Most reacted threads

This is kind of ugly and could have been done better, but it was great for camping. Essentially just a basic small solar system using a cheap PWM controller and two 7.2AH lead acid gel batteries. I also had an arduino setup so it can auto power off if voltage gets too low as well as show a...

This is sorta a work in progress from a few years ago, since I currently have zero automation involved (low voltage shut off etc) so I tend to just turn it on as required. I plan to eventually do all that. Right now It's off and the panels are covered in snow and ice so I don't bother in...

Been interested in solar for a while now and have played with small systems including a 400w setup on my shed, and been watching some of Will's videos so figured I'd join. It's my dream to eventually build an off grid homestead as I just like the idea of being more self sufficient energy wise...

I find with climate change we get way more weird weather patterns here now including freezing rain or wet snow. This ends up causing a crust on the panels which cannot be brushed off like regular snow. I have a 400w system on my shed which I just turn off completely in winter but it would be...

Years back I put 400w of solar panels on my shed, it was feeding a small battery and 350w inverter, and I always had the intention of upgrading that setup and mounting it on the wall so I can make it look decent, as it was just sitting on the ground. So recently that's what I did. There is...

One tree is in my front yard, it started to split in half. I cut most of it myself but there's one section going over the house that I rather hire out. The other tree is in the back, and it's too risky to do myself so I will hire out. That one just started to die and is rotting inside out and...

We've had a pretty serious warm spell here for past week or so and snow has been melting enough that my panels are now clear. Just put in a small gel cell I had lying around, as the bigger battery is in my server room UPS and for now that's more important in case power goes out while I'm...

I'm building a portable solar power station, it mostly all works except I have not implemented the cut off switch yet because I was waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I want to be able to turn the entire system off at the battery when not in use otherwise the charge controller will stay on...

I tend to only deal with flooded batteries as I like that I can just add water and if cared for well they last long. Gel/AGM you can't. Gels don't tend to last long at all and not sure about AGM as it's my first time having one. It's a 79ah 12v battery for a portable solar setup that will be...

Is it safe to do this? Stay below the max voltage of course. Basically I would run mains through a variac, drop voltage to something sensible, rectify and filter it then feed the controller. This is a temp setup, I just want to use one to charge a battery, and to also test it out indoors...

I recently converted my system from 12v to 24v by stringing 4 6v golf cart batteries in series. Got everything wired up and it seems to work but the battery warning is flashing on the unit. Manual indicates it's over voltage condition. From my understanding this model is auto sensing, is...

Curious what everyone does for low voltage disconnect on your systems, in order to preserve the batteries. My train of thought is to mod the inverter so it can be turned on/off via a relay (by modifying the on/off switch which is usually a soft switch) and then having a microcontroller that...

Anyone have experience with this unit? https://ca.renogy.com/48v-3500w-inverter-charger/ I am curious if the AC comes from the inverter at all times when it's in grid mode. Ex: can I use it as a dual conversion UPS? Hook it up to grid, and to battery, and then if power goes out there's zero...

I want to experiment with playing with lithium ion cells, start small then eventually go bigger. Ex: RC cars and stuff, and maybe even an ebike. Problem is it seems very hard to find cells from a reputable source as there arn't really any that I know of. Anyone know of any by chance? Only...