Broken SW4024, worth saving, or replace?

[daveola]

Ugh, everything is falling apart at once.

My battery bank finally gave up the ghost after 4 years of full-timing, so there goes many thousands.  And our Ford RV just broke down on the way to it's new storage.  Ugh.

And just a few months ago, one of my SW4024 inverters (out of two) started to let out some of the magic smoke (and stopped working, of course).

The SW4024 was already pretty beat up - the front display was broken and the case isn't pretty, but it worked for many years.

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth repairing - I'll be calling some repair centers tomorrow to get prices, but I'm wondering if it's time to get some new technology.

Here's what I've figured out so far on the prospect of keeping/repairing it:

Pros:
I don't need the second one right away, so I can wait on it.  But my main inverter is a SW4024, and it seems like it's a really easy way to get lots of charge, since they can work in parallel.  They're also setup to mount together easily in the bank.  And I don't care if the display is working since I have a remote display inside the bus that I use.

But I haven't kept abreast of current invertor technology/prices to know whether it'd be cheap and easy to get something newer/better.  I could get something used and still have it be much newer than the SW4024, that much I know.


We're pretty broke right now, so the cheapest solution might just dictate our choices.

Any thoughts on the usefulness of sticking with this old but (generally otherwise) reliable technology?

[Lin]

The first thing to find out is what it would cost to fix (if it can be done).

[luvrbus]

There is a guy in Colorado Springs that can repair the older Traces and he has tons of parts.I'll dig his contact number up for you 

[eagle19952]

There is a guy in Colorado Springs that can repair the older Traces and he has tons of parts.I'll dig his contact number up for you 

there is one in Bradenton,FL too..
Jaytron
2635 Manatee Ave E, Bradenton, FL 34208
Phone: (941) 746-6385

[daveola]

Thanks - any contacts are appreciated.

I just opened it up to see what was going on inside.

And for bravery or stupidity I hooked it back up to 24V, and the lights on the display just kept blinking in an interesting (and not functioning) pattern.  Wonder if it's an error code.

Unfortunately looking inside I can see where the smoke was coming from.  I'll call some of the techs and see if they can guess what happened.

[eagle19952]

Thanks - any contacts are appreciated.

I just opened it up to see what was going on inside.

And for bravery or stupidity I hooked it back up to 24V, and the lights on the display just kept blinking in an interesting (and not functioning) pattern.  Wonder if it's an error code.

Unfortunately looking inside I can see where the smoke was coming from.  I'll call some of the techs and see if they can guess what happened.

ask for Steve

[rip]

I just had my 4024 repaired last year in Gilbert AZ.The cost was around $900.00 and its been running good since. I can get you the info. if the location works for you.
   Don

[ol713]

  Hi;
      I used Bio Benefit Energy in Costa Mesa Ca.
      Their phone  #714/809-4003.  Ask for Erik.
      They are an authorized repair station.  (Trace)
      They checked out my inverter and found nothing wrong
      except just needed cleaning.  Later I found one battery was
      bad in a new bunch of batteries.  (golf cart)  Erik can take
      an educated guess as to what is wrong, but he will have to
      see it to give you an accurate estimate.
                                      Good luck,    Merle.


     

[daveola]

Looks like it's going to run $1k to repair, if not more, and it'll still be beaten up, so probably not worth.

Anyone want an SW4024 for parts? 

[jav9956]

There are plenty of deals to be had on e-bay but you are probably more than aware of that.

Why not go with a Magnum unit? They seem to be hefty units designed for RV/marine application. That is likely what I will be getting for our solar system. I know they go for a little higher of a price but you are getting quality and it is an investment... at least the way I think about it.

I am really sorry to hear all the stuff that is going wrong. If bad things happen in threes hopefully that means brighter horizons for you!

[daveola]

Well - we can't really afford a new inverter right now.

And mostly I want the extra charging, I could really use more than the 30A that the single SW4024 comes with (I have a very, very large battery bank).