wpns
Solar Joules are catch and release
That only works if they are the same length!
10 years or 20?
- Thread starter Koyaanisqatsi
- Start date
Recovering EE
Solar Enthusiast
Otherwise, the short ones leak electrons, and they fill up my rain gutters.
They're a bear to clean out.
Components rule … in almost everything you build.. be it stereos, computers, high end weapons, PA systems , solar systems ….spare can be inserted and ur up and running in a few mins..
NO long term shutdowns…
Plus when building it , you learned how everything fits and works… and why…
Does it take more time…? Does it cost more..? Is it more work….?
YES…
Is it worth it…?
YES…..
Jus my opinion…
J.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
This ^^^^ was my own motivation to build DIY battery packs - and be future proof if the inverters of next decade are a new voltage (just rearrange cells).
If I knew more about the electronics, I would love to be able to build an inverter, or a SCC from parts - but I don't have this level of knowledge/skill - or not yet. I opened up the MPP's to remove the bonding screws and learned a bit about how these units are assembled - mostly a group of electrical boards that could be changed out easily enough - if you had access to a replacement board.
But component level replacement for me would be tough, since I don't know enough about how the units work to trouble shoot isolating a problem component - unless it is burnt to a crisp and really obvious!
If I knew more about the electronics, I would love to be able to build an inverter, or a SCC from parts - but I don't have this level of knowledge/skill - or not yet. I opened up the MPP's to remove the bonding screws and learned a bit about how these units are assembled - mostly a group of electrical boards that could be changed out easily enough - if you had access to a replacement board.
But component level replacement for me would be tough, since I don't know enough about how the units work to trouble shoot isolating a problem component - unless it is burnt to a crisp and really obvious!
If you were replying to me , I meant “ device” components… not circuit board level replacement…This ^^^^ was my own motivation to build DIY battery packs - and be future proof if the inverters of next decade are a new voltage (just rearrange cells).
If I knew more about the electronics, I would love to be able to build an inverter, or a SCC from parts - but I don't have this level of knowledge/skill - or not yet. I opened up the MPP's to remove the bonding screws and learned a bit about how these units are assembled - mostly a group of electrical boards that could be changed out easily enough - if you had access to a replacement board.
But component level replacement for me would be tough, since I don't know enough about how the units work to trouble shoot isolating a problem component - unless it is burnt to a crisp and really obvious!
If ya got spares for SCC, panels , inverters , fuses, wires, breakers , have tools and plenty of resource material and know how to rig workarounds , you have lots of options…
you can’t prepare for every possibility but you can for most stuff… Plus if you own good stuff you probably won’t have too.
If ya get whacked buy a direct giant lightning bolt, just go to a comfort suites and reflect on life.
J.
Daddy Tanuki
Emperor Of Solar
i want bullet proof reliability, or if that is unattainable, i want the ability to swap out individual units so SCC, BMS, Inverter, Lithium Cell, lithium pack. etc. etc etc.. (even down to swapping cards in the inverters.)
I want redundancy, I want a triple layer of fallback for everything. I am at 10 years and counting down. when I am 67 both of my daughters will be done with college, and I will fully retire with the only bills being the property taxes, and the cost of my bourbon and chewing tobacco. (and damned if I am not looking at how to build a still as we speak.)
I want redundancy, I want a triple layer of fallback for everything. I am at 10 years and counting down. when I am 67 both of my daughters will be done with college, and I will fully retire with the only bills being the property taxes, and the cost of my bourbon and chewing tobacco. (and damned if I am not looking at how to build a still as we speak.)
I understand …
Yer right…
but if everything got toasted , I would be so bummed out I would want to slack off abit , go to a place where I wouldn’t have to do much …and that has a great breakfast Hot Bar..and a few resteraunt/ bars in walking distance…
Sometimes ya just get tired of being on point …
As Rosanne Rosanne-a-danna from SNL said 50 years ago “ it’s always somthing.”
J.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
I was just commenting that I "wish" I could diagnose and replace component level electronics, but currently would only feel capable of complete circuit board swaps. Maybe some big capacitors if it was super obvious (burnt) that this was the problem component, but not the tiny parts fitted to the boards, those would be beyond by current skill set. I checked with MPP one time and all the boards in the 6048's are available - for a price. {one time I zapped a comms board on one unit and got to do a learning exercise on how to find the part number, order then remove and install}
Ok cool… I wasn’t sure ..thought I had been unclear…and I’m in total agreement with your thoughts…I can do a few small internal part changes to gear and probably a bit more but don’t want to…it’s not what I’m trained to do.. I would rather just switch out for a spare device or bypass in someway and get the other one fixed correctly…
So far I have never had the first issue to fix or repair on my whole system…in 3 + years..just a few tweaks.
