Rosie in Barbados

[dapdan]

Good Day all,

A good many things have been reported about Rosie by a couple of the beta testers and I wish not to be repetitive. I finally got my Rosie in the last week of June, having bought it in late March, so I am a bit late to the party. I intend to spend some time on the other components associated with Rosie. I will start with the breaker box/panel.

I will start with a simplified list of Pros and Cons in my view and early experience:

Pros:

1. It is compact and absolutely compliments Rosie (friend of mine says it looks like it is out of the tranformers movie, I hope it doesn't take over the place)

2. It is a gorgeous shade of Black.

3. Absolute love the compact main breaker makes the industry standard 1" DC breaker looks ancient.

4. Break away side panels to aid in wiring.

5. Generous wire compartment (I didn't injury my hands or had to contort my body to install the wiring)

6. The fake plastic screw head in the side panel (It threw me at first as they fell off as I was attempting to unscrew them, excellent attention to detail)

7. Guided/slotted top half of breaker panel that does not require direct fastening to Rosie bottom panel (less screws to install in an awkward underside vertical installation orientation where the panel is fastened to substrate independently.

8. Rubber domed knock-out inserts, love these they are gorgeous, maybe a large one should have been inculded for those installers who can get all of their DC wiring through one hole.

Now for the Cons, it's not all Rosie...(I know, its old)

1. NO PV pos or neg mini bus bar to combine DC inputs (this is a bitter pill to shallow especially having loved all the e-panels that have these or have mounting holes to install yourself)

I spent a good half an hour trying to work out how to combine multiple string of PV array inputs in this breaker panel, I think this will slow down installation of the Rosie. I am also not so happy about the fix I implimented and am still trying to work out how I could install a mini isolated busbar in this thing so it could also function as a combiner, this is what I am use to and how all other e-panels work. Maybe it not suppose to function as an e-panel? I am not sure what Midnite intent is here.

2. Insufficient PV breaker slots. There are only 3 available, so this is possibly on main CC disconnect and two array disconnects. This is not enough I would want a minimum of five to be honest.

2. No DC panel mount breakers installation slots. This is also an installation short coming especially if you are maxing out a Classic CC. The 63A 1/2" wont suffice all the time. I would say you would need a minimum of two for installation of two Classic CC.

3. No mounting bracket for the Classic CC. I had to MacGuyver some brackets to get my Classic 150 up close and personal with the breaker panel and I am not fond of my solution as this will not work in every scenario.

4. Inaccessible bottom left (on the Rosie) grommet.

  While installing the MNGP2 the natural exit point of the RJ45 cable would have been the bottom left of the Rosie instead of the right through the 3/4" grommet. I only saw that there was a bottom left grommet when I was removing the left hand side panel on the breakbox and set about to relocate the RJ45 cable from the bottom right. I then discovered why I didnt see it as it is fully obscured from the inside by an insulating paper paneling installed over the on of the DC busbars (maybe there could have been a left side slot on this panel so as to allow cable access to this ideally located grommet.

5. Different size and metal (alum and steel I believe) panel cover screws>

   I think some of my screws have escaped and now I have a points that are not fastened (maybe MNS should include a few extra screw for the absent minded like myself)

What I discovered through the installation process is that these screws are not inter changeable on the Rosie and or the breaker panel front cover. I had to remove and re-install all of them when I realized that had them wrong as the Rosie required the shorter screw as the panel was not secured.

I think the screw should have all been the same size, length and material so this mistake is not made as they are so very close in characteristics.

I will add as necessary as I complete the installation process. I will attach some pictures as well.

Some additional questions:

1. Will the older classics every be able to communicate with the MNGP2, I was looking for somewhere to install the RJ45 canbus cable then realised the classic doesn't have a receiving point so there seems to be no integration of the classic performance in the setup.

2. Will the Rosie get an app or a website hosting facility like the classic so one could remotely interact or view the Rosie.

Regards...
Damani

Having some issues with picture sizes so i am trying to re-size them and upload later.

[dapdan]

Here are the pics

 

[ClassicCrazy]

I don't have a Rosie or it's design built breaker box. But I don't think the breaker box you are trying to wire up for PV inputs and Battery outputs from the Classic was designed for that. The Rosie manual shows only inputs from the battery to power the Rosie, and for AC outputs and AC input.
Am I getting something wrong ? Seems like you should have a separate box that has all the breakers and connections for the Classic ?
And a separate combiner box for more than two PV strings input to the Classic .

Larry

[dapdan]

CC,
I bought an e-panel of an Apollo solar inverter more than 10yrs ago and it had more din rail breaker points and panel mount breaker points than the breaker box for the Rosie and it also cost a whole lot less. My view is that design should not be regressing when it comes to these add ons.


 
     

[Vic]

Hi dapdan,

Regarding mounting the Classic to the Rosie E-panel,  you could use a 1" close nipple, or one that is a bit longer than, close,  with lock-rings, and insulating bushings.  This, plus one screw at the top of the Classic, into the wall,  you should be good,  IMO.

For your larger applications,  how about Mini-DC panels?:
https://www.midnitesolar.com/products.php?menuItem=products&productCat_ID=8

Later, Vic

[dapdan]

Vic,

That would work but you would still need an offset bracket as the hole location on both are not on the same horizontal plane. This would be necessary to support the top of the classic and resist an torquing as you work on the classic. So we are still at a custom bracket being required.

