Good evening,
One of my 3 chargers caught fire on 24 Jan 2020 about 14:45.
If my wife did not smell something burning the entire solar set up would have gone up in flames.
Question: Is there a component failure danger with these devices. It is clear that the fire originated from behind the display board.
I received no warning email or alarm. The input (PV) fuses as well as out put fuses to battery were still working. The white powder is from the fire extinguisher.
Hi
You are very lucky there you caught it in time, High voltage DC will do this once a arch starts. Just a note on fusing, fuses will not blow on a arcing fault, only a short circuit fault current, so it is important to have the correct size rating and type to activate quickly in a fault situation.
The only ones to do full investigation to why it happened will be Victron them selves.
To find a cause can be difficult to were it started as due to the fire damaged etc.
Note i have seen other inverters and UPS with similar burn ups with the fuses still in tack. There is now some requirements to have arc detection sensors fitted to give a warning and shut the power off in enclosed areas and switch boards etc.
Regards
Rob D
NZ
Hello krugerij , I am very sorry to read this has happened. It must have been a scary event. Would it be possible you write me a direct email (jboonstra@victronenergy.com) as i do have some further questions on this. Also i would like to discuss how to get the faulty unit back for investigation.
