diy solar

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  • Post in thread: Signature Solar and shipping damage, are you a victim too?

    Just bought 24 REC 370 watt panels from Santan. The package was perfect when delivered, took a week to unload due to weather and when I got to the bottom panel it was smashed. No damage visible from the outside of the. stack, must have gotten something under it. I emailed a pic to Santan and...
  • Post in thread: Our NEW GO-TO LiFePO4 vendor...09.20.21

    Long time listener, first time caller here. I have 10KW of panels and 8 L16HC batteries for the last few years. I've been wanting to upgrade my system to lithium but the craziness with the Alibaba vendors kept me out of the market. When i heard about a vendor with USA stock I got interested...
  • Post in thread: Our NEW GO-TO LiFePO4 vendor...09.20.21

    I have 32 of their Eve 304 ah cells in 2 batteries, watching the BMS data the cells are typically within 3-4 millivolts of each other across the charge range. Couldn't be happier, have another 16 on the way. I'd much rather support a business that seems to be working hard to provide a good...
  • Post in thread: Our NEW GO-TO LiFePO4 vendor...09.20.21

    Just a brief update. I bought 32 of the Eve 304 ah cells a few weeks ago and finally got them built up and hooked into my system When delivered, they were within 2 millivolts of each other, so I figured I'd just try charging them as a bank and see what happened, I could always top balance...
  • Post in thread: Docan Power EVE 304AH LiPO 2nd batch No bueno

    Just got 16 more from them, all perfect. OP needs to support their claims, as a new poster who says an established vendor failed and then the poster disappears? Too many vendors too eager to stab each other in the back in this business.
  • Post in thread: What makes the tier 1 stuff “better”?

    To answer the OP's original question, what's the difference? Ask anyone who has had anything manufactured in China. You work out the contract, agree to terms, take delivery, all is good. Next shipment you notice that the capacitors you specify have been substituted for cheaper ones, contract...
  • Post in thread: Price per watt hour-diy versus 48V rack battery

    I've built 3 fairly large batteries recently, each have 16 cells of EVE 304 ah cells, making 24 volts at 600 amp hours (approximaely), or about 15 kWh each. The cost for each was about $2400 for the cells and $120 for the BMS, a little over $2500 each. The EG4 is about $1500 for about 5 kWh, 3...
  • Post in thread: Does an MPPT solar controller, turn excess voltage into Current/Amps?

    Instead of volts/amps, think in terms of power, it's pretty straightforward. If your controller is getting 100 volts at 5 amps from the panels, that's 500 watts of power. It converts those 500 watts into 12.5 volts at 40 amps. (for example), still 500 watts of power, but in a different form.
  • Post in thread: WHY do all-in-one Solar Power Inverters have a high idle consumption? Asking to learn...

    If you live in a sunny climate it's not big deal. Where I live, my 20kw of panels will produce 1-2 kWh of power on many days in the winter. An inverter that draws 1-1.5 kWh of power is using up a good chunk of my day's production.
  • Post in thread: Good review on supplier.

    Just another satisfied customer here. I bought 32 of the 304 ah Eve cells a month or so ago. Great communications and they handled my special shipping request without issue. Cells arrived perfectly packaged and in great shape. They're up and running now, in two banks of 16 cells. I'm...
  • Post in thread: How to handle freight delivery?

    My most recent load of 40 panels from Santan looked perfect coming off the truck but when opened the bottom panel was very broken. I sent them a picture and an explanation, they credited a refund to me that afternoon. No hassles, excellent people to do business with.
  • Post in thread: BATTERY SELLERS - THE GOOD, BAD, UGLY -- or Jenny (DOCAN) so far so good ...

    Just watched Ray's video, really appreciated the straight talk. Another happy Docan customer here, three purchases last three months, all great experiences. Nice to see a company really exploding by exploiting the niche of "honest and good customer service", who would have thought it?
  • Post in thread: Where to begin! For my Epic Adventure!

    I buying a new Tesla and a new Rivian, but I need a cheap solar system because I'm on a budget. These things just don't go together in my brain for some reason.
  • Post in thread: EMP shield. Can you explain how it works?

    EMP just stands for Electromagnetic Pulse. It's a short, sharp spike of electromagnetic energy across a broad spectrum of frequencies. The most common EMP experienced is caused by lightning. Lightning induces massive currents in power lines, which act as long antennae, the voltage induced can...
  • Post in thread: Theses no other way to go (DIY LifePo4)

    Over the last year I've switched from lead/acid to lithium, couldn't be happier. I put it off for several years waiting for a good, reliable supplier of high quality cells, but then Docan started shipping from US stocks and I started buying. Currently up to 2400 ah at 24 volts in the system...
  • Post in thread: Cheapest solar setup to heat desperate pensioners for 6 hours a day at 37w?

