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My experience is that low-cost 5-20A chargers (even the ones that claim LFP capable) cannot deal with the low internal resistance of a fully-discharged 100AH LFP battery, especially if the BMS has entered a low-voltage cutoff state. The charger will either blow an internal fuse of just give up...

That’s a nice use of available space on the Pleasure Way. Do you have separate charge controllers for the roof and side-mounted panels?

The issue with many of these “energy efficient” appliances is service after the warranty expires. Non-standard/proprietary repair parts are crazy-expensive and some manufacturers only sell them through authorized distributors making if difficult or impossible for DIY work. I learned my lesson 20...

We made a radar reflector product that used conductive epoxy to bond large pieces of aluminum. The machined aluminum parts were first “plated” with a chromate-conversion film that made them more conductive, then a 3-5 mil thickness of epoxy was applied between the parts to bond them. There are...

Check the owners manual, maybe the Tristar has a setting for lithium batteries.

To clean up a modified-sine output you’d need a band pass filter (60 Hz) than can handle heavy loads (1500W). If such a beast exits it’ll probably cost more than a pure sine inverter.

That would be soldering, not welding. There are aluminum-zinc alloys that can be used to join aluminum parts, but heat is the issue. Aluminum conducts heat very well and by the time the terminal is hot enough to accept the solder, the battery electrolytes underneath are way past their intended...

Spot welding even .062 aluminum sheet is tricky. We tried this some years ago using a standard Miller 240V clamp spot welder and quickly learned that getting reliable connections by manually pulsing the welder was impossible. Sometimes we’d get a strong weld and then there would be pieces that...

The problem with current driver assist “AI” is that it still doesn’t work as well as a typical moron. We pat ourselves on the back and claim miraculous progress in various technologies, but the truth is we are often just confusing consumer availability and lower prices for actual progress.

Their advice about laser welding the terminals is correct. If the aluminum is only 5mm thick, tapping for a M6 bolt is going to be sketchy because even with a bottoming tap you will only have 2-3 threads. Good luck applying torque to that tiny mechanical connection in aluminum.

Wait until they unveil their bro-tastic setup for heating…?

Isn’t it wonderful to see our Congress developing legislation via the Twitterverse? After all, who needs hearings, testimony and written documents that citizens might read and revue, and why even worry about the final cost? We’re so goddamned lucky…

Never sign for or accept freight with obvious damage. Once it’s off the truck your recourse is limited. Lawyers? BBB? IMO a waste of time at this point, you’ll just be throwing good money after bad.

240AH became 420AH, an obvious typo, because to believe otherwise at that price/cell is wishful thinking. It was too good to be true so deal with the reality of the situation and move forward. Unless some payment processor will take your side, your money is gone.

Have you tried cutting and drilling copper? It’s not a friendly material for DIY tools.

On DC the typical fridge heater element pulls ~250W or 20A. Most vehicles can handle that load on the alternator while moving but it will drain a typical 12V starter battery quickly if you forget to disconnect when the TV is parked. One solution is a battery isolator relay that cuts off power to...

My a-frame trailer has two roofs each with solar panels, 600W total. The panels on one roof are hidden when it’s in the folded (tow) position and could possibly shaded when the roof is set up for use, so I have separate charge controllers.

If the damage was caused by the surge voltage when the fuse popped, how would subbing a larger fuse be better?

The biggest reserves of lithium are in South America, especially in the altiplano region where Chile, Bolivia, and Peru intersect. When I visited Chile in 2010 the Chinese were already a noticeable presence, and by 2013 they had started their massive road and seaport project through Peru at the...

We had a house in western Colorado that used evap coolers. They work quite well if the dew point is 40F of less. As the outside dew point increases the comfort of the conditioned space goes downhill. It’s marginal and quite “sticky” at a dew point of 55F, above 65F? Forgetaboutit.

On the mini-split units I’ve installed, the lines were capped to keep out dust but otherwise empty. The compressor is pre-charged with refrigerant and over-filled with the assumption that a full line set will eventually be attached. After the lines are installed and vacuumed (or not), the valves...

My neighbors (most in their ‘70s) seem to have a different ROI calculator and factors that they use to rationalize their solar spending. Anything that makes Gaia happy has zero cost, so according to them their ROIs are all infinite. ;)

Some years ago we looked at semi-off-grid properties near Ft. Davis, TX. At 5000 ft elevation it can get chilly there in the winter months. Many of the homes had large indoor water tanks that served as heat sinks to regulate temperatures, IIRC one of the tanks held 3000 gallons.

AliExpress is a fairy tale for cheap electronic gadgets — unbelievable low prices and a broad selection for tinkerers around the world. Power electronics is another story. When we’re dealing with stuff that routes hundreds of amps, the half-assed engineering and Q/A found in most of these...

Self-bonding silicone tape is a good alternative to vinyl electrical tape for insulating heavy hardware. It’s a bit thicker and since the tape only sticks to itself, it doesn’t leave behind that #%! mess of adhesive like vinyl tapes.

Sellers that charge credit cards before they ship the goods generally piss me off. Most credit cards give their account holders 60 days from the date of the statement to file a dispute. If it’s been over 3 months you might want to file that dispute right now.

These batteries have a built-in BMS that is supposed to prevent excess charge or discharge, right? So why would it matter if the charger voltage sat at 14.6V? Wouldn’t the BMS disconnect the cells at some lower (safe) voltage?

Ouch, a tragic loss and hopefully your insurance can cover some of it. I didn’t know what a Bluetti AC100 was. Apparently it’s a product that has been dropped from their store.

The max theoretical power for USB C is 100W, or about 20A. I’ve never seen a USB cable that I would trust to carry 20A. :)

I often hear people make suggestions to run charge/discharge tests on individual batteries. These are typically multi-hour regimes that involve equipment and careful monitoring by a competent technician. In the real world those people don’t work for free, and even for DIYers it has a cost in...

The two Battle Borns should be able to dump 100A to the inverter for one hour. Now the question is how much load does the A/C impose on the inverter. If you have one, what does the SAMLEX control panel show for the AC load? A typical air conditioner is around 1000W, so at 24V with 90% efficiency...

Are your batteries wired for 12V (parallel) or 24V (series)? If parallel, then yes, you can add another 12V battery in parallel with the other two and you’ll gain whatever Ahr capacity it provides. You can‘t add another 12V in series with your 24V setup because then you’d have 36V and that will...

It’s great news that we are “winning” these disputes with various far-off sellers and getting refunds from PayPal etc. In the meantime PayPal, eBay etc. announce that they are raising their fees…just a coincidence I’m sure. I had my turn in the barrel earlier this year when a highly-rated eBay...

Looks like it’s available only as 24 or 48V, so most mobile users would need a dc-dc converter. Might as well just get an AC induction plate and use an inverter to run it.

Just my $.02 — those currents listed for power tools are at least 2X at startup, sometimes much more for a fraction of a second. Modern inverters will shutdown to protect the internal electronics when they sense these overloads. Your best solution may be a hefty, old-school generator to run...