Most reacted posts

I have two responses to this: 1) My 401k has not done so well since Covid. So compared to that, this investment is much more reliable and has a higher return. The key here is reliability. People speculate on what their return would be if they invested. My energy bill is my energy bill. If...

I use the power of necromancy to bring this thread back to life. Just posting an update. I might have figured out why my electric bill was so high. I climbed up into the attic a few days ago to see if I had a power vent. And to my surprise, I found that the duct had fell off the blower. So...

To be honest, I haven't read all this thread but thought I would add my slightly unusual reason. I'm doing it for fun really. It's a challenge and I feel like since I am getting older and had some health issues, I need to keep challenging myself. I can't say saving some money down the road...

I love your 2nd point. What price can you put on having some peace of mind? Your third point is also a very strong one. Most server admins I know have backups and redundancy. It never occurred to me until just now that there is a single power option without some sort of self generation...

Awesome. Thank you for replying! Now I just need to figure out how to hide the bill from my wife. :)

Well watt data is way better than what I have today. Thanks! Makes me want the Cerbo that much more.

Battery Hookup is very close. About a 3 hour drive. And they have some interesting auctions. Time to try and snipe a deal. gobelpower not only charges shipping, they have a 4.4% payment charge. I finally bit the bullet and signed up. But the payment charge stopped me. :(

The only reason I stuck with these types of batteries is because they were cheap and easy to get on-line. Here is a diagram of what I have and my proposed wiring.

I did upgrade to a combiner box. I was just surprised it melted like that given that it was supposed to be rated for 50 amps...

That makes me cry. The cheapest I've seen in the USA is $1700 for that model. If I could find it for around $900 like that one, I would be all over it!

I have a Victron battery shunt, inverter and charge controller. When I was running the Renogy gear, I just had the charge controller and inverter.

That was exactly my point. You need to be able to output the 300 amps safely. Just something to make sure that is understood. That is all. No more too it.

I've had both and they both worked. So it kinda comes down to your needs. To me. I started with Renogy and it did well for what I used it for. If you are a numbers nerd like me, the Victron app gives you a bit more in that department. More configuration options too. At a price. But if you...

Humm. I built a 4800 watt system that is only 1/2 operational. I've only mounted 1/2 my panels and I really have been hitting float about every day there is even a little sun. Mainly because I can fully charge my batteries in about 2-3 hours of any sunlight. So I'm wasting a ton of energy...

I don't know about this being like one of the big box stores. That might not be the right comparison. To me, this would be like Microcenter. They are a DIY computer parts/etc place. I think they started way back when you could only get parts from magazines (286 days?). They have maybe a...

Very nice test results! Well above stated AH.

Hi, I just assumed each string would get out of sync with each other string. But what you are saying makes perfect sense. Sorry, I'm a little slow at times but I'll get there. lol

If this is a reply to my 4kWh figure, that is actual consumption. Everything above that I am currently wasting. Like today I got 7kWh. :( My batteries can only hold 4.8kWh so, even if I drained them every night (which my server gets pretty close to doing. I make it to 8am with about 30%...

Oh cool. That is the same inverter I am using. Nice. And you want the same data I want. Are we really that unusual? Does it sum up the total kWh inverted for the day anywhere? Would be really nice to have that graph to compare to the solar charge controller's daily yield graph.

Final update. My batteries were delivered on the 11th in good shape. The tracking information was good and everything looks great. They were delivered with busbars and dividers also. I would recommend Gobel Power if a 2 month wait isn't a problem for you.

Oh, I just realized that I never answered your question. The reason I think I need the 3rd balancer is because the 2 parallel strings will drain and charge at different rates. So, for instance, string 1 could fill up before string 2. The voltage would kick the charge controller into float and...

Right now, I wouldn't buy anything. First I would look on the back (front, top and bottom) of your charge controller. Get the make and model. See if you can google some info about it in English. Then you can see how much you can panel it with and how much you can charge. After that, make...

