2 Year Old GS6K & Maintenance Advice?

[Richard]

Not bad for a 2+/- (don't remember exactly when it went in service) year old inverter...It's No. 11 of the Rev A inverters...

 

Now for the advice request...You can see that the insulation is rotting away...(what do you expect in the CA desert?...plastic and rubber and almost anything will rot out here...you ought to see what happens to a car's paint if you leave it exposed to the sun...)

Recommendation on repairing the rot? Split some heat shrink and melt it over?

Take your time...I'm probably not putting back together before the weekend ends...

[Sid Genetry Solar]

6 hours ago, Richard said:

Now for the advice request...You can see that the insulation is rotting away...(what do you expect in the CA desert?...plastic and rubber and almost anything will rot out here...you ought to see what happens to a car's paint if you leave it exposed to the sun...)

That looks like heat damage.

Try tightening the insulating bolt--you can see a bit of plastic melt from the bolt.  That joint has been making poor contact, and getting excessively hot under load--that's what's causing the "rotting away" of the insulation.  (If you have a hydraulic crimper, you could certainly try crimping the terminals a bit tighter.)

 

worth noting that the new "fully in-house" inverters have replaced those nuts with two serrated flange hex bolts, giving them considerably more surface area + better grip.  The transformer primary connections are "aluminum welded" together, ensuring no connection issues there.  So we've definitely learned.

[Richard]

I check the bolt and it (looks like there are 3 nuts) seems to be tight.

Before closing it up, I'll try your "crimp it tighter" suggestion. 

BTW, I'll be sure to test the 1st unit with the lid off...

Edited May 5 by Richard