diy solar

diy solar

Most reacted threads

  • Raspberry Pi Victron CCGX firmware with Victron VE Direct to USB Cable

    Since I'm teleworking (cough, cough) I decided to build a Raspberry Pi 3 with the Victron CCGX software following the directions from here: https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-image Works like a champ. Have it hooked to my BMV-712 Battery Monitor only...
  • Finished my Chinese LiFePO4 battery project

    Put the cells and BMS in a Group 31 box, installed the plastic divider and used the free space on the left for a Battery Disconnect switch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00445KFZ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Turned out nice. Easy to move around and having a...
  • It started as "The Minimalist"

    And was supposed to stay that way. But it didn't. Just added my 3rd Battleborn. And a Samlex 2000 watt inverter just before that. It has a 12v to 5v converter feeding a Raspberry Pi with Victron VRM firmware which was the mod before the inverter swap out. Am I done? Probably not.
  • Just over a month with Solar. Here's how it's working out.

    This sickness started about a month ago when I decided to add a super simple solar system to my camper so I can boon dock camp instead of hitting the campgrounds all the time. Got a Renogy 100 watt suitcase with a charge controller. That exposed that my RV camper battery wasn't that great so...
  • Love my heat shrink label maker

    Makes for a nice touch.
  • My small home solar array

    Got my last two panels. Four Renogy 100 watt panels. I briefly considered getting larger panels but for what I'm doing heck, this may be overkill. Anyway I'm kind of proud of this. Pushed the wires into the master bedroom closet where the panel is. Sorry I didn't clean up the mess first :)
  • Dug my K-Sun heat shrink label machine out

    Messing around trying to clean up the build.
  • My Implementation of "The Minimalist"

    Built a small system up based on the Minimalist. Currently waiting for my Battleborn 100 aH LiFePO4 battery. Did a dry run on my camper. Going to put this in the Master Bedroom closet and push an outlet (but probably first an extension cord) into the bedroom and power a portable refrigerator...
  • Already "Upgrading"

    Built the Minimalist and mounted it on a board that was slightly too wide to fit where I wanted it to. I got a smaller board and somewhere along the line I thought - "I'll get a new charge controller with bluetooth" - "I'll get a battery monitor" - "I'll get a six position fuse block instead...
  • Added inverter switch to Samlex - DIY

    I have the Samlex PST-2000-12 inverter and the remote panel does not come with the inverter. Separate purchase. $40 or so. The "problem" I have is that the inverter is close to the floor and I have to bend my 57 year old body around and contort it to turn the inverter on or off. The Samlex...
  • Victron Raspberry Pi Monitoring

    Got a 2nd VE.Direct USB cable. One hooked to BMV-712 Battery Monitor and the other hooked to the MPPT 100/50 SCC
  • Space Conscious Minimalist

    Took my spare parts and made a "Minimalist". This may not make sense to some but makes perfect sense to me. Here goes. I have a Rockwood A122 A Frame Pop Up Camper. It's also very much a minimalist :) It has a distribution system that I think is not very great and will not fully charge a...
  • Built up my First DIY battery

    Took two months to get the cells (kind of expected that). They came with a couple dings in them but work fine. Shipper forgot to pack the busbars so I had to make my own. Other than that I was pleasantly surprised to see the data from the BMS on bluetooth. (Thank goodness I still had an old...
  • Found this article on Inverter noise reduction on ham radio

    Solution costs a few bucks but interesting reading. https://www.rtl-sdr.com/demonstrating-solar-inverter-noise-cancelling-with-a-timewave-anc-4-and-airspy-hf/
  • My first endurance test of my system

    I have 2 Battelborn batteries wired in parallel and run a few items off of the system, most notably a TV and a 12v portable refrigerator (Alpicool C20). We had a stretch of almost no sunshine for 3 days and I was still around 68% SOC going into last night. Weatherman said we were going to get...
  • Why can't I stop upgrading?

    Upgraded to Giandel 2200 watt inverter.
  • Put Finishing Touches on my Camper System

    Put my DIY battery in a Group 31 box and will add a disconnect switch later. Kind of a rip off of Will's video with same terminals and such. Works great. I did add a 200amp fuse to the battery after I made the video for all you eagle eyed guys out there. Clip starts with Cocoa, the World's...
  • Yet another upgrade to my Bedroom Lifeboat system

    Got a Samlex PST-2000-12v inverter to reduce EMI on ham radio. It isn't really much better than the 2000 watt inverter I had before although it doesn't spray higher up the band. The spray stops about 5-6 MHz and the Giandel sprayed pretty much everything. Stupid me just ordered the remote...
  • Victron BMV-712 zero calibration for Current

    Dug my true RMS meter out today and noticed it was a tiny bit off of what the Victron was saying. Did the calibration procedure which was easy but after I did it I thought I'd throw together a quick video to explain the steps. Heck it's really 3 steps. Remove load. Calibrate by pushing a...
  • More work on the mini system.

    Added a shunt that I got from eBay. It was one of those 50A in the title, 100A stated everywhere else. Took a chance. Lost. At some point I'll get a 100amp one.
  • Cleaning up the build and finishing touches

    Printed some 3D clips for wire management and took my vinyl sign machine to make some labels.
  • Absorption Time Battleborn

    I have Battleborn 100 ah (2 in parallel). Battleborn recommends absorption time at 20-30 mins per 100 ah battery. My absorption times are set to adaptive and generally fall around the 6-10 minute mark. Should I change my absorption rate to fixed and set for 1 hour? Or is adaptive setting ok...
  • My Solar Life

    Orders CALB cells from China 2 months ago. Goes camping over weekend to include one weekday. Batteries arrive on the one weekday I'm not home.:)
  • What size bolt for Deligreen cells

    I bought these from Deligreen (Alibaba) https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CATL-3-2V-rated-Lifepo4-200Ah_62338480895.html?spm=a2700.details.deiletai6.2.71747802EfogWk Never do that again. They came dented up, don't really look brand new and came without the bus bars I ordered. Will have...
  • Self Laminated Labels On System

    Self laminated labels for cable marking. It's the little touches that make for a professional installation.
  • Newbie DIY Battery maker has Voltage Question

    I bought these from Alibaba. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CATL-3-2V-rated-Lifepo4-200Ah_62338480895.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.0.0.59173f37ojp5Fk I'm convinced they are not new batteries. The Specs say normal voltage is 3.2 (12.8v) and Charging Voltage is 3.65 (14.6v). The...
  • Ham Radio and Inverters

    I've really been around and around trying to figure out how to have a relatively noise free environment while running a solar inverter and shortwave radios at the same time. The first conclusion I have come to is for small radios with their own aerial in the same or next room as the...
  • Using QR codes to find your Victron VRM instance - Solar upgrade

    I thought this was a good idea. I have a LOT, I repeat, A LOT of Internet of things computers, arduinos, raspberry pi's laptops, etc. It's hard to remember the IP address of everything. I do have a computer it is bookmarked on however I use many devices not to mention I'm trying to teach my...
  • Battery sizing question

    I've kind of got the DIY battery bug and looking for something perfect for my small camper. My solar panel situation is this: I have a 100 watt solar suitcase and/or a 100 watt flexible panel. I just built a 200ah battery with cells I got from Alibaba. Battery is working okay. One thing I...
  • Battery low discharge question

    400 watts of panels and 200ah (2 x Battleborn 100 ah in parallel) Every night I consume about 25% of the battery. Seemingly no matter how horrible the weather I almost always top off to 100% SOC or darn close to it. Is it problematic to low discharge and recharge over and over and over in...
Back
Top