Okay, I am new too so forgive me for asking what might be a stupid question. But it looks like you have a charge controller sitting on top of the battery right below the big block inverter. Is that correct? And you don't have the solar panels connected through the charge controller? If that...

I should probably not talk being a noob myself, so take everything I say with a grain or so of salt. Victron has an AIO in the EasySolar-II right? So you kinda get the best of both worlds. Be very careful where you buy your Victron stuff from though. I got mine off of Amazon and the retailer...

Hi, So, I have 2 strings of 12 volt LiFePO4 batteries x 4 to make 48 volts, 100 AH each. This is working well but I now realize, again, I went in the wrong direction. So I want to pivot to cells. The cells I'm thinking about getting are 314 AH. If I understand correctly, I can't just add...

I guess my question about a 12v inverter is, how to power it. My batteries can output up to 100 amps suggested max. So, that might be something you should verify before making a purchase. Also, don't do the stupid thing I did. I went with a 3000 watt 12v inverter and then realized a 48v...

I think it's voltage. I think the smart shunt is just sharing voltage and current to the SCC. And the batteries are dumb, without any communication interface at all.

I do have them on my list and check their site frequently for deals. :)

I'm so glad you brought that to my attention! I do plan to be 100% off-grid by the end if that matters? I know there is a UL certification for grid-tie. Which I don't think I'll need because I will never export. Or do I still need that one. But I guess a general UL electronics certification...

Has anyone ordered from gobelpower.com before? Good or bad experience? I have to create an account to get shipping info, which I am holding off doing. Is $59 a good deal for grade B 280 Ah cells? This will be my first time buying cells and my first time ordering from outside the USA. So I'm...

Not sure which 40A charge controller came with your package. The Renogy Rover 40A charge controller that I have, has a battery temperature sensor that came with it. I believe, but can't be sure, that it would use that sensor and shut down if you were configured for lifepo4 batteries and it got...

I think the 30A is out. Doing a little googling and I saw a couple 30 amp pwm charge controllers that say the max is 450 watts of solar panels (many are made by the same manufacturer). Unfortunately, you usually have to stay under a certain voltage coming from the panels too. This should be...

You got yours in 4 weeks! I'm still wishing for mine.

But would they help with panel layout and parts ordering? Finding a contractor to mount the panels for you?

Good suggestions. Thanks!

I never though about these connectors ever being an issue. Not sure why, but please be careful. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GQ141XT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 50 amp max rating and I think got as high as 55 amps. Not sure if it was the amps or the sun. These...

So when lifepo4 batteries get full, don't they up the voltage that they are putting out? I'm guessing the bus will have the average of whatever strings are connected to it. So if one string is full and putting out 58.4 and one string is putting out 54.4, then the bus would read 56.4?

That depends on the charge controller and your panels. I had a charge controller that could only utilize 2 100 watt panels before it was maxed out. But my new charge controller is able to handle 6 400 watt panels so far. You will need to check the manual for the charge controller and also...

Hi, I put together my 2nd battery from 4 new Echo-Worthy 100Ah 12v batteries (to make 48v). I have 4 existing 100Ah 12v (in series for 48v) batteries that are currently running my system. Here is my thinking. I think I need a balancer for the 4 existing batteries to keep them in sync with...

Okay, I'm still new to this whole solar thing. But I don't think I can fully run my house on solar. Ever... I've built an array, got some storage and have some real numbers now to use. Right now with 6 400 Watt panels I'm pulling in about 10 KWH/day (been lots of sunny days). That is using...

Hi, My system is running well but it's time for my next purchase. I would like to maximize my savings but in the end, I will probably get all three options before the end of the year. Hopefully... I have narrowed my options down to: 16 EVE 314 cells + box + JK BMS (JK-PB2A16S-20P) 34 400...

Posting an update. I ordered 16 cells from GobelPower on 5/19/2024. They did send a tracking link. Looks like those cells won't leave China until 6/22/2024. I guess. If I'm reading this correctly. Is that a normal amount of delay?

