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  • Post in thread: Insulating Bus Bars and Battery Terminals

    Interesting idea. I would like to see photos if you have time to upload. I too felt the need for this after seeing so many setups like this. I ended up 3D printing custom terminal & busbar covers for my big 14.4kWh LiFePO4 array. I found out the hard way with a huge spark when I was pulling...
  • Post in thread: AliExpress (Sellers or disputes) - the good, the bad & the ugly

    Yes, I had a bad experience recently with AliExpress (AE). It was not a lot of money but wasted a lot of time and the way it was handled was infuriating. Background: I came up a way to clean solar panels quickly & efficiently by using a portable battery powered water gun. Then feed the gun...
  • Post in thread: Overhead Cabling

    I found free access to NEC 2020 edition and Article 396 Messenger-Supported Wiring describes it all along with allowed cable types. Table 396.10(A) lists that good old MC-Metal Clad cable (armored cable) can be used for aerial (see attached page below)...
  • Post in thread: Overhead Cabling

    No prob! Yes, hopefully Google search will find this and help along others on the interwebs through the years. Still though, SOOW cable would look the best aesthetically for overhead application. SOOW is smooth, super flexible and have a matte black covering already. I'm looking at the...
  • Post in thread: Do you occasionally disassemble your battery bank and charge individually?

    I would say chances of mishaps like short-outs from tools and inadvertent loose connections are a BIG con. Then again, this is 2p2p so only 4 cells? That's not many cells. A lot of DIY setups have 16 or 32 cells then that's more risk of something going bad. Why disassemble when you can use...
  • Post in thread: Heavy-Duty Cabinet for large power bank

    Sure. I have a 300A ANT BMS with LCD display & Bluetooth. It has been a good feature-rich BMS and uses MOSFETs for soft start. It can cut out either charge & discharge flows separately if any of the user configurable cutoffs are reached (cell imbalance, HVC, LVC, overcurrent, etc.). No heat...
  • Post in thread: California NEM Contract Status After House Sold

    Can anyone confirm or have experience with a house that is sold in California that is actively on solar NEM 2.0 that the new home owners get to keep the NEM 2.0 contract going on the house? This would also apply to grandfathered NEM 1.0 if those are still around. This is in anticipation of the...
  • Post in thread: NEM 2.0 - Zero Dollar Electric Bill Possible?

    Yep, presuming plenty of sunlight available year round. But would need a very powerful inverter preferably low-frequency type. In-rush loads from fridge compressors and power tool motors are big challenges. Not to mention typical A/C units.
  • Post in thread: NEM 2.0 - Zero Dollar Electric Bill Possible?

    If a residential home in California is on a NEM 2.0 contract, is it possible to have a $0 electric bill or near-zero electric bill? Further, not just $0 but what about money back? The thing that makes it hard to get $0 is the NBC (Non-Bypassable Charges) but installing a sufficiently large...
  • Post in thread: Heavy-Duty Cabinet for large power bank

    Sure, they're custom 3D printed. I can give you the AutoCAD Fusion360 file if you want. If you have different sized battery cell, you will need to resize the spacing. There is also a small 1.125mm hole to be able to test the terminals with a volt meter probe without ever needing to remove the...
  • Post in thread: APSystems - Grid-Tied - Multi Array w/ Battery

    I can just add that the battery charging will need to be AC-coupled since the microinverters output AC "from the roof". So you could just use any power supply that can output the correct voltage for the battery and have your BMS handle the safety aspects of LVC and HVC. Charge throttling will...
  • Post in thread: Need Review/Comments on AIMS 275-Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panels $36

    Anybody heard of these 275-watt polycrystalline solar panels for ridiculously low price of $36 w/free shipping? https://kennimathi.com/product/aims-solar-panel-275-watt-polycrystalline/ It looks legit and they are new panels with CE and UL rating with 30-year warranty. I've never seen such a...
  • Post in thread: NEM 2.0 - Zero Dollar Electric Bill Possible?

    Yes, I'm with PG&E. Correct, there is a $10/mo minimum "connection fee" and I have actually encountered that. But I was thinking that minimum connection fee might not apply when a home is on a NEM 2.0 contract though. Or that the True-up would basically eliminate that minimum connection at...
  • Post in thread: Need Review/Comments on AIMS 275-Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panels $36

    Yes, I'm afraid so. That or they mistyped the price and missed a zero at the end of it.
  • Post in thread: Heavy-Duty Cabinet for large power bank

    Attached is the 7z compressed STL file. Looks like you can use it as-is since the EVE 304 and EVE 280 are the same size only the EVE 304 is just a bit longer in length. Note there is a "socket" to attach the protector to one of the terminal bolts and the other end is a "slot". This design...
  • Post in thread: Heavy-Duty Cabinet for large power bank

    Could work. But I'd be very afraid of stacking that much weight that high in one single cabinet. I wouldn't stack more than 2 shelves high really. So my suggestion is to split your 4 banks into dual 2-bank low cabinets. I presume you're doing a 16s (48V) setup in 16s4p configuration. You...
  • Post in thread: NEM 2.0 - Zero Dollar Electric Bill Possible?

    Thanks for that info! Looks like you've been on NEM 1.0 since the early 2000s. Yes, that is a sweet deal. From my research, NEM 2.0 came in around 2017 across all three of the CA investor owned power companies. It made residential solar slightly less sweet with NBC, time-of-use plans and...
  • Post in thread: sending the overproduced power to water heater

    You can also get a big stainless steel distiller from AliExpress and use it to create distilled water. Evaporating water takes a lot of energy and the distilled water is soo very useful around the house as well as for drinking. To modulate the distiller's heating power, you can get a cheap...
  • Post in thread: APSystems - Grid-Tied - Multi Array w/ Battery

    Are you able to register for the full 25-year warranty on each APS unit? That is huge. With so many units, the chances of one failing actually increase by statistics alone. I'm fine with no support as there is plenty of it online and they're mostly plug & play as you say.
  • Post in thread: Overhead Cabling

    I'm located in California and need recommendations on electrical wiring to run an overhead/aerial cable. I need to connect a solar array to the house mains which is on an adjacent and separate building. The overhead/aerial will be over 10ft high above ground and be across ~11ft gap. There...
  • Post in thread: Heavy-Duty Cabinet for large power bank

    That battery weighs as much as a vehicle. Do you have photos of this monster? What is its array configuration? Is it in its own detached building?
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