Solar iBoost died

[DPG]

Thanks Mike. Alas, the screw heads are about 5cm into the casing via moulded tubes. They are quite small and may be spline headed but v. diff. to see.

Buy a multi bit screwdriver set. Won't cost much for one that will cover most things. Just make sure it is a long reach set though!

 

[PeterB7385]

Buy a multi bit screwdriver set. Won't cost much for one that will cover most things. Just make sure it is a long reach set though!

Good idea. Thanks.

 

[JackPreacher]

It lives. Removed the 16A internal fuse and replaced with. Unit struck up and apart from having to reset the tine works perfectly.

Hi Ajax, mine is dead too...same as yours: failed internal fuse.
1. What rating did you replace yours with?
2. Did you re-solder the replacement back in?

thanks
JP

 

[Ajax123]

16A to match what was there. I bought a pack of 5 from amazon. They were too big so I soldered it to the top of the fuse holder as there was plenty of room. I think I paid about £5 for the fuses. Make sure they are fast blow as well otherwise if you use standard blow, if it goes again it'll fry the circuitry.

 

[JackPreacher]

Thanks. Would you mind posting the link to the Amazon fuses in this thread?...it may be too late for me [I think I have fried it now] but others reading will appreciate it. I'll try 'your' fuses as well....I tried a standard 13A fuse at 03:00 this morning after my Much Better Half reported the unit had died....the internal fuse was a right mess..yuk. It popped the fuse immediately. surprise surprise

 

[Ajax123]

I just looked at my amazon orders. Think I might have got them on ebay as it happens but there are several on amazon at a sensible price. Just search for 16A fast blow fuses. I went for the glass ones cos its easier to see if they've blown. I did hold it carefully over the existing fuse before soldering just to see if it powered up. It did. From memory I just left the old one in place. I have visions in a few years of having a whole ladder of fuses in there

 

[davesparks]

I just looked at my amazon orders. Think I might have got them on ebay as it happens but there are several on amazon at a sensible price. Just search for 16A fast blow fuses. I went for the glass ones cos its easier to see if they've blown. I did hold it carefully over the existing fuse before soldering just to see if it powered up. It did. From memory I just left the old one in place. I have visions in a few years of having a whole ladder of fuses in there

Don't use a glass fuse as a replacement for a ceramic fuse, they cannot handle the same level of fault current. It will have been designed with a ceramic fuse for a reason.

Holding a fuse in place over a blown one is an extremely silly thing to do, if the fault which caused the fuse to blow originally was still present you could have sustained serious injury,especially if you are using the wrong size/type of fuse.

 

[davesparks]

Thanks. Would you mind posting the link to the Amazon fuses in this thread?...it may be too late for me [I think I have fried it now] but others reading will appreciate it. I'll try 'your' fuses as well....I tried a standard 13A fuse at 03:00 this morning after my Much Better Half reported the unit had died....the internal fuse was a right mess..yuk. It popped the fuse immediately. surprise surprise

If you post a picture of the original fuse someone will probably be able to identify it and advise on where to get it.

Don't try replacing it with the wrong tyoe/size/rating as it may do more harm than good and leave you with much bigger repair bill.

 

[Ajax123]

I didn't. I replaced a glass fuse with a glass fuse rated identically admittedly it was a slightly larger glass fuse but it was rated the same. Admittedly ive done many silly things in my time. To be fair though on this occasion tested all the component's I could first with a multimeter having taken the unit off the wall. I used a phantom power supply to test the led circuit to see if it lit up when I put the fuse in. It did. It wasn't attached to the mains electricity supply. I did fully expect it to blow again when I reattached it to the mains but it didn't. Both it and I survived but I would not advocate anyone else doing it as my level of controlled silliness may not be matched by common sense in others. Thank you for your concern though

 

[JackPreacher]

I didn't. I replaced a glass fuse with a glass fuse rated identically admittedly it was a slightly larger glass fuse but it was rated the same. Admittedly ive done many silly things in my time. To be fair though on this occasion tested all the component's I could first with a multimeter having taken the unit off the wall. I used a phantom power supply to test the led circuit to see if it lit up when I put the fuse in. It did. It wasn't attached to the mains electricity supply. I did fully expect it to blow again when I reattached it to the mains but it didn't. Both it and I survived but I would not advocate anyone else doing it as my level of controlled silliness may not be matched by common sense in others. Thank you for your concern though

Wow…your original fuse was a glass one!

