sremick
Mostly competent. Knows enough to be dangerous
I'm usually good about posting in an intro forum when I'm new. 
I'm a hobbyist and native Vermonter. I've always been interested in electronics and have decent fundamental knowledge. I've been very much into solar as well, and being an avid camper (including going to music festivals) I've experimented building my own portable kits starting in 2011-2012 (before you really saw such things available off-the-shelf). My first one was a success and I even made my own folding CIGS array, unfortunately while a fabricating marvel (I crammed everything including the 150W inverter into a little box smaller than a lunchbox) it turned out to be underpowered for my real-world needs. A few years later I built "version II" with a beefier battery, larger (600W) inverter, and off-the-shelf folding 120W solar panels. Turns out the plastic case I wanted to put it all in wasn't big enough and the top broke off from all the weight, but I've continued to use it in "rough" form for many years now with success. However its weight (and untidiness) has long made me want to build a better "Version III" which is what brings me here. Because weight was a factor I started by investigating lithium-ion batteries, learning about the problems and nuances, that lead me to discover LiFePO4 batteries a few years ago. I also hopped on the SBMS Kickstarter early on and snagged an SBMS40 which has sat in the box unused all this time. Since then I've gone through staggered phases of research, periodically changing what I have in mind. After discovering this forum, research swayed me from using the Winston batteries I had been dead-set on for years and use EVE (ordered!).
I also installed solar on my house (garage) within a year of buying my house and until recently was generating more than I consumed. Installing heat pumps changed that, so I'm currently tracking data for a 12-month cycle with the intention of adding more solar panels to compensate and break even again.
Anyhow, I'll be hoping to make use of the collective community knowledge on here to help guide me on building my new portable kit. It has progressed significantly in recent weeks. More stuff ordered or about to be ordered, materials and fabricators chosen, and the whole thing designed via CAD so that I'm not flying blind (this has really helped, revealing a number of necessary changes). I have much to learn, especially the stuff I don't know that I don't know.
I'm a hobbyist and native Vermonter. I've always been interested in electronics and have decent fundamental knowledge. I've been very much into solar as well, and being an avid camper (including going to music festivals) I've experimented building my own portable kits starting in 2011-2012 (before you really saw such things available off-the-shelf). My first one was a success and I even made my own folding CIGS array, unfortunately while a fabricating marvel (I crammed everything including the 150W inverter into a little box smaller than a lunchbox) it turned out to be underpowered for my real-world needs. A few years later I built "version II" with a beefier battery, larger (600W) inverter, and off-the-shelf folding 120W solar panels. Turns out the plastic case I wanted to put it all in wasn't big enough and the top broke off from all the weight, but I've continued to use it in "rough" form for many years now with success. However its weight (and untidiness) has long made me want to build a better "Version III" which is what brings me here. Because weight was a factor I started by investigating lithium-ion batteries, learning about the problems and nuances, that lead me to discover LiFePO4 batteries a few years ago. I also hopped on the SBMS Kickstarter early on and snagged an SBMS40 which has sat in the box unused all this time. Since then I've gone through staggered phases of research, periodically changing what I have in mind. After discovering this forum, research swayed me from using the Winston batteries I had been dead-set on for years and use EVE (ordered!).
I also installed solar on my house (garage) within a year of buying my house and until recently was generating more than I consumed. Installing heat pumps changed that, so I'm currently tracking data for a 12-month cycle with the intention of adding more solar panels to compensate and break even again.
Anyhow, I'll be hoping to make use of the collective community knowledge on here to help guide me on building my new portable kit. It has progressed significantly in recent weeks. More stuff ordered or about to be ordered, materials and fabricators chosen, and the whole thing designed via CAD so that I'm not flying blind (this has really helped, revealing a number of necessary changes). I have much to learn, especially the stuff I don't know that I don't know.
