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diy solar

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  • Post in thread: "up and coming" equipment vendors?

    My buddy did this. Converted his pontoon boat to electric power, and put solar panels on the roof. He has an off-grid cabin in the Northern Wilds of Ontario, and didn't want to mess with hauling gasoline in to the camp. He has a Tesla Model 3, that he charges off the cabin when its there, too...
  • Post in thread: Alternator load from Renogy RBC50D1S Real World?

    There is a Starter interlock switch in Automatic Transmissions to keep you from grinding the starter gears to smithereens while in gear, it only allows voltage from the starter position on the key to flow if the transmission is in "Neutral" or "Park"... perhaps that could be the "gatekeeper"...
  • Post in thread: Backup to a generator for prolonged grid down scenario

    Along with the gas fireplace in an air conditioned house. "to take the chill off"
  • Post in thread: Best option to optimise this winter...

    Over panelling is OK. One caveat; make sure that your Voc doesn't exceed the max voltage of the controller.... Overpanelling is like plugging a phone charger into an outlet after removing a hairdryer. The potential for more wattage is there, but the phone charger only pulls what it needs. (as...
  • Post in thread: 6 x 12v Battery connection

    What voltage are you trying to achieve for the entire battery bank? It looks like 24v right now...
  • Post in thread: 24v Travel Trailer System

    Most of the time the vent is for the Carbon Monoxide and other poisonous gasses. Which when the appliance is efficient and in good working order, aren't being produced in any significant amounts. This means that in a large volume of air, there aren't any issues. (houses, garages and such) In a...
  • Post in thread: Lead acid and Lifepo4 with switch between

    Just to clarify; You would like to continue to use the Flooded Lead Acid House battery for most of the time and use the LiPo4 bank when it is exhausted? If that is the case, you are asking how to tie the two banks together to achieve this goal, as well as charge the LiPo4 bank when not in use...
  • Post in thread: AiLi shunt question

    I have one... It just measures the voltage between the 'Sampler' Wire and the connection the shunt is bridging... You will need to enter the number of Amp/Hours your battery bank is, AND reset it when you feel that Batts are 'full'... Once you have done those two things, it will count the...
  • Post in thread: AGM are they safe inside

    Hydrogen requires almost a stoichiometric ratio of fuel and air, unlike methane, propane or octane vapours, which will burn at multiples of 'ideal'. This was indicated to me by an experiment using a Pringles can. The bottom and top were removed, and a pin-hole was punched in the plastic 'lid'...
  • Post in thread: Maximize solar array parallel or series?

    Yup. That is the reason that the starter motor on an ICE car has big thick cables running to it, while the radio does not. (and why in an EV the motive battery is running at hundreds of volts instead of 12, and they have to 'make' 12v to power the radio and windshield wipers)
  • Post in thread: Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    You would need the house batts to be wired in parallel to keep 24v, if that is what the starter batts provide. Wire your inverters to the house batts. You would then wire the positive posts of the starting batts to the positive posts of your house batts, with an isolator switch along the run...
  • Post in thread: AiLi shunt question

    It says that you should input the minimum 0% voltage to reset the counter. this is optional and will turn counting off when reached. It is set at a default level of 0v... It isn't required for operation, just an automatic reset of zero % charge.
  • Post in thread: Did i wreck my battery?

    I am running the same system (stock Grand Design 'Solar Package')... I have 2 GC-2s in series. Things I noticed last year, when it was all new. 1) that 12v fridge NEEDS over 200Ah of lead acid batts or 100Ah of lithium. With a group 24 batt, my BIL barely gets an overnight before running that...
  • Post in thread: Lead acid and Lifepo4 with switch between

    The generator is 12v? (ie; a vehicle alternator?). If it is a household current generator, it shouldn't go anywhere near this switch. That switch is a 3 terminal switch. There is a Common terminal and terminals 1 and 2. f1 and f2 are just feedback posts for voltage regulators, either internal...
  • Post in thread: RV Air Conditioner tripping inverter after start

    I agree... The two voltage regulators (A/C compressor 'throttle' and the Inverter) are doing a 'Push-me/Pull-you' dance, neither is fast enough (or slow enough) to allow the other to settle in... I've seen an inverter generator set to 'Eco' mode chase a variable rate compressor fridge that...
  • Post in thread: Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    Again, I = PV... There will be a maximum amount of power drawn by the load. Be it a battery charger, inverter, or hairdryer. The load is your constraint. a 3000w inverter will only pull 3000w (plus overhead), likewise a 50a battery charger is only going to pull enough to provide 50a at battery...
  • Post in thread: Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    It really isn't the amperage, it's how the Lithiums draw their amps. They start drawing very quickly and maintain that draw until they approach fully charged. While this could be within spec of the alternator, they draw high amperage for longer than the alternator can handle, causing it to...
  • Post in thread: 36v 315w panel to 12v system (battery bank size)

    I have 380w of panels on the roof of my trailer going into a 25a MPPT charger. I'm using two GC-2s (235aH) in series for 12v. I have a 12v compressor fridge that pulls 10a when it runs, and has a duty cycle of about 30% (more if it's hot, and I'm grabbing more beer out of it), and a MaxxAir fan...
  • Post in thread: Understanding Amperage

    The only constant measurement between the panels and the car is going to be Watts. Everything else is just units that are used to calculate Watts. In electricity, the first calculation they teach is; Volts x Amps = Watts. Battery storage is measured in Amp-Hours (the old way) or Watt-Hours (the...
  • Post in thread: Female newbie! Honest opinions and advice please!

