Most reacted posts

Well, not mine, but those of op Main Sail, a frequent poster over at Cruisers Forum in LFP and also at the Marinehowto. com site. Very glad to hear he's on the mend! Essentially 400ah of Winston prismatics, still pulling full capacity after 13 years and more than 2300+ cycles. Essentially low...

It is so tragic when things like that happen. Working in some of those same conditions I can also offer this bit of advice if you are working on a high-voltage solar setup that might not arc, but will POP and scare the heck out of you if something goes wrong. Watch for secondary jerk-reaction...

I've been through this. Unfortunately, after a million "can I hook my ebike and my toaster to your product" questions, as much as I wanted to walk them through how electricity works, it takes away time from other customers who have some sort of knowledge, and why they chose our product in the...

@Steve_S Sorry to be a bit necro-replying, but I found my tail-current vs voltage chart after all these years! I channeled the spirits of wise EV'ers from years past, who knew about things like this, voltage-diffusion (where depending on C rates of charge, the terminal voltage leads / lags the...

PWM and MPPT are actually two different things, but marketing confuses the consumer and can lead to urban myths. Warning - long, but perhaps entertaining! A mythical story might help explain: You are stranded on an island with a nominal 12v panel that actually puts out 20v unregulated. You...

If you smell perfume, like someone walked into the room with it splashed over themselves, you've got a problem. The electrolyte has a uniquely sweet smell. You need to differentiate this from the "new smell" of fresh plastic, wire coatings etc. Smell it once, and you'll never forget. :) Kind...

What would be really funny is to find Will's doppelganger in Australia, and have Andy from off-grid-garage make a serious video, with the doppelganger sneaking around in the background drilling batteries, pulling breakers, disconnecting stuff like the ac plug to Andy's computer running the...

Right! Stay out of the knees as much as possible. Although most will want to do that at least once if they are top-balancing. What the simplified lab-charging cycle charts don't tell you is that to achieve that 2000 cycle span, they didn't hit them up at .5 or 1C when down in the discharge...

I have to admit that some reviews are so outlandish due to total mis-application of the product: I have 500 watts of panels, and I was told this 10A SCC would do the job. Minutes later, I smelled smoke and the lcd is blank! And now they won't refund me. DO NOT BUY! I bought a brand-new...

Plan on cutting off that high-resistance automotive SAE connector and putting on something decent. Open the little distribution box and inspect. Since harbor-freight is/was also a common source of smaller amorphous 18 watt panels, thei SAE connector polarities may differ from this one, or from...

All LFP is the same right? No, and not knowing the difference can lead to disappointment, or even cell abuse. I'll go so far as to say that @Will Prowse teardown of Miady battery demonstrates this, amongst other things reserved for comment later. I thank Will for his teardowns, so not a...

Some good BMS makers left the DIY scene early on for LFP too, so don't feel bad. But I understand their reasoning. They simply don't know or have the capability to vet the end-users expertise, and want to avoid an endless cycle of damaged returns. I've faced this all my life by not being able...

Yes, we all know this. Lithium wasn't designed to float, nor absorb - *but people are going to do it anyway*. Get your head out of the lab, and into the real world so we can make the most of it, or limit the degradation if we do. Yes, again I know. However, ALL those papers are assuming a...

That was part of my description. It's just called staying one step ahead, rather than looking solely at the initial appearance. An example would be using 12v connectors that are only soldered, and not crimped. (different thread, this is only used as example) Oh sure, they get warm, but not...

To be sure, it's not just Will Prowse, nor is this limited to the EPEVER. Pretty much standard operations across the board in solar, but it is common for many to not use the load ports properly when starting out.

I get a kick out of it too. I like to come up with my own: NoAmps4U Pop-enVent NoBalancePro Bulgemaster GrayedBee You get the idea. :)

I do both but I play the "what if" safety game with large dc distribution lugs and ask: "If my connector gets so hot that the solder in the lug melts, what will the molten solder fall onto?" It plays a part in my cable positioning / mounting so that a secondary problem doesn't develop.

No need to turn it off at night. They are designed to be left connected all the time and will automatically handle the night to day transitions. Otherwise, what a pain! :)

It is wise not to get into these discussions. Those who know how to take care of lead-acid, engineer their needs properly, and put forth the effort to maintain them properly are just fine. The problem is that you may not know that you are being trolled to create a reaction. If so, then from...

Yep, although in most instances one doesn't have to go to that extreme of sanding/brushing. Speaking of busbars, I've seen them doubled-up on top of each other, like two thin nickel-plated types. Pulling those apart after a few years revealed what time, oxygen, and moisture does. And they are...

I know the feeling! I stood staring at my panels once just in awe of the whole thing. Neighbors nearly called to get me into a straight jacket when I told them the story of why I was just gawking: 1) A gamma ray particle is created in the center of the sun. 2) It spends anywhere from 100,000...

Robby - get angry at me for this because I've been on the other side of this fence. And I've seen this too many times. Reps kindly come into the forum community to do their best, but end up taking all the heat for company decisions which may be out of their control. They provide feedback back...

Everyone has left the building. You've retired, so let the armchair CEO thing go. Trust me, it's a happier place. :)

Re: Safety The biggest mistake I see over and over again when people construct their banks is not using insulated tools. "It'll never happen to me" Wrap the handles of hex-keys, wrenches and so forth with electrical tape to only expose the head, so that a drop doesn't create a short. Or go...

What is self-evident is that this is a total unsafe joke. Hopefully theoretical. The point of me being an ass here is so that some kid doesn't burn his house down cuz "some guy on DIY Solar Power Forum" thought it was a do-able idea after googling a bit. I know - I'll hang a water-baloon...

Oh man - 1975 - the year of the famed Altair 8800! ATT research-unix V6 released to commercial interests, not just internally and to universities .... But this is what inspired Elon Musk in 75. Check out the 12v - 24 manual footpedal switch from low to high. This is WAY cooler than a Tesla...

If you value your time it is. I have Noco's too for general purpose. What makes the Optimates more expensive is for example, when presented with a seemingly dead battery, the Noco may have a simple timer in a pre-charge stage at a fixed rate before going into a normal charge state. Some dead...

Just a suggestion: Baseline your setup, especially a diy setup with a handheld IR thermometer. A rather spirited discussion about cleaning terminals for LFP diy batts reminded me of something else I do with DIY. BASELINE. In another life, I was fond of totally hammering pure-lead batteries...

Cool - got yourself a neat little learner-bank. There are SIX, 2v cells wired in series to produce the nominal 12v. What you have is an AGM battery. It is not a gel. Even though it is "sealed" one can be fooled by that "sealed" setting if the voltages aren't right. Regarding what to set...

Where's Fox Mulder when I need him to go all the way up the supply chain to get to the truth? And not be taken down by the Smoking Man who warns him to stay status-quo? :) :)