I wish everything I owned worked as good ….
Jim.
OffGridForGood
Catch, make or grow everything you can.
Hope not….Maybe it's like getting a new truck - the early years are good, but then...
But then I’ve had pretty good luck with cars in the last 50 years of driving.… never had many problems that I didn’t cause by stupidity…or hittin stuff ….
But then I was always pretty gentle on them ( except the vette) , serviced them often…and never let inlaws borrow them….
just got lucky I guess ….
Daddy Tanuki
Emperor Of Solar
not a big fan of chevies, but if offered I would happily take a 68-72 vette. those iron bumper years in that range always looked nice, and the engine is pretty vanilla anybody can work on one, you just need to ensure you get the correct front end parts (of the engine, water pump alternator etc.) as they use different mounting brackets and snout lengths to clear the sloping hood.
Damn…I was Gona offer it to ya as I’m getting up in years…but mine is a 76 T-top …last year with the flat back window… I know ya won’t like it so I’m Gona offer it to the cheerleading squad over at the collage to ride in parades in…I will work payment out somehow..
J.
Daddy Tanuki
Emperor Of Solar
the plastic bumper ones are OK, but the way the bumpers sag from heat sucks and the engines from 73 on really suck. not that you cannot swap out a crate engine big block into one of them as you could, I just like the looks of the all metal bumpers... the 73 is the worst with it being a tranny (half and half) one bumper plastic and the other steel ...
Recovering EE
Solar Enthusiast
Daddy Tanuki
Emperor Of Solar
my eyesight can't handle anything smaller than board level these days.
registered-bum
Solar Enthusiast
As a pup in the USN it was a skill that served me well, though we usually had full schematics and mostly decent scope and meters as well.
5-6 weeks of schooling on the USN 6 Step Troubleshooting Process -we were over-trained but often very very good at it. Took longer to explain to someone how you knew what the problem was, the little gray cells saw the pattern. But explaining it ... ?
5-6 weeks of schooling on the USN 6 Step Troubleshooting Process -we were over-trained but often very very good at it. Took longer to explain to someone how you knew what the problem was, the little gray cells saw the pattern. But explaining it ... ?
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Messages
- 22,621
Much easier with schematics.
I debugged one box of an HP 8510 to the faulty IC and replaced it.
And boards I designed, I can debug.
Some I work with today have mostly discrete or mixed-signal parts, I can make sense of them.
Otherwise I'm pretty much lost after front end of power supply.
Modern stuff with multi-layer PCB, and ICs that aren't simple logic or analog, can't trace or figure out.
I debugged one box of an HP 8510 to the faulty IC and replaced it.
And boards I designed, I can debug.
Some I work with today have mostly discrete or mixed-signal parts, I can make sense of them.
Otherwise I'm pretty much lost after front end of power supply.
Modern stuff with multi-layer PCB, and ICs that aren't simple logic or analog, can't trace or figure out.
wpns
Solar Joules are catch and release
I fixed a CPU once. PDP-8 had a bad TTL flip-flop on a plug-in card. Lotsa tiny cards, much wire-wrap!
Philip53
10.4kw DIY Home Solar Sprinter Van DIY Victron
Back in the day, I was working to repair a Yamaha XS1100 motorcycle. No ignition spark, & I traced the issue to a defective ECM. The unit was not repairable, and a new one was multiple hundreds of dollars. The customer did not have much money, so I went ahead & managed to disassemble the module - found a short on the circuit board. Using a magnifying glass, I was able to clean up the short & seal the board. The customer was ecstatic at the small repair bill.
That's the extent of my computer board/electronics repairs, but it does show that even a non engineer with a limited electronics background can occasionally find & repair a problem that would otherwise result in the replacement or discarding of the device.
That's the extent of my computer board/electronics repairs, but it does show that even a non engineer with a limited electronics background can occasionally find & repair a problem that would otherwise result in the replacement or discarding of the device.
EnergizerNate
Fusion Radiation Collector (aka Sunshine Farmer)
Stable is great, but just a friendly reminder to consider security also with stuff that is connected to the Intersewer (aka Internet).
What he said
50ShadesOfDirt
Solar Addict
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2021
- Messages
- 617
You only have so much to look at, when deciding amongst inverters:
- inverter type: AIO (HF, any of the AIO vendors) or LF inverter (Magnum, others)
- paperwork: warranty, user guide, specs, etc.
- reviews, forums, etc.
The older inverters were/are LF. My magnum 4024 came with 5-yr warranty, and it has exceeded that, and is still ticking. Mostly true about Schnieder, Victron, Outback, and others (of the LF type). This is the older "component" approach to solar gear ... string a Magnum inverter/charger together with a Midnite Solar mppt, and so on. Not sure where these vendors are going ... many still sell the big iron models, but manufacturing moves around the world, and quality may or may not still be there. My magnum is currently being made in Mexico, and there are always rumors of their demise (in the face of AIO's). If you can get an LF, odds are it'll last forever.
