Most reacted threads

I have always been jealous of some of y'alls setups. Some are posting things like 100kWh generated in a single day. I thought that was nuts. I'd look at my small system and think why on earth can't I generate that much. Example: Right now I have about 2800 W in panels. even in the best of...

House is 88 years old. Was added on to and partially rewired in late 1950s we believe. Today I bravely killed the breakers one at a time, killed the subpanel breaker, killed the main breaker, removed the cover of my 70 year old Cutler-Hammer panel, measured for any juice, shifted some breaker...

There’s some pretty terrible threads in the chit chat zone. Bigotry, hate, and anti-semitism should have no place on this forum. Some people should probably be banned. Take some of that “free speech” and post it elsewhere. Just sickening.

Just to make sure I'm understand correctly. Perfectly sunny day. Running no loads on inverter, just idle consumption. Battery at 5% SOC overnight. Sun comes up, starts charging at 40 amps within first hour of sun, moving towards 100 A. 200 ah battery, gets full to 100% SOC by 11 AM or noon...

I read somewhere - might be old literature - that the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/70-Tr VE.Can rev2 that I recently added to my setup is limited to 35A if used in a 12V environment, but 24/36/48V this is a non issue. Anyone able to confirm this? In VRM it *looks* like I did 66.4 A, but maybe...

I've noticed that when the sun is not shining on my panels that my state of charge drops by 10% due to idle consumption. The really low dip is a day without much sunlight. Also a 400W load runs for about 15 minutes after the sun goes down, which I will adjust due to wintertime vs summertime. But...

I acquired a Victron Orion DC to DC charger 12v/12v 50A. I have a spare Victron AD to DC 12V/25A charger that I can put into 'power supply' mode. I have a bus bar I'm not using. I also have a spare Cerbo GX mk2. A sort of 'test bench'. Here is what my plan is. Let me know of any issues you might...

I think it is a device that plugs into the grid usually that is a battery charger. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think of it as being similar to the onboard charger in my electric golf cart, or the external charger I have for my ebike. Can someone please explain the purpose and when someone would...

Poolside Savings and Sustainability Project My goal: Run a motor 8+ hours a day. I have: a total of 300 W in solar panels (PV) in Los Angeles. a 20A solar charge controller (SCC). a 2560 Watt Hour, 12.8V, 200 AH CHINS battery with no bluetooth/visible BMS. a 2000W Renogy Pure Sine Wave...

Okay @Will Prowse I've bought your books and read them both (solar and health). I've watched probably 100 videos now, some more than three times. I've been a forum lurker for years and finally created an account and have been active for a while. But enough about me... Will, you've indicated you...

My battery came with eight cells. The bus bars are bolted together and not welded. They are standard metric sizes. My new 2/0 sized lugs are fairly thick and the bolts used to hold the bus bars seem too short. Can you please recommend a kit of studs or bolts from a quality USA supplier? I...

The device supports 50A output. I thought it was a buck boost device where when I put in 14.6 V and 25A you would get a 12V charge at 50A. Is that how it is supposed to work? Not seeing that. Seems to match whatever amps I send in.

This unit is crazy stout - very heavy, strong, looks like brand new. This is the 2nd SCC someone gave me, and I love my friends and neighbors and forum members who have been so helpful at helping our family as we progress to being 100% independent of grid. Until then... This FlexPower outback...

Diesel RV (motorhome). 170 Amp alternator. Also has large (8kW I think) Onan diesel generator on board. I am adding solar to it. I have several Victron MPPTs and solar panels to use/choose from, and there is already a 2000 W inverter on the vehicle that works that I will likely replace. I will...

They sell the RELION RB100 Lithium Iron Phosphate Deep Cycle Battery, 12V, 100Ah at West Marine for $899 USD. Might have heater, not sure? Either way looks like a 12V 100Ah battery that is 4X the price of a WattCycle or similar so looking for anyone experience with these. I've seen them at store...

My SCC can take max of 150V and 64A. It is a FM80. I have some options with how I panel it. - done the math at 30.8 VOC and 8.6 ISC at 200 W max: 4 in series - 123.2 V 34.4 A 3 series 2 parallel - 92.4 V, 51.6 A 2 parallel 3 series - 61.6 V, 51.6 A All would be for a 12V battery now, 48V...

