Inverters in harsh salt laden atmosphere

Inverters
1

I’m arguing with an installer that installed a Luxpower SNA in a home on the Atlantic seaboard where salt spray can and does coat the house (a child can throw a stone into the sea from the house). The unit failed in six months due to salt build up.
I said at the time of the install that they should have put in a Luxpower LXP because it has a NEMA4X corrosion rating but they went ahead anyway.

Now that the SNA unit has failed I’m again suggesting an LXP because of the NEMA4X rating and it has no fans but the same installer wants to now go with Deye which has a IP65 rating (but no corrosion rating) which they tout as sufficient. Both Deye and LXP are IP65 but it’s not going to be fitted outdoors but back in the same garage as before which is as far from the sea as they can get (not very far).

A NEMA 4X enclosure is rated to provide additional protection against corrosion . That protection can take several forms, including materials that are naturally resistant to corrosion (such as stainless steel and aluminum) or an anti-corrosion coating.

What are coastal installers installing in “coastal next to the sea homes”?.

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2

I don’t know if this will help but this company was recommended by my heat pump supplier to protect these from corrosion: https://bluchem.co.za/
I have delivered it to them for this to be done.
Call them and see what they say…
ProForma Invoice CSIO1026.PDF (66.1 KB)

3

I’m not worried about the casing and structure corroding (well I am but it’s not the issue) but more about the circuit board and other components. Conformal coatings can take care of exposed electrical components if the unit is stripped and coated but one might run into a heat dispersal problem. A sealed inverter with no fans and a huge heat sink fits the bill for me. Just wondering what others have done in damp salt laden environments.

4

You mean like on boats? Victron is frequently installed on boats, if I’m not mistaken.

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5

The Deye should be fine with it’s IP65 rating. AFAIR, the boards also have conformal coating on them.

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6

From Luxpower to Deye to Victron … een ma-moerse jump in price.

EDIT: Then again … if you have had to replace an inverter already …

7

Exactly, nothing is more expensive than having to buy something twice when trying to save a buck.

8

Victron is not a great recommendation for these conditions - not sealed, fan cooling and no conformal coating.

I suspect the boats you refer to are canal boats, not really seafaring vessels.

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9

For starters do not mount the inverter outdoors. That should reduce the salt issue at least!
Sea water is the worst!

10

Richard, he said it is not mounted outdoors, just at back of the garage.

Garages can be draughty affairs

11

Agreed. The units are IP21. And when installed on boats, they are usually not installed on the ^%& deck of the boat :slight_smile:

12

But this inverter is to be installed in a garage, not mounted outside?

13

Perhaps it would be advisable to mount the inverter in an enclosure…

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14

If anyone has ever driven along Misty Cliffs when the haze from the surf pounding the rocks is present…well that’s what is being dealt with, nothing like on board a yacht. Lick your motorcycle headlight before and after you ride through and it’s properly salty. The SNA draws air through the casing and components using a fan as do almost all fan cooled inverters. The salt cakes onto warm components and absorbs humidity when components cool water drips with salt electrolyte appear all over the show.

I suspect what’s happened is that the installer has a Deye on the shelf from a customer that’s upgraded to a larger inverter and is using that to minimize loss as he specified the SNA which he has to now sort out.

This is not my house/Job. House prices go up beyond what I can afford as the get closer to the sea :wink:

15

That enclosure would need effective filters and active fans with regular filter service etc… I would go with the LXP.

16

Can I interest you in an airconditioned sealed enclosure??

17

Why? That’s completely unnecessary with the inverter he’s chosen.

18

LOL. These enclosures are intended for hostile industrial installations.
Electronics doesn’t do well with heat, condensation and dust… :frowning:

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19

Yeah, I wondered same. The extra costs?

If the equipment is rated for the area in which it must operate, like next to the ocean in humid conditions, the problem is solved.

But then, nothing can really last with hot humid ocean air.

Ag, I don’t know. it gets difficult pretty fast when nature has its run at you. Read, expensive.

20

For sure! But if we make an effort to improve the conditions that these gizmos have to work in extends their life.
The criticism I heard about heat pumps was that they didn’t last. I then bought a second hand heat pump and asked the agents whether this is true. Not so they said: It depends on how you look after these devices…