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Reviving a bit of an old thread here, but I had a few questions about the use of these little capacitor-based balancers. 1- I see some labeled Heltec (name brand?) and others that are generic with no label but look the same. Any reason to believe the "knockoffs" are any better or worse? I'm...

Well...I contacted the seller on eBay to cancel my original order for one unit and get two of the 30A units instead. Hope I made the right decision. Snubber - I havent read your posts, but I can. Are you doing a van system?

This is ironic. I was just about to make a fresh thread, but maybe this is similar enough of a topic to get my question answered. Let me know if I am "hijacking" this one too much. I'm currently building some Lifepo4 batteries for mobile audio use. Long story short, I have seen others on FB...

I am looking at installing an All-In-One system at a short-term rental property. At first it might just be the AIO unit and batteries with no solar, and the intent would be to have purely as backup to power essentials (fridge, lights) when power goes out at the property which it does quite...

Got it - I don't want grid-tied. Only want solar to feed essential house panel, never back to grid (which I don't even know if they allow here or not) I didn't describe my intent very well. From scratch I meant buy the separate components and hook them together. I didn't mean to imply that I...

Yeah, I figured a dedicated little one for the fridge would be good because that is really the only thing that would be on just about all the time. Ironically, the higher wattage, more expensive unit is the one that will likely barely be used. As for LEDs, I am probably just going to run those...

Gazoo -- where are you getting $109 for a price? I clicked that link and they have the 280's for $128.50. If your price is being quoted from a year ago then that might be way out of date and not the reality of today. Or maybe I am looking in the wrong place. Stepandwolf - can you provide a...

I am near Raleigh NC, but Charlotte and anywhere between Raleigh and Asheville is within reason. Not sure how to check for wholesalers in my area. That's a good deal on REC panels.

Which one on Amazon? To me these look exactly the same from Amazon and Ali except the Amazon version with all accessories is $80 and the Aliexpress version is $40. Amazon Yaorea 1035 Aliexpress Yaorea 1035 And for a few bucks less here is the 1030 Aliexpress Yaorea 1030 If the Amazon one was...

Excellent feedback, and I have heard of Santan and Signature Solar. I think I saw Santan has some kind of free shipping offer going on, but I'm sure there is a minimum order amount that applies. The problem here is that for the project I have in mind, I only need 10-12 panels, so a pallet of...

I have 2 Blink outdoor cameras (3rd gen?) and 1 Blink doorbell camera. I'd like to not have to buy/replace the special lithium AA batteries, so I was thinking of going solar. I've seen pre-made units on Amazon, but they probably have the lowest quality 18650 cells and no charge control so I'm...

That is a good deal, but I still really like the idea of picking up some "new leftovers" from a local distributor/wholesaler. Likely to be very affordable and also putting smaller odd-lots of panels to use. I like the idea of reducing waste through buying used or new yet un-sellable items and...

Yes, I've tried to read all the other used panel threads. Through reading those I have decided buying used panels may be worth the gamble as many people have had great success. Check for physical damage, snail trails, micro cracks etc, and also test for voltage and amps. The sole remaining...

OK, so sounds like maybe 4-6 panels would be a bare minimum. And as far as battery, I'd probably just keep my eyes on auctions and get as much LFP capacity for the buck as possible. It'll be in a basement, so doesn't need to be pretty or new, just needs to work and have a decent amount of...

For now I am going to go with the theory that two of the 30A controllers should do the trick. One for each panel. If I get really serious about going off-grid, then perhaps I get another panel and another controller and another bank of batteries. I could see just adding the lifepo4 280ah...

Excellent information. Very clear. One quick question...the low-amp from panels to controller is it OK to just use a regular automotive blade fuse? I am thinking yes because such a small current, but just wanted to check

I tried looking for the differences as well. The only thing I could find is something about the zeroing function. The 1030 you have to zero every time but not the 1035. ?? The cables are different between them too. But I really have no idea the difference in functionality if there is any...

OK, so REC is good quality? I've heard of a lot of these brands such as REC, but just because I've heard of them doesn't mean they are high quality. Also, does an older product line just mean they might be a little less efficient? I'm actually OK with that because I also tend to think that as...

I figure I will parallel a whole bunch at a time...maybe even 24 at a time all in parallel just to get some voltage in them. I have busbars that I can use to connect up to 12 in parallel at a time, but I can also put a busbar between those to make 24p. Is there any danger in using the...

Let me make sure I have the job of the BMS correct. They are meant to prevent over-charging and over-discharging at the cell level, right? And an additional feature that some may have is balancing at the cell level. So tool batteries have a built-in BMS in the battery itself I'm assuming. To...

So...Will is a scammer then :) JK. I didn't realize this was his forum. I guess I just didnt pay close enough attention. That brings up a new question then...I watched a video where he links to source for 280ah cells and 4 of them are like $460. But they are sold as Varicore cells. Any...

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like Epever is a decent quality unit that won't break the bank. As far as voltage and amperage, I was confused as to which numbers from the panels to use. But it seems like you should base things on Voc, not Vmpp. In series we would have approx 90v at approx 9A...

MPP - the "zero transfer time" of these units appear to be due to them always being on and always running whatever is hooked to them through the inverter. I'm assuming there is no way to circumvent that. If trying to achieve mostly solar operation from a system, then that's reasonable. But...

Any help on my previous post? I have been reading up a bunch in the forums and still confused, but I think I have the general idea. Panel(s) to controller(s) - need a fuse or breaker, probably around the 15-20A range? If I run two panels then they will be in series, maximum amps from the...

This is a part-time property. We do short-term rentals and unfortunately only get out there ourselves every so often. Really just want the option to have backup power to run essentials when the grid goes down. Do the Growatt systems only switch over to the inverter when the grid is down?

^^This is what I'm talking about. Sounds like you have closely matched cells, thus not much need for balancing. ^^Can anybody confirm or refute my general statements? They seem to be pretty consistent with the advice and observations so far.

Reviving a bit of an old thread instead of starting a new one. I already have the "beginner friendly" capacity tester with the fan on it, and I also have a 0-30v 0-10A variable adjustable DC power supply. Both of those items work well, but I really like the idea of having the ability to chart...

I'm currently building some Lifepo4 batteries for dual purpose in my Sprinter van. They need to be general energy storage to power some 12v accessories and run an inverter, but also need to be able to power a few audio amps at about 3000w. I got a great deal on some Headway cells in an auction...

That's what I figured. I'm assuming guys in videos running 40,000w systems are either not really pulling that much or they have 5-10 distinctly separate power sources as no single one could possibly have busbars and wiring capable of supporting something like that.

Nice to know they are performing well. Others have reported similar findings...that they perform well and output is to spec. My question on those panels is their longevity. As pointed out by others there seems to be some inconsistent manufacturing with the solder blobs which introduces some...