I’ve got one of the 2000 W 12V inverters. It has an alarm when there is either too much or too little voltage. I have it hooked up to a 200 amp hour .Lifepo4 battery. Does anyone know a way to make it so the alarm doesn’t go off? It is quite loud audibly and my neighbors will hear it if it...

Here's the scoop...in an RV there are four (4) 200Ah 6V FLA batteries today. I'd like to replace them LiFePO4. Cold climate - some snow sometimes - and I want bluetooth. Based on my experience with one 12v 200Ah LifePo4 battery configuration, I think I would like to just buy something with...

What is the best practice for setting the zero current baseline on Victron shunt? Went out to do it but realized that if I cut power between my tclass fuse and the bus bar that I also loose power to the shunt. I assume that some people will attach shunt to either the top of their battery or...

I am doing price comparisons. I see that in the United States Victron has a 48 V battery, but it is very small. So I am most likely going to DIY route. Probably with a JKBMS. My question is: what is the benefit or advantage of attaching a Victron battery to a turbo GX or Quattro inverter...

Current usage is 7.4kW. I am looking at bundles, particularly at Signature Solar, but vendor agnostic right now (free shipping with them!). Considering three options: Option 1: Single EP Cube, made by Canadian solar, which is a 7.6kW hybrid inverter, in a bundle along with a 9.9kWh battery...

Hello! I have been putting my BMS through the paces for the past 2 weeks. I can easily discharge at 150A continuous with no overheating. I do this by starting my pool pump, running it until the battery SOC is at 3%-0% range, then the sun comes out, charges it back up in 2 hours or so, then I...

Hey @Will Prowse just finished your health book and I’m the back it refers to http://mstrtherapy.com/ but it seems to be down or blocked by cloudflair right now. Is site active or ?

What is the level of difficulty in connecting one of these Vitron devices to my 12 V system? Is it as simple as mounting it to a panel, connecting it to my 12 V bus bar, and then running the VE cables to my Victron smart solar and Victron smart shunt? Do you just connect to it via Bluetooth and...

Thanks in advance for reading! I am planning my system. Considering SuperStrut because it is not wood, and it is available at my nearby big box store. The superstrut they sell at home depot comes in 12' length. So far other than bolting it to cinder blocks or cement flooring for gas plumbing...

I have Emporia Vue 3 in my subpanel now for 8 days. I love it. It is time to add it to the main panel if possible before I replace the panel. So I know I want to buy one with 16 CTs in case I replace my smaller panel with a new one with more places, but I do have a few questions about the...

Whenever I see someone post that a new energy storage solution has come out, one of the first things people talk about is the price per kilowatt hour. Usually somebody posts what that amount is, and then a lot of other people criticize and say they can build it cheaper themselves. There are many...

12V system. 200Ah custom battery. In plastic box with 5 sides (top open), and on a wood shelf with 4 sides open (one side is open for fresh air, and the top is open for about 8" above the battery cells and BMS). My system has 2 battery sensors. One connected to Victron GX, and the other a Ruuvi...

I tore apart my CHINS 200 Ah 12V battery. It has 8 cells inside. 2 series 4 parallel. Removed old BMS labeled 2021 plus a bunch of characters I cannot read. Replaced with 150 A JBD BMS. Connected with Bluetooth app on first try. Connected 16 amp charger. Brought from 90% SOC to 100% SOC...

Now that I know what kind of cells are in my 200Ah 12v CHINS battery: GFB 3.2 V 320Wh 100Ah 48173125 OALCBA3510000D A search online reveals the C rating Looks like it is .5 C per cell. There are 8 cells total making it 2 series 4 parallel I think. Because it is a 200 Ah battery, if it were 1C...

https://a.co/d/9ogoJ7d

I already have a Victron SmartShunt. I already have a Cerbo GX. I already have a temp sensor for the Cerbo GX to connect to the battery. I know that the BMV-712 includes a shunt, which I don't need and will give to a friend, but what will I gain from having the display connected in my setup...

Hello! I am trying to get the maximum out of my MPPTs and panel configuration. I think the goal is to push more current to recharge batteries. So parallelling more panels should be employed. This sound right? I have 3 SCC MPPTs (250/70, 150/100, and 100/20) I am trying to get the maximum...

