Just starting out, my 800w ham shack

[Blueridge_solarguy]

Started out this project to lower the cost of my electric bill. Being a Ham radio operator, i use a lot of power at times and thought a 400-watt system, 100ah Battery, and a 40a MPPT would help. Soon i realized that i needed more Capacity. Next i added a second 40a MPPT, two more 100Ah AGM sealed Batteries, and 4 eco-worthy 100w MC panels. I'm no expert, but after watching 20 hours of YouTube videos i feels like i made a big improvement. For Protection and servicing the system I've added a Breaker/disconnect before the main Battery Buss bar, before both 40a charge controllers, and near the PV input on the controller. I have also added an Anderson connection at the +/- buss bar which can connect to a PWRgate Battery float charger ( west mountain Radio PWRgate designed to offer uninterrupted 12 volt pwr for ham equipment).
Please feel free to voice your thoughts on my DIY system.

 

[timselectric]

All that I can say is WOW.
Mission control appears to be up and running.

 

[Blueridge_solarguy]

Funny you mention that , I'm also into astrophotography .

 

[Madcodger]

I am very grateful for that picture of your "mission control" area. I showed it to my wife, pointed out that I don't have nearly that much stuff in my hobby area, and by comparison bought myself quite a bit less "clean it up encouragement". You are now at hero status in my book, dude! Rock on!

 

[JoeHam]

I would suggest you make the switch to LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries and get rid of the Powergate. My Elecrafts and Icoms love the power curve of LFP. You can find 100Ah on sale for as low as $169.

The LFP will be cheaper over the long run due to longevity and depth of discharge.

I took my shack completely off grid over 5 years ago and have never looked back. Saves on the power bill and would provide autonomy forever in a power outage. My shack and power system is an order of magnitude messier than yours though .

The only time I could run low is during a 48 hour contest running a kW power level on a rainy weekend.

73,

W8JH

 

[Blueridge_solarguy]

Thanks for the recommendation. What is the size of your bank and array?
73
de KO4BWG

 

[pvdude]

No hope here of running the shack on solar, too many toooobs

 

[JoeHam]

Thanks for the recommendation. What is the size of your bank and array?
73
de KO4BWG

So the system keeps growing but the current iteration is 300Ah of 48V nominal. Home brew and commercial mix. Only about 2kW of solar.

I use a Schneider CSW-4048 inverter so I can run my amp, computer etc. I also run the sump pump, 2 refrigerators, garage door and a few other circuits from that with grid as backup.

For 12V nominal I have probably over 600Ah of LFP that I have built/bought over more than a decade. Those get charged by portable solar or right from the 4048 if I have excess power to burn and don’t mind the DC-AC-DC losses.