diy solar

diy solar

Search results

  1. kolek

    Request thread removal

    Request thread removal
  2. kolek

    How to connect the "black" style JK-BMS with the short B- and P- leads?

    There's a "silver" version of the JK-BMS which has a place I can bolt my battery negative wire, that I understand. But the black style JK-BMS I have (JK-B2A24S20P ) I have just has these tiny short battery wires. Are you supposed to unscrew the black cover and put your own size/length leads or...
  3. kolek

    Is it common for rodents to chew PV cables on ground-based solar panels?

    Has anyone on the forum suffered this problem? And if so, what is the cheapest & easiest countermeasure? My panels are in a temporary location so I don't want to do anything elaborate or permanent. I personally haven't had a problem yet, but want to avoid one in the future if its a common issue...
  4. kolek

    How stupid is this?

    Hi guys, it's kolek again, the village idiot with zero DIY skills and no qualifications to be doing electrical anything. Is it ok to use busbars instead of wire like I'm doing below to make connections? Like below connecting the busbar to the 200A breaker? If you guys approve this, all...
  5. kolek

    200A breaker for 175A copper wire?

    Is a 200A DC breaker too large for wire that maxes out at 175 AMPS? I'm assuming the answer is yes. I'm in Japan and wire sizes are different here, the size of the wire in question is "60 SQ" Which is between AWG 1/0 & AWG 2/0 in size. For comparison sake: AWG 1/0 = 170 Amps = 53.5 SQ AWG 2/0...
  6. kolek

    Has anyone solved this "Inrush Current Limiter / Precharging circuit" issue?

    I understand the simple resistor pre-charge circuit that people are working with here, but what about the case where, as @FilterGuy writes "BMS kicks off for a while, the [inverter] capacitors will discharge and when the BMS kicks back on, there will be no pre-charge...." Maybe @meetyg has an...
  7. kolek

    Safely balancing batteries with different SoC

    Say I have 4 large 280AH batteries with a high state of charge, and 4 more with a low SoC. I assume if I use big busbars and parallel these 8 batteries there could be drama like sparks and possibly even damage to the cells. I have some 18awg wire, could I safely get around this by just using the...
  8. kolek

    Are these batteries damaged?

    LF280 cells purchased from Amy at Shenzhen Luyuan 2 years ago. Supposedly her best "Grade A" batteries. The batteries have never been used. Using battery charger, charged a group of 6 batteries for the first time to 3.56V. Now after just sitting for 2 days, the charge on each of the 6...
  9. kolek

    Using JK-BMS. Do I need a smart shunt?

    My unfinished system: Inverter: Deye 8K BMS: old JK (not the "inverter" version) Battery: 16S2P (32 280AH cells) The JK BMS suck at monitoring battery SoC. Some say use a Victron Smart Shunt to monitor SoC. I'm unclear on how important it is to have a smart shunt monitoring SoC. Say, on a scale...
  10. kolek

    Elegant way to pre-charge between 2 Anderson connectors?

    I was planning on not having a switch on my battery, and just unplugging it using an Anderson connector when I need to disconnect it. But I still need a precharging circuit. Someone should sell a pre-charge connector for Anderson connectors, but since they don't, what's an elegant way to...
  11. kolek

    Cells must be within X volts of each other to safely parallel them

    Someone please fill in the X. You don't take a totally empty cell and put it in parallel with a full cell, right? Read somewhere on the forum they must be within a certain voltage, like 0.01V or 0.1V or something like that, but can't remember what the number was. Assuming standard 280AH cells.
  12. kolek

    Too late to top balance with BMS?

