Sun 2KW GTIL. Why would it back off power production?

[RangerGress]

Bottom line. My device will produce 2-3x as much power, albeit briefly, if I unplug it from the house for a moment, and then plug it back in. Getting too hot? Device itself is goofed?

Scenario. Bright sunny day and 3KW of panels pointed in various directions. The GTIL is producing only half the power I expect at mid-day, say it's making 700W. I pull it's 220V plug for a moment, and when I plug it back in the GTIL starts producing 1400W which is what I've come to expect for peak sun. But then, over the course of 60secs, it goes down to 400 and then varies between 500 and 700W.

It's not the limiter. The device shows that the house is using a helova lot more power.

It's not clouds. I've done this experiment many times and there's no clouds near.

The only thing I can come up with is that the unit is dialing itself back because of heat. It is pretty hot. The fans are working, but the garage is prob 90deg F, which is a fair amount lower than 45Deg C (113deg F) that the Sun GTIL is rated for.

I can replicate this behavior with batteries,. I set the current limit to 15A, let the batteries hit the Sun GTIL, and altho the watts start out reasonably high, say 850W, the watts start dropping down to a third or quarter of that.

Theories?

I've tried to communicate with the seller, Eco-worthy, but all they have is a script-reader answering emails. If the answer isn't in their script, they're helpless.

 

[RangerGress]

I figured it out. The problem is that the cooling fans are inadequate.

I rigged up a 12V 9cm fan and ducted it into the GTIL's cooling intakes. I checked the temp of the external sheetmetal and then the temp of the fan exhaust. I carefully check the temp the exact same way each time with an IR gun. I repeat each effort 3x.

When I turn on the 4cm fan, the temps drop from high 120's to high teen's and the power out put increases very significantly as the temps drop. In the last couple tests the power out increased from ~810W to ~1170W. The temp drop and power increase occurs over the course of 60secs.

3min later the temps have dropped another 10deg, shell temp 100F, exhaust temp 108F, and the power's up to 1260W. That's a 50% increase over 4min prior.

I've done the test multiple times now with no results that didn't fit nicely with the above. Ambient temp in the area around the GTIL was 82deg.

The Sun 2KW GTIL comes with 2x 4cm fans and it doesn't look like they're enough. I've ordered a couple more 4cm fans, for the cost of a decent beer, and I'll look at how those might be fastened elegantly to the outside of the enclosure. The 9cm fan that is helping the OEM fans is just a cheap computer fan. The 9cm fan, when off, does not impede airflow to the OEM 4cm fans.

Be nice if I could rig up a temp switch to the external fan(s). Hmm.

 

[DThames]

Here is a low cost solution. I am using these for a couple of things and they work well.

The instructions are next to nothing but I found some good instructions from a different seller. If you need them, let me know.

 

[RangerGress]

Here is a low cost solution. I am using these for a couple of things and they work well.

The instructions are next to nothing but I found some good instructions from a different seller. If you need them, let me know.

Good solution, thanks man.

 

[gingerboy]

Nice to know, I just setup my Sun 2KW GTIL, so far with 700W solar panels. Will see how it handle. Then I will add up to 2KW solar panel.