I didn’t see that coming
I’ve ordered a pack of fast blow 16A ceramics…. this will be interesting

 

[Deleted account]

I didn't. I replaced a glass fuse with a glass fuse rated identically admittedly it was a slightly larger glass fuse but it was rated the same. Admittedly ive done many silly things in my time. To be fair though on this occasion tested all the component's I could first with a multimeter having taken the unit off the wall. I used a phantom power supply to test the led circuit to see if it lit up when I put the fuse in. It did. It wasn't attached to the mains electricity supply. I did fully expect it to blow again when I reattached it to the mains but it didn't. Both it and I survived but I would not advocate anyone else doing it as my level of controlled silliness may not be matched by common sense in others. Thank you for your concern though

That’s good information. Any chance of pictures to show where the fuse is you have replaced.
im in process of getting solar iboost. It’s a need to know thing.

 

[Ajax123]

Wow…your original fuse was a glass one!

I didn’t see that coming
I’ve ordered a pack of fast blow 16A ceramics…. this will be interesting

It was. I take it yours is ceramic? My guess is they are interchangeable but???

 

[Ajax123]

That’s good information. Any chance of pictures to show where the fuse is you have replaced.
im in process of getting solar iboost. It’s a need to know thing.

Not from me I'm afraid. It's inside the unit... its one of those " open here to void the warranty" things. Mine was out of warranty anyway. If you open the unit the fuse is pretty obvious but it's not supposed to be "tampered" with so be aware.

 

[JackPreacher]

It was. I take it yours is ceramic? My guess is they are interchangeable but???

my original one was barely recognisable as anything.....it was a mangled mess

 

[Ajax123]

my original one was barely recognisable as anything.....it was a mangled mess

Maybe they changed the design to a glass fuse cos the ceramic was too strong? . Mine was clean just blown??

 

[JackPreacher]

mine was £200.00 secondhand and 2 years old. It worked very well for almost 10 days..then BANG.
Trying to repair it is probably a lost cause but hey...

A better route [in my opinion] is get as big a battery bank as possible so the DHW immersion can be turned on at anytime....hence I just ordered a 50+kWh brand new 48V Lead Acid battery pack....5 years guarantee...that'll be better than trying to get an iBoost or Eddi or Zappi to work on modulated solar.....it can all just bung straight into the battery. ..still, it seems a waste not to fix the iBoost.

 

[davesparks]

Maybe they changed the design to a glass fuse cos the ceramic was too strong? . Mine was clean just blown??

It's the other way around, a ceramic fuse will handle higher fault currents than a glass fuse.

Ceramic fuses are filled with sand to absorb the molten metal and quench the arc.

 

[Ajax123]

mine was £200.00 secondhand and 2 years old. It worked very well for almost 10 days..then BANG.
Trying to repair it is probably a lost cause but hey...

A better route [in my opinion] is get as big a battery bank as possible so the DHW immersion can be turned on at anytime....hence I just ordered a 50+kWh brand new 48V Lead Acid battery pack....5 years guarantee...that'll be better than trying to get an iBoost or Eddi or Zappi to work on modulated solar.....it can all just bung straight into the battery. ..still, it seems a waste not to fix the iBoost.

Indeed. I bought mine new about 7 years ago. Also have solar with battery but any unused goes to the grid. Hence putting the water unit in. Wish I could find a switching system so I could charge a second battery bank once the first is full....

 

[Deleted account]

mine was £200.00 secondhand and 2 years old. It worked very well for almost 10 days..then BANG.
Trying to repair it is probably a lost cause but hey...

A better route [in my opinion] is get as big a battery bank as possible so the DHW immersion can be turned on at anytime....hence I just ordered a 50+kWh brand new 48V Lead Acid battery pack....5 years guarantee...that'll be better than trying to get an iBoost or Eddi or Zappi to work on modulated solar.....it can all just bung straight into the battery. ..still, it seems a waste not to fix the iBoost.

£4500 for the battery £350 for solar iboost.

would it be viable?

 

[Ajax123]

£4500 for the battery £350 for solar iboost.

would it be viable?

£4500 for the battery?? Blimey I'll have 2. Mine was £8500...