Replacing a string inverter

[nowty]

Funny enough my mate has contacted me today as his FIT inverter has failed, and I'm off there after the Octopus Free Power hour today to attempt to fit an old one I had in storage as its the same brand.

[drjim]

Is the word "attempt" in any way appropriate for a man of your capabilities?

[nowty]

Is the word "attempt" in any way appropriate for a man of your capabilities?

Its a slightly larger one physically, so might not be a simple swap out.

[nowty]

Is the word "attempt" in any way appropriate for a man of your capabilities?

Its a slightly larger one physically, so might not be a simple swap out.

In the end it was a simple swap out as it turned out to be the same physical size.

Step 1 - Confirmed it was fecked.
It had Error 031 which for that model is a relay failure and takes a re-build to fix it. I offered my mate my old one for free as it has been sitting in my loft for about 10 years and I'm happy for it to have a new life. I had removed it when I upgraded to my SMA inverters and lost the screws for the back panel hence I was reluctant to sell it. I simply re-used his screws from the failed unit.


Step 2 - Disconnect Old Unit
Switched off AC to unit, Switched off DC to unit, Disconnected MC4 DC connectors and ensure you remember know which pair is which, Check AC is definitely no longer live (I actually forgot that bit but it should be done whenever you feck around with potentially live AC ) and Disconnect AC wires from inverter.


Step 3 - Swap unit and re-connect AC and the DC MC4 cables.


Step 4 - Commission
Turn on AC to unit, Turn on DC to unit, It did not start up automatically as his array voltages were too low so had to drop the start up voltage from the default 199v to 120V. Then it started up no problem even in very dull conditions.


Step 5 - He is taking me and SWMBO out for a meal in the near future as I would not accept any money. I did tell him, not strictly legal to fit an old G83 inverter anymore but difficult to prove its not the original one.

[Stinsy]

Is the word "attempt" in any way appropriate for a man of your capabilities?

Its a slightly larger one physically, so might not be a simple swap out.

In the end it was a simple swap out as it turned out to be the same physical size.

Step 1 - Confirmed it was fecked.
It had Error 031 which for that model is a relay failure and takes a re-build to fix it. I offered my mate my old one for free as it has been sitting in my loft for about 10 years and I'm happy for it to have a new life. I had removed it when I upgraded to my SMA inverters and lost the screws for the back panel hence I was reluctant to sell it. I simply re-used his screws from the failed unit.


Step 2 - Disconnect Old Unit
Switched off AC to unit, Switched off DC to unit, Disconnected MC4 DC connectors and ensure you remember know which pair is which, Check AC is definitely no longer live (I actually forgot that bit but it should be done whenever you feck around with potentially live AC ) and Disconnect AC wires from inverter.


Step 3 - Swap unit and re-connect AC and the DC MC4 cables.


Step 4 - Commission
Turn on AC to unit, Turn on DC to unit, It did not start up automatically as his array voltages were too low so had to drop the start up voltage from the default 199v to 120V. Then it started up no problem even in very dull conditions.


Step 5 - He is taking me and SWMBO out for a meal in the near future as I would not accept any money. I did tell him, not strictly legal to fit an old G83 inverter anymore but difficult to prove its not the original one.

You’re a useful guy to know!

I hate to think what a “solar installer” would charge for this kind of job. If they’d even quote for it…

[MoSTiE]

Nowty, that the cleanest loft i've ever seen.

[AE-NMidlands]

Nowty, that the cleanest loft i've ever seen.

Yes, what is the "flooring?" Loose laid (fresh) granules of something? Even when we clean our loft it gets sooty again - presumably from the *** WBS all around us. (It's not very airtight - but I hope it won't suffer from condensation or rot either!)

[nowty]

Nowty, that the cleanest loft i've ever seen.

Yes, what is the "flooring?" Loose laid (fresh) granules of something? Even when we clean our loft it gets sooty again - presumably from the *** WBS all around us. (It's not very airtight - but I hope it won't suffer from condensation or rot either!)

Its my friends loft, its a chipboard floor and it was very dry.