UPS dropped off several boxes, and now I can begin to rebuild my entire off grid system centered around Rosie.
To get some baseline dimensions, I opened the backplate to get some sort of idea how big Rosie and the epanel will be.
So first up was the backplate. I was hoping there would be at least a single sheet of instructions on the backplate, yeah, yeah, I know it's only a piece of metal. However, there was NO mounting screws for Rosie or for the epanel included. (Website states there is hardware) That's no big deal, hardware store less than a mile from me. IT would be great if I knew what size, thread pitch, and length of hardware I should use.
And while I know this sounds trivial, there's no way to tell which end is up. I had to open the epanel box, pull it out, and find out what holes aline on the backplate to the epanel.
I was impressed on how well the epanel was packed and shipped. That's three thumb ups! Most consumers don't take into account the cost of packing a product.
That's all so far. I'm hitting up the local industrial electrical supply house for pieces parts, and in the meantime, I'm going to need to hire someone to remove the old Trace SW5548 from the wall downstairs and move it to the garage next to Rosie.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Congrats on receiving your Beta Rosie.
Please ask MN for proper screws for the backplate, front covers, etc.
These serews are very often specialized forms of Self-tapping screws, and some of them even have a bit of lubricant applied to the threads. [it is not the proper term, but to me they might be called Crowded Thread screws].
I doubt that neither McMaster Carr, nor Fastenal would have them in stock.
IMO, have fun, do get help with the 5548! Vic
Quote from: Vic on March 02, 2023, 01:01:16 PMHi Mike,
Congrats on receiving your Beta Rosie.
Please ask MN for proper screws for the backplate, front covers, etc.
These serews are very often specialized forms of Self-tapping screws, and some of them even have a bit of lubricant applied to the threads. [it is not the proper term, but to me they might be called Crowded Thread screws].
I doubt that neither McMaster Carr, nor Fastenal would have them in stock.
IMO, have fun, do get help with the 5548! Vic
Hi, vic,
Will contact support later on next week. I was hoping BoB might jump in with specs for the hardware. I triple checked the backing plate shipping box, and found no hardware.
Yup! I'm goin' need some help getting the old Trace off of the wall. When I was in younger man's clothing, I picked the beastly thing up and mounted it to the wall by myself.
I put the inverter downstairs 'cause it was closer to the electrical panel. Now the Rosie will go up inside the garage and cable run back and forth from the EP and Rosie. It's nice to have the bypass on Rosie, as it is now, I have to go down stairs and flip breakers to go from one grid to off grid.
Looking for a double pole double throw service switch to select either Rosie or Trace inverters. They're about $200. Next issue is the Trace is single pole, vers Rosie with split phase. Yeah, I know I can select single pole from Rosie, but I'm going to stick with split phase.
That means I can (at last) use the T240 transformer I have had sitting around for 20 years.
Like I said, this is going to be a total redo of the system.
mike
The authorities have been notified of this screwy issue !
ETA to come.
Those old Trace inverters were beasts! When copper was king.
The Barcelona Back Plate has an ARROW and the word UP or TOP stamped into the metal at the TOP. I would think the Rosie Back Plate had the same... maybe not.
Quote from: Wizbandit on March 05, 2023, 06:24:56 AMThe Barcelona Back Plate has an ARROW and the word UP or TOP stamped into the metal at the TOP. I would think the Rosie Back Plate had the same... maybe not.
Nope! Nary a word, arrow, or hunk of masking tape
mike
Okay boys and girls. I've said it before and I'll say it now. When I screw up, it's usually magnificent!
When I first opened the backer panel for the Rosie and epanel, I mentioned there wasn't any way to tell what end was up. I called tech support last week for the missing mounting hardware, and asked Todd how do you tell what end is up? Todd said it was laser etched into the metal.
Don't you know! If you don't know it's there, it's almost impossible to see it. But once you do, it's like seeing the Virgin Mary's face in a piece of toast. If you put some light on the panel from the side, you can see it clearly.IMG_0422.jpgIMG_0417.jpg
I feel like a goof!
Mike
Progress is slowly being made. I have the epanel and Rosie installed. I can say, having the pre-wired epanel will certainly save a lot of time.
I was put back a bit when I opened the Rosie shipping. While no damage to the box either external or internal, the front cover is gouged something awful. This is only one example. There are several other gouges on the front plate. They're quite deep!
It's not earth shattering, and I'l try a Sharpie to blend in the marks.
IMG_0434.jpg
Quote from: qrper on March 21, 2023, 03:47:01 PMProgress is slowly being made. I have the epanel and Rosie installed. I can say, having the pre-wired epanel will certainly save a lot of time.
I was put back a bit when I opened the Rosie shipping. While no damage to the box either external or internal, the front cover is gouged something awful. This is only one example. There are several other gouges on the front plate. They're quite deep!
It's not earth shattering, and I'l try a Sharpie to blend in the marks.
IMG_0434.jpg
This looks like the side plate ! Please take a picture of the other dings, QRP.
We can either send you clean plates or something else can be done about this I am sure.
