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  1. WindWizard

    Which controller of these two would you use?

    I upgraded mine to Victron and it was one of the best decisions. I love the bluetooth and they do not have the noisy fan. In fact I am sitting on my couch now and looking at how my system is doing this morning at 9am. I am generating at this very moment, 9.3kw of power and 7.6kw is going into...
  2. WindWizard

    18 month DIY project finally done: 39kW inverter power off grid system

    That is exactly what I thought when I purchased a flexible dryer hose. I put a match to it and it burst into flames. I replaced my dryer vent with a solid metal dryer vent because I did not want my house to go up in flames. I suggest the OP test a piece of the vent hose with a lighter to check...
  3. WindWizard

    Battery cable shunt caused corrosion?

    The dielectric grease will prevent it. Undo all of your connections and clean them up. Apply the dielectric grease to the exterior surfaces and no more rust. If air cannot get to the metal then it prevents rust from forming.
  4. WindWizard

    18 month DIY project finally done: 39kW inverter power off grid system

    If those ducts above your eg4's are what I think they are then they are highly flammable. They look like metal but they are really just plastic. You can tell how flammable they are by just taking a lighter to a piece of one and see if it catches on fire easily.
  5. WindWizard

    Battery cable shunt caused corrosion?

    Rust is caused by metal being exposed to air. If you cover up the metal with a dielectric synthetic grease like super lube then it should prevent the corrosion.
  6. WindWizard

    I get two power bills at my house so now I'm looking into solar.

    In my opinion, one of the first things to do is to get rid of the gas heat for the pool. I have a 7500 gallon pool in the state of Maine and are running it entirely with solar. I heat with solar and run the pump with solar. To heat the pool I am using 12 flat panel solar hotwater panels. To...
  7. WindWizard

    Midnite Solar Announced their new 10kw AIO at Intersolar Today

    It is missing idle current and also weight.
  8. WindWizard

    Swimming pool pump

    The Solar Panels have what is called a maximum power point. What this means is that they produce maximum current at a specific voltage. If you just connect a Solar Panel to a load then it will only produce a fraction of the power it is capable of. That is the job of the Mppt controller. In...
  9. WindWizard

    Snow-Free solar

    I have 30 panels that are ground mount. When it snows, then I go out and scrape the snow off the panels. It is a pain to do, but if I don't do it then power production is zero or close to it until the snow melts. The 12 panels that are on the roof I just leave until the sun does its job...
  10. WindWizard

    Maine Inspectors

    Electricians that deal with solar seem to be rare in the state of Maine. It sounds like you have ordered all your stuff or I would have suggested for you to go off grid as I have done.
  11. WindWizard

    DC water heater.

    Wow, impressive setup. I am also in a northern climate and have experience in not only Solar but also Solar hot water panels. I have found that the solar panels mounted on the roof do not produce electricity until all the snow melts. The solar panels I have in the yard require periodic...
  12. WindWizard

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

    I am sorry that you experienced such extreme challenges on assembling your battery pack. I found it to be a very rewarding experience. First off, the compression thing is not for me. My Cells are not compressed and are doing fine. Top balancing wasn't for me either. It just seemed like a...
  13. WindWizard

    Heat on terminals.

    I would get a multimeter and then measure the voltage drop at 150 amp load to test the crimp connections, fuse, wires etc. This will tell you where the heat is being generated. I do not like it when things get warm or hot.
  14. WindWizard

    DIY garage system problems

    It could be a number of things. If your inverter is going into low voltage, then that implies that the voltage at the inverter is low when the freezers are trying to start. It could be your wire size is to small causing too much voltage drop between the batteries and the inverter. It could be...
  15. WindWizard

    12v 10a 230Wh 18ah system with low temp protection under $200 without panels

    I have been called a cheapskate by some people, but I cannot recommend the proposed System. It may be okay to dabble a bit in solar with this System but I would not attempt to power anything of value because it may very well turn your fridge into a brick.
  16. WindWizard

    What makes you happy?

    February, back off grid again until November.
  17. WindWizard

    need a little help with the right chargecontroller!

    I changed my Outbacks to Victrons for a reason. They work great, bluetooth is awesome, plenty of support. Some things you just have to spend the money on.
  18. WindWizard

    Exceeding voltage or amps on SCC

    My thought on the matter is that the MPPT controllers are just that. A Maximum Power Point Tracker. A typical Solar Panel does not produce any usable wattage when the panel is disconnected. This means that when you do not have a load on the Solar panel then there is no power being generated...
  19. WindWizard

    Newbie. Input needed on a pole barn solar build.