    I've been trying to top balance a 16 cell battery in sets of 4 (in parallel, using a charger), but it's taken 1 week and I've made little progress on the first set of 4. Here are the voltages of the 4 cells I have tried to charge: 3.343V 3.340V 3.333V 3.332V (They didn't charge evenly because...
  13. kolek

    Change my mind: Gonna top balance to 3.45V instead of 3.65V

    I decided to top balance my cells to 3.45V instead of 3.65V because of the conclusions of this video: Other advantages: it leaves a larger margin for error and probably leads to greater battery life. I know 90% of people here go to 3.65V. So tell me why this is wrong, and I should be charging...
  14. kolek

    How much faster is top balancing cells individually?

    I believe @Steve_S said somewhere it's faster charging individual cells than groups of cells. Meaning, for example, it's more than 4X faster charging a single cell than a group of 4 cells. Is this true, and how much faster is it, roughly? Also, related question, I'm using 18GA wire for...
  15. kolek

    Connecting JK-BMS to Inverter - Any major advantage?

    The newer version of the JK-BMS will talk to inverters, and there's a project to allow the JK-BMS to talk to the inverter. It would mean my JK BMS could talk to my Deye inverter. Sure it's cool, I get it. Maybe you can implement some cool charging strategies, etc., but beyond things like that...
  16. kolek

    Has anyone's battery failed due to overcompression?

    I have a row of 8 batteries at low SoC held tightly by thick sheets of aluminum at either end. The nuts on the threaded rods are just slightly tighter that I can tighten by hand, 5 in-lb. Hard plastic separators between the cells. No springs, no rubber, no extra room for expansion at all. EVE...
  17. kolek

    Deciding to DIY my solar battery was one of my worst mistakes ever

    This is an anti-DIY message specific to DIY batteries, so I apologize, but my message for the masses is, unless you know what you're getting into, consider buying a pre-assembled battery. Deciding to DIY my solar battery was one of my worst mistakes ever. I'm still not done yet, and so far the...
  18. kolek

    JK-BMS or Daly BMS?

    Prior to the recent problems with the new JK-BMS, it seemed the consensus was that JK-BMS was better than Daly BMS. Now it's less clear, at least in my mind. I'm leaning toward the JK-BMS. I have both the Daly 16S 48V 300A BMS and the JK-BMS 200A 2A model to choose from. Battery is EVE DIY...
  19. kolek

    How to best switch the grid connection between the loads panel and the AIO inverter

    Hey guys, in the event the AIO inverter fails for whatever reason, I don't want to rewire the grid to loads panel connection from scratch. So I'm trying to figure out the best way to switch the grid connection between the loads panel and the AIO inverter. Basically, if the AIO inverter fails, I...
  20. kolek

    SOLARMAN / Sunsync Connect / Deye Stick Logger are garbage

    Normally, when you have a networked device like a router, you can connect to it and login to the admininstrative interface. With Deye's stick logger, all you can do is login to it for the sole purpose of configuring it to connect to your home WiFi, so that DEYE engineers and other 3rd party...
  21. kolek

    Has anyone gotten their Deye/Sol-Ark/Sunsynk inverter to run even briefly on solar only without battery or grid?

    Has anyone in the history of man been able to get their Deye / Sol-Ark / Sunsynk inverter to run strictly on solar without battery or grid? I'm just wondering if it's possible to use it this way in SHTF situations, assuming battery and grid failures. Don't worry, I understand it doesn't "work...
  22. kolek

    Deye (Sol-ark) stopped switching AC power on - blown fuse?

    Deye 8k, previously it would activate AC momentarily and then throw F08 GDFI_relay_failure error. To solve F08 error I've wired load N to ground as recommended here, and now the unit won't do anything but show DC power from the panels. Inverter now makes no attempt to start AC power. Deye...
  23. kolek

    How much PV input voltage is needed to start AC on inverter (Deye 8K)

    Running DEYE inverter (SUN-8K-SG01LP1-US) no grid connection, no battery, 1 strand of 7 x 455 watt solar panels in series. Was cloudy today, PV input voltage according to the inverter was about 340V @ 0.1 amps during the day. So that's 34 watts, apparently not enough to kickstart the inverter...
  24. kolek

