On September 12, 2001 my system came online. It consisted of 36 Photowatt 95 watt panels and two Trace Suntie 1.5 inverters. The panels are wired in 9 strings of 4 panels. Five groups of four go to one inverter and four groups of four go to the other inverter. In 2003 the inverters were replaced by Trace with the 1.5 XR's. They have performed flawlessly for the past 7 years. Then on Labor Day weekend I noticed one of the inverters displaying "0.0 MPPT 0.0 vdc, AC Not Present" on the screen. I had an electrician friend check that AC was present to the inverter from the panel. I have checked the 6 ceramic fuses in the lower part of the inverter.

I have spoken to a contractor out of Fallbrook, CA who said it could be a 1 amp fuse in the upper portion of the inverter. I have also read other posts on this forum and have checked for any loose connections.

I know about the Trace "owner loyalty program where I can get a 2.8 GT for $1,200 plus tax and freight. However I have heard they are not serviceable ad their reliability is shaky. I spoke to a well know inverter repair expert based out of Oregon and he suggested I push Trace for a deal on a 3.3 GT as he has seen too many failures with the 2.8 GT. I am also concerned about the 2.8 running at close to or above its rated capacity.

Is it likely that the 1 amp fuse is creating a problem? How do I identify this fuse and where it is? Is it worth repairing the XR? Please explain in simple terms as I am not an electirician, just a technical rep in the plumbing industry.

Should I just go for the 2.8 GT or will I run into problems running it at max. I live in Orange, CA. We see winter temps at about 28F at the the lowest, summer might hit 105 at the peak.

I appreciate your guidance and recommendations.

Not sure who your experts are but I know for 100% the GT2.8 and the GT3.3 are the identical, its just firmware that is different.

1200 dollars is a GREAT deal, I'm surprised Xantrex still offers the discounted inverters as all the Sunties are now 2+ year's out of warranty.

I'm glad you got many years of service from the Sunties!

The expert I spoke to was Dean Abney of Abney Electric. In Redmond, Oregon. He was one of Xantrex/Trace's largest inverter repair shops for years. I was referred to him by Michaeal Welch of Home Power magazine. Dean w4 the person who told me about failures with the 2.8.

So, is it possible there is a 1 amp fuse in the upper portion of my xr that is causing the problem? Can it easily be found?

Last, will running the 2.8GT at close to full capacity be a problem?

My experience with the 2.8 has been good, at least since 8 July 2010. Replaced a failed ST2500 and thought the $1300 price tag high but the alternatives were even more costly. Running the 2.8 at 2200-2400 Watts on good days. 2.8 comes with a 10 year warranty, which is better than the original 7 year on the ST2500, which lasted only 5+ years.

Hi OCSolar, 2010 seems to be the year to hit some Suntie inverters. I had a 2500 XR in operation for 9years and it also went south this year. I took advantage of the loyalty program and now have two of the 2.8GT, running nice. Am also located in OC - I'd say go for it if you have not done so yet....

Were you able to get delivery on the GT2.8 units?

I purchased a second replacement unit on 22 Nov 2010 and have not received it. A call to the factory in mid December disclosed they would not be shipping until January. When purchased, the SR told me the unit was in stock and would ship ASAP.

It is interesting to note that Schneider/Xantrex accepted full payment, never notified me of stock problems and advised me that their acceptance of full payment only held my place in their production line. This latter comment came only after I inquired into the status of my order. Sure wish there was some legal remedy to this type of business ethic!

This whole issue could be an indicator that Schneider/Xantrex has a much bigger financial problem. The exploding caps probably won't help. New customers might want to look for alternative suppliers, but us early users of Trace-Xantrex are stuck.

Update on the recall for one unit in service and delivery of new GT2.8. On 31 Jan 2011 I was informed by Xantrex CS that they are still working the problem and did not have replacement units available. No idea when the problem would be solved. My recall part and the new unit I ordered in mid Nov are on hold.