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  • Post in thread: Is such a thing as off grid internet possible?

    You can sort of roll your own, but eventually you're going to have to either pay for a peering arrange to the wider Internet, or pay someone else who has one. There have been been several successful "community ISP" non-profits and co-ips. These folks provide the last-mile connection to...
  • Post in thread: Review Pacific Sun Systems / SpecializedPower 24V 200Ah LiFePO4

    Note: I am not affiliated with the company, and have not been compensated in any way for this review, I'm just a customer and I don't see much info about these batteries on this forum, so I thought I would share my experience. In a few different posts people have asked about the LFE packs...
  • Post in thread: Question RE understanding of the math/concepts

    I've used Kill-A-Watts for <15A but that's for things pulling 12-13A for no more than 30minutes or so. But, mine is at least 6 or 7 years old so maybe quality has gone down or I just got lucky. I recently did a sizing exercise using a Kill-A-Watt. You really do need to measure it vs looking at...
  • Post in thread: Advice for non-solar power box / electric generator

    Why? Because I overlooked that! Nice catch, thanks! :) I originally intended the disconnect as a total disconnect and your suggestion does that. As far as a switch for the 12V step down. I'm either going to leave out the separate switch, make it internal only for maintenance. In the scenarios...
  • Post in thread: Electric heater calculations

    It's all about watts. Watts is watts is watt. Watts are a unit of power. We can do things with power (watts), like run a beer fridge. We don't power anything just with volts, or just with amps. We power things with watts. You need both amps (current) and volts (like electrical pressure or...
  • Post in thread: Seems like a good deal

    I may regret this having done this, but... I have a 24V 200Ah battery coming from these folks (it's actually SpecializedPower.net who sells the batteries) The reason for the "optional" is that they custom build the pack and you can specify the current that the BMS will handle. As far as I can...
  • Post in thread: Benchtop Power Supply for under $100.

    Sort of. A few important things to straighten out The PSU does not adjust current. The only "tool" the PSU has available to enforce its limits is adjustable voltage. Let's say you short circuit the power supply output + and -. The is close to zero resistance, so nearly infinite current will be...
  • Post in thread: help me understand shore power inverter ATS current

    Watts is Watts is Watts. So do you solve the problem this way: 12V charger is really going to put out a max of about 14.7V when charging. 14.7V x 70A = 1029W. So your charger needs at least 1029 watts from the input side, not counting any losses for efficiency. Let's say 80%-90% efficient...
  • Post in thread: Review Pacific Sun Systems / SpecializedPower 24V 200Ah LiFePO4

    I did get an email stating I could open the battery without voiding the warranty. The cable lengths made it difficult to move the lid around without pulling wires so this was really quick look, but didn't disconnect anything or move much around. It looks like the cells and BMS are held in place...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    I'm building a mobile-ish setup that will have a battery disconnect (one of the big RV / Boat from Blue Sea or similar) switch between the battery and the inverter charger. I'll leave it off most of the time. I would like to avoid the high current inrush and spark at the switch when switching...
  • Post in thread: Advice for non-solar power box / electric generator

    UPDATE: Almost done! Functional and close enough for pictures. Missing DC outputs and some finishing touches like cable management on the inside. Pelican Storm 2875 case, two AC out, one AC in, red disconnect/pre-charge switch. The blank hole is for a panel mount power pole thing from...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    Quick question about wiring a 4-way switch with resistor. This whole time, I've been thinking: Circuit 1 is for pre-charge, runs from 1 terminal on switch to inverter. Circuit 2 is the main circuit, runs from 2 terminal on switch to inverter. But last night, it occurred to me that I maybe I...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    Ok, I FINALLY got some time to spend on my build, so I wired up the pre-charge circuit today. It's a Blue Sea M-6007 switch and a 20 50W resistor. I have a 24V system. First I soldered some 10AWG wire on the resistor. The wire doesn't need to be this bug, it'll carry no more than ~1.5A. But...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    UPDATE: I printed a block to prevent the rotary switch I had installed from turning from OFF directly to 2. Then I put a cap head screw in the switch handle so it hits the block. My first attempt had the screw too high, and it was a little hard to turn the switch. Block is glued down with Goop...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    Victron Multiplus 24V 3000VA arrived today (thanks to @Justin Laureltec at Bay Marine!) , so I got out a DMM to test the capacitance and after taking all the precautions, making it was discharged, etc. My multimeter only ranges up to 9999uF :-( Oh well, I've got the 20Ohm resistor in hand and...
  • Post in thread: 120/240 Dryer

    Nope, that's not it at all. To convert DC to AC, you use an inverter. When you buy an inverter, it's will have three important ratings: DC input volts. The most common ones are 12V, 24V, and 48V, but it could be any DC voltage. AC output volts. Usually 120V, sometimes split phase 120V/240V...
  • Post in thread: Using two to make one?

