Magic Smoke came out......... ##it happens

Carbon monoxide is accumulative and takes an amazing amount of time to leave the body, so if you’re working on or around engines every day……..

Normally you have one carbon monoxide detector centrally located, but all my detectors were old and just replaced all them in the living space the monoxide/smoke detectors. Figured one is bound to work if it’s there. Combustible vapor detectors do have a limited life expectancy once you put it in service. Follow the manufacturer instructions for testing and replacement intervals. I had four of them in the boat I owned. Combustable vapors are heavier than air and settle to the lowest spaces so you place them as low as possible without them being in danger of contracting normal water levels.

I am running 2 of these, 1 per floor, and 4 of the second one in the rest of the rooms.

Skypower said:

Carbon monoxide is accumulative and takes an amazing amount of time to leave the body, so if you’re working on or around engines every day……..

Normally you have one carbon monoxide detector centrally located, but all my detectors were old and just replaced all them in the living space the monoxide/smoke detectors. Figured one is bound to work if it’s there. Combustible vapor detectors do have a limited life expectancy once you put it in service. Follow the manufacturer instructions for testing and replacement intervals. I had four of them in the boat I owned. Combustable vapors are heavier than air and settle to the lowest spaces so you place them as low as possible without them being in danger of contracting normal water levels.
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Yes…yes…yess…yess. It has a half life of 4-7 hours leaving the body in normal air ..with enough in ya over the correct timeline and % you will be dead unless you get to medical help. Even if you feel sorta ok…

It has a half life of 40-70 mins when under pure oxigen …think about that .. so even with oxigen you may lay there 30 - 45 ..min or more basically with no oxigen getting to the heart or brain..

The result is your most likely Gona be toast

Many that do live are simpletons the rest of their life because they damaged their brain and other organs…like some drowning victims suffer that somehow survive…

You can get so much in you that even if in the ER room they may not can save you as the hemoglobin cannot absorb any oxygen…( now the got ways to do things I can’t speak to ,but it could be a very aggressive all or nothing attempt to save you

It is cumulative to the point you get brain fog and confused and cannot exercise good judgement , as to what to do…or even how to save yourself…or you may just faint…

It can be strong enough to totally kill in about 5 mins…under the right conditions …

There is so much and it’s so simple to learn about this stuff , and yet America is more fixated on how to operate a new phone app , not things that can easily save you…

I’m guessing now….. but I would say less than 10% of the public could even have an simi intelligent discussion about the topic. Maybe 5% …
most people don’t even know enough to know they don’t know anything about it other than it’s bad for ya …

And there’s a lot I don’t know after researching it for years…

On the 14AWG wire rated at 105C:

The wire may be rated at 105C but I can guarantee you the terminals are not. The terminals will overheat and fail if not eventually catch fire. A lot of people on the forum miss that ultimately, the termination temperature rating determines the legal ampacity of the conductor.

And the good news is that the rating is seldom specified, so you default to 60C (safest) or 75C if a condition or two are met, but I doubt if any tier 3 equipment would satisfy the conditions. As a result, conductor sizes become larger.

robbob2112 said:

Now - IMO

Use the ferrules inside the box and get a replacement connection for that burned out one. Replace the melted/burned wires.
Don't run the wire all the way to the board - tempting - but unless your solar wire is 105c it could cause issues.

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THWN is rated with 105°C insulation.

robbob2112 said:

All the way to the board as a temporary thing is fine.

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Actually all the way might be best.

So, don't leave us hanging. What did the vendor say?

robbob2112 said:

So, don't leave us hanging. What did the vendor say?

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Haven't talked to them, I can't wait on hold for an hour.

robbob2112 said:

So, don't leave us hanging. What did the vendor say?

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Sent a message thru the Signature Solar support webpage Tuesday. This way I won't have to sit on hold. I have not heard any acknowledgement they have read the message and no response. This is a test of their support, in previous videos I related my experience with tech support and how bad it was so I guess I'll be making another documentary that possibly things have not improved there.

Why have a support webpage with messaging if you don't ever read the messages that come in? Or respond to them?

The joke just continues to play out every time someone needs support. Extremely poor management.

Yo, @SignatureSolarJess - you have work to do

robbob2112 said:

Yo, @SignatureSolarJess - you have work to do

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Thanks for the tag! How can I help? This email was sent to us May 8th at 10:27am and we responded, May 9th 10:11am.. Our email team aims to respond to each email within a maximum of 24 hours but for a faster response, you can call 9034412090 to speak with a technician. Our wait times are typically around a minute long. In the past they were much longer but we have increased staff and this has improved wait times exponentially

robbob2112 said:

Yo, @SignatureSolarJess - you have work to do

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You spoiled the fun.

I like to test their system and report on it. Next time, I'm not posting about it.

Zwy said:

You spoiled the fun.

I like to test their system and report on it. Next time, I'm not posting about it.

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That is me... Super spoil sport to the rescue. Spoiling sourpuss who rather be unhappy everywhere.

robbob2112 said:

That is me... Super spoil sport to the rescue. Spoiling sourpuss who rather be unhappy everywhere.

