Recent content by Mattb4

Many of the inexpensive AIO's are simply rebranded Voltronics or SRNE. I believe the Eco-Worthy is SRNE as is the SunGold and the PowMr, and even Midnite solar DIY. Growatts and MPP are Voltronics. Before you buy anything understand the specifications for every component so that they work with...

I only get rid of the boxes for those devices that sometime in the future I would really like or need the factory box to put it back into. The rest get saved based on if they are a handy size and the storage building has enough room for another handy size box. I don't recycle I just burn them...

For some of us we enjoy tweaking it, changing things around, adding more panels, creating new arrays and just trying things out. Good practices and proper connecting is always a good idea. Nothing wrong with a wood mount. It may not be a forever method but it works and for some of us that is...

Depends of the Voc and Vmp. Plus the SCC's max Voc. It could be that your SCC can handle the 4 panels in series. Likely you need 2 in series minimum though to have enough voltage to charge a 24vDC nom. battery.

A while back I considered using a 230vAC single phase AIO and buying Euro standard appliances that could be powered by it. I eventually decide against it. Some folks at the Forum here have bought them and added transformers to the output to get split phase. There are some special requirements...

Part of the problem here is understanding that potential PV power is not the same as actual PV loading. As you notice you can load your panels up and see what they will do. Without load they just sit in the sun producing nothing but voltage. Any methods that try to take advantage of the...

I do not recommend using a Euro 230vAC 50hz AIO in the US unless you fully understand how the US split phase system operates. Most US designed devices require 2 hot legs (L1, L2) and a neutral leg and the Euro standard is 1 hot leg at L1 and the neutral at L2. Yes the Euro/Asian standard 230vAC...

I replaced all my other PV wire with Temco PV rated, it is just superior in my opinion to a lot of the Chinese imported stuff. One thing I will mention however is at termination where you wire it to breakers or SCC is that you do have to be more careful with ensuring a good tight connection. It...

It is not just a regulation issue. Supplies to the grid and distribution from the grid was not designed in many cases to allow for a ton of small up-feeds. Loads drive supply. But a grid tie unit works to take as much load as it is capable of doing. Too many feeders and not enough loads create...

Washout of the Nukes, especially during Nuclear Power School, was high for sometimes rather minor offenses. My first roommate got fleet orders for making the mistake of writing down some of the material from class and having it in the dorm room. It was spotted during a room inspection. Proper...

Hey, no picking on us former Navy Nukes.

I find this online calculator handy when deciding how much heating you can get. https://gettopics.com/en/calc/water-heating-calculators Since I am 120vAC I simply bought and installed 120vAC (2000w but they make other wattage amounts) rated heater elements.

Why is it that every time I get in some new panels or I want to reconfigure an old array the weather turns bad for several days? It is darn hard to check operation when there is no or limited sun available. You would think that solar panels would give you more sunny weather but perhaps they...

My oldest factory built liFePO4 (not Battleborn but the cheapest one I could find) is a few months shy of 2 years old. It has been used every day though the amount of draw has decreased as my total battery bank has increased. It started out at 80-90% usage each day but now is only ~20% unless...

If your load is greater than your inverter can supply it will go into overload condition. Sometimes this is delayed a bit as your inverter has a leeway ability for surges. If it did not have a protective function your loads would experience a Brownout condition as the output voltage dropped...