Friend in Rondebosch had installed a 5.5kW Solartrix inverter, a Solare 3, 48 volt battery and 4 x 540 watt PV panels in March this year

All well and good until 17th June.  During a 2-hour blackout, the inverter did not shut down but stopped producing 230 VAC after 45 mins.  It did the same 4 days in a row

She has been unable to get hold of the installer so asked me to look

The total load shown on the inverter's output is 6% or 290 watts.  There are only lights, TV, computer, router and a garage door motor connected.  So its no way overloaded

With AC on, the battery measures 54.1V.  Turn the AC off and disconnect the PV panels, it drops to 53.6V.  I waited 35 mins and the house lights went out and it showed 0V on the output.  Just prior to that, the battery measured 53.6V.  With the inverter not producing power, the battery went back to 53.9V

I fitted a SHOTO 5100kWH battery instead.   The behaviour was just the same.  After 40 mins, the inverter stopped generating 230VAC

Any useful suggestions please so I can assist this lady?

Edited June 27, 20233 yr by chrisc
Typo

27 minutes ago, chrisc said:

Friend in Rondebosch had installed a 5.5kW Solartrix inverter, a Solare 3, 48 volt battery and 4 x 540 watt PV panels in March this year

All well and good until 17th June.  During a 2-hour blackout, the inverter did not shut down but stopped producing 230 VAC after 45 mins.  It did the same 4 days in a row

She has been unable to get hold of the installer so asked me to look

The total load shown on the inverter's output is 6% or 290 watts.  There are only lights, TV, computer, router and a garage door motor connected.  So its no way overloaded

With AC on, the battery measures 54.1V.  Turn the AC off and disconnect the PV panels, it drops to 53.6V.  I waited 35 mins and the house lights went out and it showed 0V on the output.  Just prior to that, the battery measured 53.6V.  With the inverter not producing power, the battery went back to 53.9V

The supplier appears to be Esquire.  Spoke to Shana.  He blamed the battery, said it was shutting down prematurely

I fitted a SHOTO 5100kWH battery instead.   The behaviour was just the same.  After 40 mins, the inverter stopped generating 230VAC

Any useful suggestions please so I can assist this lady?

As you don't want to open the unit my call would be heat inside and a component failing. It would be good to see what @Coulomb

and @GreenFields and @BritishRacingGreen

think. 

Edited June 25, 20233 yr by Scorp007

1 hour ago, chrisc said:

Friend in Rondebosch had installed a 5.5kW Solartrix inverter, a Solare 3, 48 volt battery and 4 x 540 watt PV panels in March this year

All well and good until 17th June.  During a 2-hour blackout, the inverter did not shut down but stopped producing 230 VAC after 45 mins.  It did the same 4 days in a row

She has been unable to get hold of the installer so asked me to look

The total load shown on the inverter's output is 6% or 290 watts.  There are only lights, TV, computer, router and a garage door motor connected.  So its no way overloaded

With AC on, the battery measures 54.1V.  Turn the AC off and disconnect the PV panels, it drops to 53.6V.  I waited 35 mins and the house lights went out and it showed 0V on the output.  Just prior to that, the battery measured 53.6V.  With the inverter not producing power, the battery went back to 53.9V

The supplier appears to be Esquire.  Spoke to Shana.  He blamed the battery, said it was shutting down prematurely

I fitted a SHOTO 5100kWH battery instead.   The behaviour was just the same.  After 40 mins, the inverter stopped generating 230VAC

Any useful suggestions please so I can assist this lady?

Does the machine offer any warning or error code when it switches off the ac output? 

What are all your battery related settings on the machine, eg low battery cutout value (option 29) etc?  Is there BMS comms or is option 5 on USE setting? 

 

Edited June 25, 20233 yr by BritishRacingGreen

* Does the battery voltage reported by the inverter (press up or down buttons until you see battery voltage shown) go down steadily?

* Or perhaps drops off suddenly just before it stops producing output?

* Is it possible to measure the battery voltage with a multimeter; if so, how does it compare to what the inverter shows?

* Certainly, and error or warning codes, and even a photo of the display after the inverter drops output, would be very helpful. It may be necessary to press a button briefly to make the display come on. Also a photo of the battery showing any lights when the output drops off.

I think the heat option is the most likely.  I studied the display (which had been programmed to stay on and display load and battery voltage)

No error message.  

Wirh the house lights on:  53.6V
Lights went out:  53.9V
Load was 405 watts

I was standing next to the inverter when it went off and could smell something from the top right vent.   Not the usual burnt roast smell but hot air.  The fans were on but not high speed

The inverter is in my car and will be dropped off at the shop 

In the meantime, Ioaned the lady a 5kW Axpert, which thankfully works 100%

Edit:  I checked the voltages with a meter.  Within 0.1 volt

It did the same with one of my SHOTO batteries

Edited June 25, 20233 yr by chrisc

Does the inverter ever indicate a bulk charging voltage of around 57V? What is the State of Charge as read by the inverter via a BMS or is it by Voltage? Don't personally know these products, but am trying to understand if it always just goes straight to float Voltage, basically if the battery is being charged fully. Compare the Axpert to the Solarix.

Not having installed the system, I do not know.  I looked at the inverter as it was installed and not working properly.  It may have been the battery 

But I tried it with my own SHOTO battery and it behaved the same 

Suffice to say the supplier said the inverter has experienced a flashover and this is not guaranteed, so it is a write-off.

The customer is a bit taken aback as she is a librarian and does not fiddle with technical devices.  Her  limit is perhaps changing a light-bulb

Edited June 26, 20233 yr by chrisc

5 hours ago, chrisc said:

the supplier said the inverter has experienced a flashover and this is not guaranteed, so it is a write-off.

That sounds like "not fit for purpose" to me, but what do I know?

Yes, I thought this was an excuse.  The dealer washed his hands of the problem.  I told the lady to notify her insurance co, as the houseowners insurance will cover it

I think it's pretty poor form to brush off a malfunction for a product that is specifically designed for this purpose 

Her insurer will pay R9000 for a new inverter.  She is getting a Growatt

This the Solarix Esener 5.5?

No, it was light blue and there was no wi-fi device