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Almost finished construction of the 'Solar Shack'hi It's going to have 12 x 250w panels on the roof

Thank you so much for your responses. You are making things clearer for me. It sounds like the first thing we should do is get more panels, put them in 2p and face them SE and SW. This kind of makes up for our low battery capacity and high draw inverter. (widens the hours of producing power...

I just found this fourm so am going to be doing some digging around before I ask any more questions. I've already ordered all the components mentioned above so am commited now. I've got to wait until beginning March for the battery so i've got time to do more research. I'm based in California...

Thank you all for the responses. I do understand the liability side of giving advice. I am going to get a licenced electrician to check over my work before it goes live. I just want to fully understand what i am doing and build a safe, correct system first time What I mean by 'not grid tied' is...

I ordered a 120v diaphragm pump. I’m going to try it with one pump to begin with, see how long it takes to pressurize the tank. I’ll design the system so there is space to add another pump if necessary. I need to do some research into cavitation. See how to reduce the affects

You would think so :LOL:

I'm building a roundwood timber framed structure with an earth roof over the 5th wheel with a 16' porch on the front. this should provide full shade from the sun and great insulation. Runing the AC for a couple of hours during the day wont make it a fridge but should take the edge off slightly...

I need to pressurise water from a 1500 gallon water tank. We use between 50-100 gallons per day. Practically no head pressure I have bought a 86 gallon bladder tank. My question is, would a 120v diaphram pump (RV pump style) be suitable for pressurising this tank or do I need something...

Good point. I'll check that. I pump 35 gallons into my 5th wheel tank with one at the moment. it gets pretty hot after that. It is pumping the water 100ft slightly uphill through a 3/4 garden hose.

I also let mine run dry for god knows how many hours and its fine. Slightly louder I have to say. I've used and abused that pump and it still runs. Thats why I want to incorporate that type of pump into my new set up. Last year I let that pump freeze up completely at least three or four times...

I meant northern boundary. Haha It's the start of a dream, very early stages yet. I'll post pics of my solar endeavors. I'm a total rookie when it comes to solar so it's a big learning curve

450VOC

as I understand it 6s of my panels at 37.6 V per panel is 225.6VOC The charge controller is rated at 450VOC max so well under

Yeah no well pump at the moment. We are fortunate enough to have good neigbours who allow us to use ther well for the time being. We have an ICB tote on a flatbed trailer for transporting the water from there well head The 120wh estimate is for pumping the water into the holding tank in our 5th...

Long story short, my wife and I have bought 6.5 acres in South Western Oklahoma. We are going to be starting an off grid homestead, I'm going down at the end of this month (January) to start the ground works. She will be following down later in the spring with our 3 month old son. I have done a...

I ordered one of the LifePower4 batteries from sig solar to pair with the 5k Growatt inverter/charge Controller. The battery is on back order, I'm supposed to be picking it up beginning of March. @MrM1 pointed me in the direction of this thread. Its pretty worrying, condolences to the people...

Where abouts are you based? Do you know what your average kwh production was on your 2565w array during good solar conditions? thanks

I picked up my 12x250v solar panels from Santan solar the other day, nice operation they've got down there. While I was there the lady I was dealing with suggested setting my arrey up in a 3s4p configuration. When I asked why she couldn't give me an answer, just that this is what they would...

Thanks, FLA is definitely not my first choice but it’s what I’ve got at the moment. I’ll go with LiFe at some point in the future probably. I’ll do more research into the details of FLA in the meantime though. I think I’m going with the KISS method to begin with, Keep It Simple Stupid. I’ll...

Setting up the panels in 4s2p configuration for the reasons stated does make sense to me, especially with the high draw of the inverter/charge controler. Maybe because of our battery limitations simplicity isn't the key. haha I was thinking one way of negating the waste of PV production during...

Thank you for your detailed response. As a few people have touched on the same concerns I'll create a new post that tries to address all of the advice.

I might take you up on this, beats waiting till March to get my battery.

Yeah, this suits us quite well.

I’m not sure yet because I haven’t bought it yet. I think around the 30-40w range. It’s to go around the filter, the only part of the system I can’t insulate with pool noodles. I was originally going to use a string of incandescent bulbs but a heat pad should work better.

I’m not sure yet because I haven’t bought it yet. I think around the 30-40w range. It’s to go around the filter, the only part of the system I can’t insulate with pool noodles. I was originally going to use a string of incandescent bulbs but a heat pad should work better.

Well within voltage for my SCC 450VDC so shouldn't be a problem there. All the panels should get unhindered sun from dawn till dusk so shouldn't be a problem with shading ether. I guess if I had a shading issue then it would make sense to do it. James

Because the well was drilled a couple of months ago, in the wet season. I don’t know how much the static water level will drop in the summer. At 70’ even if the water level drops by 20’ I’ve still got a buffer. That and 70’ is how far #10 wire can provide 5a on a 24v system with a 3% voltage drop

Thanks for the replies. I just got to the land my wife and I purchased. It's fully Forrest so going to start clearing land for the homestead and solar panels over the next few weeks. It will become apparent if I need to put them in more strings or not. Shouldn't do though because I'm planning...

Ok, the system is 48v 5kw growatt inverter/charge controller. Powered by 2x 100ah 48v liFe batteries and 3000w of panels. At the moment I only have the inverter, the transformer, the batteries and the panels. I need to buy everything else. Any recommendations for DC disconnect, PV disconnect...

Hello everyone. I’m looking for advise on the best way to set my system up. I’ll try and give as detailed description as possible about the system I am currently building for the well. I’ll be using a 24v low flow rate pump (3GPM) to pump the water into a 275 gallon tank at the head of the...