    Deye 8K grounding fault (Error F08 GFDI _Relay_Failure)

    First time connecting Deye 8K inverter (model SUN-8K-SG01LP1-US) in Japan. - Solar panels are connected. - Inverter is NOT connected to the grid. - No battery is connected. I'm having an F08 error GFDI _Relay_Failure. For this error code, the manual says: "When inverter is in Split...
  25. kolek

    Looking for a solar consultant? Consider @ncsolarelectric

    If anyone is looking for a reasonably-priced highly qualified solar consultant, I highly recommend Todd @ncsolarelectric here on this forum. When we started on our DIY solar project, we were completely lost. Todd patiently provided all the advice and information we needed. He's been absolutely...
  26. kolek

    RayfromTx video "Reduce the Risk When Buying Lifepo4 From Alibaba!" is misleading

    The moderator @upnorthandpersonal and I have traded a dozen messages over the last 2 hours on this topic and we both agree that the popular video by @RayfromTX entitled "Reduce the Risk When Buying Lifepo4 From Alibaba!" is misleading. We felt it was important to let the members of this forum...
  27. kolek

    Verify calculations for max # of panels to put in series

    Can someone please verify I'm running these calculations correctly to determine the max # of panels I can put in series without exceeding my MPPT max PV input voltage, which is 425 volts? Please verify I'm grabbing the right numbers as well as my calculations, I'm doing this for the first time...
  28. kolek

    Best BMS or active balancer for 16S2P 48V 28kwh battery

    What is the absolute best BMS and/or active balancer available for a 28kwh battery bank made up of 2 x 16 x 3.2V 280Ah batteries? Within reason, price is not a major consideration. Have spent many hours researching and read all the existing threads on this topic, the main options I'm...
  29. kolek

    Am I making a big mistake? Half cut solar panel decision

    About to order solar panels and I cannot afford to make a mistake. Please double check this is a decent reasonable choice for my inverter. Inverter: Deye SUN-8K-SG01LP1-US...
  30. kolek

    using spring water for heating/cooling?

    We have a mountain spring on our property that puts out 68F spring water, flow is slow, about 1/4 gallon per minute. Wondering if this could be fed though a water to air heat exchanger in the house to cool a small room a little in the winter and heat a little in the summer. Not expecting...
  31. kolek

    Pls help me decide - cheap old vs newer expensive solar panels

    I'm planning to buy 8000 watts of solar panels soon. Pls help me choose between these 2 options: Option #1 160 watt panels (unused but discontinued) I can get for $40 each (Solar Frontier SF160-S) OR Option #2 455 watt (new model) panels for $163 each (Longi Solar LR4-72HPH-455M) Obviously...
  32. kolek

    Do half-cut panels out-perform on overcast days?

    Referring to his half-cut solar panels, Fafrd posted saying "Interestingly, on overcast days I can actually get as much output as I get on clear days." Here's the post: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/will-shading-keep-me-from-getting-any-solar-power-in-the-winter.32216/#post-392233 Anyone...
  33. kolek

    Is it possible to limit number of watts from solar panel array to inverter?

    In most places, winter solar output is far less than summer, right? So to keep your batteries charged, you actually want a larger array during the winter than the summer. Is there any way to automatically accomplish this? Say your inverter maxes out at 8000 watts. You buy a 14000 watt array...
  34. kolek

    Question about importing expensive items like panels and batteries from China

    When importing expensive solar parts from China to the U.S., such as solar panels or batteries that cost $5000, and you're bringing them in by FedEx and honestly declaring their full value of $5000, is anyone paying import tax?
  35. kolek

    Best strategies for getting refunds when China'd on Alibaba

    There are lots of people around the net complaining of problems with vendors on Alibaba. When there's a problem, the options are first trying to work it out with the seller, and if that fails: 1. Attempting to get a refund though Alibaba 2. Attempting a chargeback through credit card company 3...
Back
Top