    It's generally ok to run two cables instead of one, and some gear (like the Victron MultiPlus) even mentions this in the manual. But, I don't know if it is a good idea to crimp two cables together in a single lug. If it were me, I would crimp each cable in their own lugs separately, and try and...
  • Post in thread: Is such a thing as off grid internet possible?

    I think there is confusion about whether the OP wants "cost free Internet access" or "decentralized, DIY, or otherwise feels like off-grid Internet access". I read the original post as the latter. You may be able to do last-mile Internet that feels less like "big telecom company running a cable...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    Cool, thanks for the confirmation. That's actually the thing I'm thinking about, but when I wrote it felt hard to explain so I wrote the first idea with the separate button. Re-timing. Ya, will do.
  • Post in thread: Bought a van! Now what? 12 or 48 volt?

    The general rule of thumb is you can do up to ~3000W (some say 2000W) on 12V. If you have a bunch of 12V equipment already, aren't going to exceed 2000W then that may be easiest. However, 48V systems are generally "the new hotness" so lots of gear is coming out to support 48V. If you have gear...
  • Post in thread: Advice for non-solar power box / electric generator

    UPDATE: 1) Dropped the 12V output. 2) Victron MultiPlus 24V 3000VA arrived and tested I thought I'd give some quick updates 1) I decide not to worry about the dedicated 12V step-down regulator and output. If I want to add it later, I always can. I'll have just battery voltage on some panel...
  • Post in thread: Will this work for pre-charging inverter capacitors?

    Just a quick note: I thought this compact Perko 8511 switch would be a similar size as the Blue Sea M6007 I have. But I ordered from Amazon and it is at least an inch or so bigger on each side.
  • Post in thread: Electricity Question for you experts: Which is better high watts at a short time, or low watts for a longer time?

    Almost all batteries do better with a lower power draw over a longer period of time. So, using 1kWh over 1hr (literally 1kW for one hour) will use up more battery capacity than 1kWh for two hrs (0.5kW for 2 hours). This effect is pretty dramatic with lead acid batteries, less so for LFE...
  • Post in thread: Advice on setting up battery charging from VE MultiPlus-II 12V/24V 3kVA 2x120V using VictronConnect

    I've used the MK3-USB with an Android phone, a Mac laptop, and a Windows PC. VictronConnect on the Mac laptop never felt like it worked well to me, it would disconnect while I was editing settings. This was several years ago, so maybe things have changed. The Android phone and Windows PC worked...
  • Post in thread: Is such a thing as off grid internet possible?

    With high gain directional antennas, you can overcome some of these, but not all. About 20 years ago, my home internet link was service from a neighborhood co-op ISP. Standard (2002 era) consumer 2.4 Ghz wifi radios with 24dBi parabolic antenna on one end and an 8dBi omni on another. I think the...
  • Post in thread: Conceptually, a BMS is:

    https://liionbms.com/php/about_bms.php
  • Post in thread: Benchtop Power Supply for under $100.

    I have a 0-30V 0-10A variable supply and I tried charging a 3S 4Ah LiPo last weekend, because of this thread. It absolutely works as you expect. Here is what I did: Setup Set current limit to 4A (4Ah battery, charging at 1C Set voltage limit at 12.6V (4.2V max per cell for LiPo x 3S) Hooked...
  • Post in thread: Ripple in Double Conversion UPS

    I'm going back to the OP's statement about "double conversion UPS" having to worry more about ripple. I can only guess this is because the AC->DC converter/charger is always on, vs AC going directly to the load through a transfer switch like a standby UPS. How is this any different from a...
  • Post in thread: Inverter Fuse Question

    Yup, 20A fuses on the DC side won't do it. Is it possible the 10A fuses are meant for the AC side? In theory, you could upgrade the DC side fuses, but that is dangerous unless you are sure all the components inside and including the battery cables, terminals, etc are capable of the higher...
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