My application is not large and multiple landing points for dc in is still require especially when the classic is limited to 150v dc and typically panels will be high voltage nowadays(60cells and up). So for small applications where spacemaybe limited it is sub optimal to have to install two e-panels. The other empanels won't match the aesthetics either.

Damani

[Vic]

dan,

How about an Offset Nipple?:

I did mention using a screw at the top of the Classic, for added stability  ...

Perhaps, MidNite will offer an empty Rosie E-panel chassis for motif-compatibility.

Adding any more breaker spaces in this Rosie e-panel, would make it larger, and more expensive, the added spaces might well not be needed by too many others.

Robin, and crew (as you know) have been supplying E-panels for decades,  and would bet that they have a good finger on the pulse of what the average customer needs,  IMO. I am not trying to be snarky.  I, too, always want MORE, and more!

FWIW,  Good Luck, Vic

[dapdan]

Vic,
I am not sure what the offset is but I can tell you the one pictured will not be sufficient. The offset is around 2" I would say and that would mean that the controller would have to be farther away laterally so as to reduce the constriction when the nipple goose necks. The is will also make pull cable interesting as well.

I had a read through the included epanel manual and interestingly it references a batt bus bar that does not exist in the epanel shipped to me. THe instruction on pg 19 directs you to connect cc batt wire to Rosie batt busbar and there is no busbar installed in the epanel.

Further more the included diagram pictured is not accurate. There are two larger connector on either side of he Pv input connectors and they are labeled batt pos and neg. This is where I connected the controller as there are no landing point on the load end of the shunt or the main battery pos connection point, I would have much preferred what the diagram is showing as I would have been able to land multiple wires independently as opposed to releasing a connect every time.

Damani

[Vic]

Hi dapdan,

The photo of that offset,  IS 1" Trade Size,  the same as all of the cable passages in the Classic.

I was proposing that size and type of offset for the several inches of  its internal length length.  It is pretty easy to simply push cable through those offsets, depending on the cable size.

These CAN bus products are NEW, as you know.  There are bound to be errors, in the fine detail of the docs, etc.

All, just IMO,  Vic

[dapdan]

Vic

I had to go measure this thing. Center of hole from back of classic is 1", for the Rosie it is 4" so the offset would be 3" which is a lot. I am not even sure if I could fine something like that in country. I hand some 90deg bend 5mm aluminum and used it as an inelegant bracket.

Damani

[Vic]

Damani,

Yea,  think that that offset nipple does not have enough offset.

I wonder how MidNite handles mounting a Classic to the Rosie E-panel, for their prewired systems:

https://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=751&productCat_ID=62&sortOrder=1&act=p

FWIW, Vic

[ClassicCrazy]

CC,
I bought an e-panel of an Apollo solar inverter more than 10yrs ago and it had more din rail breaker points and panel mount breaker points than the breaker box for the Rosie and it also cost a whole lot less. My view is that design should not be regressing when it comes to these add ons.

Oh I didn't know it was an epanel - thought it was just something like the breaker box that I got for Hawkes Bay and just was for the inverter connections. I understand now that I see your photo of wiring diagram.
Larry

[dapdan]

Vic,

When I was confirming the beta unit with MNS I referenced this same picture and asked for a bracket and was told that it was just a mock-up and there were currently no such item available. I said that I could wait if the factory could also mock-up one for me and never got it. I paid for it in March and it sailed out of Miami in June hence I had time to spare. So I ended up using bent Alum to install the Classic adjacent to the Rosie   

[Vic]

Vic,
I am not sure what the offset is but I can tell you the one pictured will not be sufficient. The offset is around 2" I would say and that would mean that the controller would have to be farther away laterally so as to reduce the constriction when the nipple goose necks. The is will also make pull cable interesting as well.

I had a read through the included epanel manual and interestingly it references a batt bus bar that does not exist in the epanel shipped to me. THe instruction on pg 19 directs you to connect cc batt wire to Rosie batt busbar and there is no busbar installed in the epanel.

Further more the included diagram pictured is not accurate. There are two larger connector on either side of he Pv input connectors and they are labeled batt pos and neg. This is where I connected the controller as there are no landing point on the load end of the shunt or the main battery pos connection point, I would have much preferred what the diagram is showing as I would have been able to land multiple wires independently as opposed to releasing a connect every time.

Damani

Hi Damani,

I misread what you saying about the Offset Nipple, verses, the needed offset distance  ...  somehow, I felt that you were saying that the size of that pictured offset was 2 inches in size,  sorry for my error.

I also feel that I was in a bit of a foul mood, regarding all of my posts, of July 2,  as it has been HOT (for us), and we are short of PV power, so we can only Air Condition the power room,  not the residence,  and so on.

You are building a very capable,  beautiful system, with the latest and greatest Rosie inverter and E-panel, and wishing that things were a bit better than they are now.

I should have said, that you are providing very useful feedback to MidNite Solar,  and MN is paying attention to you early-adopters.  As you know,  this is how MN has evolved the E-panels, to stretch versions, ones setup for two panels, side-by-side,  etc.

SO, I apologize for sniping at your feedback,  sorrrry!

Take care, thank you for doing a very important job,   Cranky Vic

[dapdan]

Vic,

Its no problem at all. As I said other people had spoke to the Rosie so I thought I would take a different approach. I am a Midnitesolar fanboy for sure just happy to make any contribution. 

Damani