• Have you tried out dark mode?! Scroll to the bottom of any page to find a sun or moon icon to turn dark mode on or off!

diy solar

diy solar

Search results

  1. S

    Maximize solar array parallel or series?

    Yup. That is the reason that the starter motor on an ICE car has big thick cables running to it, while the radio does not. (and why in an EV the motive battery is running at hundreds of volts instead of 12, and they have to 'make' 12v to power the radio and windshield wipers)
  2. S

    Amino Battery Review

    I played along for a bit with the ordering process. I was shopping for a 12v 100ah battery for $142. I "ordered" 4 of them. Shipping was $1600. So, it weren't no deal. I'll be ordering LiTime through amazon before here...
  3. S

    24v Travel Trailer System

    Most of the time the vent is for the Carbon Monoxide and other poisonous gasses. Which when the appliance is efficient and in good working order, aren't being produced in any significant amounts. This means that in a large volume of air, there aren't any issues. (houses, garages and such) In a...
  4. S

    36v 315w panel to 12v system (battery bank size)

    I am in Southern Ontario, along the North shore of Lake Erie.
  5. S

    36v 315w panel to 12v system (battery bank size)

    I have 380w of panels on the roof of my trailer going into a 25a MPPT charger. I'm using two GC-2s (235aH) in series for 12v. I have a 12v compressor fridge that pulls 10a when it runs, and has a duty cycle of about 30% (more if it's hot, and I'm grabbing more beer out of it), and a MaxxAir fan...
  6. S

    "up and coming" equipment vendors?

    My buddy did this. Converted his pontoon boat to electric power, and put solar panels on the roof. He has an off-grid cabin in the Northern Wilds of Ontario, and didn't want to mess with hauling gasoline in to the camp. He has a Tesla Model 3, that he charges off the cabin when its there, too...
  7. S

    help me save bees......with power!

    The fans are much more substantial than a vent cover. They will actually close themselves when the wind or rain becomes too strong. Theyre bolted down with 16 1.5inch screws. Plenty are sold to camper trailer owners in Florida where they do travel at 70-80mph... (the benefits of cheap gas, I...
  8. S

    help me save bees......with power!

    Take a snoop down an RV rabbit Hole... Ventilation could be helped with some Fantastic Fans or MaxxAir fans... These run on 12vDC, and move quite a bit of air. (some with thermostats, and rain sensors) In addition, a 2-in-1 charger/inverter may be a cheaper way to get started. (buy a solar...
  9. S

    Help to wire 12volt fridge.

    I've got mine tied neg to grd... Only because it's in a vehicle. If you actually have an easy place to ground the fridge to earth, like a metal drain pipe, that'd be better.
  10. S

    Help to wire 12volt fridge.

    The fridge wants 12v at 15amps. A USB gives 5v. so you would need to splice in a cigar lighter plug, and use a 12v cigar lighter socket. It takes an honest 10amps when it runs, and will run about 1/4 of the time. Mine is powered by two 200W panels, charging two GC2's at 235aH, and that setup...
  11. S

    Panel System Specs

    What about storing the energy as heat? ie; Heat water with sunshine, either photovoltaic or just a black panel warming the water. and when the sun goes down, run a little hydronic heating system of photovoltaic battery storage. Those little circ pumps don't take much wattage, and if the water...
  12. S

    Did i wreck my battery?

    My Carbon Monoxide and Propane detectors go off when voltage drops too low. There are no alarms on the solar system... I've added an extra panel, which ends up being too many watts for the SCC to use, by about 60 watts. your 100aH lithium with 300ish Watts of solar will keep ahead of the...
  13. S

    Back up system for natural gas furnace - Help with bypass

    What if the MultiPlus was plugged in, in-between? Utility fuse panel-- Furnace power outlet--Multiplus--MTP outlet--furnace... If you want to bypass the MultiPlus, you just unplug the furnace and plug it directly into the utility power outlet. In normal operations, the MultiPlus would work...
  14. S

    Adding batteries to Bluetti

    I suppose the first question to ask is; Have you delicately disassembled one to see if 50Shades premonition about proprietary plugs and all that are true, and if there is a work-around? If you can splice into the batts, minding that you must have identical voltage, you should be able to just...
  15. S

    Lead acid and Lifepo4 with switch between

    The generator is 12v? (ie; a vehicle alternator?). If it is a household current generator, it shouldn't go anywhere near this switch. That switch is a 3 terminal switch. There is a Common terminal and terminals 1 and 2. f1 and f2 are just feedback posts for voltage regulators, either internal...
  16. S

    Have an idea - could use some help wrapping my noggin around some aspects of it.

    My uncle had a natural gas well on his farm. It wasn't profitable to be commercial, and they were just flaring the gas off... He purchased a generator, and set the carburetor to run on NatGas (quite a thing in 1970-something)... He ran all his 120v appliances off the Genny, and kept the 240v...
  17. S

    Lead acid and Lifepo4 with switch between

    Just to clarify; You would like to continue to use the Flooded Lead Acid House battery for most of the time and use the LiPo4 bank when it is exhausted? If that is the case, you are asking how to tie the two banks together to achieve this goal, as well as charge the LiPo4 bank when not in use...
  18. S

    Its newbie me again ?

