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wow just wow. I hate our politicians, and our crooked political machine, in general. they tell us we have to go green. cutting off our nose, to spite our face on fossil fuels and energy independence. then, when someone dares to do what they tell us we have to do to "save the planet" they find...

my reason was to gather insight and valuable information, experience + calculations from folks like yourself. your response has already helped me. I am still new to solar, and as such, am still learning the terminology. as responses are posted, I research all new-to-me terminology and...

OK. as a novice, let me make sure I'm on the right track. first of all, if the old all-in-one (from here on, it will be referred to as the "blue box") inverter gets trashed/smoked it's not a big deal. I just want to keep the PV, batteries and any new equipment I throw into this mix in good...

just as coincidence, I had a firmware update on my sol-ark 12k yesterday. painless. 10 minutes, maybe less. instantly came back online, powered everything back up with no intervention from me. so far, i love our sol-ark.

this is what I actually settled on, before leaving and returning to work: 47.5 low battery alarm 47.0 shutdown 46.9 battery empty 47.9 restart if these voltages seem low for FLA, I agree. however, I called and spoke to Trojan several times. each time they assured be that you can discharge to...

SOC is monitored by the Sol-Ark I do not have a separate shunt installed. we do have a relatively low steady load. generally between 80w to 350w with an occasional spike to 800 (HVAC blower fan) or 1700w (dish washer)

I have gathered some good information directly from Mr. Cool technical support. thought I should share it, in case anyone else comes looking for it. sorry about my terrible scribbles. I can clarify in text later, but I am at work, currently.

Can someone post a photo of some of the various unit data tags? or even just list actual stats from the tag? or better still, give real world amp/watt power consumption from experience with them.

After a dismal failure on my first solar adventure, I am back in. About 2 years ago, I purchased a system, from a vendor online. Nice guy. Honest guy. he was just not particularly well informed on the equipment he was selling. Basically, he was selling china junk. I honestly don't think he...

yes and yes. he referenced percentage and voltage. two different guys, on 3 different occasions. first call about a 6 weeks ago second call about 4 weeks ago, then another just now.

So. I have my Sol-Ark 12k up and going for 4 days now. Of those 4 days, only 2 have been running loads. 2440w of panels on the roof. Day 1: install 12k and connect 4X trojan T-1275 batteries for 48v. let charge to 100%, no loads. day 2: connect single load circuit. circuit consists of: one...

Sorry, I mis-typed. collective voltage was 52.6V readings were all 13.18, 13.19, 13.17 with one outlier at 13.26 About 3 minute after first post, power came back on after update completed. instantly, the Sol-Ark was reading 87% SOC 52.9V currently at 52v with all loads running normal. 761w...

kind of my thought as well, especially considering my unit does equalization/desulfite charge every 30 days. that combined with the fact that I only have two parallel strings of 4 each, I thought I might be OK without a separate balancing unit.

I remember back in the 80's & early 90's when 110v was standard AC current. are there any drawbacks to running modern motors, appliances and electronics that are made for 120v or 115v "modern" AC current on this janky "blue box" inverter that puts out 110v? aside from items that need to "keep...

in your response, you said that you have 4 batteries running. you also reference one is a trophy 220 and three are DIY 280's. It has always been my understanding that you are not supposed mix batteries. as stated in my original post, I am still quite new to all of this, so I realize I may be...

Ok, went to www.Sol-ark.com/Solar-panel-sizing/solarpanelsizing.html here is what I got: According to this max "number of modules in series" per MPPT is 9. but then is says "number of strings" per MPPT is 2. 9 is not divisible by 2. obviously, you cannot have 2 parallel strings using 9...

solar control unit is 5KW running 48VDC at 60A qcell 305w panels, wired series parallel 4&4. 8x 12v lead acid batteries, series parallel 4&4 for 48VDC. just made the switch to full solar last Sunday. The issue we are having is that we are losing power when early in the morning when we are just...

I am very new to all of this, so forgive my ignorance. I am here to learn, and get more knowledgable about my system and solar and battery theory in general. During my research (I have been researching for around 2 years, on and off) I came to understand that your cells should be pretty uniform...

how many do I need? I see there is a 24v or 48v version. SOL-ARK is 48v, so that part is clear. I have 8 FLA Trojan T-1275 (12v) batteries. obviously, that means 4s2p bank. do I just buy one for all 8, or two, one for each parallel bank, or 8, one for each battery? just by looking at the...

poor quality display menu photos explained in text below, in order from left to right, top row, then bottom row. 1. 126v input (from PV) 2. 5.7A input (from PV) 3. 282w (input/output not designated) 4. grid input "0" working mode [01] grid priority MPPT output 110v 5. grid input "0"...

