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To my understanding, tariffs are implemented to prevent competition from foreign companies. Consumers win when there is competition, so I say good on the Chinese for avoiding these tax hikes, and bringing jobs and competition to the US

Pictures and measurements of my "cheap" bussbars as per request. Dimensions are 3/4" wide x 3/32" thick x 4 1/2" long. Man these things are thinner than I expected, if they are plated, that doesn't leave very much room for actual copper. I will be trading these out for my beefy bars real soon.

I guess if the terminals are stripped on any, it would be all-telling that "never used" is a lie lol

Another question, MRBF holders can be oriented either way, correct? I.e. It doesn't matter which end of the holder is mounted to the bussbar

I figured fully charging first would make it easier to calibrate my shunt. Thanks for the response, I also wasn't sure what would happen with the "extra 6ah" I'm guessing it's just SOK gimmick so it looks like more. I'm assuming I will just calibrate my shunt at 1kwh instead of 1006ah?

I mean.... they sprayed artificial clouds along the whole moon path anyway. I'm sure that had a much more profound effect on solar generation.. I seen them start by my house about 12 p.m. Later I seen some vids from space of the eclipse that clearly showed a cloud cover along the entire expected...

I am trying to size a class-t fuse for my offgrid setup. My inverter is 3000w continuous+ surge I will only be pulling 2400 continuous at any given time but I want my fuse to cover up to 3000watts. I understand that power out is not equivalent to power in, because of conversion losses. Can...

In a weird roundabout way it sounds like they will honor the price-match via refund within 2 months.

I asked him if he performed capacity tests, here is his response.. "No they were for a solar build up north he passed away and I bought them from his wife new in box they all test 3.2v that's all I can tell you boss"

Like run a short lead to a + horizontal bussbar, and a slightly longer lead (under + buss) to a - horizontal bussbar?

Another possible hurdle is the negative side in a 12v system of a vehicle is the chassis, which I am assuming I should ground my trailer system to the trailer chassis too (I have not yet) Will this cause me some unforseen problems, even without joining the positive of both truck and trailer?

Oh my, good thing that's the worst that happened. That is precisely what I fear, something going wrong, and nobody home to operate a fire extinguisher.

Hopefully not the weight of 300Kwh+ 😅

I don't know of any off the shelf type designs, but I've pondered this myself as well. Instead of trying to "seal" each panel to the next, perhaps a water collection system could work. I envision a "gutter" type collection trough underneath and between each panel. I have had thoughts to...

That's a great deal If I already had a 24v battery bank

4-Trina 545w bi-facials Fixed mount facing south with a 30° elevation 800ah battery bank @ 12volts 4- RichSolar 40amp charge controllers Each panel has its own charge controller with 25' of 10awg

I estimated the wattage by combining the watts from my shunt plus my inverter wattage

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap AIO that provides me with at least 1500watts of 120vAC. This will be for a small build on a 6×12 enclosed work trailer. I have tons of renogy 100watt panels, but in my head I am envisioning: 4-100 watt renogy panels 1- SOK12.8v 206ah lifepo4 1-AIO...

I rarely check individual charge controller amp output, it becomes a bit mundane when I can monitor total input/output to my system from just the shunt monitor

Actually I think most solar panels on the market even here in the u.s. come from China, like the well known Trina, and Yingli to name a couple good? brands. But manufacturing standards can vary greatly. Like I said I'm still kinda new to solar but 150-200 is still a measurable output and is...

I'm eyeballing these at the moment https://www.ebay.com/itm/146167247281 I too hope they will "play nice" with my 4 li-time 200ah's

So that's the logic behind it. I guess I had presumed that a half-charge would prevent dendritic growth.

Yeah sure, I could measure them up tomorrow, they seem pretty good quality the back mold forms over the hex head bolts and they kind of float there until you tighten the nut on top which pulls it against the buss which has 2 Phillips screws holding it to the plastic. They claim on amazon that...

I'd give you one of my big copper bars if you were in town lol

Thank you for the wealth of info everybody! I do see how split-type is way better of an investment now, I'm just not ready to drop a ton of money on a unit, then again into install. If there was a cheap option to get one that I could install myself. id jump on it That was a great read. Thanks...