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A.K.A Funsucker LOL

robbob2112 said:

That is me... Super spoil sport to the rescue. Spoiling sourpuss who rather be unhappy everywhere.

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It is test with SS support. How long or bad can they screw up?

One of my most viewed videos was about the failure on their end regarding tech support.

I'm not going to sugarcoat things but I will give credit if it is due. Marcus took care of me when I first installed the charge controllers and there was a F01 code setting. Regular tech support was just horrible. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/e...mppt100-48hv-sets-code-f01.68669/#post-867926

I can't say enough good things about the charge controllers, they have worked flawlessly since the firmware update. These do exactly what the units were designed to do. It is the other half of the equation that was lacking.

I can't give an honest opinion if things don't play out for the average person that buys from there and needs support.

Zwy said:

It is test with SS support. How long or bad can they screw up?

One of my most viewed videos was about the failure on their end regarding tech support.

I'm not going to sugarcoat things but I will give credit if it is due. Marcus took care of me when I first installed the charge controllers and there was a F01 code setting. Regular tech support was just horrible. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/e...mppt100-48hv-sets-code-f01.68669/#post-867926

I can't say enough good things about the charge controllers, they have worked flawlessly since the firmware update. These do exactly what the units were designed to do. It is the other half of the equation that was lacking.

I can't give an honest opinion if things don't play out for the average person that buys from there and needs support.

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The average person doesn't do DIY, they hire it out. The above average person (or the cheap person) does DIY and is on here to learn about how to do things

So you are above average, congratulations, your prize is in the mail. If you don't receive it in 2 centuries write a letter to me care of ice station zebra at the north pole.

robbob2112 said:

The average person doesn't do DIY, they hire it out. The above average person (or the cheap person) does DIY and is on here to learn about how to do things

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They watch videos to learn from others. Some of the subscribers are from here but some are just searching and researching.

Honest experiences matter to me, I turn off promo type videos pretty fast. I do like to see others experience, honesty and different setups with different ideas.

Thanks a lot for this video.
After watching it I went and checked the terminals on my inverter and 2 of them were looser than they should be. Definitely they seem to loosen over time. Will have to keep an eye on that. Again thank you.

rhino said:

Victron specifically says not to use ferrules (except on screw down terminals). You may cause increased resistance. The terminals for both Victron equipment (besides the connections that are for lugs) and IMO are clamping style terminals

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I'm confused. It looks like all the connections in this video are screw down terminals, so didn't he do the right thing by using ferrules? If you use a screwdriver to set the wire, that's a screw down terminal, isn't it?

kolek said:

I'm confused. It looks like all the connections in this video are screw down terminals, so didn't he do the right thing by using ferrules? If you use a screwdriver to set the wire, that's a screw down terminal, isn't it?

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These appear to all be clamp type connections.

kolek said:

Thanks a lot for this video.
After watching it I went and checked the terminals on my inverter and 2 of them were looser than they should be. Definitely they seem to loosen over time. Will have to keep an eye on that. Again thank you.

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Cables move under surge loads sometime minute’ movement sometimes noticable. Why there are cable forming and tie downs on big equipment ….. 1600/24 cable moves on locomotives and must be restrained so it doesn’t chaff and short.



OP has a very nice system. Great job. If anything gets loose in a string - run then it can create domino effect… all up down wire with surging. Good job on looking and vigilant inspecting. Most ppl stop looking - inspecting at first repair.

If you’ve ever replaced big welding lead clamps they come with copper foil that wrap around wire before shoving it into clamp to be tightened. The welding leads while big in size have strands…loose strands have caused problems and with your higher voltages more problems are likely. We terminate all wires on locomotives …..burndy clamp type connecter and twist wire nuts were not allowed.
In Aviation we limited the-number of opens - connections for runs of wire. Some wire has to be full run never spliced for repairs in the middle. Every connection adds up and is potential failure point. Locomotives didn’t have potential fall from sky so runs were spliced and everything in between.




Are these your panels? 8x ~50vdc is ~400 working voltage at ~13.72 amps if string is all in series. You are working with dc voltage. You are using 10ga wire for pv over a very long run?. 4kw PV cycles up and down and can = does spike.

Might want to check that.




I used 3% for drop vs 5% because of way pv surges…. This scale is normal 5%. PV is not really constant voltage nor amps which makes it harder to size. They spike in cooler weather. Right?



The ppl that previous owned my home plugged their 120vac 30amp rv plug into a wall outlet with one of those adapters….they went to panel and replaced 15amp breaker with 30 amp breaker on 14ga wire. I had to replace the entire run of that wire heated in every spot. Every connection had been hot. That 14 ga wire carried it but wires were hottest at plug.

Any Heat loosens connection. I hate spring connecters like victron and others - EG4 6000xp are using now. High amps and high voltages make leads move anyway. Like water pressure makes garden hose jump….sometimes noticeable sometimes not. Water hammer is like surge.

Nice system OP.