Looks like you are using a Victron Phoenix 1200 inverter? Does the CerboGX trend it's data? I really would like to know how much my inverter is doing per day but I have to spitball it right now.

I think I understand you are saying I should get at least a balancer for each string? Adding the 3rd balancer to keep each string in sync seems like the logical next step to that. So I need 3 balancers today and one for each string if I keep using the same type of batteries?

It would be real nice if there were general solar contractors. Just like general contractors. They would manage the project for those that either don't have the time or the understanding to do it themselves. That would be my suggestion.

I think my house is about 3500 sq ft. Originally I had an electric dryer, electric stove and heat pump. I have switched out the dryer for a propane one. I now have a 4800 watt solar array which is only powering the basement. I'm using about 600 kWh/month just for that floor. Even with that...

I have never seen a sub $200 electric bill. I must have something else wrong with my house because the bill is still pretty high. $550 last month.

Wow, okay. So I'm about 25% higher on average (during the not so hot or cold months). But not nearly as bas as 400% above norm as I had originally thought. Thanks!

Oh, I have never seen one of these. I'm going to get one. Thanks!

Hi, I totally feel your pain. I'm in western Maryland and have the same issue. I can't even find anyone that wants to do the solar panel installation. I have seen some advertisements on facebook marketplace for some electricians that are willing to work on solar. I haven't tried any of them...

I believe the house settled a bit and no one bothered to fix the windows. None of them fully shut but there isn't a draft. So I bet there is quite a bit of savings there. And a thermal camera is a great idea! Between that and the energy monitor, I'll find the culprit!

Yea, 5000 kWh! Hours... My electric bill is crazy! Even my basement is using 20 kWh/day. The biggest part of that is me cooling the server/solar room. That is 100% of the DC load. The AC load is the server, network equipment, and my office which has 3 computers. My gaming PC can chew up...

Thank you! That is great news. Now, time to get me some cells. :)

I really need some opinions here. I'm trying to decide if my next car should be EV or Gas. I'm only concerned with my total cost of ownership. To be honest, I don't know what the environmental impact of having all those batteries in an EV is, so I'll just focus on what I can actually compare...

Maybe I just got lucky but I over voltaged my Victron SCC and it just said "Over voltage" and refused to do anything until I fixed it. Which was a bit latter (an hour?) before I saw the error. Maybe it was the amount I was over too. I was only over by about 30%ish. I also over voltaged my...

This is 100% my issue with Victron. I love their stuff and almost got more until the distributor told me I probably couldn't grid tie. So my new plan is to get a Growatt I guess when I get to the point where I want to grid tie. I have not yet worked on the insurance issue. That probably...

That is cool!

No. I never found anyone. I contacted a few of the local solar companies directly. That was not worth the time. They were only interested in selling a complete systems to uneducated consumers. But to be honest, I didn't try that hard. I'll be looking again soon though so I will keep you...

Victron Quattro 10000VA. Right now my panels can fully charge my batteries by 11AM on a sunny day. My issue mainly is I only have a Victron 48/1200VA. Which I have seen it go up to 1000 watts. So I need more inverting power I guess. Which will lead me to get more batteries. I only have...

I would not suggest you sell your inverter just yet. If you really want to try the 12 volt thing, you can get a cheap 300 watt 12 volt inverter from Amazon for about $25. That would let you test your bug zapper at least. Then when you are ready to go back to 24 volts, you would still have the...

This is how I have mine wired except the positive and negative both go to bus bars that the inverter ties to. Not opposite ends of the bus bar though. Does that part matter that much?

Okay. So, is there a good battery balancer anyone would recommend for 12v batteries?

August in Texas has to be the highest energy consuming month right? I guess it's time I showed my bill: That estimate was a little high (I think I only used 10,000 KWH) but...

My Renogy charge controller did shut down on over voltage and also did something when the battery was over discharged. Honestly, I don't know what it did but it did notify me. And it was able to "kick start" the battery. I've read that they are hard to get started once they have shut down for...