The newer AIO inverters are HF, and internally, they are cramming features, options, firmware, and all electronics versions of inverter, mppt, etc. inside the AIO box. This is the newer "all-in-one" approach, not needing to string together components. These days, most folks are putting an AIO on the wall, to forego that component effort. A wide range of AIO vendors and models to choose from, nearly all made in china.
Basically, you can't fix most AIO's (not reasonably field-serviceable), so I'd buy two of them ... hopefully one will stay working, while the other is going thru weeks- or months-long warranty/repair service. Growatt might have some models with FRU components, meaning you could do a field fix, as reported by others. Midnite Solar is America-based (even if AIO is made elsewhere), and might also have field fixes. These AIO's are constantly changing model-wise, and hard to keep track of ... old models are falling by the wayside, new ones coming online.
The thing to consider additionally, then, is the paperwork and the reviews ...
Paperwork-wise, if it's a 1-year or thereabouts warranty, it's probably a throwaway device. Vendor isn't putting the highest quality components in this thing. If it's a 3-yr, 5-yr, or better warranty, it's probably got higher-spec components, and has a chance of reaching that age. Review the vendor's model specs and user guide, warranty, and return policy, plus their support website ... these will tell you if they stand behind their product. Many don't have a support presense, or want you to return the product, or have very onerous return policies.
Reviews-wise, the forums have all kinds of threads on any given make/model ... you should be able to glean whether or not it's worth dealing with some of these vendors.
It's when you add up all of the above, that you start to figure out what will remain working, and what will need to be tossed after it dies. Always exceptions and outliers, but for the most part, warranty is the thing that seems to tell me who makes a quality unit. Support and return policy tells me which vendor I'd want to work with. Forums such as this one give me a traffic stop light approach to "the road to inverters": red (too many problem threads) = stay away, yellow (a mix of threads) = caution, and green (most folks ok with it) = research further.
Hope this helps ...
- inverter type: AIO (HF, any of the AIO vendors) or LF inverter (Magnum, others)
- paperwork: warranty, user guide, specs, etc.
- reviews, forums, etc.
The older inverters were/are LF. My magnum 4024 came with 5-yr warranty, and it has exceeded that, and is still ticking. Mostly true about Schnieder, Victron, Outback, and others (of the LF type). This is the older "component" approach to solar gear ... string a Magnum inverter/charger together with a Midnite Solar mppt, and so on. Not sure where these vendors are going ... many still sell the big iron models, but manufacturing moves around the world, and quality may or may not still be there. My magnum is currently being made in Mexico, and there are always rumors of their demise (in the face of AIO's). If you can get an LF, odds are it'll last forever.
The newer AIO inverters are HF, and internally, they are cramming features, options, firmware, and all electronics versions of inverter, mppt, etc. inside the AIO box. This is the newer "all-in-one" approach, not needing to string together components. These days, most folks are putting an AIO on the wall, to forego that component effort. A wide range of AIO vendors and models to choose from, nearly all made in china.
Basically, you can't fix most AIO's (not reasonably field-serviceable), so I'd buy two of them ... hopefully one will stay working, while the other is going thru weeks- or months-long warranty/repair service. Growatt might have some models with FRU components, meaning you could do a field fix, as reported by others. Midnite Solar is America-based (even if AIO is made elsewhere), and might also have field fixes. These AIO's are constantly changing model-wise, and hard to keep track of ... old models are falling by the wayside, new ones coming online.
The thing to consider additionally, then, is the paperwork and the reviews ...
Paperwork-wise, if it's a 1-year or thereabouts warranty, it's probably a throwaway device. Vendor isn't putting the highest quality components in this thing. If it's a 3-yr, 5-yr, or better warranty, it's probably got higher-spec components, and has a chance of reaching that age. Review the vendor's model specs and user guide, warranty, and return policy, plus their support website ... these will tell you if they stand behind their product. Many don't have a support presense, or want you to return the product, or have very onerous return policies.
Reviews-wise, the forums have all kinds of threads on any given make/model ... you should be able to glean whether or not it's worth dealing with some of these vendors.
It's when you add up all of the above, that you start to figure out what will remain working, and what will need to be tossed after it dies. Always exceptions and outliers, but for the most part, warranty is the thing that seems to tell me who makes a quality unit. Support and return policy tells me which vendor I'd want to work with. Forums such as this one give me a traffic stop light approach to "the road to inverters": red (too many problem threads) = stay away, yellow (a mix of threads) = caution, and green (most folks ok with it) = research further.
Hope this helps ...
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