I was sitting around thinking "you know, I don't have any constant, frustrating, inconveniences that I am forced to work around on a daily basis." Luckily the universe recently saw fit to gift to me a mint condition 2017 HP Stream laptop, in "1982 baby blue" with dual-core 1.6GHz processor...

yes. that is what I did for last year. we got a $2000 credit because of our solar system. we try not to give uncle Sam an interest free loan each year, so we tried to generate a tax deficit. our actual tax refund was $1,600. Prior to the solar system being factored in, we were supposed to owe...

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Thank you very much for taking the time to respond and educate me on this. I will do as you have stated above. It is running on grid priority now. It was discharged down to 48.7v when I switched the grid supply back on. I will take a voltage reading when it is charged in the morning. When I...

duplicate deleted.

I'll just go ahead and shamelessly shill for what I have, use and love. Sol-Ark 12k they make them in a smaller size, but for the cost difference, you might as well get the 12k. if you ever need to expand, for any reason, it can handle it. it is 48v produces split phase 230 AC. has wifi...

My system has only been online for about 36 days. To my knowledge (and I'm pretty confident) it had never been updated. I actually purchased the Sol-Ark unit back in September of 2021, so I'm sure the firmware was quite out of date. So in essence, I guess the update was just about getting...

OK, after digesting every comment and reccomemdation from everyone here, and MUCH research on all of the reccomended products and brands... we are currently leaning towards Mr. Cool DIY mini-split line. us being homestead type folks, the DIY is appealing for us to install ourselves. however...

Sorry, I posted this to the wrong thread a few minutes ago. I am copying and pasting it here, where it belongs, and will delete the other post. Since you are also a sol-ark user, and more solar experienced that I, may I ask for some insight? I am the one who started this thread. I have a...

I was running in % mode. I have switched to Volt mode. I will have to do a bit of math to figure out the 10% difference you suggest. I will adjust as needed. (I was just editing my above comment to reflect the volt/percent issue, but you had posted before my edit was complete)

I have an old hybrid controller, from some crap mfg, that never could perform as sold. it only puts out one leg of 110v... not a mistype. it puts out 110v. it also does not put out a true 60Htz, which made my clocks run slow. it was unable to absorb/bulk charge over 55.5v so when sun went...

first time checking water level. can I just shut off my battery breaker, while still leaving the unit on? do I need to totally shut off the unit to disconnect the breaker to the battery bank? is it safe to leave unit on, while still using PV, while battery is offline to check water level?

48v system. Sol-Ark 12k all-in-one 8,650w PV totally off-grid home. we are building a new home. will be off-grid. when we move, we will expand/upgrade our current system. current system is 2440w and supports about 40% of our home off-grid. currently, we use 300AH of FLA Trojan T-1275...

Wife and I are building a house, on newly purchased acreage. We will be living totally off grid. well, septic, wood fire heat and Sol-Ark 12k system. it gets hot enough in our area that air conditioning becomes a necessity during the peak of summer. in our current home, we already use solar...

Alright. that's a solid answer. So, it sounds like the issue should be solved by adding more batteries, and if necessary, more PV panels. How many batteries can my current array of 8 QCELL panels wired in parallel/series (4 & 4) charge and maintain? My current array is putting out around 150V...

thank you. my math was off. I forgot to cut the VOC in half when I calculated 9S2P. I thought the unit would limit the current at 20A, but I was not certain. thanks, again. I did not realize 20% correction factor was taking me down to -40° (f? c?). a cold day in hell here in my area might get...

according to Trojan, they say I can discharge the T-1275 FLA to 80% DOD, which they say is 46.0v as stated above, I'm not trying to discharge to 80% DOD. having said that, by your chart it looks like I may be discharging to 93% DOD. I also thought that 48v was 50% DOD. I much to learn. I am...

thread posted in wrong forum.

thank you. I will need to read that several times to understand, but I already see a lot of valuable info and stats there. much appreciated.