I don't want to tie to the grid in any way, I have a battery bank tied to a 12v inverter hardwired to a 6 circuit manual transfer switch 120v on all circuits that isolate themselves from the main panel. And a battery monitor. Nothings "smart" and don't communicate with eachother. Good point on...

I probably will working with what 4/0 cable I got here. I probably have about a foot+ of black and red i can cut from the inverter length still. Because 2/0 cable isn't cheap either and plus it makes me feel a little better for upgradability. My inverter is a 3000 continous + surge but I won't...

I put 1.2kw of panels up last summer, then swapped them out to a 2.2kw array I think in December. I was hesitant before to run my battery banks down, which would have probably helped with my on peak/on grid furnace usage. I am starting to refine the process.

Sorry to trail a little off-topic, but what budget friendly bms options do I have. Again I have 0 experience dealing with raw cells, can someone point me in the direction of a comprehensive thread for beginner diy cells?

I just now got the quick react emojiis today. I've seen others using it already, but i was only able to "like" before today. Maybe you got the pe-release🤔

After I posted them cc numbers I did see a couple spikes that were peaking around 1.9kw. Maybe she just wanted a little attention after all😅 By the way I'm in Michigan, not the most ideal location for solar but I'm working with what I have

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap AIO that provides me with at least 1500watts of 120vAC. This will be for a small build on a 6×12 enclosed work trailer. I have tons of renogy 100watt panels, but in my head I am envisioning: 4-100 watt renogy panels 1- SOK12.8v 206ah lifepo4 1-AIO...

That's exactly what I don't want to happen lol. Thus far I've enjoyed the plug-and-play setup of factory built 12v lifepo's

Not sure but they got some heft to them, a couple pounds. I picked these up at a junkyard for a marked up steel price. A quick search showed me how valuable these are, I wouldn't give any more away lol

Yes I am weighing convenience vs. cost, but also curious which uses less on grid. My inverter is purely DC input though, I have only charged up my batteries once via grid, so my experience there is limited. Before, I had charged them up all individually. I have 4- 12v(200ah) lifepo4 in...

Is this a thing? Benefits/Risks?

My normal "common sense" just tells me to throw 4/0 on everything regardless lol But I see people with some dinky wires, they also sell these inverters with dinky who-knows-what's-inside wires I am talking about from the battery to buss bar, then buss bar to inverter. If I have to purchase...

Just re-read this. I get what you are saying, I will definitely use a grid dependent circuit to run the battery charger. Unless I get free unlimited perpetual power by charging batteries off an inverter circuit😅 I'm joking of course lol

Although this is the answer I was hoping for 😃... I have several questions. My charge controller in the trailer has a profile set up to charge lithium. Would that damage my lead acid battery in my truck? And vice versa, will the trucks alternator negatively affect my lifepo4 in the trailer...

My line of thinking was to buy new batteries now equivalent to what I have now +4kwh, and sell my 1 year old batteries for a breakeven price after January. (Yes, kinda playing the stocks) But once I have em I'd probably just keep them and add em in the bank. I guess that's my clue my brain is...

Total wire run would only be about 2.5 ft

I know this has been discussed many times here, and reading into it I think the general conclusion is; Overpanel as much as you want, just don't go above the voltage limits of your charge controller. Is this true? What if I doubled the input but stayed under voltage? I want to know if I can...

I lol'd at this.. I call my 4-545 watt panels 2.2kw.. which is close, and my 4-200ah batteries 10kwh, which is a little less close. But again, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to calculate a simplified 12v x 200a to get the watt hour rating. All 4 of my batteries are connected in parallel with 4/0...

Sorry for the confusion everyone, but this was a duplicate post. Please respond to my original post here: Thread 'Cheapest AIO that utilizes a small system' https://diysolarforum.com/threads/cheapest-aio-that-utilizes-a-small-system.84876/

My brother will be in from time to time to check on my place, thanks for your concern. I definitely don't need any meth scientists poking around.

Hi, I have 4 identical Li-time 12v 200ah plus batteries wired in parallel for my current setup. I also have an SOK 12.8v 206ah just lying around not doing anything. Can I add the SOK in parallel with my 4 Li-time Batteries? *All are Lifepo4 chemistry *All have built-in BMS *All have near...

Specifically bussbars, and the lugs connecting to them. Does it depend on how many amps are passing through?

