reason for going with SMA to start with. Might as well go with Outback, Victron, etc. Schneider can AC couple too, but the best choice here was Sunny Boy.
Haven't seen your inside pictures before, only the inverters.
Are those 100 Ah or 280 Ah batteries?
230 AH Calb cells, EV grade from Current Connected. One thing to note here is that I don't think that a REC with M/S setup can use different sized AH cells in various batteries. There's only one setting for AH size (that I have found). I could be wrong, but one might want to pick their AH size well ahead of time if one wants to expand. I could probably use 230 AH Eve cells for additional batteries, but not 280 or 310, etc.
I suppose REC master requests reduced voltage and/or current to avoid runner cells in all batteries, slowing down charging so the worst balanced can equalize?
From what I understand this is what it does. And controls the contactors in each of the batteries (it's kind of impressive when they all click on at once when turning on the system).
Conduit - are we supposed to have plastic bushings on all? Or some rounded enough they're not a problem, and only reamed pipe is sharp enough to be an issue? Often I have romex clamps which I don't worry about; that has jacket. But I also pull wires through conduit. And large gauge is more difficult to bend as desired so would bear on those edges.
No idea. My electrician (this was kind of a collaborative effort between us) is a former US Army electrician (then reclassed to Infantry and was a Ranger Battalion bubba), then ran his own industrial electrical service, then owned an electrical supply house, then was a power plant administrator, now does some electrical work and excavation in his retirement. I said to conform to NEC as much as possible/made sense. The wiring is Ancor brand and has a super thick jacket (those Klein 4 in 1 cable strippers will not work, jacket is too thick). The combiner box is join to the battery cabinet using "asshole" connectors so it's basically attached. I have no inspectors and no duty to conform to NEC (I wouldn't want to argue this in civil court though).
Offgrid, keep your eye open for new old stock. There are both transformer type and transformerless with wattage spanning range above/below 7.7kW. Some are less flexible on MPPT range (I think the higher wattage ones didn't support lower voltage?)
I suspect prices are going to rise - especially with these new rounds of trailer sales. There's no real replacement for these unlike the older Sunny Boys.
I would think you might consider 3-phase and multi-cluster if off-grid and building new systems. Although Multi-cluster box costs a lot, and single cluster is only 18kW.
I thought about it. Even ran 3 phase wire between buildings. I need the extra capacity of the 4x SI for what there. The thing that keeps from installing the Multi-Cluster box is 1) figuring out the system. 2) space in the existing shed (12x12 with one side being a garage door but that could be framed up), and 3) most importantly, lightning. I think I'd rather have multiple discrete systems so you at least have something functional in the event of a direct strike. Ameren isn't going to come to fix it.
Otherwise, there are used ones out there. Most recently I saw a 7.7kW -40 model on eBay. Now there is a -41 model "open box"
I think I'd better start buying ASAP. I was going to go with more panels elsewhere with locally located panels and SBs (i.e. on a future carport near my shop with the SB located in the shop).
My next system may not be SMA though. Which sucks as I was hoping to keep one type of system for spares.
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