October 22, 20196 yr I have an Axpert 3K [plus] using 2 x 105 AH batteries x 24v system with 4 solar panels. After load shedding last Friday, Eskom power came on and the batteries started re-charging, but the lower part of the inverter started to overheat and smoke. I by-passed the local load so that the inverter only had to handle the charging current [set at 30A], and the fan, going flat out, slowly bought the heat down. I put the local back on to the inverter and everything was OK. My question is, what happened here? Only 3 things can cause overheating - Over-current, no fan or charging at maximum for too long. The system is set to "SOL".
October 23, 20196 yr 20 hours ago, AlanL said: the lower part of the inverter started to overheat and smoke. That's not good and certainly not normal. Quote My question is, what happened here? Good question. I'm not familiar with the lower power models, but I assume they're like the 5 kVA models with some parts left out or scaled down. I think you need it looked at as soon as possible, or open it up yourself if you feel confident. If it's still under warranty, get it swapped. The fans should have kept the temperature under control, and if not adequate for whatever reason, the inverter-charger should have set a warning, then if the temperature increased further, it should have shut down with a fault code rather than let out any smoke. Edit: I've just remembered that unlike the 4 kVA and 5 kVA models, the 3 kVA and smaller models have a separate utility battery charger, whereas the larger models use the inverter in reverse. I thought that might pinpoint which part died (smoke is usually not recoverable), but can't decide from what you've told me. I suppose it's possible that it was an insect that crawled into the unit, got fried by some high voltage DC or AC, and maybe the inverter is fine after all. Edited October 23, 20196 yr by Coulomb
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