I was hoping I could do this under $300? I have all the wiring/panels/Sok12v already. I actually have a 1000w inverter but I don't think it would support much corded tools that I would need occasionally

I tried everything, I swear to you I just got it today lol

Ahh ok, this keeps getting more complex haha. I did learn the trick of using a 120v light bulb for the initial connecting, but I suppose your right having measures in place for turning on and off the inverter would be a good protective thing. Do you know how long them capacitors keep a charge?

I'm not sure what you mean by same series cell count. The cutaway picture on li-times site shows 8 cells, and Wills teardown video on the sok shows 4 cells

In the one photo I had them laying upside down across two loose 2x4s in the other photo they were laying on cardboard which I can't see I guess. The trinas just have a normal aluminum frame and wide busbars going across the center of each panel. I was wondering about the grounding too, so if i...

Well, just seen these on amazon 12v 300ah for $449 - $40 coupon code= $409 I was thinking it would be a great way to bump up my storage capacity for cheap, but after seeing inside your box, I'm good, no thanks, moving on... That looks terrifying! 😬. Weird how their graphic shows 4 prismatic...

Thanks for the warm welcome!

It is to my understanding that 4/0 wire is capable of 480amps, so I shouldn't use a 500amp fuse, correct?

This... was my exact logic

I am kinda sitting back just watching your guys discussion unfold,I know what most people say (2 lugs max on a terminal) but I was always curious as to why, my own brain agrees with hedges and tells me there would be less resistance all joined together as opposed to traveling through a...

Question. Can I use the mrbf in line with the dc breakers I already have installed, for redundancy but also so I still have a means to easily turn off one single battery at will? Or would that cause unwanted voltage drops with more resistance? I like the idea of being able to top balance by...

@740GLE I have these richsolar 40a charge controllers, Im not entirely sure how to set those parameters. I just have them set to Li profile. https://richsolar.com/collections/charge-controllers/products/40-amp-mppt-solar-charge-controller

Thanks for the link. So does that mean my amperage would raise .65%? Sounds negligible but I'd like to understand the process a little better.

OoOooh that's cool looking lol

I run a 3000w inverter on a 12v battery bank. It works great :) Fuse everything

Nice, I gave up on the draw.io, it kept fighting me. I have another question tho. My charge controller manual says; Max photovoltaic system input power: 550w/12v 1100w/24v Am I interpreting this correct that I can only input 1100 watts if my battery bank is 24v? If so, is there a work around...

As of now I only have 1-12v 206ah lifepo4 to work with. So moving to a different voltage would be considerably more expensive. Also my build out in my house is 12v with a 3000watt inverter, I already kind of heavily invested in thicker wires/fusing and such. So I am familiar with the logistics...

So, you are saying all cables need to be all the same length in my situation? (parallel) But not in series?

That sounds very useful, does it work independently? Meaning I don't need to go buy more blue things to get them readings?

Thank you, your car example makes quite a bit of sense. Maybe I'll just run dead leads for the moment and bring them online as I buy more controllers. Would have been ideal to run 4 pairs of leads as opposed to 8, joys of a 12v system I guess lol. I like your thinking, and it sounds like...

Thanks for thinking outside the box for me, until I get around to rewiring everything, that will be a simple move for now. Are those all positive leads that I'm seeing? The buss in the center is all your lugs for inverters?

Ok I re-thought this, so I would wire this on my DC side to open/close an AC switch on the transfer panel?

Ahh ok I realize now I can open this up with draw.io and toy around with your starter diagram. Thanks man

Electrical theory is kinda cool...?

I have the LCYMW 3000 watt inverter, been running continuously for over a year without problems, and no failed appliances. That may not say much though, because I ordered the 4000watt model and sent it back. It made an awful ticking noise, and all my lights were flickering heavily. I was afraid...

Hi, I have a 12v 206ah SOK (non-heated) tied to 3- 240watt panels on my work trailer to provide light, AC tools, tool battery charging and... coffee😎. Here in michigan we are about to be below freezing very very soon. Should I just disconnect my system for the winter? As far as I understand, you...

Cool calculator. Thanks :)

I do have these ?? 1 1/2" x 1/2" x 26" Already drilled and threaded

Thank you for the insight! I was completely unaware of the existence of MRBF fuses. I like the clean tidiness of them connecting directly to the battery posts :) Thank you for the diagram, I believe my setup mostly looks like #2 on the diagram. I think my cables are pretty close to the same...