I am slowly adding to my system. Yesterday afternoon got 6 new panels. Disconnected all existing panels and added 4 of the 6 panels. The 4 panels are 200 W each and lying flat on ground to test. They are connected with 2 in series, 2 parallel with BougeRV MC-4 Y connectors. I used to have 300...

All costs aside and conductor thickness aside…a hypothetical question: Pretend you had a 1000 amp Hour 12 volt battery and a 1000 amp hour 48 volt battery. The load remains the same - 500 watts constant dc load. The solar panel array is the same in both test environments. Question 1: Would the...

I am a bit puzzled. Some have said to simply ignore my JBD BMS SOC. But I think the settings are off somewhere. Here's an example: I have a victron 25A charger that you don't see here, but it also is in float/storage mode right now. I removed the non-victron solar charge controler, replaced it...

Slightly Used Outback FlexMax 80 For Sale or Trade in Los Angeles, California, USA. Great piece of hardware. Rock solid solar charge controller. Used for testing for 3 months, and would happily trade for solar stuff you have. If you are in the area and want to pick up, let me know. Price...

Acquaintance here mentioned that he was able to lower his power bill by connecting a solar panel to a MPPT, charging battery with MPPT, and when he gets home at night turns on inverter. The output of the inverter he has connected to an outlet in his house, it then backfeeds into a breaker in the...

When a company resurfaced the pool, they changed the bulb from some huge 120V bulb from the 60s to a 120V LED bulb. At the same time, they replaced the breaker in the panel with a GFCI breaker. There is a light switch below the panel that is for the pool light. When you flip the switch on, the...

I want to use the maximum amount of energy from my battery as safely as I can, maybe for 3-4 days a week. It is a Chins 2560 Watt hour deep cycle LiFePO4 at 12.8V at 200 Amp hours. From battery maker web site: Standard charge current: 50A Charging time: Approximately 5 hours Max continuous...

Anyone have a link to the thing (pre-charge resistor?) you prevent being electrocuted. Amazon preferred. no affiliate link unless you are will prowse please. Not finding a link on his site, this site, or youtube descriptions or comments from will.

I was able to get it installed. I have it on my phone, iPad, and web browser. I’ve identified the circuits to their breakers and put descriptions in the app for the circuits. I’ve identified the circuits as stove, air conditioning, outlets, etc. I have joined the 240 circuits into one virtual...

Primarily, since joining this form, I’ve been looking at all in one devices for off grid, hybrid, and grid tie set up. While visiting a friend last weekend, he told me he got solar really cheap. He got 21 panels and connected them to his house. The system has en phase micro inverters. How do...

I think that is what I have heard a few times in these forums. I was told that mega and ANL fuses were not as good as t-class fuses. Was curious to know why the Victron Lynx distributor uses MEGA fuses. Guess it depends on what you are trying to protect or prevent? I am doing a t-class fuse on...

Hi friends. Thanks for reading. I bought a new CHINS battery from a couple who was going off-grid, but due to personal finances, decided to scrap that plan. They sold me the battery with no owners manual and no battery bolts. It is a 12.8V 200 AH 2560WH LiFePO4 deep cycle battery. It has no...

12V 200 Ah bus bars span 2 cells in series, 4 in parallel. GFB 100Ah cells I think this is saying that the battery post size is M6. So here's my question... I want to use as large a conductor from the battery post to the T-class fuse for positive and over to the victron shunt for negative. I...

This is an off-grid setup. Gear listed below. It is great that I have Victron Cerbo GX to show fancy reports. There are so many options, though. See below for my reports. I believe what it is showing me in blue is the state of charge high, average, and low over time from left to right. For...

My JBDBMS has two 1/4 inch connections on the battery plus side of it. It also has two connectors on the opposite side of it. I learned that it was a good idea to have the conductors connected to these posts be as large as possible. I also found out that although you can get it to work with...

Residential structure in USA has grid service to a meter which connects to a 125A Cutler-Hammer load center. Intention is to leave existing panel, and add an interlock device and a main breaker. Currently have a single Quattro 48V 5000VA that was using for off-grid project. Considering using...