As I look to upgrade our system and move totally off grid, I quickly learned I will need to move away from FLA. This will be paired with a single Sol-Ark 12k unit. I am eyeing the Fortress eFlex. From what I have learned, the eFlex must first be installed as a set of 2 battery units. after the...

more info? I don't know what those are (will research) and I don't know what brands to look for. what voltage? AC or DC?

I will use the panels from my current sol-ark system when we upgrade the sol-ark system to LiFePO4 and expand the PV array. when you say add a charge controller, how/where do I do this? so far, all of my solar experience has been with all-in-one units, so I have not learned much about...

I purchased and installed my system november of 2021. that purchase was a sort of "starter" setup. charge controller/inverter, 2440w solar array, and 4 FLA Trojan batteries. we successfully filed and qualified for the rebate on all of the starter system. 26% of investment, credit offset on...

just to be sure, I remembered correctly, I just called Trojan again. spoke to "James" he says 80% DOD is safe. 11.5v per battery is acceptable without damaging the batteries. for my 48v system he says: says 46v is 80% DOD 48v would be about 50% DOD

utah

We have 8 QCELL panels @ 305 watts each.

I have researched everything everyone has mentioned so far and watched the video ( I already watch his channel, but had not seen that vid). I cannot decide which way to go: should I not have the home ducted and go with a ductless mini split? or have the ductwork installed and use the mr...

we will need at least two air handlers. one for the master bedroom, and one for the living room / kitchen combination. it is a 3 bedroom house, so we are considering adding a 3rd air handler to accommodate the 2nd and 3rd bedroom and bathroom area (they are all right together). if we do all 3...

that is the exact video I was referencing (the Indian guy squatted on side of road) I hope I will be past FLA battery worries in 2023. we hope to be on Fortress Eflex by the late summer or fall. our Trojans have been great so far, but I don't think my wife is going to take up electrolyte...

the cables to the battery bank are larger. As best as I can tell, the wires to the battery bank are around #3 or #4. That said, I am not an expert on AWG. I went to Home Depot to buy some extra cable, and told the guy I needed what I thought would be #2. he showed me what he called #3 (didn't...

t on the left is the battery cable that came with the system. all battery related cable is identical size. on the right is what I bought at Home Depot, which he called a #3.

As Stated In title. We moved about a year ago. we brought our entire system with us. previously it was installed in off-grid mode, so no need for the sensors. I honestly dont think they were included in my shipment. every single piece that remained after install (optional setup configurations...

. the HVAC compressor/condenser (outdoor unit) is not on solar system. the controller also has a built in AC out breaker built in. I do

holy smokes. if I am finding this correctly, the 230v mr. cool 36,000 BTU unit pulls 45 amps. that comes out to 10,350 watts. looks like I'm going to need to have individual condensor/handler sets for each area. also going to have to run only one at a time. I have not yet tracked down the...

My best attempt at informed answers to the above questions: 1. According to multimeter batteries at 50.6 V after a full day of sun, following an excessive drain to low battery alarm the night before. When tested after a full day of sun WITHOUT being excessively drained the night before, it is...

As stated in the title. very few issues with the PV PRO app. Have used it for about 2 weeks. Today, the display of grid/battery/PV/load in the "power flow" section has stopped displaying the animation, and more importantly, it has stopped showing where power is coming from or going to. it...

Yes. That is our unit. Despite it listing 220v on the panel, it has been reprogrammed for American homes to put put 110v.

We are making the blueprints for our new homestead layout. this is for our new home construction, on new land. we will ground mount the PV array at the new house. how far away from the controller can we put them? stats: Sol-Ark 12k dual MPPT controller MPPT 1: 18 Mission solar 345w panels...

holy crap. I've been downloading ??something?? (waydroid) for 30 minutes so far. what am i getting? I only have 15GB on a Crapbook Stream 11.

EDITED TITLE: meant to post about battery balancer, NOT BMS. to clarify, in case I got my abbreviation wrong: 8 individual batteries total. 4 each in series, run in 2 parallel sets. they are Trojan 1275 batteries, 12v each. they have been in service for about 3 months. I am debating/shopping...

when using the bag cleaning kit, can you just saturate the blower fan with evap coil cleaner to clean the dirt and other household airborne cooking grease and whatnot off of it?

