Backup Gateway 2 Shutdown due to 30A Surge?

[zero2?]

Hi All,

Hoping someone can confirm that this is expected behavior with the Backup Gateway 2 (+ mulitple PW's) shutting down if it received a surge from the main panel exceeding 30A? I was a couple hours into a PGE power outage (everything working fine) and then the entire house went offline. SPAN panel had no power. Reset Tesla Backup Gateway (PW's were at ~95% power at the time of shutdown). Calling Tesla PW Support, they stated that the Backup Gateway 2 experienced a surge in power exceeding 30A which shut it down (cutting all power to the SPAN panel = house). I'm doing some historical circuit research with my SPAN panel, but this reason seems a bit suspect as there wasn't anything running that would cause such a surge, not to mention.. is 30A the limit?

Thanks for any help.

 

[BGbreeder]

The max draw from one Powerwall per the specification is very close to 30A, 7kW/240=29.1A. If you have multiple Powerwalls, then the max current is multiples of that.

Unless your car started suddenly charging in high, while your electric furnace and oven were on, I find it hard to imagine what could have caused a real surge. Perhaps one of your CTs has an issue?

All the best,

BG

 

[zero2?]

The max draw from one Powerwall per the specification is very close to 30A, 7kW/240=29.1A. If you have multiple Powerwalls, then the max current is multiples of that.

Yes I have two PW's, so a bit bizarre that Support would state that a 30A surge would cause this. Could this 30A value be a limit on the Backup Gateway 2? Seems unlikely since what you are saying is for every PW you add ~30A of current. Am I missing something?

Unless your car started suddenly charging in high, while your electric furnace and oven were on, I find it hard to imagine what could have caused a real surge.

Yes.. I had thought of the car charger too (on a 60A circuit), but I actually had the car unplugged because of the storm, so that couldn't be the case.

Perhaps one of your CTs has an issue?

"CTs"?? Circuits?

All the best,

BG

 

[BGbreeder]

To your underlying issue, I don't have any other ideas other than a loose/poor connection somewhere, or something faulty in the Gateway. I would monitor the energy flows with the Tesla app and look for spikes, or dropouts

All the best,

BG

"CT" = current transformer, the gizmo that monitors a power line and sends a signal to the Gateway that can be transformed into a current reading. Basically a coil of wire that functions as a mini ammeter. They of variable quality and accuracy to begin with, and poor installation can make them erratic or unreliable.

Current transformer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GWord]

What is the "Panel Maximum Current" setpoint set to when you login to the gateway's web ui? If it's 30A then that is the culprit. I have 4 powerwall+ and mine was erroneously set to 100A. When I had full sun, my system could do well in excess of 100A. I had Tesla support change the setting.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

I believe the “over current” originates from the Powerwall, not the gateway. Gateway tells the PW how much to charge, manages power flows.
When it comes to OC, I believe it is real. Now if one of your Powerwalls were offline then 30amps would be real.

 

[GWord]

I believe the “over current” originates from the Powerwall, not the gateway. Gateway tells the PW how much to charge, manages power flows.
When it comes to OC, I believe it is real. Now if one of your Powerwalls were offline then 30amps would be real.

The PowerWall does manage its own overcurrent but the gateway 2 also has its own "master" limiter and will remotely shut down any connected equipment that it can communicate with. Your Gateway 2 limit is displayed under the summary link if you login as "customer".

 

[zero2?]

What is the "Panel Maximum Current" setpoint set to when you login to the gateway's web ui? If it's 30A then that is the culprit. I have 4 powerwall+ and mine was erroneously set to 100A. When I had full sun, my system could do well in excess of 100A. I had Tesla support change the setting.

Thanks! I'll have to check this.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

The PowerWall does manage its own overcurrent but the gateway 2 also has its own "master" limiter and will remotely shut down any connected equipment that it can communicate with. Your Gateway 2 limit is displayed under the summary link if you login as "customer".

Yes the gateway will manage export limits. Mine is set at 200 amps. Common settings are 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200. Not 30 amps.

 

[zero2?]

Yes the gateway will manage export limits. Mine is set at 200 amps. Common settings are 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200. Not 30 amps.

OK .. I finally got around to checking on this setting and it is set to 100A, so I'm assuming not the culprit with 2xPW's.