@@benssolarandbattery That small thing that you took out in starting, it was a fuse. I know that because I have worked in power supplies that has same kind of fuse in it, it was shown to other repair person but they couldn't find the fault because it's a unusual shaped fuse. The second red thing is M.O.V (metal oxide varistor), Now here is what I know, I think happened there, when a high voltage surge came it make the M.O.V conductive and it short out the live and neutral phase, so that the fuse can blow up and save the whole circuit from blowing up. Now, you have to just replace, that fuse and M.O.V and bring that thing back to life. Please bring it back to life again, and do not let it end in a landfield. That video was great, I appreciate your work and time spent on it, to open it. Great man. 👍
Hey Davidpoz, thanks a lot for recommending this channel, But I didn't want to just see it opened up, I want to see it back in the life again and in working condition. 👍👍
I've always wanted to see inside the IQ series micros, thanks Ben! The red disc is a varistor. They protect against minor voltage spikes by clamping voltages outside a certain range to ground. If surge is to high or too long duration they blow up (and then trip the thermal fuse that should be next to it). I only know this because last year a tree took out my overhead power drop going to my house and knocked off the neutral. With L1 and L2 still connected it caused significant voltage spikes on my 120v circuits which fried a bunch on electronics, smart switches, control boards etc. Upon investigation, every varistor (little red disc) was melted. That was a sucky day 😂
Thanks for the work taking it apart. So much for Enphase's claim of "no electrolytics like string inverters". Bunch of them on the DC side. Early end of life failures are usually caused by electrolytics.
If varistor was blown, there is a small chance, that IGBT transistors of inverter bridge weren't failed. Probably, blown varistor and fuse (in plastic "film capacitor"-like case) - may be the only failed components. About surge protection. Carefully selected varistors by voltage / energy parameters (i suggest DIY devices), and good grounding plays the main role in such protection. Also, implementing of isolation transformers (1:1) between solar array common AC output "bus" and house wiring - can increase protection level.
Disclaimer. I am an electronics engineer and a trained proffessional (40 years of experience) so anyone who tries anything mentioned here will be doing so completely at their own risk. I just wanted to thank you for sharing this. It inspired me to look into the very similar IQ6 microinverters that took a grid hit and took out 16 units. I shaved off the top off of the area (with my table saw, ruined my shirt) just around where you lost small cube part that came off of the board. I was able to solder in a 3.15A 300V fuse mouser part 504-SS-5H-3.15A-APH ($0.57) and a similarly located MOV mouser part number 871-B72214P2171K102 ($0.38) Soldered the leads onto the leads on the board (I carefully trimmed them). Hooked it up and it started working normally. Next I will put potting compound on this one. The next ones I will cut a hole with a hole saw directly over the location of the parts to replace. They will all be protected and probably work and the cost will be less than $100 total (including 12 pack of 805 Beer). ***I will be installing a MidNite Solar Surge Protection Device (MNSPD-300-AC Amazon $111) Close to the incoming AC power feed at the main breaker panel that should prevent this from happening again and as a bonus protect my home electronics. On a side note the MOVs used are designed to take anywhere from 1 to 15 grid events depending on the severity. This means if you lost 1 to a grid event then the other ones have used up one of their "9 Lives" it would be a great idea to try and protect the ones that are still working.
That was a pretty good tear down - thanks. Would love to see the other side of that board, but I get the work to get to it. I can't see the value proposition of micro-inverters, its like getting 23 cars to do the job of one truck...
Hi Ben, that disk is an MOV and the dark cube looks like a capacitor that was probably over- voltaged or failed. other capacitors and maybe some of those relays appear to have allowed too much voltage to be across the MOV. An MOV always flow current, just more when voltage goes up, but nonliearly and are intended to filter out millisecond spikes on the ac lines, within the limits of "small" over current or limited energy . Great entertainment watching you tear it appart.
Another example of throw-away technology rather than something made to be repaired or recycled. A lot can be said for microinverters, but if its like cell phones and we just throw them away, I would prefer a central, repairable unit.
Technically, it is "serviceable", but the casing will be completely destroyed getting into it. That's the trade-off for rapid manufacturing, and simple IP## sealing.
I think it would be very difficult to achieve repairability of these as they are sealed to withstand rain, sun, snow, moisture for 25 years. Same with optimisers from Solaredge. Then again, there should occur no repairs for 25 years.
Thanks for your show . you helped me decide on the purchase . after watching this the ac side would need some type of surge protection or the solar units would not work. and power surges happen her all the time. Will stick to my solar unit the way it is with out the Enphase connection to my house current that would destroy it in less than a week. do not currently have Inverter connected to the house circuits direct . using 2 separate sources of electric power
@@elmerkilred159 No, it is an epoxy like material that consists of two liquids that when mixed end up as a flexible solid when it hardens. Silly Putty does not harden.
This was potted, not encasulated. Encapsulation is a rigid material that acts as the case and is the sole protective layer, potting is something that fills a mold and the mold is left on. High quality potting materials have a low durometer when cured like what we see here.
What was the nature of the condition that caused this damage? Curious why enphase won't warranty this. They claim to have a 25 year warranty (in the US), and this is a new model.
It was a grid surge that took out all of the micros in the system. They do recommend installing surge protection, but say that the micros should be able to withstand small surges. This system did not have a surge protector. Whether that would have saved it, we'll never know.
what kinds of surge protection would be best? the kind northern Arizona wind and solar have in all their kits, that might be from midnight solar that look like police blue lights?
Hello Ben. Its very obvious that this is just like a DC to AC (or AC to AC booster) inverter, with variable input. I dont know whether you took it appart to study the electronics, or just fun, but this can be easily repilicable with simple board modules available in market right?
