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Less than perfect off-grid system

grandmaoffgrid

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Feb 24, 2022
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Anyone with expertise in off-grid system, using Outback? Started 2.5 years ago and have never gotten my system perfected. It is great 8 months of the year, and things quickly go downhill Nov - March. Gone through a generator and 32 gel batteries. Two new lithium batteries seem unable to hold a charge. Seeking a consultant.
 
Agree. Plenty of panels, lots of batteries, and still.....major issues. I continue to suspect the Outback inverter. Outback support has been very disappointing. They may be good with hybrid systems, but not sure they are the best for totally off-grid. Anyway...... looking for an expert to consult with my current team.
 
We need more details. Panel wattage and number, battery capacity, location, how many hours of full sun exposure in the winter. Very unlikely it is the inverter's fault.
 
Problems you have experienced are not unique to your system. They are typical of too much power out and not enough power in, or not enough absorb time.
Forum would need system specification and hopefully information from a shunt. If you don’t have one that might be part of the problem.
 
Please provide a list of the equipment you have (Make, Model, Version etc), any diagrams or schematics and even photo's of the setup, wiring etc...
Without a detailed list of what you have, how it is all mounted there is very little anyone can do to help you sort things out.
 
Plenty of panels, lots of batteries,
If you walked into your bank to ask for a loan and you described your employment as "Plenty of work, lots of income", what do you think the response of the bank manager would be?

The reason your system if failing you is because you don't have a handle on the numbers involved. Details are where you are failing. What's the voltage, size, and chemistry of your batteries? How many watts of panels do you have and how are they wired? Which controller and inverter are you using? Until you can grasp the significance of your numbers, you will continue to fail!

BTW, most Outback inverters accept generator input for battery charging, so one solution in addition to getting more/bigger solar panels is generator charging. An electrician can install the connections that would go from the generator to the inverter.
 
Are your batteries out in the cold? Cold temperatures have a significant negative effect on lead chemistries and kills lithiums if charged below freezing.
 
Some solar irradiance figures for San Diego

Firstly for flat panels. Gives the best indication of summer and winter differences.

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Second is for 42 deg which is what this calculator recommends for optimised winter production
0B4D6D53-F8B5-4C3F-BE5D-D76CEE1DA551.png
 
Anyone with expertise in off-grid system, using Outback? Started 2.5 years ago and have never gotten my system perfected. It is great 8 months of the year, and things quickly go downhill Nov - March. Gone through a generator and 32 gel batteries.

As people have noted, you probably draw more Wh/day in winter than you produce.
If you had reduced consumption such that PV brought the batteries to proper absorption voltage and held them there for proper duration, also never discharged below proper minimum voltage, they should have held up for their specified cycle life.
If you used the generator each morning to add enough charge so that PV could finish the job later, that would have given more Wh/day.

Beyond what system can produce, you have to just not consume more electric power. E.g. switch to gas appliances, firewood, or something.
With lead-acid, battery must be fully recharged including extended absorption time.

What happened to the generator?

Two new lithium batteries seem unable to hold a charge. Seeking a consultant.

Meaning you put some number of amp-hours into the lithium batteries, but get much fewer amp-hours out? That would be not holding a charge.
Or, do you mean they don't seem to have much capacity between "full" and "empty"? In which case, it could be an issue with what voltage you charge to, and what voltage you discharge to.

Unlike lead-acid, it is OK with lithium to bump along near empty and not fully recharge. Just need to prevent over-discharge or over-charge. About half full is ideal for long-term, but will have to periodically recharge past the knee for BMS to do balancing.
 
The generator (propane) auto comes on when power is needed. It has run over 2,000 hours in 2.5 years and gotten a major leak. The leak is in a difficult place to fix so we need a new motor for it. But before I put in the new motor, I want to get the system fixed.

A common Generator error is that it has lost AC. It then runs without powering the house. I have spent about $3k on propane since Nov.

Also - lots of microclimates around San Diego. I am in Ramona, specifically.

Will get you more data and send photos.
 
A common Generator error is that it has lost AC. It then runs without powering the house. I have spent about $3k on propane since Nov.

Meaning generator runs an has AC on its output, but Outback considers voltage or frequency out of spec so doesn't utilize it?

If so, many systems have an issue with generator specs. Some generators meet the needs of some inverters. Inverters ought to tolerate looser specs from generator, than from grid especially if designed to backfeed for net metering.
 
The generator (propane) auto comes on when power is needed. It has run over 2,000 hours in 2.5 years and gotten a major leak. The leak is in a difficult place to fix so we need a new motor for it. But before I put in the new motor, I want to get the system fixed.

A common Generator error is that it has lost AC. It then runs without powering the house. I have spent about $3k on propane since Nov.

Also - lots of microclimates around San Diego. I am in Ramona, specifically.

Will get you more data and send photos.

Lots of micro-climates in Ramona too. We really need much more information. We aren't trying to be difficult and would love to help. But without information we are just guessing. Maybe go take pictures of your array and the sky view in front of them. Take pictures of the inforamtion on the back of the panels. Take pictures of the battery, inverter, charge controller. Then maybe we can start to help.
 
A common Generator error is that it has lost AC. It then runs without powering the house. I have spent about $3k on propane since Nov.
You have more than a generator issue then. You still haven't provided any specs for what your running. but propane is $2.8/gal right now. $3k on propane since Nov would mean you used 1000 gal of propane. You drying corn to?

Dont tell me you trying to run this on little 25 lb or even 100lb tanks?
 
Let me see if I can upload or attach images. The gel batteries are not longer hooked up, because they stopped working. Thanks!
 

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