207kWh System... In 12V??? 😬

Hey, it's no big deal.
Just run the generator all day long and the batteries should get you through the night. (Assuming everyone is just sleeping)

So the guy gets an A for effort, F for execution.
Battleborn gets an A+ for product placement.

timselectric said:

Hey, it's no big deal.
Just run the generator all day long and the batteries should get you through the night. (Assuming everyone is just sleeping)

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Especially in the winter.
30k of Solar with 207kWh of batteries.

In a vid like this one, we would normally see a review of the actual solar collected and loads out, discussion of the effectiveness of the system, however seems they skipped over showing us any actual data at all. Given the location, hauling in diesel better be done during summer and store a year's supply on site.

OffGridForGood said:

Given the location, hauling in diesel better be done during summer and store a year's supply on site.

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I understand that Chevron and BP are bidding on sponsorship for the next video .

OffGridForGood said:

In a vid like this one, we would normally see a review of the actual solar collected and loads out, discussion of the effectiveness of the system, however seems they skipped over showing us any actual data at all. Given the location, hauling in diesel better be done during summer and store a year's supply on site.

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Ahh how else to the justify the tracks on the suburban? They make daily trips for fuel

Love to see some compatible reviews to some of the Victron marketing wank videos they put out. Seem almost on par with this (albeit much less extreme).

seneysolar said:

Maybe I am a bit jealous of the MT pole mounts and the REC Alphas, with that budget id have twice as many.

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Quit picking on people with MT pole mounts.

Winter with snow and don't have the panels tilted more.

No need for designing for a high snow load if the panels are tilted more vertical. Another thing I noticed was one pole mount is not at the very top of the pole. These are designed to have a bolt across the top so the mount can't slide down but it might come off with enough uplift. Maybe when I install the 3 poles this summer, I use a bolt thru the pole like they did.

29.16 kw of panels. 405 kwh of Lithium Batteries
Using PV watts for Sierraville, CA, and tilting for max production in December, a 60 degree tilt, south facing:



Using EG4 Powerpros, 15 would cost you $57,000 (less for buying in quantity, does not include install).
Might have considered Bi-Facial panels for the extra production in winter. Mount them vertically, and you don't have to worry as much about clearing snow.

Lets say you vertically mounted 405w bi-facial panels (with 405w production per side), and faced east/west:

East Facing Side:


West facing side:


about 10% more total production

Zwy said:

Quit picking on people with MT pole mounts.

Winter with snow and don't have the panels tilted more.

No need for designing for a high snow load if the panels are tilted more vertical. Another thing I noticed was one pole mount is not at the very top of the pole. These are designed to have a bolt across the top so the mount can't slide down but it might come off with enough uplift. Maybe when I install the 3 poles this summer, I use a bolt thru the pole like they did.

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Im not picking on those , im jealous!

DIYrich said:

Using PV watts for Sierraville, CA, and tilting for max production in December, a 60 degree tilt, south facing:

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This was what I was wondering, living is a snow-belt area, tilted up for winter is a must-have.
Interesting the bifacials vert. East West are better performance. In the vid we see some trees though.

So, maybe a dumb question... I don't really understand.... I'm in a cold climate, but... Why is one guy wearing a hat indoors while the guy outside isn't?

Fashion

seneysolar said:

Im not picking on those , im jealous!

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I was just kidding. I picked up 4 tornado damaged MT Solar mounts for $4K used. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/sinclair-or-mt-solar.76590/

As these were used, they don't qualify for the solar tax credit but this is for my shop so I get to depreciate them fully out, I won't be claiming a credit. My first MT Solar mount was about $6800 during covid with freight to the terminal.

This is the aerial before the tornado hit the used array I purchased. Broke all 4 adjusters, the mounts are rated at 105 mph but the tornado had 150 mph winds.



And this was the small array after the adjuster broke. One would have thought the panels would have sustained more damage. This will become a 10 panel array, 3x3 with one odd panel at the top. I don't see doing 2x5 and I'd have to extend the rails to mount wider panels.



Previous owner told me the poles bent over on the larger arrays. I thought maybe the 5 rows of panels might be too high and was thinking I might go to just 4 rows high but in the end I decided to make a double pole mount with 4 columns and 5 rows high. I do have to add extensions to the rails as these had 250W panels which were slightly narrower than the 370W NE Solar panels. My space for this array is limited for length, thus the decision to go 5 rows high.

I think having 3 columns x 5 rows was too much for a single pole. With 4x5 and 2 poles this should work out well. Plan is 21 panels total. One odd panel way at the top, strings will be 7S.

I was planning on Sinclair this time but they dragged their feet and the used MT mounts came up for sale and couldn't pass them up. I did order 2 adjusters, he did have one new adjuster he gave me. I'll still have enough parts left over for one more array.

Did anyone catch that video before it was taken down that "Projects in Paradise" youtube channel posted about the 12v battle borns in 48v series that melted down? Wish I had saved it. A friend of projects in paradise had the setup and some batts get out of balance and forced other batts to 18v. The BMS DID NOT DISCONNECT. Blew some holes in the side of the batts but did not go full melt down. Battle born contacted the guy and warrantied the batts but forced them to yank the video. They should of kept it public. What if there is a flaw out there with Battle born BMS? Seems like it to me. There was more then one battery that failed to protect itself.

sunsurfer said:

Did anyone catch that video before it was taken down that "Projects in Paradise" youtube channel posted about the 12v battle borns in 48v series that melted down? Wish I had saved it. A friend of projects in paradise had the setup and some batts get out of balance and forced other batts to 18v. The BMS DID NOT DISCONNECT. Blew some holes in the side of the batts but did not go full melt down. Battle born contacted the guy and warrantied the batts but forced them to yank the video. They should of kept it public. What if there is a flaw out there with Battle born BMS? Seems like it to me. There was more then one battery that failed to protect itself.

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You can find various discussions about that video on the web but the video was scrubbed. This was a discussion in this forum.

And here is another thread.

Will Prowse said:

Holy cow, where do we start...

$149,000 of batteries... are they unaware of other options on the market today? 12V batteries in series? Yikes...

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That would have cost approximately $65,000 for 14 x 300Ah Trophy Batteries. And would have been 210kWh

NC_hydro said:

That would have cost approximately $65,000 for 14 x 300Ah Trophy Batteries. And would have been 210kWh

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Or about $22,000 for some cells for DIY packs(not including BMS and other misc).

What would we recommend for this property owner?

ESS - We all agree he would certainly do better and far lower cost with ready made 48v packs. I like DIY packs for even lower price per kWh, but he may need certified packs. What else can we suggest for this site?

Inverters - they called this a "400 Amp system" in the vid, but the 48kW of inverters means it is 200A . Someone pointed out bigger commercial inverters but 3-phase may make it tough to keep all three phases in balance. I question if the 48kW output is actually enough for the loads, but we don't get to see any data, just the guy listing a bunch of loads, that quickly add to more than 48kW.

The panels could be on single axis tilts - for snow removal - I do this with most of my mounts on seasonal tilt (up for winter, down for summer) my latest array is on lineal actuators so they can tilt up and down any time with simple controls. I like the idea of night-time tilt up vertical for snow sheding.

They didn't show us any data, and they skipped over the generator part. I didn't see any chargeverters in the vid, but these could be a way to allow the inverters to continue to run, while a generator provides battery charging during low-solar period while running at it's most efficient power point, instead of following the loads on pass-through.

Other ideas?

I guess when he rents the place out for weddings, he'll have a tanker truck parked by the generator. lol