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diy solar

DIY Solar forum dodging geo-political context?

For better or worse, we live in a global marketplace.
Whomever can make a quality product for a fair price, is going to get my money.
 
Outback got some really nice reviews on Youtube. However I seem to recall it's a rebranded China product. DIY means put together in your back yard. I will not invent a new way to do MPPT, and I will not invent a new way to convert DC to sinus AC. Loads of smart people have done this before me.
 
For better or worse, we live in a global marketplace.
Whomever can make a quality product for a fair price, is going to get my money.
Whom-ever that produce and sell stuff to save our rottening new Mars (or is it Venus?) for a planet will get mine.
 
Outback got some really nice reviews on Youtube. However I seem to recall it's a rebranded China product. DIY means put together in your back yard. I will not invent a new way to do MPPT, and I will not invent a new way to convert DC to sinus AC. Loads of smart people have done this before me.

Not at ALL!

The same engineers designed some inverters at Trace, designed Outback, are now at Midnight.
They have designed the Midnight Classic SCC and we are still waiting for "Rosie the Inverter" to be available.
What Midnight has done is rebrand a Chinese inverter for their "DIY" series.

Don't know about the latest Outback inverters (They had Skybox, now a newer model) but the GTFX, VFX, etc. have been around close to 20 years. I couldn't find mention of where they are now made. But definitely US designed products and a reputation for quality.
 
History of Trace, Outback, Midnight

 
The Outback BN series is a Rebrand of Epever Tracer. Super Great product, but made where?
 
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OK, that's a charge controller. Outback also had the MX 60 & 80, now the FlexMax. But apparently the FlexMax40 is rebranded.


Looks like they decided they wanted to offer lower cost rebranded products.
Same as Midnight offering the DIY inverters.

Presumably they decided the quality was good enough to put their name on, as Midnight said.
Both of those companies has quality products of their own design as well, possibly still US made.

Some Epever models have had issues forum members reported, requiring a reset.
SCC like Midnight Classic aren't cheap, but people say they are rock solid.
 
Adolf Hitler "invented" and promoted the Volkswagen buggy, which turned into an amazing success. I am really happy that he never saw that.
 
Thanks I appreciate the link. I have to get some sleep. I suspect most solar companies have thrown in the towel towards Beijing by now...
 
Ahh, but it was US auto makers who developed the innovation of ensuring owners and independent mechanics would be unable to repair the cars themselves.


I use an OBD-II reader to get error codes, but most repairs are simple bolt-together operations.
I dread computer-controlled drive systems of EVs which will go further to block me. The ECUs in my cars haven't been a problem so far.
Carburation and mechanical diesel fuel injection represent freedom.

Thanks I appreciate the link. I have to get some sleep. I suspect most solar companies have thrown in the towel towards Beijing by now...

Computer companies long ago.

Hopefully you can find affordable and robust alternative energy equipment. Lots of designs 20 and 30 years ago, some still going strong, but MPPT and pure sine wave are innovations which deliver better performance.
 
Adolf Hitler "invented" and promoted the Volkswagen buggy, which turned into an amazing success. I am really happy that he never saw that.
He also wanted a united Europe under German rule.
Which is effectively the EU.

Back on topic, I agree, almost everything is made in China, but sometimes rebadged/assembled with other stickers on it.
 
He also wanted a united Europe under German rule.
Which is effectively the EU.

Back on topic, I agree, almost everything is made in China, but sometimes rebadged/assembled with other stickers on it.
Do you know of any local DIY solar forum nearby the UK? Brits seem a bit more concerned about recent geo political developments.
 
Do you know of any local DIY solar forum nearby the UK? Brits seem a bit more concerned about recent geo political developments.
Solar is not much use in the UK, it's cloudy and rains all the time, so not much interest.
It's much better in the tropics where I get the same amount of sun nearly every day of the year (even in monsoon).
 
Solar is not much use in the UK, it's cloudy and rains all the time, so not much interest.
It's much better in the tropics where I get the same amount of sun nearly every day of the year (even in monsoon).
I saw some Youtube home-steader set up a relatively decent pv system.
There must be sunnier parts. I seem to recall warm childhood summers down in Cornwall.
 
I saw some Youtube home-steader set up a relatively decent pv system.
There must be sunnier parts. I seem to recall warm childhood summers down in Cornwall.

I lived in Cornwall until 2009, the last year we had 1 week that wasn't wet and windy.
Some of my pals had large solar installations on their homes, financed by the government, that deal is finished now.

PS. I also recall those warm childhood summers. Selective memory or climate change? I don't know.
 
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Adolf Hitler "invented" and promoted the Volkswagen buggy, which turned into an amazing success. I am really happy that he never saw that.
Promoted, possibly. Invented? Please. The Volkswagon was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, whose company later went on to produce the most fun and practical (and arguably most dangerous) sports car in history: The 914.
(Okay 911s are pretty cool too but they dont have 2 trunks and you cant push start one by yourself)
 
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