Friend having trouble with one of these. Generac XVT076A03 PWRcell 7.6kW 1Ph Inverter w/ CTs Who makes these for Generac? What is it behind the covers? Saw only one thread about theses where someone said only a professional installer can buy and install them. Huh? Is this an EG4 under the...

I have a small Victron 100 V, 20 amp solar charge controller. It is connected to a 12 V system. I also have a 12 V inverter. I love this little set up, and I’m using it exclusively to recharge electric bicycles right now. I have 28 solar panels. I have way more than I’m using. They are not...

Was doing some testing today to try to get max amps pushed into my battery to test the BMS and temp sensors. I first drained my battery down to 0% SOC according to victron shunt Ah used was 204 Ah on a 200Ah DIY battery. Then I killed the inverter and all DC loads except about 1.5A to run...

Did not buy but is 119 USD today/now for 5 more hours. https://a.co/d/5T6PHLA

Okay that's half of the other deal I found earlier today. https://a.co/d/3uKfUNp doesn't seem to be a limit on quantity, has 30 day refund policy. If indeed Grade A cells, that's $20 *per cell* which is china prices without the shipping from china, if I'm not mistaken. Go and get your...

I've proven in the last 3 months that I can run a pool pump and pool heater from solar. But the pool heater is a gas-powered, 10,000 BTU, about 60% efficient, super expensive to run because of the price of gas. Doing this experiment, I have reduced my electric bill by just over $500 over 3...

Hello I am trying to diagnose a small DIY system. I think the panels are charging, just not certain. No expensive battery monitor. The SCC has a battery voltage on it, and I have a shunt with 2 meters connected to it - charge and discharge being monitored. The 'discharge' meter shows just fine -...

A friend got this inverter. He asked me to find out about it. I went to the company’s website. I filled out a request. I hope to hear back soon. In the meantime, I see sellers that have these on eBay and Alibaba, but I sure would like to hear from people on this forum if these are any good...

I see there are probably a dozen brands of 100AH 12V batteries under 160 USD right now. But Eco-Worthy I at least recognize, gave me great customer service with my ground mount array, and have some friendly videos posted. Plus their fulfillment center is very close to me and stuff arrives fast...

I have a victron cerbo gx, victron SmartSolar VE.Can 250/70 and a victron SmartSolar VE.Can 150/100. all are working great. VE.Can works great. I read/saw a video where it mentioned that the VE.Can requires terminators. Think Will's video. However, the distance I am running the blue RJ45...

I know that Will says he oversizes wires and solar arrays often, but I made a mistake. My system design was going to use 2 gauge wire, and I bought 2/0 wire instead. Where would someone normally use 2/0 wire anyway? It is so thick, and hard to bend. Presume between say a 200 amp panel and a...

I am looking at a friends used whole house system. Looks like manufactured in 2020. Upgraded to Tesla gear. Based on searches is this setup the Deye gear that Lion Energy rebranded and SolArk in Texas sued them over? Battery has comms. Can’t find anyone selling these. Little reviews...

Todays numbers

I have recently installed the Emporia Vue 3. So far so good, except I am not sure about 3 things. Issue #1: When I look at this screen using Watts, I see all 16 CTs I have hooked up. Notice how it puts them all under one heading, "Total Usage": However, when I switch to Amps view, I see what...

Summary: One battery. No solar panels connected. No inverter. One fuse panel. Two DC loads. One load works the other does not. Both loads are charging cables for solar generators. Need some suggestions on why this might be. Thanks for reading. Long version: No solar connected right now. I have...

I think a dump load is something like this: someone has a 10kw PV array. Th solar charge controller can handle that. They also have 10KW in batteries. The batteries are low in the morning. During the day not much usage but son is out charging batteries. At some point more is being collected from...

System: 12V battery 200 Ah Chins Renogy 2000W inverter 120V Using load output connectors, not outlets Connected to Intermatic mechanical timer. Load on timer connected to outdoor rated outlet box mounted to wood. AFCI / GFCI receptacle. . Under an outdoor cover. Turned inverter on. Turned timer...

I think I saw it in a diagram somewhere, what are the advantages of putting a shunt between the busbar and the inverter? Assume that it will be connected to a Cerbo Cerbo GX. I imagine that when you go to configure the shunt, you can tell that it is for an inverter and it will probably show up...

