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VFD/Inverter Replacement - Updating from an Older Model


Bryon Sol

Question

Mitsubishi makes it very easy to replace your older VFD/Inverter Drive when the time comes.  Whether it's a failed drive in the field, or preventive maintenance to replace a drive that is out of warranty and obsolete, or if you are building the next generation of equipment and want to use the current generation of drive, there are lots of reasons to need to update your inverter to a new series.

My favorite tools for doing this are what Mitsubishi refers to as their Pocket Guides.

Basically, when a new series comes out, Mitsubishi will make a Pocket Guide that shows the previous generation's model number and the cross to the new model.

Here are some of the basics:
1) You generally want to stay in the same family of drives, for instance FR-A500 or FR-A700's are replaced with FR-A800 VFDs
2) The different series of drives are often rated differently in North America.  For instance the older A500 series are rated in Killowatts (kW) whereas the A700s are rated in output amperage at ND whereas the A800s are rated in output amperage at LD.  Therefore as an example the FR-A520-45K-NA drive (45kW) is replaced by the FR-A720-01750-NA drive (175.0Amps at 230V Normal Duty) and this in turn was replaced by the FR-A820-02330-E160 (233.0A at 230V Light Duty).  You'll see this in the chart below that the FR-A820-02330-E160 is rated at 175A ND.
3) Mounting may not always be comparable, but usually newer drives can be smaller than their predecessors.  Always check installation dimensions when crossing inverters.
4) Parameters are often, but not always transferable.  If you are using an inverter in a simple control scenario, most of the old parameter numbers are the same as the new parameters in newer drives.  However, do not assume this.  It's always good to get the upgrade guides and review them.
5) If you are using any add-on cards, make sure a similar card is available on your chosen replacement drive.

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Here are some resource links, you will need to have a login at https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en/ for these to work:

FR-A Series Crossovers:

FR-A800 Pocket Reference Guide

FR-A500(L) to FR-A800 Transition Notes

How To Procedure - A500 Series to A800 Replacement Information

FR-F Series Crossovers:

FR-F800 Pocket Reference Guide

FR-E Series Crossovers:

FR-E700 Pocket Reference Guide
Note:  The E800 series is out but since the FR-E700 series is still current and the E800 line is still releasing new models, Mitsubishi hasn't released a pocket guide yet.

There are also some older drives such as the FR-A02x series and FR-Z series

FR-A024 and FR-A044 series cross to FR-E700 Series
FR-A024/FR-A044 to FR-E700 Series Transition Guide

The FR-A100 Series is replaced by the FR-F800 Series
The FR-A200 Series is replaced by the FR-A800 Series
The FR-S500 Series is replaced by the FR-D700 Series
The FR-U100 Series is replaced by the FR-D700 Series
The FR-V200/FR-V500 Series is replaced by the FR-A800 Series with FR-A8AP card
The FR-Z020/Z024 Series is replaced by the FR-E700 Series (and soon FR-E800)
The FR-Z200/Z300 Series is replaced by the FR-A800 Series 

I hope collecting this into one place helps people who may be struggling to find the correct drive upgrade.

 

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