    A decent battery monitor is a great help... They don't need to be very fancy, just big enough for the highest amperage you're gonna draw out of the bank... ($100, or so) It will show you amperage in and out, and maybe there's something your charger isn't telling you...
  19. S

    Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    It really isn't the amperage, it's how the Lithiums draw their amps. They start drawing very quickly and maintain that draw until they approach fully charged. While this could be within spec of the alternator, they draw high amperage for longer than the alternator can handle, causing it to...
  20. S

    Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    Again, I = PV... There will be a maximum amount of power drawn by the load. Be it a battery charger, inverter, or hairdryer. The load is your constraint. a 3000w inverter will only pull 3000w (plus overhead), likewise a 50a battery charger is only going to pull enough to provide 50a at battery...
  21. S

    Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    Why would Imp double? there is less wattage being produced. The other panels can only provide their rated Voltage and Amperage (=Wattage), so the overall capability of the array will drop. The MPPT will be in the same situation as it would be in a 7 panel array if panel #8 is shaded (assuming an...
  22. S

    Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    Translated into a plumbing analogy. (how my Electrical Engineering prof explained it) Volts are pressure, Amps are volume. Too much pressure on a valve or pipe, and they will fail. (burst) You can have all the volume you want, but without pressure, the water won't move. (like a lake) You can...
  23. S

    Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    You would need the house batts to be wired in parallel to keep 24v, if that is what the starter batts provide. Wire your inverters to the house batts. You would then wire the positive posts of the starting batts to the positive posts of your house batts, with an isolator switch along the run...
  24. S

    Alternator for 24 volt starting AND 24v Inverter Lithium bank

    I assume your house batteries are running 24v also. Are you looking for something to isolate the starting batts when the engine shuts down, and tie everything together when the engine is running? In its simplest form an isolator switch with an appropriate amperage rating would do it. (assuming...
  25. S

    Best option to optimise this winter...

    Over panelling is OK. One caveat; make sure that your Voc doesn't exceed the max voltage of the controller.... Overpanelling is like plugging a phone charger into an outlet after removing a hairdryer. The potential for more wattage is there, but the phone charger only pulls what it needs. (as...
  26. S

    RV Air Conditioner tripping inverter after start

    I agree... The two voltage regulators (A/C compressor 'throttle' and the Inverter) are doing a 'Push-me/Pull-you' dance, neither is fast enough (or slow enough) to allow the other to settle in... I've seen an inverter generator set to 'Eco' mode chase a variable rate compressor fridge that...
  27. S

    Add grid-based UPS function to off-grid system?

    Just a grid powered battery charger, sized to keep things afloat... You want solar to do most of the work, with utility power to pick up any slack during many days of foul weather, correct? Your new utility powered battery charger would just be set at a slightly lower voltage than your solar...
  28. S

    Add grid-based UPS function to off-grid system?

    What about running the system like a telephone office? Charge the batteries from solar and the grid, and run everything off the inverters... (you would just need to keep the grid from charging the batteries when the solar is working)
  29. S

    How do you know if the batteries are fully charged?

    As a fellow Canadian (You're buying Motomaster stuff), I bought one of these on Amazon.ca (Find the one with enough amp capacity to handle your biggest load)... It isn't as fancy as some, but it will let you know how much 'room' you have left in the batts...
  30. S

    When batteries are fully charged

    It's the same thing as when you unplug a hairdryer from a wall outlet. The electrical grid has a lower draw on it... The potential to produce solar generated electricity remains, but the amount decreases... I left mine active all winter... It kept the batts topped up...
  31. S

    Solar for RV

    As mentioned, 30a of shore power is 3600W of power... A power audit is the fancy term to describe figuring out what you want to run, and how much power it needs.. Things to think about; - do you want/need to run the A/C? (thats a biggie) - what about a microwave or toaster? without those loads...
  32. S

    How to oversize the solar panel array so you don't wreck the system?

    It seems to me that as long as the voltage doesn't exceed the Max Voc you can't hurt the charge controller. It's like the difference between a cell-phone charger and a hairdryer at home; both require 120VAC, but one needs more wattage/amps. The 120VAC is the deciding factor, as long as that...
  33. S

    Can a 340W panel AND a 100W panel be used at the same time?

    I agree... As long as you don't push too many volts into the SCC, it'll be fine... It's kinda like plugging a phone charger into a 120v socket at home, and then replacing that charger with a hair dryer. One uses more power, but as long as you don't exceed the rated voltage, they just pull as...
  34. S

    Understanding Amperage

    What are the specs of your charge controller? You can possibly over voltage the controller, or waste panels by over paneling... (30 amps at 12v is 360w. Any additional wattage is wasted) So, if you have amperage limitations on the Charge Controller, you'll need an additional controller. Either...
  35. S

    Understanding Amperage

    how big is your wallet? ? In order to get enough storage to completely charge the car, you need over 18,000 Watt-Hours (the car battery is 18kWh is size) At 12volts, that equates to 1500 Amp Hours. You have 200Ah currently. So you'd need 1300 more, so 7 would do it, if wired in parallel...

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top