inverter goes to overload during day

prince_77
prince_77 Solar Expert Posts: 31 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
hello all
i have a small scale offgrid system, its build with
2X190W (40V 8A) system
Morningstar tristar 45 PWM +RTS sensor
2X12X2 (24V) trojan tmx24 batteries.

and meanwell TS-1000 interter - 1000W
http://www.meanwelldirect.co.uk/products/1000W-True-Sine-Wave-DC-AC-Power-Inverter/TS-1000-Series/default.htm

i set the system to work and charge, during day that i have peak power the the charger goes to rapid charge, the system goes to 32V input
Daily charge (absorption?): 29.6
Float 26.4
Equalization: 31.0


now, my inverter goes into overload because the amount of V is too high, when the V drops in 1 V to 31 it can work

can i do anything to prevent overload stopping the inverter ? do i need to configure the charger again ??

thanks
amir
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Comments

  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    According to the specifications in the link, the maximum input Voltage on the 24 Volt version of that inverter is 30. That's too low for normal charging circumstances of 24 Volt deep cycle batteries. Under certain conditions (cold temps), the Morningstar controller may adjust the charge Voltage above that limit (temperature compensation).

    In short, that is not a very good inverter.

    Also that controller has limited selections for Voltage settings so you can't really fine-tune it the way you would with an MPPT type.

    This situation has arisen on the forum before, and the second-best solution I think was to get a very heavy duty diode or two to put in series with the positive wire feeding the inverter and knock out half a Volt or so available to the inverter. Be sure it can handle the current level, which is not insubstantial (up to 100 Amps at surge rating).

    The best solution is to get a better inverter.
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  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,485 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    My guess is your inverter is too small. 1000 watt inverter can barely startup a refrig compressor.

    It may be a case where at the lower battery voltage the inverter output AC voltage just slumps resulting in loads drawing less current. When battery voltage is high enough the inverter can make full AC voltage which causes AC loads to draw a bit more current pushing the inverter over the edge.
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    My cousin has the same problem at his camp. When the battery temp drops, his TS-MPPT-60 drives the absorb voltage to over 16 volts, shutting down his inverter. He doesn't mind, but it drives his wife nuts not to be able to have lights on when the winter sun is pouring in the windows - - - - -
    She has to wait for the sun to go down, or vanish behind clouds and the battery voltage to drop some before the inverter will power back up. Hahahaha
    This is extremely common in colder climates during Winter unless you have an inverter that can handle the higher voltages involved.
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  • prince_77
    prince_77 Solar Expert Posts: 31 ✭
    #5
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    thank u all for the answer,
    so theres not much that i can do except using diods?
    if i add 2 more batteries to charge and the volatage will get lower ?

    thanks
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day
    prince_77 wrote: »
    thank u all for the answer,
    so theres not much that i can do except using diods?
    if i add 2 more batteries to charge and the volatage will get lower ?

    thanks

    All adding batteries would do is drag the charge rate down, not the Voltage set point. If you do this you may not get the larger battery bank charged at all because it would not have time to come up to full Voltage.

    I think you're stuck with either changing the inverter or adding the diode(s) so that the inverter doesn't get the full battery Voltage. It's a borderline situation where 0.5 to 1.0 Volt less at the inverter is going to make the difference of whether or not it faults out from over-voltage.
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  • prince_77
    prince_77 Solar Expert Posts: 31 ✭
    #7
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    All adding batteries would do is drag the charge rate down, not the Voltage set point. If you do this you may not get the larger battery bank charged at all because it would not have time to come up to full Voltage.

    I think you're stuck with either changing the inverter or adding the diode(s) so that the inverter doesn't get the full battery Voltage. It's a borderline situation where 0.5 to 1.0 Volt less at the inverter is going to make the difference of whether or not it faults out from over-voltage.

    thank u very much for the answer
    so i will use Diods to solve this issue, can u recommend me a online store to buy ?
    thanks
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,642 admin
    #8
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    Most people probably start with www.digikey.com

    Remember, you will need heat-sink(s) and some sort of enclosure (generally diodes/heat-sinks are electrically charged).

    Also, you may want to put a bypass switch across the diodes--This will reduce power losses when the battery voltage is in the normal range.

    Otherwise, looking for an inverter with wider input voltage range would probably be the long term solution (Magnum Inverters seem to usually have wider input voltage ranges, I saw the other day when looking at a few specs--but they are larger inverters and probably will not be cheap).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    Exeltech specs 24 V hi input = 33V most other cheaper ones are ~ 30v

    http://www.exeltech.com/xpspecs.htm
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
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  • silvertop
    silvertop Solar Expert Posts: 155 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: inverter goes to overload during day

    Another option would be to replace your controller;much more straight forward in my opinion. If you want to stay with the PWM older generation versions, there are others that are fully adjustable. An example is the Xantrex C-35/C60. In the past I have used these on a 12 V system where the inverter would warn of over voltage at 15 Volts. I just set bulk/absorb to 14.8. I keep my batteries VENTED outside but they are indoors to keep then warm, and omit the battery temp sensor. (I'm sure I'll catch some flak over this, but I have had good results ). A better option would be to go MPPT, to extract maximum harvest/battery charging. Just remember to turn off the inverter when you EQ, assuming you have flooded lead acid batteries. :cool:
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