Recent content by krby

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...

If you're looking to save costs, it is helpful to know how much power use. Things like lights are easy, if they're on, they're likely using the watts they say on the label, other equipment is harder. A residential refrigerator typically runs the compressor for a while, then is mostly dormant...

I wish inverter companies would stop recommending this paired wired thing. IMO, substituting a pair of wires is asking for trouble. If one of the pair (on + or -) has a problem (loose crimp, bad connection at one end, etc) the other wire in the pair will have to handle the (at worst case) full...

Are you looking for a pre-built solution or are you looking for advice on how to build your own? If you want to build your own (please be careful, inverters have high voltage components!) here are some ideas. You'll probably need an MCU (like an Arduino) or maybe a Rapsberry Pi. This would...

Ya, each mfg seems to have their own idea of configurability. I was surprised my VW eGolf had the following: - Set immediate charge level (go to X% as soon as you plug in) - Set recurring schedule for "be charged to X% (typically 90% or 100%, but could be something X) by 6AM M-F. I could have...

Yep, Level 2 charging is 240VAC (single phase) or 208VAC (three phase) and a min of 6A. But at that 6A min, you're at ~1.4kW, which you could also get from L1 charging on 120VAC. Finding a 24V inverter that will do ~220V/60Hz for the US may be tough, if you find one, post here! Many modern...

Wire gauge vs current is really about heat dissipation. For wiring in a bundle or enclosed space where shedding heat may be a problem, current ratings are typically lower. I typically use the recommendations on this chart: https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm On that chart "chassis wiring"...

It seems like you're asking too much of the batteries and the wires. For the wires: are they 5mm diameter (about 4AWG) or 5mm^2 cross section (about 10AWG)? I mean only the conductors, not including the insulation. The size should be marked on the jacket. Depending on the jacket, 4AWG can...

There are a few different ways. The easiest for you would be something like the Victron battery monitors. Look for Smart Shunt or BMV-702. The former has no display, you connect to it from your phone via Bluetooth (so limited range). There are cheaper shunt-type monitors, but the Victron ones...

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...

Thanks! I'll check those out. The varying duty cycle of MPPT feels similar to what is needed for switch mode power supplies. Double conversion isn't required, it's just what I did with external gear because it was easy. If I can find a component that act as a fast enough transfer switch (it's...

Heh. Agree. In fact the DIY (putting together lots of components, but not building your own PCB) is my current level of DIY when it comes to electronics. But, I guess I want to "dig deeper" as you say. So, I guess I'll spew out notes here, but any suggestions or help is appreciated. I've been...

Thanks for the reply! To be clear, I am not asking: "Can you help me get to a bigger UPS?" I have something working based on a separate converter/charger and inverter. It's been running since July. I've posted about it in a few threads here. The batteries are sized to power the needed load for...

@JoseMR I also recently hacked together a "big UPS" and I was missing the "notify something else so it can shut down" functionality. I solved this with an Arduino running this library: https://github.com/abratchik/HIDPowerDevice and my own code. I needed some extra hardware to do AC on/of...

Ya, that's a thing I've thought about. It's not as trivial as I'd like. I've got two groups of devices - Things that take DC-in (via wall warts): ISP gateway, router - Things that have multi-rail AC/DC: NAS and POE switch. The first group is pretty easy. Just provide DC-DC converters for the...