    100Amp Hours is the size of the 'Bucket' of energy the battery can carry... (100 amps for 1 hour or 1 amp for 100hrs, and the range in between) Amps x Volts = Watts, So Watts / Volts = Amps... (watts are constant, they are the actual measurement of 'Work' being done)... You would need an...
  • Post in thread: I am Termite Man

    wasn't "I am Termite Man" an R.E.M. song? Having said that, I would be concerned that you have another queen and her colony hiding elsewhere in the detritus. Are the numbers of workers diminishing?
  • Post in thread: Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    Translated into a plumbing analogy. (how my Electrical Engineering prof explained it) Volts are pressure, Amps are volume. Too much pressure on a valve or pipe, and they will fail. (burst) You can have all the volume you want, but without pressure, the water won't move. (like a lake) You can...
  • Post in thread: help me save bees......with power!

    The fans are much more substantial than a vent cover. They will actually close themselves when the wind or rain becomes too strong. Theyre bolted down with 16 1.5inch screws. Plenty are sold to camper trailer owners in Florida where they do travel at 70-80mph... (the benefits of cheap gas, I...
  • Post in thread: Did i wreck my battery?

    My Carbon Monoxide and Propane detectors go off when voltage drops too low. There are no alarms on the solar system... I've added an extra panel, which ends up being too many watts for the SCC to use, by about 60 watts. your 100aH lithium with 300ish Watts of solar will keep ahead of the...
  • Post in thread: CPAP machine with ecoflow Delta 1300

    I bet the inverter overhead (the power the inverter uses to do its 'thing') is as much as the CPAP itself... Does the CPAP have a separate power supply, like a laptop? If so, what is the DC output of that supply? (there are 12v power supplies that will power laptops, and such, directly off 12v)...
  • Post in thread: Its newbie me again ?

    A decent battery monitor is a great help... They don't need to be very fancy, just big enough for the highest amperage you're gonna draw out of the bank... ($100, or so) It will show you amperage in and out, and maybe there's something your charger isn't telling you...
  • Post in thread: Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    I assume your house batteries are running 24v also. Are you looking for something to isolate the starting batts when the engine shuts down, and tie everything together when the engine is running? In its simplest form an isolator switch with an appropriate amperage rating would do it. (assuming...
  • Post in thread: Van Life - Sleeping Above / Near Batteries Inverter etc

    I worry about the AC equipment. Those electric fields change at 60Hz around here and can induce currents in nearby objects. DC electrical storage is just a chemical reaction, and happens naturally in the environment. (usually leading to corrosion) Any offgassing from the chemistry of...
  • Post in thread: how to modify a car alternator for 48v charging

    Those are my thoughts, too... you increase the voltage to limit line loss when you're running cable. If you had short, thick cables from the alternator/batteries to the inverter, a 12vdc system would work. And those alternators are available all over the place... Heck, even 24v alternators are...
  • Post in thread: AGM are they safe inside

    All types of Lead Acid batteries will vent hydrogen when charging... (Flooded, Gell, or AGM. all use the same chemistry) Hydrogen is a flammable gas, like methane or propane. Like methane, and unlike propane, it is lighter than air. So, if the batteries are in a basement, that flammable gas...
  • Post in thread: Why isn’t my battery charging?

    It seems that there is a cable running from the battery negative terminal to the Renogy Box. I am running the same AiLi shunt. It is imperative that all negative loads pass through the shunt. As mentioned earlier, only the shunt should be connected to the battery, and the negative loads need to...
  • Post in thread: Can a 340W panel AND a 100W panel be used at the same time?

    I agree... As long as you don't push too many volts into the SCC, it'll be fine... It's kinda like plugging a phone charger into a 120v socket at home, and then replacing that charger with a hair dryer. One uses more power, but as long as you don't exceed the rated voltage, they just pull as...
  • Post in thread: Amino Battery Review

    I played along for a bit with the ordering process. I was shopping for a 12v 100ah battery for $142. I "ordered" 4 of them. Shipping was $1600. So, it weren't no deal. I'll be ordering LiTime through amazon before here...
  • Post in thread: Understanding Amperage

    What are the specs of your charge controller? You can possibly over voltage the controller, or waste panels by over paneling... (30 amps at 12v is 360w. Any additional wattage is wasted) So, if you have amperage limitations on the Charge Controller, you'll need an additional controller. Either...
  • Post in thread: Add grid-based UPS function to off-grid system?

