diy solar

diy solar

Recent content by Trukinbear

  1. Trukinbear

    SMA Sunny Island no longer agrees with charge controller(s)

    It figures it all those ways, yes it sees the Midnight Classic 250s as 2 SIC-40 charge controllers, AND the data from the Whizbang is used by the Classics... Usually this all agrees, they all agree on Ah in/Ah out. However the SI also monitors the battery voltage, and 46v triggered an SOC...
  2. Trukinbear

    SMA Sunny Island no longer agrees with charge controller(s)

    Oh, looking back through my charts I see what is happening. Even though the charge controllers, and my SI6048 agreed that the battery was at 88% SOC the SI 6048 suddenly dropped it's version of SOC to 20%, went into Battery Protection mode, and cranked the generator. The generator however is...
  3. Trukinbear

    SMA Sunny Island no longer agrees with charge controller(s)

    I'm showing 53.4 V with the generator disconnected from the system for about an hour now - I was literally boiling the battery. Last full charge 4 days ago, and 80% soc cutoff (rain/generator) since. Charge controller says it's full and in float. SI says 40% and it's mad that it can't get the...
  4. Trukinbear

    SMA Sunny Island no longer agrees with charge controller(s)

    Hi guys, my 5year old system seems out of whack. My networked to my SI Midnight classic charge controllers at this moment say I'm at 97% SOC, and they're putting a 'trickle' of 20A to the battery, BUT the SI6048 says it's 39% SOC and wants to run the generator and put 120A to the battery. Help...
  5. Trukinbear

    My WhizBang Jr, and my 500A/50mv shunt equipped SMA SI6048 badly disagree

    Yes, it is wired via MODBUS/Canbus comm adaptor to communicate directly between the 2 Classic 250s and the SI6048 and while the Classics themselves are wired to the shunt (via WhizBang Jr) the SI6048 is not, and takes its data from the Classic 250's which in turn are controlled by the SI6048. My...
  6. Trukinbear

    Over 5 inches of rain in 28 hours - worst solar day ever.

    My previous Onan diesels were 1800 RPM 4-pole units - a 10HDKAG, 7.5HDKAL, 7MDJE, and 12.5DJC - but they were also open frame units. My current ones are multi-pole permanent magnet inverter (and cycloconverter) units with RPM that varies with load and are completely enclosed along with the...
  7. Trukinbear

    Over 5 inches of rain in 28 hours - worst solar day ever.

    Yeah, just a little resentment after being forced to replace my generators with more modern units (see signature), and build a building around them for sound attenuation (at the cost of thousands of dollars) so that my generators are nearly whisper quiet - by the same people who forced the issue...
  8. Trukinbear

    Over 5 inches of rain in 28 hours - worst solar day ever.

    Over 5 inches of rain in 28 hours (nearly 6) below shows 24 hours of it and it rained over an additional inch since midnite. The neighborhood is a chorus of (cheap) generators - worst solar day ever 0.2KwH We're at the 42 parallel North - on a line with Cape Cod but as you can see our weather...
  9. Trukinbear

    Looking for input/advice for off-grid Cabin.

    Regarding tankless water heaters. I've had both the manual (3 knob) LPG on-demand water heater that uses a battery for ignition and the electronic (digital control) units that allow you to set an exact temp and leave it but they need 300W or so in operation (fans + electronics)... several of...
  10. Trukinbear

    Off-Grid From Scratch

    The original and only written reason was that after my house burnt down I lived in my RV that has sat here for 15+ years for more than 14 days. If I remove it ( it is on a foundation with no axels) then I can have power as soon as I have a permit to build a house, but as above they claim I'm in...
  11. Trukinbear

    Off-Grid From Scratch

    I always thought that was all there was to it, if power was available you could have it. After paying for the pole, all the associated wiring and cabling, inspections by the power company and an electrician, and the power company stringing line the county planning office when they came around do...
  12. Trukinbear

    Weird question about a weird smell

    I was going to say that maybe it had old film in it then I put on my glasses... dust.
  13. Trukinbear

    Liquid sunshine! Data collection...

    I pay most attention to the direction of flow (in/out) of the battery, the volume (A), and volume/time (Ah) count. Secondarily I pay attention to production (directly) from the PV, my battery temperature, and (calculated) SOC. Thirdly I pay attention to cumulative figures for Ah production from...
  14. Trukinbear

    Liquid sunshine! Data collection...

    I guess I didn't mean what data was available to you - I've got tons of data I don't care about that I can pull out of my SI I just don't unless something is really wrong. I guess I meant what data do you choose to record and look at on a regular basis. The above are the ones I follow the most...
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