Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

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New_Climber
New_Climber Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I was hoping you guys could help me...

I have a Power Bright pure sing wave inverter that keeps dieing on me (Power Bright APS600-24), The first one about 6 mons ago would go into overload as soon as the power switch was turned on the inverter. I sent it back for repair under warranty and they sent me a new inverter. The failure was "a lot of burned up components inside" as I was told from the Power Bright.

Now recently I have been having problems with my CFL flickering...I started to troubleshoot my system and found the inverter only putting out 80v on the AC side. I called Power Bright and they are willing to look at it under warranty (even though I was about 2 weeks outside my warranty time ) but did say this was the last time they will repair it under warranty.

Here is how my system is setup:

24V system

2-grape solar 195w panels (GS-S-195-Fab3)

into a Morning Star SunSaver MPPT CC

2-12v Trojan wet cell batteries

From the batteries to the Power Bright APS600-24.

I am using the inverter to power overhead lighting in my garage. I using a combination of CFL, Creed LED lights 60w equivalent, and standard 4ft shop light.

With the most recent inverter failure, all was working fine. I didn't do any changes to my system but to move my solar panels as I have them on a wheeled rack, and add water to my batteries. I noticed that my shop light was not turning on, so I replaced the ballast, but still didn't fix the problem. Plugged my lights into standard grid tie outlet (extension cord from the house), and everything worked. Decided to measure that the output of the inverter was and it was only reading 80vac.

My batteries read 28v when in my panels are in full sun light. When I talked with power bright, they said the operating range for the input to the inverter is 20v-30v and if I could reduce my input voltage it would help the inverter...

So my questions...

- do you see anything wrong with my setup. Maybe not the most efficient but I am just getting started.. but anything that would cause my to damage my invert

- how can I lower my battery voltage...as suggested by power bright. Could this be the cause??

Thank you for the help, I would like to get this resolved before I kill another inverter.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    Want to stop killing inverters? Buy a better inverter.

    No inverter should burn up just in normal use. The PV, charge controllers, batteries, and loads have no effect on operation of a good inverter.

    Low battery Voltage? Inverter shuts down before current reaches dangerous levels. High battery Voltage? Same thing; a good 24 Volt inverter will take up to array Vmp (35) on its input. Shorted output? Inverter faults and shuts down before frying. Your Powerbright inverter doesn't do these things because it's a piece of junk. Replacing it with another piece of junk simply delays 'til the next failure. Merely reducing the charging Voltage means your batteries won't get properly charged.
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    On doing some research on consumer reviews, including Consumer Reports, reliability isn't reported as a major problem, BUT, if I had the failures you're experiencing, I'd definitely look at a different brand. One thing I did notice when looking at these inverters is a number of the "Power Bright" inverters appear in photos, to be identical to several other brands I've seen over the years. Makes me wonder who is making these inverters and if the factory making them just prints different names on the inverters depending on who is buying them. They appear to be "automotive" inverters, most of which have a relatively narrow input voltage range which would cause them to shut down when used on solar systems that normally charge at higher voltages than automobiles.
    All that aside, there are a number of extremely reliable inverters out there and our forum host, N.A.W.S. does carry them.
    Wishing you good luck in the future.
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,003 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    I would hope it's some additionally stressed electrical component that might have been out of spec's since the first repair. I always have problems trusting electrical equipment after the smoke gets out, always have issues putting the smoke back in. If it becomes time to replace the inverter, you might check out NAWS prices on the ExelTech xp1100 in a 24v, at $600 it's a couple hundred under the next lowest price and they have excellent rep, even after warranty for customer service.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • citysnaps
    citysnaps Registered Users Posts: 8 ✭
    #5
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    And the ExelTech is US-made...
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  • New_Climber
    New_Climber Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭
    #6
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    Thank you for everyone reply. For the price, they didn't have that many bad reviews. I just wanted to make sure I was not doing something that was the cause. The first time, it gave me problems out of the box, but I was new and didn't now until it failed hard...

    This time, all was good and then it started to give problems...again, I am just learning and wanted to make sure I was not the cause, just as I purchased used batteries, being I knew I would not be kind to them as I learn.....

    Sounds like it is just the quality of the inverter...if and when this one dies, i will look at getting something more reliable.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,447 admin
    #7
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    Re: Keep killing my Power Bright inverter

    As mentioned before, many inverters do not like more than 14.5 to 15.0+ volts on the battery bank. About 14.4 is the common maximum charging voltage for an automotive battery system.

    Another thing to check for--Make sure you power connection from the battery to the inverter is short and made with heavy cable. Long cables can "ring" (electrically), and it is possible that could also damage the FETs inside the inverter.

    Lastly, good cooling. Electronics tend to age about 2x faster for every 10C (18F) over room temperature--Poor cooling (blocked air flow, hot closet, etc.) will shorten life too (as well as thermal cycling--cold/hot/cold cycling can be very difficult on electronics too.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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