    What about running the system like a telephone office? Charge the batteries from solar and the grid, and run everything off the inverters... (you would just need to keep the grid from charging the batteries when the solar is working)
  • Post in thread: Have an idea - could use some help wrapping my noggin around some aspects of it.

    My uncle had a natural gas well on his farm. It wasn't profitable to be commercial, and they were just flaring the gas off... He purchased a generator, and set the carburetor to run on NatGas (quite a thing in 1970-something)... He ran all his 120v appliances off the Genny, and kept the 240v...
  • Post in thread: 6 x 12v Battery connection

    I would be pulling power off #2 and #5 (or #1 and #6), but 3 and 4 will get less of a workout either way...
  • Post in thread: Solar for RV

    As mentioned, 30a of shore power is 3600W of power... A power audit is the fancy term to describe figuring out what you want to run, and how much power it needs.. Things to think about; - do you want/need to run the A/C? (thats a biggie) - what about a microwave or toaster? without those loads...
  • Post in thread: Add grid-based UPS function to off-grid system?

    Just a grid powered battery charger, sized to keep things afloat... You want solar to do most of the work, with utility power to pick up any slack during many days of foul weather, correct? Your new utility powered battery charger would just be set at a slightly lower voltage than your solar...
  • Post in thread: 4 - 435 watt sunpower panels.

    It's kinda like the difference between a hairdryer and your phone charger. Too much voltage will fry them both, but as long as the outlet is providing the correct (safe) voltage, you can plug them both into the same outlet. The phone charger will only pull the amperage needed to charge the...
  • Post in thread: 36v 315w panel to 12v system (battery bank size)

    I am in Southern Ontario, along the North shore of Lake Erie.
  • Post in thread: How to oversize the solar panel array so you don't wreck the system?

    It seems to me that as long as the voltage doesn't exceed the Max Voc you can't hurt the charge controller. It's like the difference between a cell-phone charger and a hairdryer at home; both require 120VAC, but one needs more wattage/amps. The 120VAC is the deciding factor, as long as that...
  • Post in thread: Help to wire 12volt fridge.

    The fridge wants 12v at 15amps. A USB gives 5v. so you would need to splice in a cigar lighter plug, and use a 12v cigar lighter socket. It takes an honest 10amps when it runs, and will run about 1/4 of the time. Mine is powered by two 200W panels, charging two GC2's at 235aH, and that setup...
  • Post in thread: A few questions about MPPT

    I found the manual for the controller.... Page 15 talks about 'Protection' To Wit: "The Solar Charge Controller will limit input power to 300W or 600W depending on model. A PV array with higher maximum power than the MPPT's rated power will be limited to the rated power of the device." so...
  • Post in thread: How to maintain the Start batteries while inactive?

    A small DC-DC (like a 20amp one) charger can keep the Starting Batts topped off using the House Batts for power... As mentioned earlier, it doesn't take much to float a FLA batt
  • Post in thread: Understanding Amperage

    how big is your wallet? ? In order to get enough storage to completely charge the car, you need over 18,000 Watt-Hours (the car battery is 18kWh is size) At 12volts, that equates to 1500 Amp Hours. You have 200Ah currently. So you'd need 1300 more, so 7 would do it, if wired in parallel...
  • Post in thread: A few questions about MPPT

    if i understand you correctly; If I have 500w worth of panels wired in series into my 25A-MPPT controller (assuming input voltage isn't exceeded), my controller won't blow up? Is it similar to me plugging my 15w phone charger into an outlet at home, and then replacing it with a 1500w...
  • Post in thread: My cute off-grid van wiring diagram - and question re wiring to the starter battery

    According to the Ram UpFitter's guide, it is either a 180amp Denso or a 220amp Denso... which will either provide 110amps or 150amps at 2500 pulley RPM, (approx 800 engine rpm, or idle speed) That has plenty of overhead to supply chassis loads and a 50a parasitic draw to charge the house...
  • Post in thread: Back up system for natural gas furnace - Help with bypass

    What if the MultiPlus was plugged in, in-between? Utility fuse panel-- Furnace power outlet--Multiplus--MTP outlet--furnace... If you want to bypass the MultiPlus, you just unplug the furnace and plug it directly into the utility power outlet. In normal operations, the MultiPlus would work...
  • Post in thread: Inverter that blends grid power

    The Tankless water heaters need serious energy. They're adding 120deg to flowing water at 10-15GPM... (50C at 50LPM)... Water is a great heat sink, so BTUs/Watts are significant... Which is why most tankless use Propane/Nat.Gas for heat... As mentioned, a 60Gal tank that can absorb heat at a...

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