I've already contacted Sol-Ark. They are updating the firmware. I took some battery readings, and shared the info with them. My low battery alarm is set to 47.5v ShutDown voltage set to 46.0v Restart set to 52.0v moments before the shutdown, I just happened to look at my PV Pro app, and all...

as mentioned above, no one knows the voltage input limit on your charge controller. that would help answer your question. for example, my Sol-Ark 12k can handle up to 500v input from the solar array. my old (junk) controller could only handle 150v in. both systems are 48v 60a. so it can vary...

sorry, wrong item. was just looking at LiFePo4 batteries, had BMS on the brain. meant to post about balancer.

edited title of post. meant balancer, not BMS. I had just finished reading about lithium batteries, the wrong term was still floating around in my head.

We are planning for our system upgrade. Sol-Ark 12k has dual MPPT inputs. it can handle 6500w per input. if done in series only, it can go up to 500v input, but that would be without temperature correction, I assume. 12 panels X 41 VOC = 492v if panels get cold (it gets FREEZING here during...

perfect. thank you. I'm at work right now, so won't be able to try it until I get home tonight. I use the android version daily, on my phone. I also have it on our central home control Galaxy tablet. this may also solve a totally different issue we ran into yesterday. we came into possession...

I was looking at the 36,000 BTU unit with the three air handlers. I was looking at MOP and MCA and didn't realize it. that said, there is virtually nothing out there about the amp draw or watt usage of any of their units. I am going to have to rely solely on this forum to provide watt & amp...

i am only talking about federal tax and credits. my state does not offer any solar tax credits. does all solar equipment qualify, even when purchased as smaller upgrades to an already existing system? something I had read the other day made it sound like the credit mainly applied to initial...

I think it was it "initializing" that has gone on and on. but it has the word "downloading" in display text. also references the "vanilla" OS I guess?? I have no idea what I'm getting into with linux

I finally found this, after hours of searching. don't know how accurate it is or what the info is based on.

I have watched a few videos and read a few posts on this topic. first video I watched was looked to take place at a roadside market in India. a guy was fully disassembling 12v batteries, temoving lead plates, replacing what looked like cotton or paper pads between lead plates then reinstalling...

thanks for the suggestion on pole/ground mounted panels. It just seemed automatic to mount them on the roof. good point about removal during roof replacement. I will research pole mounts. any suggestions on brand/model for pole mounts? we have high winds in our area. is that a problem for pole...

this month we used 700kWh. in July we run around 850 with extreme use. PER OUR XCEL ENERGY BILL. However, both of those numbers include our 240 central HVAC and 240V electric clothing dryer. both of those items are NOT included in our solar usage. our solar circuit panel is for 120v and EXCLUDES...

I have not found a specific place I wish to buy from yet. I have looked at Amazon and home depot. as well as several others I can't remember and would not have big name recognition...

I have not found an answer, for this year (2022) tax law yet. my tax guy is good (I think?) but he is new to filing solar credits. my wife sold her business this April, so our taxes may simplify. I *might* consider filing our own taxes this year. my boss is a CPA, so I can consult if needed...

DIY18-HP-230B25

yes. which still comes out to 4,600 watts. seems really high compared to the reputation and everyone saying they are solar friendly. I would really like to see a data tag listing the amp usage, or just someone (mr cool preferably) tell me how many watts, approximate, I can expect to see during...

it just began working about 15 min ago. I had read somewhere that the app can be junky. guess I'm getting a taste. still thumbs up, overall.

Unit was just installed 35 days ago. I guess it was never updated prior to now. I do not know what version was running before today. I thought they would track and advise about necessary updates. I started it up while on on the phone with them, so I assumed all was current. I still understand...

there was not.

Ok. Here are some updated stats, collected on my first day off since switching to solar system. I have been home all day, and have checked throughout the day with both my multimeter and the display panel menu on the unit. Today has been completly overcast clouds. Solid grey sky, no visible sun...

I will try to keep the update short, and instead focus on the new and moving forward: We (wife and i) bought a complete 2440 watt home system august 2020. it was nothing but one frustration and failure after another. short version: the person who sold it to us sold us low quality crap. It had...

Here is a rough chart the my solar rep and I compiled when I was building this system.

I am listening. Wife and I will be living on a well for the first time in my life, by the end of the year. Our builder has put a pressure tank in our garage, and mentioned it as part of the system. I however, have no real idea of what it is, or how this whole well water supply works on an...

the home that we are building will be totally off grid. when we move, we will expand our PV to around 8,650w and our storage will be two fortress eFlex 5.4 while we do plan to expand even further, as time goes on, the above listed system should fully support our home. I figure something in the...