Grape Solar GS-400-KIT User manual

Grape Solar 400 Watt Off Grid Kit
(GS-400-KIT) Installation Guide
IMPORTANT: Please read the Panel User Guide, charge controller and inverter manuals
before connecting the kit components
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Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
©Copyright 2016, Grape Solar, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For additional information about this kit visit grapesolar.com/manuals.html, or email [email protected]
GS-400-KIT EXPANDABLE PHOTOVOLTAIC
POWER GENERATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Valid from June 2018
Basic Wiring Diagram

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Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
QuickStart Setup
Valid from June 2018
GS-400-KIT PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENER-
ATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Step 1: Check your order to make sure that all parts are included. For the 400 watt off-grid kit, this is four 100 watt
solar panels, four 10 amp inline fuses, a pair of MC4 parallel cable sets (4 inputs and 1 output on each), a pair of
15-foot MC4-to-MC4 cables, a red/black 6” MC4-to-bare cable pair, a 5-foot (10 AWG) red/black bare-wire-to-
ring-lug cable pair (charge-controller-to-battery), a 5-foot 4 awg red/black pair (battery to inverter), a Grape So-
lar PurePower 1800 inverter, and a GS-PWM-COMET-40 charge controller.
Step 2: For optimum output, place the panels so they are facing due south at approximately the same angle as
your latitude, in full sun. If you are connecting the system during daylight, cover the panel with cardboard,
cloth, or a similar option so that it does not output power. Place the panel so it is facing due south at approx-
imately the same angle as your latitude, in full sun.

www.grapesolar.com
Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
QuickStart Setup
Valid from June 2018
GS-400-KIT PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENER-
ATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Step 4: Use the 5-foot 10 awg red & black cable pair to connect your positive and negative battery terminals to
the “Battery Positive” (use red cable from the positive battery terminal) and “Battery Negative” (use black
cable from the negative battery terminal) inputs of the charge controller (the center set of terminals).
Step 3: Mount the controller if desired (note that it must be in a NEMA-4 rated enclosure if it is outdoors).
If your battery has sufficient charge (11.5 volts or more), the LCD screen on the controller should activate.
This means the controller has power (controllers are powered by the battery, not the panels). This does NOT
mean that the batteries are full—typically full batteries read around 13.6 volts.
Step 6: Connect the positive and negative outputs of the four panels to the inputs of the parallel cables, adding
the inline fuses on the positive leads. Note that the parallel cables have two shorter center leads for the cen-
ter two panels, and longer leads on the left and right for the panels on either side.

www.grapesolar.com
Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
QuickStart Setup
Valid from June 2018
GS-400-KIT PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENER-
ATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Step 7: Connect the MC4 outputs of the parallel cables to the 15-foot MC4 extension cables. Then connect the
MC4 outputs of the 15-foot cables to the 6” MC4-to-bare wire pair as shown below:
4-panel parallel cable connecon

www.grapesolar.com
Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
QuickStart Setup
Valid from June 2018
GS-400-KIT PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENER-
ATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Step 8: Connect the bare wire end of the red cable to the “PV Positive” input of the charge controller, and the
black cable end to the “PV Negative” input (the left-hand set of terminals).
MC4 to bare connecon

www.grapesolar.com
Tel. [phone] (toll free), 1-541-349-9000, Fax: [phone]
Valid from June 2018
GS-400-KIT PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENER-
ATION SYSTEM
CONFIGURATION MANUAL Rev. 180601
Step 9: Mount the inverter, if desired, as per the instructions in the inverter manual. Connect the red
(positive) and black (negative) 4 awg 5-foot cable from battery to inverter. NOTE: As per the
inverter manual, the outputs cannot be hardwired to an electrical panel.
Step 10: Uncover the panel — you should see the icon on the upper left of the controller display
change from a moon to a sun after this is done. As time passes, you should the battery charge
increase, until the controller is in “Float” mode (NOTE: time to reach Float will vary depending
on many factors including weather, location, time of year, and battery capacity). Once in Float
mode, the battery can be used to provide power. It is best practice to ensure that the battery bank
reaches Float at least once per week.
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MAKES NO WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY, SUFFICIENCY, OR SUITABILITY OF ANY TECHNICAL
OR OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED IN ITS MANUALS OR OTHER DOCUMENTATION;
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ER SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIDENTAL, WHICH MIGHT ARISE OUT OF THE
USE OF SUCH INFORMATION. THE USE OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION WILL BE ENTIRELY AT THE
USER’S RISK; AND
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STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO MAINTAIN THE ACCURACY OF THE TRANSLATION, THE ACCURA-
CY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED. APPROVED CONTENT IS CONTAINED WITH THE ENGLISH LAN-
GUAGE VERSION WHICH IS POSTED AT WWW.GRAPESOLAR.COM/MANUALS.HTML
Important: Installaons of this kind must be cered/approved as “code-compliant” to the naonal
and local building and electrical codes. Installers should have adequate knowledge of naonal and local
code to ensure the installaon passes inspecon by the local electric authority.
Important: Proper fuses or breakers should be used to comply with all local and naonal codes. Con-
tact Grape Solar for specic recommendaons.
Important: All baeries used for this system should be idencal. Do not mix baery types or sizes. Do
not mix old baeries with new baeries. Performance and charging anomalies can occur if types, sizes,
or age of baeries are not idencal.