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SMA just announced Sunny Boy Smart Energy hybrid, SBSE7.7-US-50 and lower wattage models now on California's CEC website. (Larger up to 11.4kW not yet available.) This makes them available for approval by PG&E (Haven't tried yet, might take time for their system to be updated.) This inverter...

Anybody know of a convenient (free) calculator to determine uplift force? I'm going through SolarAPP+, which looks up simple things like ampacity and EGC size. It knows windspeed (100 mph) for my location, but just has me declare spacing between standoffs attached to roof...

Transformers aren't well understood by most people who use them. It is well known that centertap "Neutral" connection carries the difference between L1 and L2, but that is not at all true for autotransformers. It is only true for the case of an isolation transformer where all power is delivered...

I picked up 24x FullRiver DC250-6 AGM batteries, somewhat used. They had powered a couple Tuk-tuk for tourists. 76 lbs. each, so 1800 lbs. https://fullriverbattery.com/batteries/part-dc250-6/ Most measured 6.26 ~ 6.29V, but a couple were lower, lowest being 6.05V (40% SoC per manual) I set...

(Sorry, the GIF doesn't play, see article for animation https://news.yahoo.com/tesla-model-x-briefly-serves-173000545.html )

Lawyers Share The Stupidest Cases They Had To Deal With (thesportsdrop.com) " 53. The Show Is About To Begin I was arguing for my client to be released on his own. The judge asks him where he is going to live. “With my fiancée,” he says. He spins a lovely tale about how wonderful his fiancée...

I bought a bench and shelf from this guy, picked up at his storage unit in San Jose. Prices from $125 for bench, from $50 for shelf. Better than I've seen at liquidator warehouses. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bfs/d/san-jose-industrial-workbenches/7649719836.html Here's where I got ESD...

Is it my imagination, or did the price of these just go up from $399 not long ago to $630 now? https://www.harborfreight.com/30-inch-shear-press-brake-and-slip-roll-5907.html I want to cut some 3/16" thick rubber ESD flooring. I need to cut 24, 2' square pieces straight through, and one or...

I was excited to learn that Sunny Boy SB xxxTL-US-41 operate at 120V. Sunny Island 6048US is 120V, and SMA hasn't offered 120V Sunny Boy since the SB 700 ... SB 1800. So 2x SI or transformer needed to connect SB...

And you're to blame, You give solar a bad name! Meant to be safer than a cheater cord, power cord with shrouded banana plugs + Similar wire and banana connected to equipment under test. Now it's easy to stack banana plugs and plug in HV scope probe. It's just as easy to mix up Line and...

I've bought a few products made by Midnight Solar (through other retailers, not directly.) One retailer, Stella Volta, just sent an email regarding webinar given by Midnight to introduce Rosie the Inverter and Barcelona & Hawks Bay SCC Rosie is an eagerly awaited (long time coming) high...

Always the bargain hunter, I do my shopping on eBay. Great experiences there, normally good support from most sellers in terms of resolving any short-term issues. It was on eBay that I discovered both Santan Solar and Stella Volta. I am a repeat customer with both of them...

What has the utility company charged you for a transformer installation or upgrade on their side of the meter? How flexible/negotiable were they? I have a house in Oakland, CA. with 100A service. To support the PV install I want to do, and for more loads like electric heat (presently all gas)...

The Pandemic is over. It is no longer a novel corona virus. Virtually the entire population is no longer "Covid naïve", having been vaccinated, infected, or both. Variants that are spreading widely don't attack the lungs like the original (killing the Wuhan doctor, for instance.) What I got was...

Here is a new record low price for solar panels, just $0.0231 per watt! https://www.ebay.com/itm/224443956635

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14684649/

So you think you can backfeed a transformer secondary, either as step-up or as auto-transformer? Turns out these things aren't so ideal and reversible as one might expect. It isn't just the greater inrush (primary is often wound outside secondary to reduce inrush current), but also idle current...