After learning on 12V, I believe the time has come for 48V. Don't worry, I have use for my 12V stuff on other houses/projects. But I am stuck at a fork in the road. I have an existing 12V system with inverter and panels that works rock solid now (thanks to Victron gear vs. cheaper stuff). I'm...

I have a 150/100 Victron connected to 2s2p 200w 25V 9A panels. It produces 5kWh of power daily. Mounted at angle of 35 degrees. I also have another identical array 2s2p connected to a 250/70 Victron. Same panels. Produces 1.5kWh daily. Mounted flat, no angle at all, just to test. It was time...

We picked up an RV that has 240 W solar panels on the roof, a xantrex inverter, and four 6V house batteries that are lead acid and have 5 V each in them. I think I will benefit from putting in lithium iron phosphate for the house battery, but I’m not sure on a couple of things: I have no idea...

Battery bms with low voltage or high voltage cutoff is great to save the cells in the battery. If battery becomes drained the bms will protect its cells, sure. But if bms does this the loads connected will die. The inverter connected will die and the loads connected will turn off. Not great...

I went to watch the victron 450 MPPT RS video just now, and a voice that sounded kind of like Will's was showing a teardown of an Enjoybot battery on a bench and for a second thought I clicked the wrong link. The narrator tore the battery apart, then showed will's image in the lower right hand...

Asking if the Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 250-Volt 60 amp being discontinued. I notice on amazon when going to buy any other products in the 250 volt range that they list as options the 70, 85, and 100 amp models. You can find the 60 amp one, but it appears as a separate item (maybe product...

Not long ago I posted where discharging my CHINS 200Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery over 50 amps would cause the positive conductor to heat up. It was recommended that I do many things, but mostly to re-crimp my wires, and replace them with larger gauge. The thought was that the bad crimp was causing it...

I have done the math on my panels volts, amps, series, and parallel max, fusing requirements, etc. I am down to the point where I am planning whether or not to buy one MPPT or two. Here's what I know: with one MPPT, I can run either of the following setups: 6 series 2 parallel 8 series 2...

Did I set up my smart shunt and MPPT correctly for my battery? See photos. Also, the batteries are not topped off. I am not running any load, but it might take another few days for the batteries to charge all the way up. In the meantime, it shows stated charge at being 100%, which it is...

Thanks in advance for reading! Question #1 - discharge duration: I am trying to figure out how long I can run inverter/pump/heater on the pool before needing to stop it. Question #2 - discharge time of day: I am also trying to figure out when is the best time to run my loads aka discharge...

Equipment: 12V LiFePO4 200 Ah, only one. bus bars kill switch inline fuses victron 100/20 solar charge controller victron 500A shunt with temp sensor connected to positive battery post. victron cerbo gx outback FM 80 solar charge controller Giandell 2000W inverter 13 of 28 panels racked; 10...

I’m looking at a 120 acre property right now that has an older structure on it and has 100 amp panel and a grounding rod just below the panel. I want leave the critical loads to the grid for the next year or so while I build an off grid system. About half a mile away from the house,there are...

Fuses, breakers, and kill switches. I think I’m a little confused what needs to go where. In some cases, you are supposed to fuse the PV array. I think it’s always a good idea to have a PV disconnect. But you’re also supposed to have DC rated breakers on both the positive and negative. So is the...

I added a new shunt between the inverter today, connected to ve.direct bus at the Cerbo GX, told it in config that it was a dc device/inverter, rebooted the GX In order to do this, the victron cerbo gx only has 3 VE.direct ports. I already had 2 shunts (battery and non-victron MPPT) connected...

I have read about pre charge resisters an how they can prevent sparks. Here’s what happened in my situation: Inverter was in standby mode. It was powered Off with the remote it came with. 2000W Giandel. It connects to the bus bar. I was removing a device from the bus bar temporarily to install...

Hello. I have victron smartshunt 500, victron smartsolar 100/20, and cerbo GX. I have non-victron LiFePO4 battery, 12V (for now). Kill switch between battery and fuse. From fuse to bus bar (positive). 4 post blue sea with cover. Also have negative bus bar. 4 post blue sea with cover...

