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I can't consult, but I suggest that you do not buy any components until the system is completely planned.

Coincidentally, last week I ordered https://www.ebay.com/itm/PWM-MPPT-Heater-Charger-Regulator-Solar-Photovoltaic-Solar-Panels-Hot-Water-PV/263523458861?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 I got lucky and found a new 50-gal water heater on Craiglist for $200. This will be...

I have the Epever Tracer 4215BN charging a 24v lifepo4 battery pack. Just choose "User" as a battery type, and enter/change the values to what your battery requires. E.g., set the "boost" voltage to your recommended charge voltage (probably 14.6 or 29.2 for lifepo4). Equalization and float...

Ha, I'd buy the replacement AND also fix the old one, if it is indeed just the fan. :) But then, I have junk storage space.

Beautiful! I wonder if these outperform dreadlock bus bars.

So, back on 5/1 I wrote: Coincidentally, last week I ordered PWM MPPT Heater Charger Regulator Solar Photovoltaic Solar Panels Hot Water PV | eBay...

Cool, that was what I'd hoped it would do. Soon you'll be up and running with two controllers, nice. I have zero complaints with the 4215BN, which has been operating since last fall. At max output, it hardly even gets warm.

I took Dzl's list and pasted it into a public editable google sheet. It has no special formatting - just trying to keep it very basic and friendly. Maybe can be a starting point. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fVbAsqBpg2dxqZoleisrSV-nVsdBEF4a?usp=sharing I will back this up locally...

No expert, but with lifepo4's discharge curve so flat in the 26 - 26.5v range, it's hard to judge 80%, or any state of charge. A 28.2v max charge voltage seems good, as you mentioned from Will's video. I charge only to 28v, which does keep me very roughly 10% short of a "full" charge, on...

Looks great, nice job. Things to consider: Maybe move the bat fuse down to the battery post, add a separate fuse at the controller ouput, add a fuse to the pv input (maybe it's already present at the panels?), and cover the battery posts against short circuits.

You seem to be in parallel though, because in post #4 you said that the Bluetti cables were parallel, and that "cumulatively they only produced 185w at 21 VDC"; the photo in post #24 looks like parallel; and in post #26 (b) you said "185w 21v at one end and 165w 20v at the other end" [i.e. at...

The shunt and meter that you added will be the accurate reading, although you should verify it with another meter (such as a clamp meter) once, to be sure the new meter is reading correctly. While you're at it, you can check the actual current in all the wires and its direction. Yes that's the...

Right - 21v is not enough for the mppt to deliver the amps needed for 330w.

Not silly at all WoodsieLord. Sounds like those Emerson breakers were good ones. DC breakers have different internal designs for the section around the "contact points" that break and reconnect the electrical path. The different design costs a little more to manufacture. For "alternating...

I bought the 24v 4,000 watt split phase Sungold last fall. It does look just like an AIMS. It has been running small loads on one 120v leg constantly since then, and it also starts and runs a submersible well pump at 240v, 8 running amps, when the grid is out. No problems so far. It was $845...

Hold on, I like cheese puffs . . . :giggle:

All true on fuses and breakers, but some thoughts: 1) nuisance trips are, well, a nuisance, especially on fridges and freezers. 2) there's no reason to run a fuse or breaker near its limit (and the resultant heating) if the stuff you're protecting doesn't need to be constrained near its normal...

If there is a load present, and you have sunshine, then it sounds like something is wired wrong. Are the batteries in series, for 24v? Does the MT50 show 24V on the second "parameters" screen? Are you using the controller's "load" output terminals, or just the battery output terminals? (Just...

At 14.4v your batteries are plumb full. You said this problem happens while appliances are running. Are they only a fairly small load? You can try placing a high continuous load on the system (during sunshine on the panels) and see if the output increases then. E.g. a heat gun/hair dryer, or a...

No harm to panels from non-use. Their capacity will deteriorate about 1/2 to 2% per year whether they are in use or not. I don't know if sunlight causes the deterioration, in which case shading them will make them last longer, or if it's just oxidation in general. Would be curious if anyone...

That's a shame TimC. And no, I don't think this is an act of "socialization". It is "ironic" capitalism, i.e. when it professes to want reduced regulatory burden, but of course not in cases like this where it simply wants the government to stifle or remove competition. I'm a little radical -...

Ha, seems to be a common disease :) Yeah, if it was exclusively about saving money, we'd just stop with a grid-tie and move on. I and undoubtedly many others have been going through the same thought process as you describe for PV heating water. I liked the simplicity of the boost converter...

Yes it needs a 12vdc constant supply. I measured 150 mA on it, so it's only a constant 2 watt draw. I just used an old, but good quality, wall wart.

I have a one-year-old 4215BN, it can be used for Li just fine. But you must set the battery to "User" and make sure the boost and other voltages are set properly, and below your bms trip points. What are your boost, equaliz, float and charging limit voltages? All of them need to be well below...

I just checked the Yeti specs, and it looks like you're stuck with 12v for expansion batteries. So, like gnubie said, you can only make use of around 500 max charging watts from the array to the new batteries - but it's not totally a waste because you'll get more watts at lower light levels...

You should have a disconnect of some kind, often it's a breaker. A DC breaker in that voltage and amp range is pretty inexpensive.

The entire pipeline is submerged, so both sides of the pipe loop have the same static water pressure. By "head" I mean the small portion of pipe that is above sea level. And that is likely insignificant because I assume the pipe, even above sea level, is filled solid with water including the...

I see. It's a PWM controller and can't limit the panel current. It may be worth getting an inexpensive mppt controller, although it would cost close to $100, not $15. The advantages are 1) being able to accommodate higher-voltage panels, 2) ability to leave your batteries in parallel...

Sounds good. Couldn't find the actual manufacturer in a brief search. These are good examples for which a consolidated sheet of info like this may help folks out.

You may be able to use the "load" output on the mppt scc (if it has one) to drive a dc-dc battery charger. You'd be limited on watts (e.g. 27v x a 20a load output limit = 540w). A possible problem is that if the scc gives the load output "priority", then the load will take amps away from the...