Bruce, didn't see this until now.....
I would put the transformer back where the old ones were.... simple.
The inverter has some miles under it's belt now.
Driving it with a grid tie inverter/s has run over 4.5kw back into the batteries in tests, but more usually around 50-60 amps.
Using the grid ties this way keeps the temps down for some reason.
It will happily drive short term loads of over 5kw, and continuous of 3kw or more without the transformer getting over 75c.
Running overnight, the house uses only 4kwh/13hr night runs, but it is driving a 60" telly all the time as well as 700ltr freezer and twin door ice making fridge.... thats where most of the power is going.
Idle current is insignificant and adds way less than .25kwh per night to the losses.
I have gotten it down to less than 40ma idle current in testing, but the waveform suffers slightly.
I have tried to kill it by overloads, putting the output into the 240v input, and everywhere and everything in between... don't seem to be able to kill it so far.
The internal inverter charger is pretty inefficient, and the transformer gets up to 75c at only 50-55 amps.... seems to run cooler on the grid tie reverse charging system
For those interested, this unit can run backwards with synchronous switching so that putting a grid tie on the output will see the grid tie drive the house loads AND charge the batteries at the same time if solar permits, and the inverter picks up the slack when cloudy... handy when the hot water or oven is used in the daytime, and loads may exceed 5kw or more. The grid ties can drive this, while the inverter just provides the timing for the grid ties. ( I have up to 6kw of grid tie I can connect up to it).
The down side, is there is no control of the charge currents in this configuration, unless you have a dump load arrangement on the batteries like the windmills would use, or a simple comparator cutting off the grid ties one at a time etc.... will soon be developing a high power mppt controller for the panels not grid tied to it
The earth wire was a test that has not been replaced, as it seems to work fine... and I'm lazy. Interestingly, the 240v winding gets hotter than the 48v winding at high power.
I expect it will easily run and survive at over 100c ( boiling water temp), but have not ever seen it over 75c ( rear fan running as well ). I would have no problem driving it at 100c or a bit more even, but it is hard to get that sort of a load for extended periods, and still feel good about the batteries..... yes it will do over 16kw for short bursts... but gee when I see over 150 amps on the gauge, I feel for the batteries if I try that for an extended time.... rare to drive loads of more than 2kw for any extended period.... mostly it runs at <500w, but for the hot water heater and oven... then still only a few kw.... and the grid ties cop most or all of that in the day time.
........oztules
"The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle."