I think there's a helluva lot more to it than that. I'd really like to see some detailed photos of the circuit board to see what's in there, and in particular what their "55nm ASIC" actually is, I'd have expected an R-series ARM to drive things rather than a complete ASIC... is it a creatively-described FPGA with a soft-core to control things?
In order for me the consider this now it would have to be covered on the ac side under the warranty or a protection circuit installed on that side that can be reset or replaced.
Wow thanks. I been wondering if there are circut boards in them. Gotta bunch of them for scrap. Not worth the time and effort to take em apart.. thanks for the great video..
that being said I still save $60 per month on my electric bill and this is only my first 12 v build. will add on till I have 48 v system then connect it directly to the house with a grid disconnect interface.
Maybe, that blown thing was fuse. I have repaired power supplies, they have similar fuses. And 2nd red colour popped thing is M.O.V (metal oxide varistor).
If it did get problems because of the surge from the connected AC, then why was this the only one that broke? Because they are all connected in parallel, so every inverter would get the same high voltage. So I say it just broke and should be replaced.
Excuse me but I see u’ve no idea mate! This burnt red dish is a varistor that must protect against high voltages. It’s highly probable your micro inverter has suffered a high voltaje punch, probable directly from an irregularity in the power net or, perhaps, by a discharge Inma storm… 😬🤯
Great channel! I’m curious, saw your encharge videos, can you set up one up connected directly to a main panel that the battery couldn’t run if all circuits were on? Assuming then in a power failure it would fault because it couldn’t manage the load then you could turn the proper circuits on off and leverage it? I’d like to avoid a sub panel.
Hey thanks Scott! I don't believe it would work like that. It needs to be hooked to the smart switch to be managed, but also because the encharges only put out 240v, the smart switch has an autotransformer that kicks in when the grid is down. Hate to say it, but you may be better off running a sub panel.
@@benssolarandbattery thank you! I’d have the smart switch either way. Just hoping to avoid going with 3 encharge 10s (we have a 5 ton AC and pool pump) or a sub panel. I was wanting to start with one Encharge 10 and then add on in future years.
@@scottswf238 you could add a load control panel such as a Lumin and run a smaller battery that way. I assume you'd want to use your air conditioner on battery, but pool pump might not be necessary.
Yeah the burned component seems to be a MOV (metal oxide varistor) that functions like a surge protector. Sometimes it malfunction and mess up the whole inverter.
Hey. Is it possible that the wiring connector was loose or not made right. Created spark and toeasted. My gut feeling say so. So, please make sure the connectors are made tight and snap sound is heard.
Thanks! Definitely not. The entire array (minus 1 panel) went out at the same time during the day, plus it was a customer who would most definitely not attempt that.
Wow I'm so surprised that they won't warrant it. I've replaced 2 or 3 in the last year or so. What was their justification? So sorry to hear that and thanks for sharing. This makes me think twice about installing Enphase equipment.
Apparently grid surges aren't covered under warranty. Surprised me too. It was a little suspect though, as 29 out of 30 in the system were dead at the same time.
@@benssolarandbattery was there anything that could have been done to prevent this? I was just about to pull the trigger on these or the new 8’s…… A little worried now…😳
@@maddeusdoggeus1 I would definitely recommend adding a surge protector to the system closest to your service entrance. It could have helped in this situation for sure. That being said, stuff happens. Whacky voltages can get through in the right conditions.
@@benssolarandbattery yeah looks like it there designed to absorb the surge and then blow the fuse I've done a lot of varistor bypasses in the hospital goes between neutral and hot causes hell with leakage current, looks like it melted down the fuse and holder
@@TurreTuntematon And yet multiple people in this thread mentioned multiple Enphase MI's being taken out in one event. And why is the communication/Envoy warranty so short? And their MI's have to be online 100% or no warranty.... Thats "advanced"? hahaha
@@TurreTuntematon Old Iphones dont burn up.. And iPhones have been available a lot longer then any Enphse MI.. And IQ's are limited on solar panel size. And theirs the Envoy short warranty you neglected to comment on. And IQ8 has challenges when coupled with other manufacturer batteries.. And how long have IQ8's been in the field? hahaha
@@benssolarandbattery Thanks for answering. I was thinking about buying a Enphase microinverter but after contacting with Enphase I will choose another mark. They told me it is necesary to use the three devices together (microinverter, QRelay and Envoy) otherwise it may not work. Very expensive for a basic intallation.
We use microinverters on most installs these days. We use IQ7+ for the 350-400w panels and IQ7A for anything bigger. My Solaredge was installed when Solaredge was reliable. They aren't reliable anymore unfortunately but mine is still kicking.
@@strykerace Lol. No electronic device is warranted if the current is not what it’s supposed to be. Hook your TV to a high voltage outlet and see what happens.
..they should somehow add a fan with air in/out air valve somewhat waterproofing it..that will significantly prolong it's life..also a surge protection replaceable fuse
@@benssolarandbattery ...it should be able to be lubed or replaced as well.. either as a blow out or intake fans where the air valve keeps it waterproof..or the internal part are thin layered with waterproofing with something like nail polish or similar..
They make a nice product, but if it fails there's no customer support. They will tell you that it failed due to the grid or you "misused it". They never gave me a response as to what is considered misuse. They will talk to you once every 3 days so plan on it taking a while.
I've only had them give me issues when it was clear that the system got hit by a surge and almost all of the inverters failed. Otherwise, they're great.
According to Enphase, it wasn't. I read the fine print on the warranty and they can deny it for anything that they think is a power surge. Trust me, I tried!