    I agree with @BentleyJ you have sort of painted yourself into a corner. It is better to start Solar with the end in mind and then purchase equipment accordingly. You can do it a bit of a time but probably the most important thing is to decide on what voltage you want your system to be. A 12 Volt...
  20. WindWizard

    6*300w panels in 3S2P NOT GENERATING MORE THAN 9A

    Disconnect one string and then run 3S. Then run the other string as 3S. This will tell you which string is giving you issues. They should be close in voltage and current. The MPPT should output similar voltage and current. This is assuming that your battery is not fully charged.
  21. WindWizard

    evacuated solar hot water tubes (thermal grease, when to change?)

    That tube is defective and needs to be replaced. The water that is inside the glass evacuated tube comes from the copper tubing developing a leak. The evacuated tubes are seperate from the manifold. The way the evacuated tubes are constructed is that inside the glass tube is a copper tube...
  22. WindWizard

    2 panels off CL - now what?!

    If you want to go super cheap then just hook them in series and then wire them to a socket and then plug this immersion heater or one like it. It should be able to heat some water for you. If the oil heater is electric then it may work. You would need to plug it in and see if it works...
  23. WindWizard

    Has anyone ever been successful bringing a low cell back to life?

    The cell needs replacement and not just charged.
  24. WindWizard

    I don't know what to choose..and my eyeballs are rolling around in my head from research...?

    It is important to decide on realistic goals with solar. When it snows then the panels get covered with snow and the panels do not generate any power unless they are cleared of snow. If you want to go off grid, then it will cost a minimum of $30K even after you do it yourself. It takes a lot of...
  25. WindWizard

    Local electrical help needed in brookings OR

    Not really. You only need to turn the bluetooth on and then you should be able to connect to your devices with the Victron App. That is if your battery is still charged.
  26. WindWizard

    Local electrical help needed in brookings OR

    Victron is definitely quality equipment. If you are going to do the work yourself on getting it going again, then you will need to do certain things. The first thing that comes to my mind is what others have suggested and that is the state of the 12 Volt batteries. In order to determine that...
  27. WindWizard

    If it were you what would you be looking at?

    The second Outback screen is interesting. It shows that your panels are producing 119.6 Volts with no current. Usually, the Outback shows a current and then below it is 72.3 volts with again no current and then at the bottom it shows charged. The 72.3 volts should be your battery voltage. I am...
  28. WindWizard

    Help

    I also recommend the Victron Smart Shunt. Check around there are plenty of deals on the Smart Shunt from Victron. Check Facebook Marketplace or Ebay. I found a deal on mine. Used seems to work just as well as new at a better price. Victron stuff works very well and I would not hesitate to buy used.
  29. WindWizard

    Solar Panel Tilt Test. What are your angles for 38 Degrees North Latitude?

    I use the following and adjust once a month. January: 43.4° February: 38.4° March: 33.4° April: 28.4° May: 23.4° June: 18.4° July: 23.4° August: 28.4° September: 33.4° October: 38.4° November: 43.4° December: 48.4° I get it from this site https://footprinthero.com/peak-sun-hours-calculator I...
  30. WindWizard

    System help/info

    Without a generator, then it will be difficult no matter what you do. When the sun plays possum for days on end and the snow comes down for a few days, then it kills all your solar no matter what you have. I have batteries for 3 days and 42 panels and the months of Nov-Jan still find me needing...
  31. WindWizard

    Personal opinions please? If already upgrading gear, should I go from 12v to 24v?

    The big issues with 12v, 24v, 48v is the amount of current you are going to be running from the batteries to the Inverter. It is easy to figure it out. If you are going to need a 5kwatt inverter, then the amount of current will be 12v - 416 amps, 24v - 208 amps, 48v - 104 amps. This does not...
  32. WindWizard

    North-Eastern Coastal Solar Questions...

    I am in west central Maine, so I cannot answer about Costal Maine. In the summer I produce over 1000 kwh per month and in the winter around 500 kwh, so at least a 50% drop in production. Snow will kill the production of power so I sweep the snow off the panels. I also adjust the angle of the...
  33. WindWizard

    very high heatsink temperature on Victron 100/30 MPPT

    I have three Victron Controllers. Two 250/100 and one 150/100. I have been monitoring them for some time. Sometimes the current approaches maximum current of a bit over 5000 watts on a 48-volt system. The voltage is nowhere near the maximum 250 volts. It is running around 150 volts on the...
  34. WindWizard

    Work in Progress - But it's alive!

    It looks like Cell 12 is starting to run away on you. One solution that works well is to discharge the Cell with the highest voltage with a cheap light bulb attached to some alligator clips. After you balance them then your Seplos should be able to keep them balanced. I use an active balancer...
  35. WindWizard

    December PV starting off crappy again.

    I did pretty well for the month of December. I made 605kwh so far. I make sure the snow if off the panels and adjust the angle of the panels to help with the low sun position. My daily low was on December 18th for .94kwh. My daily high was on December 8th for 47.14kwh
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