    By far, the cheapest way is to plug it into the wall. Anything you do with solar will be much, much, more expensive, no matter the cost of electricity. Call it 40 watt power draw, that's 1 kilowatt hour per day (x24 hours). Even at 50 pence per kwh, that's 15 pounds a month. If you used it 4...
  • Post in thread: Up and running (test) Sol-Ark 12k. First day/night on new system.

    If you've got 10 acres, seriously consider ground mounts for the panels rather than the roof. Ground mounts are so easy, roof mounts create so many potential headaches. I have about 20 kw of panels, all ground mounted, built and put up by myself, so much easier than roof mounts and don't have...
  • Post in thread: I have been wrong about Gyll Batteries

    I worked for some time as an insurance adjuster, for work comp, one of the guys who made the decision whether to approve a claim or not. The truth of the matter is it was 99 percent the doctor, not me, but anyway, we worked really, really hard to reduce the number of appeals filed, as they were...
  • Post in thread: Basic setup but no need for more ATM

    As you say, it's about how much power you use. I'm constantly amazed at how many people with vans talk about their electric hot water heaters, microwaves, induction cookers and so on and then try to figure out how to get 2kw of panels and 30 KWh of batteries packed in. I live in my van for 3...
  • Post in thread: Beginner DIY Roof Top Installation

    That's why my 60 panels are all ground mount. Between difficult installation, chances of leaking roofs, difficulty of re-roofing, etc. it's not worth the hassle if you can avoid it.
  • Post in thread: Idle Consumption: Is It Standby or Overhead?

    There are higher quality systems with much lower current draws. You pay more, but they're better quality and most likely will last a lot longer, as well as letting me sleep better at night.
  • Post in thread: Charger for initial charging and top balancing 24V 200AH LiFePO4 battery

    Good grief guys, I know it's tough times out there but the guy is just looking for a cheap charger to top up his new cells, not to run his house off of. I'm as big of believer in buying quality as anyone, No one wants to pay hundreds of bucks for a top notch supply to use a handful of times...
  • Post in thread: Time to replace my 2V FLA

    I can only share my experience. In the last year I bought 4 orders of 16 280 ah EVE cells from Docan Tech, 64 cells in total. All were in perfect condition and extremely well matched. I've built 4 batteries, 24v @ 560 ah each, and the cells are typically within 5 millivolts of each other...
  • Post in thread: Are there any decent lower cost controller alternatives than Victron?

    Plug the Midnite into a wireless bridge, about $20, and it connects to your local network. I've been using it for a long time to monitor 3 of them.
  • Post in thread: Suspiciously Cheap Cells - Scam?

    There are at least two, and I'm sure more, vendors widely discussd on this site as being reliable and shipping what and when they promise. They charge fair prices for what you get but you get what you pay for. There are hundreds of scam sites, selling misrepresented batteries for lower prices...
  • Post in thread: Difficult to determine which simple inverter can be trusted in the 2k to 3k range..

    For the best prices on Samlex check out DonRowe.com, they've beat everyone else by quite a bit. I have a 2224, a 4024 and a new 4248 waiting to be installed. Well worth the money.
  • Post in thread: Need Help with Everything Solar

    That 6.2 Megawatts per day is going to take a pretty good sized coal fired power plant, solar isn't going to work.
  • Post in thread: 86KWH Battery Configuration Advice

    So you're going to spend $20,000 on batteries and you're not wanting to spend an extra $500 for 5 more BMS units to protect those batteries? Doesn't make sense to me. Put a BMS on each string.
  • Post in thread: EVE LF280K Docan Tech at USD100 when buying 32pcs

    That works out to about $125 each delivered, without breaking out the calculator. I just bought 32 of the Eve 304 ah from the same company for about $140 each, delivered in USA, from US warehouse. Perfect transaction, all promises kept, shipped and delivered exactly when they said they would...
  • Post in thread: New to solar and building a small system for emergency backup.

    Check out the idle power draw of the inverter you're considering. A lot of the less expensive inverters have very high idle power draws that can use up a good portion of the power generated by a small system just keeping the inverter turned out, before it even starts powering. your gear. A...
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