Recent content by ClinicalScientist

Thank you for the input. I was planning to overspec by 20%, but I’ll keep it at 50% to be on the safe side. They’re not very expensive anyway. Might as well. Yes, sorry. I was getting some facts mixed up. I was thinking about a diode to protect from backfeeding. Is that necessary?

That’s a great point. I should find a way to capacity tests these before I put too much effort into building a system around them.

Thanks for the input! I briefly researched running some dc to dc boost converters in parallel and got discouraged by the Amazon price, but I could wait a couple of weeks for some from AliExpress. I’ll need a lower input than 10 volts. I found these: US $2.15 4％ Off | DC 400W 15A Step-up Boost...

Thank you for the reply. That’s what my gut told me. I did a very cautious “in series” check (with a fused line) and got my expected voltage, so I thought maybe it’s ok, but I better check to see if anyone has done this before. Thanks again! I’ll try a different route.

Hello guys. Looking for some advice before I make an explosive mistake. I picked up these older Winston 1000Ah 3.2 volt cells for $200. Seemed like a good deal. My intention was to wire them in series to make 24 volts with the assumption that each terminal pair was a separate confined cell...

“That is the position of my array, at 32 degrees north latitude” Took your advice and looked up the best angle for my area. It gave me 30.5, so I built a stand accordingly. I’ll have to do the other four panels when I have more time. Let’s see if this makes a difference. Thanks again for the...

That you for the link, that’s some great info. I’m in Central Valley CA, so my numbers should be pretty close to yours. I’ll check my tilt. Currently my tilting system is an advanced setup of milk crates and cardboard boxes. Yeah, I’m not going to try and short the whole array. I’ll just do...

Oh sorry. I meant I was getting 92 volts voc out of the rated 100 volts. And 6 amps out of the rated 8 (per panel series) under load and 65 volts of the rated 80 under load. I actually peaked at 15 amps/16 today, but the voltage had dropped to 55. So it seems I would have to test each panel...

Great info. Thank you for the post! Sounds like I’m going to have to test each panel individually at some point. I got them for so cheap I’m pretty happy they work at all. Here’s a breakdown: 2x four panels in series with those two connected in parallel. Interestingly each series of panels...

My inverter doesn’t have a remote control function, but there are plenty on Amazon that do in fact come with a remote control on and off switch. This inverter has a low voltage disconnect built into it, but it is way too low for my purposes. It’s set at 20.5 volts which doesn’t protect the...

Yeah, the input wattage does for sure does lower as the battery reaches fullness and it exits out of bulk charging. I am really only basing my max watts when the batteries are at 50% DoD. I assume the SCC should be delivering max amps at this DoD. It could be that the SCC tries to keep around 30...

Agreed! I will report back with some real numbers after I get a few days or weeks of data. I’m interested to see if charging for longer @ 5 amps or shorter @ 10 amps will provide the best efficiency for my AGM batteries vs kWh lost due to slow charging speed. It might be a toss up, but I’ll...

Yes, the closer in voltage you get to your output, the less inversion that will have to be done and less deficiency lost. I have 4 12v batteries wired in series and parallel creating 24 volts. You’re right about the 220 being more efficient. Basically the faster you charge the better added kWh...

If I use just the batteries (while it’s dark) I’ll get 12 miles of range. 4.8 kWh @ 50% DOD = 2.4 kWh usable and I get 5 miles per kWh of range. If I’m able to charge during the day the math says 1.3 kWh panels x 6 hours good sun = 7.8 kWh = 39 miles of range. In reality I get about 65% of...

Yeah, I work during daylight hours, so I needed a way to store the energy and get it back when it’s dark. Charge batteries during the day- drain them at night - repeat sort of thing. I started down this path, because we are planning to buy a new house soon, so I wanted something “portable”...