diy solar

diy solar

Most reacted posts

  • Post in thread: My small power cart (4.8 kWh.)

    Four Battle Born's (2S2P) matched at the factory for series operation. (Six would be better. But no room.) Victron Multiplus 24/3000, Victron SmartSolar 150/35 (there's a story behind that choice. I would buy a different flavor if I could do it over again.) On a Harbor Freight Push Cart. A...
  • Post in thread: The nature of surge and some basic questions

    No, it's magnetism. F = IL x B. (The Lorentz Force.) It's also why you sometimes get coil whine.
  • Post in thread: Final decisions. Any feedback is appreciated.

    If you tell BattleBorn that you plan to do a 2S bank, then they take the time to match the batteries for you. (And they keep a record, so that that they can match another set later. (This service might explain some of their higher cost.)) They also recommend separating and topping off each 12 V...
  • Post in thread: Final decisions. Any feedback is appreciated.

    I prefer buying 12 V units too. More flexible that way. Can always reconfigure to use in parallel for a 12 V inverter if my 24 V inverter quits. Or can reconfigure to 36 V if I need to later. Can possibly drop one into a car if the stuff hits the fan and you gotta get out of dodge. Easier to...
  • Post in thread: I need help on a basic fact of inverters in the 2000w to 3000w range

    The point about regular wall plugs being limited to 15 Amps is a good one. On my 3000 W Victron Multiplus, there's only one set of terminals for power out - said terminals which can presumably handle 50 A (6000 W) for a short time. (Hmm ...) I have my terminals wired to a power strip. Which...
  • Post in thread: I need help on a basic fact of inverters in the 2000w to 3000w range

    Victron points out that their 3000 W inverter derates to 2400 W at Phoenix summer temperatures. 80%. I presume that the Giandel does too, although I've not been able to find any documentation about it. Point being, if you plan to be using your RV trailer in the desert, make sure you have...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    Smokin' Deal of the Day I should probably post this somewhere else in the forum, to let others know. (If there's a Moderator, feel free to cross post this.) But since we've been talking about buying Solar Panels from SanTan Solar (in the Phoenix, AZ area) in this thread: I just got back from...
  • Post in thread: How I fixed the BT problem in my Gen II reBel Metal Case battery

    If TL;DR, there is a mis-wire in the battery. You have to reverse the red and black connectors at both ends of a BT connector. Doing this fixed the problem for me. It might fix it for you too. --------------------------- First, I want to be diplomatic about this and not cast any aspersions...
  • Post in thread: 4000 watt Inverter on 12 V?

    FWIW, I ran a Viking full freezer and full fridge last summer off a 2000 W Gandiel. (24 V system.) About 300 Watts when both running. I don't know if they use inverters on their compressors. (10 years old.)
  • Post in thread: My small power cart (4.8 kWh.)

    Just received our first electrical bill since running the cart consistently (in time shift mode, when necessary) using two 330 W panels on the roof. Saved $30 from same month a year ago. Whoo-hoo! At this rate, it'll pay for the cart in 22 years! (Assuming electricity rates stay the same...
  • Post in thread: My small power cart (4.8 kWh.)

    Another forum member said the same. But our APS power went out for a few hours this past Sunday. (They said a "major" power line.) Before that, it went out at the end of last summer for an evening, due to lightning. I had a smaller version of this cart at the time and rolled it to the house CB...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    Yes. The power went out for about two hours yesterday. (APS said a "major" powerline. Perhaps a traffic accident, since I don't think a construction company would be digging on a Sunday. Or the wind, since it was gusty yesterday.) I was mentally preparing to roll out the Solar Cart to power up...
  • Post in thread: Use solder paste on terminals-busbar to improve conductivity?

    FWIW, on our airplane, we used a product called ACF-50. (Anti-Corrosion Formula.) I call it "Secret Sauce." It's fixed a bunch of electrical problems in the plane - and the house.
  • Post in thread: My small power cart (4.8 kWh.)