Will connect to victron quattro, and I want comms. Lots of 'black friday' deals in US for smaller, 'dumb' batteries with no Bluetooth BMS or comms, but seeking quality larger battery, outdoor rated preferred.

I currently have several separate components. A Giandel inverter, a victron mppt/scc, and a lifepo4 battery charger. My current system is 12 V and rated at 2000 W. It only runs a 500 W load currently. I have access to a lot of affordable solar panels in the $30 range. I already have six of...

Was suggested that I could add a second smartshunt to my environment and connect just the non-Victron MPPT to it in order to track that charge separately from my Victron MPPT. I like that idea. Went ahead and bought a 2nd shunt today. Visually, where will it appear in the VRM portal or VRM...

House in USA 🇺🇸 I am planning system for has an old panel in it. My guess is a 100 amp panel. House built in 1930s. Remodeled in the late 60s. If I add the breakers together, there is 120 amps of breakers plus a service disconnect 240v/100 amp breaker. There is one 240v / 30 amp load. It is...

Trying to set the SOC to 100% but not sure when or how to do it. disconnected all loads from battery. connections are Battery positive-->T-Class fuse-->Charger positive & shunt positive Battery negative-->Shunt-->charger negative. The negative IS the shunt for the shunt. That's it. Battery was...

Rather than walking around the house and installing a kill a watt device on each outlet, or one of them on one outlet and switching to all the outlets, I’m looking for a one and done solution. I believe that is installing a CT or current transformer device between the meter and the load center...

I am seeking an outdoor rated all in one that is quiet. On this forum, I see a lot of talk about how bad a product is or is perceived to be based on customer support experience by its members. For example, EG4 seems to be talked about the most here. I see ample complaints about support and the...

I was looking at a he differences between 100 amp hour and larger 200 amp hour batteries. Will tire one open and it seems that a few things make a battery have more capacity: The individual cells and The number of cells. For example one battery can have 4 cells, each 25 amp hours, for 100...

On my SCC it displays 4.1 amps. With my fluke and Klein meters if I disconnect PV solar side from SCC and connect my meter, I see 17.6 amps. Is the SCC displaying amps out to batteries? It does for volts. Not sure why I thought it would show amps in from PV. My shunts are cheap Chinese ones...

There are 4 major expenses I wanted to do: Upgrade to a variable speed pool pump Upgrade solar charge controller Upgrade batteries Upgrade panels. This week, I have bought the new pool pump and will swap it out on Wednesday. I can use grid power for it or my 12V system with it for a little...

I have a 100 watt glass panel, and a 200 watt portable panel. One produces 22.5 volts and the other 19 volts. Amps low on both - well under 20. I am connecting them in parallel hoping to quickly charge my 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery. Any issues with mixing these panels? I have observed with my...

I enjoy discussing solar, energy generation, energy storage, all in ones, off grid, ground mounts and more here. However, is there a well defined process or approach one should take to figure out what they need? For example, start with figuring out load, looking at panel for and split phase...

I'm starting to look into building a homemade DIY battery that I can store outdoors. This DIY battery will be connected to a victron cerbo gx, which has a lot of different comms options. Also have the victron quattro itself, which I believe has some comms on it as well. Not sure what the comms...

I have a fuse between the solar charge controller and battery. I also have a kill switch between the SCC and the battery. I also have breakers on the PV side between the panels & SCC. There was no load running on my inverter (2000 W) or the battery (12V LiFePO4 Chins 200Ah). The sun charged up...

I believe the main difference between these two is one is twist lock and the other is not. Powerful generators seem to have the NEMA SS2-50. Marine applications seem to have NEMA SS2-50. RVs seem to have NEMA SS2-50. Many industrial applications as well. Not sure why EVs seem to be using the...

I want to add air conditioning to my house. I want it to run off solar. It can be a dc to dc or an AC powered unit. It can be a heat pump or other inverter as well - most efficient, but I'm flexible on efficiency vs price. Example: Mini-splits can be bought for $500, or they can cost $2300...

I want to add solar to my home. I don't want to backfeed to the utility. Battery would be added. Truly not relying on the grid is the option, though I'll have to keep it connected to the house and pay the 30/month or whatever it is. Would be nice to use grid to charge battery on bad sun day/dead...