So yesterday I called Missouri Wind and Solar (they are the folks I got my load divert / charge controller from) to validate my connection set-up. And it's a good thing I did as it turned out I had it wrong. The problem started with conflicting connection instructions that were provided by the company. I tried to follow one set but the referenced numbers were not in existence. So I used the other set and it lacked clear verbiage. So I enlisted a friend whom of which is smarter than I am with electrical stuff and he deduced how the system should be wired by running some tests on a key element, the load divert solenoid. Well... he deduced wrong. Nothing was damaged, but the batteries were getting no charge by the panels as the panels were essentially dead-headed.
Anyhow I got the correct way to wire the panels into the system from the manufacture so I raced home to implement the corrections. Being a "smart" person I first isolated power coming in from the panels so I could make the corrections. Once I was finished and gave the system a good eye-balling I closed the switch to allow the panels to charge the batteries when I heard three distinct loud "clicks"... yup, all three breakers for the panels tripped. Turns out I wired those in backwards. How the hell was I supposed to know how to wire them in!? There was no indication as to which side was hot in, or how current flowed on either the package or the breakers. My friend Rick is the one that pointed out I may have the breakers installed backwards. He was right, they are operational right now and have not tripped yet since I turned them around.
So I learned something else that wasn't obvious... but in the process I thought I had smoked the multi-meter I was loaned/using. I configured the multi-meter to read from the 10A leg so I could see how many Amps each panel was producing. But I forgot to move the probe back to the voltage leg and when I went to test voltage on the batteries **POOF** the smoke got out and the meter stopped working. When I went up to check on the Kill-a-Watt and circuit breakers this morning I noticed the meter was functional again. So apparently I am being given a second chance to melt that fucker!
So today when I get home I will be installing a nice grounding system for my inverter... which is now sitting next to me in my office! Yay! Then I will install the new inverter and if I have time, fix the other issue I have and that is with my Tri-Metric meter. I am just on the edge of the maximum permissible distance for the CAT5 cable I am using to connect my 24V array to the Tri-Metric system. So the solution is to double up the CAT5 which I can do as my friend Rick gave me a spool of the stuff. I hooked it last night but the readings are all funky and the only explanation I can find is that the wire is insufficient diameter to carry the signal correctly. Easy fix for the most part!
The grounding rod is an interesting pickle though... but I think I have a great solution. I have been looking about and it seems that 8ft is the standard depth for a grounding rod. But you can get away with two 4ft rods that are linked together. So I will be looking about the property for some good material to use for a grounding rod set-up. I am questioning the one that is currently in place as I didn't set it and I have no idea how deep it is let alone it's conductive qualities. From what I am reading I can pretty much use just about any conductive piece of steel or metal and I believe we have some re-bar that I can use. I will research the feasibility of using re-bar as a grounding rod before I move forward though.
I am also going to stop by West Marine and pick up some more wire for the new inverter since I will have to mount it differently than I had planned originally. The Trip-Lite 2400W 24V inverter I just got weighs 40lbs so it's nothing like that POS Chinese 3000W 24V inverter I started with. So today is going to be busy and with that I end this entry... soon I will have the main system up and running... and yes, I will post final photos of the system after it's cleaned and installation is completed.
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