omnik inverters

[f0ster]

has anyone had experience with omnik inverters, We have installed quite a few of them, they are supposed to be G83 but I have recently found out that even tho they have all of the certificates etc they are allowed to produce well over 16A, it is just that they keep failing, first one half will go off then the other half will go off, it usually takes at least a year or so in use for them to fail, they are easily fixed, it is a fairchild power transistor inside that fails. I have been repairing them myself because the support is so poor, it takes about two months for them to do anything. the latest ones that are coming through are g83 but most of the ones we fitted are not even tho the certificate says they are. I think they are failing because they are overheating due to being allowed to produce their max output. I had a 4kw system produce well over 4000 kwh in 12 months with one of these, then it died

 

[sgt_woulds]

What panels were you using?
To get 4000 kWh out of a 4kW system indicates a very good panel output such as Panasonic might achieve?

Most inverters can output more than 16A for short periods - this is a good thing, both for the life of the inverter and the customer. It's Just the DNO who might complain.

Customer support is just one of the reasons we don't fit these Omnik inverters...

Consistant early failure is more likely to be due to poor component choice / construction and I've seen heat issues killing more expensive inverters like ABB, Fronius, Mastervolt due to poor design.

About 12 years ago when working at SC we had to get SMA to change their installation manuals - they were being mounted on their backs and suffering from heat soaking - in extreme cases they caught fire...

Are you keeping to the installation guidelines?