We are still honing our production skills on the shipping and packaging but this should never have gone out to you !
boB
Please email me ryan@midnitesolar.com I will get you a new front cover asap, Sorry about that
WILL Do... I'm starting to think I should rename this Rosie as a 'Karen'!
Mike.
Between running errands and getting the taxes done (which always puts me in a good mood!) I did some wiring inside the Rosie.
I found that the plastic bushing that are used to protect the AC in/out wires won't lock into the chassis. I played tug of wire trying to adjust those #6 gauge wires so the bushings wouldn't slip (get pushed) out of place. I'm thinking of a glob or two of some black RTV to hold them in place. From what I could tell, the bushings are a tad too thin to let the snaps get past the aluminum covers. They won't 'lock in' like they should.
Also.... and I looked everywhere, I didn't see the BTS. If that is an option, I'll get one ordered in.
The new/replacement MNGP2 arrived the other day. No Scotch tape! I'm impressed!
I almost had another heart attack when I stopped by the big box store for wire.
Holy snapping copper mines, Batman, when did the price of wire get so out of hand? $127 for 500' of #14 stranded wire.
Making progress!
Mike, wb8vge
I've been busy!
Rosie is up and running. Some issues I've found:
With firmware 23.3.21
Running high loads, such as a microwave, toaster, and lights and so on, about 2500 watts plus, when the microwave stops, the lights go brighter for a second or so. Seems like Rosie lost voltage regulation for a few seconds.
If I turn on the AC in so Rosie is charging the batteries, and after five minutes or so, when I turn the AC in breaker off, Rosie will shut down for a couple of seconds before powering back up.
With the newest firmware, April 16 release, I haven't seen the surge when the high loads dropped off.
Kilowatt in and kilowatt out displays are wrong. The kWh out, while grossly inaccurate, won't roll over. When the display shows .9kWh, you would think it would roll over to 1.0 kWh. Nope, resets to zero and starts over.
I had a terrible time figuring out where those taps go for adding SPDs. After I called tech support, and found out what they are actually called— They're pick offs. They need to be installed BEFORE you land the wiring into the terminal blocks. Instruction need to specify this.
SPDs need to be added to the epanel before it is married to Rosie. The top most left side SPD is impossible to add after the epanel and Rosie are attached.
This friday will be a week since Rosie went on line. So far so good. And with each bug smashed, things are only going to get better.
mike
Thank you very much Mike !
Every little bit of information helps.
We knew about the kWh problem. Might be as simple as the MNGP2 not displaying all of the digits.
boB
Quote from: boB on April 19, 2023, 12:18:53 PMThank you very much Mike !
Every little bit of information helps.
We knew about the kWh problem. Might be as simple as the MNGP2 not displaying all of the digits.
boB
I talked to Jim the other day in tech support, and he said it was a problem with how kWh's were being calculated. I didn't know at the time we talked that the counter would reset at 10.
mike
As I said, a work in progress. All the extra space to the right of Rosie will be for the old Trace SW5548 and its switch gear. I haven't figure out how I'm going to go from split phase from Rosie to the single phase of the old Trace. The Trace is going to be backup. I do have an equally old T240 transformer I could add to get split phase, but I'll loose capacity since the transformer is only rated at 3.3kW.
Mike
IMG_0480.jpg
Mike, do you have the Trace on the same wall as the Rosie etc ?
Would love to see a picture of both in the same pic if they are in the same area.
boB
Bob,
That's EXACTLY what I'm planning on doing. That's why there is a large amount of space to the right of Rosie.
Right now, I'm poking around all my buddies and friends to find someone with enough grunt to lift the Trace off the wall, carry it upstairs to the new location and finally bolt it down to the wall.
Mike
Quote from: qrper on April 19, 2023, 01:11:22 PMAs I said, a work in progress. All the extra space to the right of Rosie will be for the old Trace SW5548 and its switch gear. I haven't figure out how I'm going to go from split phase from Rosie to the single phase of the old Trace. The Trace is going to be backup. I do have an equally old T240 transformer I could add to get split phase, but I'll loose capacity since the transformer is only rated at 3.3kW.
Mike
IMG_0480.jpg
Mike, The T240 only has to make on leg so that 3.3kw is on that leg, the other leg can also be loaded to whatever you want so its not really a loss in capacity if the legs are loaded about equal
Okay, thanks! It's been so long since I dabbled with the T240 I've forgotten more about it than I remember. My plan is to use a large transfer switch to select either the Rosie or the Trace. The only issues I can think of is tapping into my large battery bank.
Thinking of perhaps putting one of the rack server lithium batteries since the Trace will be backup to Rosie. A set of golf cart batteries @ $180 will give me 100 amp hours of useable capacity out of 220Ah of battery. For that money, I can a 100Ah server battery for about a few bucks more.
Mike
It took a while, but humidity levels are going up. I run a dehumidifier in the radio room, and it draws about 800 W. Add on the rest of the house and Rosie sees a constant 1kWh (give or take) load almost daily.