    I keep wondering if I should have built my own battery bank (am an MSEE, Ham, etc. and build a (real) plane). Would have been cheaper, and for the same cost, I could have 7.2Kwh. But as I get older, the possibility of me dropping a wrench on some terminals and shorting out 100 Amps in my face...
  • Post in thread: Supplier of 100W 24V Solar Panels?

    https://store.santansolar.com/product/trina-400w/ $200. One and one.
  • Post in thread: Serial vs parallel Panels

    I learned about this trick (orienting panels differently) by accident. (Constraints of a roof.) I'm finding that this solar stuff is as much art as it is science. If I hadn't tripped over this trick, I would have oriented all my panels to the south, and thought that that was the best that I...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    I sometimes wonder (and perhaps rationalize my expenses in buying LiFePo4 batteries) if batteries will be used for barter in the future? Almost as heavy as gold, but more useful. Buy 'em while they're 'cheap'?
  • Post in thread: Which Victron SCC ?

    I expect that you'll end up using a 2s/2p configuration. Seems like the best.
  • Post in thread: Not getting what I expected...getting way more...

    I have seen a max of 713 Watts from my two 330 W panels. It was a cool, cloudy day here in Phoenix, with wind blowing. When the sun came out, the panels were cool and making more power than standard.
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    For a few years now, we have been conditioned (by the power company) to avoid using power from 3 pm to 8 pm because of a Peak Charge. So in the summer, we set the programmable thermostats to pre-cool the house until 2:50 pm, and then let it drift to 82 after that. We don't do wash...
  • Post in thread: Best mppt charge controller for LiFePO4?

    Hmmm, while I realize that LiFePO4's don't need a Float phase - and so EpEver is technically correct in their approach - I find that my Victron will power my load while keeping my Battle Born's "floating" at 27.2 Volts. (i.e. 100% SOC.) This way I don't lose any current from the battery bank at...
  • Post in thread: Pulled The Trigger on a 100ah Battery

    Check the bottom left most thumb image and enlarge. "Should not ... connect in series ...." So, as a minimum, some contradictory information. For comparison, when you tell Battle Born that you're going to wire two of their batteries in series, they match them for you. And they keep a record...
  • Post in thread: Cell compression: zip ties and lexan?

    From 24 years of owning an airplane I built - zip ties become brittle over time. And then break. (And most people aren't using aircraft quality ties - the ones with a metal tang for the rachet mechanism.) Okay to use them - just be aware that every few years you need to inspect them. (And...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    I "hate" to suggest these panels, because if Will mentions them, they will sell out like SOK batteries did. 330 Watts for just over $200. (5% discount for first order.) Blows the doors off the silly 100 W panels that I was buying when I first got into solar. I've seen two produce 687 Watts...
  • Post in thread: Final decisions. Any feedback is appreciated.

    What am missing on the math? I calculate 4800 Wh. Hmmm... I think I see. A "24v" battery actually operates at 25 V or more. Perhaps 25.6 is a geometric mean of the voltage over time? It's an interesting integration problem. starting at 29 V and then dropping to cut out Voltage.
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    I agree with @Forbisher that referencing panels by "12v" or "24v" is not very helpful. I suppose that if you're running a 24 volt battery system, as I am, then by calling a panel a '12 v panel,' it tells me that either 1) I cannot use that panel by itself to charge my 24 battery bank or 2) I...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    If you buy a Victon Multiplus, you can set it to charge your batteries based on voltage or SOC settings. I use a timer to limit when the Mulitplus gets AC power in. So basically, I'm "time shifting." The timer disconnects the Mutiliplus in the morning, and reconnects it after peak APS hours. (8...
  • Post in thread: Solar Panels?

    I don't think that you can really know how a panel is performing until you hook it up to a (good) mppt and load it. For whatever reasons, I rarely see Vmp on my REC's. Nevertheless, as I posted above, they have produced more than their rated 330 W. (And that was without them being aimed at the...
  • Post in thread: Not getting what I expected...getting way more...

    You're making a similar mistake in your conceptual thinking to the one I made. Which is why I sent you the link to the thread about MPPT charge current.
Back
Top