As suggested: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/does-solar-pay-for-itself-is-it-worth-it.45996/post-657226 Here's a Chit-Chat thread to save the "does-solar-pay-for-itself-is-it-worth-it" from banishment.

Showing a work-in-progress assembling 3-phase SMA system. 3x SI-5048-US are configured for 3-phase and produce 120/208Y, rated 15 kW continuous. Sunny TriPower 30000TL-US-10 is 480V delta (or 277/480Y), rated 30 kW. TriPower combiner box will be used, but for now just one string being connected...

I've built myself a circuit breaker tester. I assembled three transformers into a 3-phase wye auto-transformer, and by means of a breaker and cord/plug it can be repurposed into a current multiplier. A breaker connects X1 to H2 and H3, providing 4.7x current boost on X2 paralleled with X3...

A while back I bragged about creative use of heater hose as tough, large size insulation for electrical terminals: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/fire-never-cover-lifepo4-with-wood.19373/page-12#post-238207 It seemed like a good idea at the time. More recently, I was wiring up...

I tested the effect of a 9kVA toroid auto-transformer connected to 120/240V split-phase low-frequency inverters. Inverters are SMA Sunny Island 6048-US, four wired series parallel. I also turned off output breakers to test with two wires in series. Imbalanced load was applied with four...

In the interest of science ;) I have captured waveforms drawn by a high frequency inverter from the battery. This could give some insight to how a BMS might react. About 25 years ago I found myself with idle hands and some money ($800?) burning a hole in my pocket. I wandered into Quement...

Anybody got advice on taking thermocouple measurements in close proximity to AC signals? Seems I fooled myself with the "1 mV per degree" reading of my meter when thermocouple is connected through an adapter. To debug, I tried reading DC mV of thermocouple directly. 000.0 mV Then I tried my...

Just received an offer for SolidWorks, $10/month or $99/year (available in about a dozen countries.) Only limitations disclosed is CAD files can only be shared with other Maker licenses, not professional copies of Solidworks. And, no add-ins. "This digital watermark is added to native 3D file...

Came across the following blog. It includes the company's installed system numbers and failure rates for SolarEdge, Fronius, Enphase. Also, information on limitations and best use of optimizers. https://www.mcelectrical.com.au/solaredge-inverter-optimiser-review/

D*mn, the fin is missing. Guess I'll just throw it overboard.

https://www.livescience.com/spinal-implant-for-walking-after-paralysis

No "Hot Work" permit required!

I had picked up a gas water heater with circulator pump at ReStore (Habitat for Humanity's thrift store), planning to use it for solar thermal water storage. So, it was on-hand when I just needed a replacement water heater. The Kenmore that came with my house when I bought > 21 years ago finally...

https://news.yahoo.com/purdue-university-engineers-develop-method-135827760.html Heat-pipes (phase change of liquid) to keep the electrical cord from overheating!

https://www.visiontimes.com/2021/10/14/uk-vaccine-surveillance-report-98-percent-antibodies-majority-breakthrough-cases.html When I hear such claims, I try to look for references, see what if anything is behind it. Turns out this one is true. The key contributor is probably given in the...

The "Battery FAQ" has graphs for lead-acid cycle live vs. DoD, compared to lithium capacity vs. number of cycles. That's an apples vs. oranges comparison. I've heard that the cycles quoted for lead-acid are not same DoD of original capacity, but DoD of remaining capacity. What I'd like to see...

Some years ago my upright freezer stopped keeping things cold enough Recently measured about 32 degrees F, and it varies with ambient. We started calling it the "Deep Fridge". It takes the same R134A as my car, 6 oz., so I decided to try refilling it. I have a refrigeration manifold and pump...

I suppose I could buy a solar panel tester like Will reviewed, but that doesn't feel DIY enough to me. Besides, I'm a cheapskate, and I try to do things in the most difficult (and expensive if the equipment wasn't on hand) way. I'm presently working on an underperforming string of Sharp 165W...