I say that, 'cause a friend up the road has two Outback Radian (8k) inverter that sound like they're trying to take off. The fans are thunderous! His loads are not much greater than mine.
And Rosie? She just'a smiling, no fans at all, sitting there with a kW load all day long.
When my wife is cooking (frozen dinners in the microwave) and Rosie is producing 3kW, after a few minutes the fans come on low speed. Microwave goes off, fans soon shut down.
Mike
Quote from: qrper on June 21, 2023, 10:31:56 AM.... I run a dehumidifier in the radio room, and it draws about 800 W. Add on the rest of the house and Rosie sees a constant 1kWh (give or take) load almost daily.
...
...sitting there with a kW load all day long.
Mike
So, about 1 kW per day, not 1kW-Hour.
Sometimes I have to do a double take.
Glad to hear about the fans !
boB
Quote from: boB on June 21, 2023, 12:48:57 PMQuote from: qrper on June 21, 2023, 10:31:56 AM.... I run a dehumidifier in the radio room, and it draws about 800 W. Add on the rest of the house and Rosie sees a constant 1kWh (give or take) load almost daily.
...
...sitting there with a kW load all day long.
Mike
So, about 1 kW per day, not 1kW-Hour.
Sometimes I have to do a double take.
Glad to hear about the fans !
boB
This getting old suck...
Rosie is doing about 16 kWhs per day. I just checked, and the current draw is 980 watts. Been doing that for hours now.
Mike
I've noticed this for the past several days. I have a whizbang on the classic, and there is one in Rosie.
When i have the Rosie whizbang set for battery, I get this:
IMG_0580.jpg
What is the "CAL" for? Calibration?
Rosie configuration/external sensors/
Whizbang set for battery.
Mike
On the note of the whiz, my Rosie e-panel came with one and I elected to wire it to the Rosie instead of the Classic. Does it matter which you connect it to. Altho it is showing net amp in and out it is not calculating the SOC.
I am loving that splash of red in the e-panel. I am wondering why mine dont have it >: (
Quote from: qrper on July 06, 2023, 03:06:07 PMI've noticed this for the past several days. I have a whizbang on the classic, and there is one in Rosie.
When i have the Rosie whizbang set for battery, I get this:
IMG_0580.jpg
What is the "CAL" for? Calibration?
Rosie configuration/external sensors/
Whizbang set for battery.
Mike
My Hawkes Bay MNGP shows the SOC % number where yours is showing the CAL.
So maybe only the controllers can do the SOC % calculation and CAL is calling for the soc calculation that it doesn't have ?
Or maybe just firmware glitch ?
Larry
The CAL should come up while the Rosie has just been turned on and before it goes to Float from Absorb.
As soon as it goes to Float, that should CAL it to 100% SOC....
The first charger in the system to go to Float should tell the other chargers to go to Float.
boB
Quote from: boB on July 06, 2023, 05:49:48 PMThe CAL should come up while the Rosie has just been turned on and before it goes to Float from Absorb.
As soon as it goes to Float, that should CAL it to 100% SOC....
The first charger in the system to go to Float should tell the other chargers to go to Float.
boB
boB, I'm still a bit in the dark. Since I'm not using the Rosie for charging, the classic and solar are charging the batteries, and not the Rosie.
And the classic has a whizbang in it's negative lead, there is no communications from it (the classic) to the Rosie.
does that make sense?
Mike
So NO wbjr connected to the Rosie at all? In this case with a Rosie and a Classic you probably want the Classic doing SOC as boB mentioned the device has to go to float on occasion to trigger a calibration so if Rosies charger is not in use then you will always see CAL unless the classic is pushing battery voltage higher than the Rosies voltage for longer than Rosies absorb time. So for example:
Classic Absorb is 58.0 set Rosie to 57.5
Classic Absorb time is 2:00 set Rosie to 1:30
This way Rosie will still transition to float internally
Quote from: FNG on July 07, 2023, 07:54:51 AMSo NO wbjr connected to the Rosie at all? In this case with a Rosie and a Classic you probably want the Classic doing SOC as boB mentioned the device has to go to float on occasion to trigger a calibration so if Rosies charger is not in use then you will always see CAL unless the classic is pushing battery voltage higher than the Rosies voltage for longer than Rosies absorb time. So for example:
Classic Absorb is 58.0 set Rosie to 57.5
Classic Absorb time is 2:00 set Rosie to 1:30
This way Rosie will still transition to float internally
The wbjr is connected and functional in the Rosie.
I'll diddle with the setting of the Rosie. Right now, settings mirror the Classic as far as battery charging goes.
mike
Quote from: qrper on July 07, 2023, 10:31:28 AMClassic Absorb is 58.0 set Rosie to 57.5
Classic Absorb time is 2:00 set Rosie to 1:30
This way Rosie will still transition to float internally
Checked the settings and they were set at the following:
Classic absorb 59.9V Roise 58.7
Classic absorb time 3:40 Rosie 3:00 (both in hrs)
Classic float 54.5 Rosie 53.6
We're getting plenty of sun, and I've been in float every say since end of February.
Rosie still in 'cal'
mike