Your dream is becoming reality😆

It's still in that entertainment center lol, I like the setup... other than my room is always hot, I have not seen any temperatures over 115°f on any component or wire while stress testing. It usually runs about 100 at the hottest points i.e. inverter/shunt I do have all the mrbf fuses now...

Thank you, so 40% can be expected. Thank you! I wanna get one of these shunty mcshunts now!😁

This is all hypothetical electrical theory though, I obviously do want to learn the NEC way. P.s. I couldn't open the draw.io file you created for me

Is there a reason to use the little fuse holders? If I were to just mount the little cube fuse directly onto the post with cable lug on top, would that provide the same protection? Wouldn't it provide less loss/resistance as well? Being that there would be less connections and less random metal...

You can still pick up the (2)48v-50ah dc house server rack style on amazon for $699 regular price

I'm thinking of getting 4 and upping my 12v system to 48v, but I'd need a new inverter too.. i already have everything for 12v, inverters/fuses/12v-800ah...potential waste...decisions decisions

Its virtually identical because it literally my system haha. Thanks for the continued help. My breakers are on all my positive leads going to a mutual busbar. I have not upgraded to mrbf fuses yet but now I'm overthinking this whole thing, I need 5 class-t fuses?

A standard 12v pd/usb port designed for cars are cheap and readily available in tons of flavors, but I genuinely don't know if it would charge my dewalt 20v pack or charge my 12v lifepo or alternatively a car battery. If it does juice the car up, it could be an easy way to jump start a car lol...

Looks like you got 1kw of power up there :) Nice! I see you just used clamp mounts with strut nuts, do you have any issues with them coming loose over time? What kind of system do you got going on inside?

I've read on this being a no no. Is a steel washer ok on top of the lug in between the bolt head and lug, but not between the lug and bussbar? I have 4 batteries in parallel, none is series. One inverter. I think I understand you by saying halving the current as in put 2 lugs(from batteries) on...

Nice find, I've seen vids of the Chinese kind being taken apart and it was nothing more than a switch inside with wala protection

I do have the cheap $40 one from Amazon, and it really is a pain to work with the smaller guage wires, as for the hammer style crimper for the 4/0 cables It really is a joy using that and it makes a really nice tight crimp. Plus quality heat shrink tubing makes a worlds of difference. I...

Thanks for the real world examples. I feel better now about my 20 panels just laying around my house😅

All the contacts look very near, it Semmes to me that if a short were to ocus and the fuse burnt up it seems that the current could easily arc over to the adjoinining metal, but I'm no electrical genius.. I guess they are in production for a reason, so I assume it works?‍♂️

Lol frustrating to think about. I guess even if the stud is separated from the base, the fuse contacts both the lug on top and the busbar(on the fuseholder)

Can I fully charge my 800ah 12v battery bank (already in service) with solar; Over here, fully charge my other 206ah 12v battery with a grid charger; Link it in parallel with said 800ah bank, then just let the sparks handle the balancing?

Thank you for your kind advice, and links! And the warm welcome :) As for kid safety, this cabinet is located in my bedroom, which has a lock and key. High voltage warnings on my door, and a high shrieking alarm if my door is opened. I do have 4 fire extinguishers located around my house, and 1...

Of course I would still opt to use a stud cover

I had to look up some of these terms. FOMO : Fear of missing out Definitely part of the addiction lol. Gynoid: Although there are several definition, I am thinking you mean this one. A gynoid is a female humanoid robot, or a theoretical female equivalent of an android. Or could be the...

Ok lol thanks for clarifying.. a LOT cheaper is why I went with the 200amp breakers in the first place, I guess when I upgrade here soon I will consider t fuses at my parallel, but if mrbf are safe to extinguish the 200a, then I will go with those.. I am fairly certain I don't have a choice...

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I have no reason to do this as I have 4 in parallel already, but I am curious if this has ever been done. I wouldn't think that the current would go back into the controllers, I would think that the combined voltage would output as would 2 solar panels or batteries would.. Just electrical...

The aluminum frame is anodized meaning that it is protected from corrosion, if you scratch or drill into the frame it can cause corrosion. I believe most people that ground their array scuff up where they mount their grounding wire to get a solid connection for current. I'll leave it to others...