diy solar

diy solar

Beginner needs to buy components before going to Mexico

San Felipe BC said:
Will do. There are a total of 7 panels. Here are some pics of the 2 types that still had stickers on them, of which there are 3 of each.
Click to expand...
Make strings of the same panels watching NOT to exceed the max VOC of your MPPT controller.
Conect these string paralel to your MPPT controller.
Due the diference in max VOC of your panels i would advise to use 2 MPPT controllers
 
BajaCasa said:
Hi Naibor/Steven, I took over my Mom and Dads house in the South campos about 6 years ago, like you were, my 12V system is old and I’m tired throwing money at it..
We are only able to use the home maybe twice a year (still working, lol) but it’s time to upgrade the solar, that’s why I’m here to learn and it was nice reading through your post and wanted to say hi!
I’ll be starting my own post and hopefully figure out what I’ll need to gather up for my next trip down in April 2022.
Happy New Year!
Scott
Click to expand...
Hi Scott, great to hear from you. Which house are you in? I’ll be there for the race too. You’re welcome to come by and check out what we’ve done so far. I’m also searching for good internet options if you have any suggestions. For my first run I needed to replace my inverter and wanted to get things up to date without going crazy. The folks here have been great. Happy New Year!!
 
Fusion is the future said:
Make strings of the same panels watching NOT to exceed the max VOC of your MPPT controller.
Conect these string paralel to your MPPT controller.
Due the diference in max VOC of your panels i would advise to use 2 MPPT controllers
Click to expand...
Are you suggesting a 2nd Outback controller or is my old Tristar ok? It worked fine, I think.
 
We are at KM. 33 @ Playa Linda.
I bum internet from a naibor but have heard
Del Desierto is a good internet service. Once I can be down there more, good internet will be at the top of the list!
Where are you located? I’ll drop by and get your lot # through PM?
Our old inverter is an old square wave, takes out most electronics sooner or later lol. Can’t wait to upgrade.BA3D2C58-1E95-4807-A2FE-F159F7B11EAC.jpeg
 
We’re at 30.5 Campo San Carlos lot 11 next to Santa Maria. The 3000 watt pure sign wave inverter we got is great and the Outback 80 amp charge controller works well too.
 
It will be good to meet you! I know the area that you are, we have probably waved at each other on our way down to Santa Maria point to look for clams. I have an orange sandrail.
I may just go with combo you went with in 24V.
Outback is a solid controller, a lot of people use them down there and the inverter seems to have good reviews.
Scott
 
San Felipe BC said:
We’re at 30.5 Campo San Carlos lot 11 next to Santa Maria. The 3000 watt pure sign wave inverter we got is great and the Outback 80 amp charge controller works well too.
Click to expand...
Steve, I live full time at 33.5 in La Roca. Are you in Baja at the moment? I know exactly where your located. Haven't read every post so not sure what stage you're at. If I can be of some help let me know.
 
San Felipe BC said:
Hi Scott, great to hear from you. Which house are you in? I’ll be there for the race too. You’re welcome to come by and check out what we’ve done so far. I’m also searching for good internet options if you have any suggestions. For my first run I needed to replace my inverter and wanted to get things up to date without going crazy. The folks here have been great. Happy New Year!!
Click to expand...
Del Desierto is the best, most reliable option as far as I'm concerned. Edgardo, the owner is a great guy, pleasant to deal with and very sharp. I now have full streaming TV via firestick. Bye bye Directtv
 
San Felipe BC said:
Welp, we just got back. When we left it was 75-80 each day but there‘s a cold snap of 60 right now. We left wearing shorts but by the time we drove through OK it was in the 30’s. As for the solar, what y’all recommended was perfect to the point where its a little more than I need right now, but that’ll change. The install was very straightforward. My issue now, I think, is my panels. I’m not getting to a full charge most days unless I intentionally save power. We have 3 different age and brands of panels. I took pictures of the back of the ones that still had them. I have Kyocera KC1307M or is could be KC130TM from December 2006 and UL-Solar STP140P age unknown. These appear to be the newest. My multimeter broke so I couldn’t see any renderings other than what’s on the charge controller. The highest reading I saw was 45 amps coming in. I’m thinking of getting 2 250 watt panels and using my old charge controller for them alone. What say you? Also, my neighbor says I should put the panels in parallel to get the power to my batteries quicker? Either way, I’m going to put new wires on the panels as some of mine look awful, and are 25 years old. I’m heading back in March so I have some time, with your help, to figure this out.
Thanks
Click to expand...
If you're still here I could stop by and see how much current each panel is putting out with a DC clamp meter. Easy to find problem panels. Could simply be poor/corroded connections or plain old burned out panels. PV modules are incredibly long lived, provided they don't have any damage to the encapsulant. I have a collection of some really old panels that all still work. They're garage wall hangers now though because of their cool factor.
 
Yes, Bill and Carol are great friends! You may remember my Mom and Dad, Woody & Pennie?
I’ll drop by in April and say hi?
Scott
 
littleharbor2, helped me so much, great guy that is happy to help a solar beginner!
I finally gathered up all the parts and made it down to Mexico to install, littleharbor2 helped from ordering and install, start to finish!
I bought the solar panels local “Solar Company Brothers” four 460w panels and decided to try an all in one Midnight Solar MD5048DIY, everything went smooth, I even called Midnight Solar this morning to double check the set up parameters of the units main menu, talked to a tech right away and went through all of them!
I’m very pleased so far with the DIY, my existing generator hooked right up to the DIY built in battery charger and installed everything in two day’s with maybe 3 hours of no power to our house.
I have so much room to grow this system if I need too, and made a great friend!
Thank you littleharbor2!

San Felipe BC are you around the next couple of weeks?
 
BajaCasa said:
littleharbor2, helped me so much, great guy that is happy to help a solar beginner!
I finally gathered up all the parts and made it down to Mexico to install, littleharbor2 helped from ordering and install, start to finish!
I bought the solar panels local “Solar Company Brothers” four 460w panels and decided to try an all in one Midnight Solar MD5048DIY, everything went smooth, I even called Midnight Solar this morning to double check the set up parameters of the units main menu, talked to a tech right away and went through all of them!
I’m very pleased so far with the DIY, my existing generator hooked right up to the DIY built in battery charger and installed everything in two day’s with maybe 3 hours of no power to our house.
I have so much room to grow this system if I need too, and made a great friend!
Thank you littleharbor2!

San Felipe BC are you around the next couple of weeks?
Click to expand...

You're very welcome. It's been my great pleasure to help and make new friends as well.
 
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