New no battery pure sine wave solar power system with smart switchers.

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Think I have fixed the double two FET board needs two more audits and update to the parts list before it is published again, Note the additional ceramic resistors 12VDC zeners and capacitors.

Should have the separate V1.2 purple boards running tomorrow in the 100% solar panel usage configuration.

You will be the second to know when it is
Bench test operational I won't dismantle again till it is replaced with a single board inverter

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Have been delt a big set back on the double two FET inverter, first test only one of the four potentiometer adjustments worked as expected, found the polarity was reversed on B1 input and thought to myself this will fix two more as I connected the positive lead (only) to the secondary board B1 power supply 21VDC the secondary board shorted burning out circuit board traces.

Had it working once on a bench test going to take some time till I ever see it working again, Going to keep working on the double circuit board design to see if I can make it run in that direction.

First time smoking a circuit board in a long time, seriously damaged, think I have another V1.2 purple board that can be easily revived back into service.

About safety although we are working with mains voltages on these projects, the recommended glass fuses, circuit board traces, Mosfets and ISO transformers all work to limit the maximum amp draw in any situation, If you put everything 24 volts and above inside a metal case a high level of safety is built in.

More later, best wishes

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Cleaning up from the short (Burned trace) of the common (N) or (C) trace on the secondary two FET inverter board.

Primary board is OK and has passed bench testing for high voltage operation.

Swapping out secondary board with another V1.2 purple board so far so good, P & N FETs on burned board still test good.

Have made progress on the double FET V1.1 board CAD files but need to consult photos of the one and only successful bench test to see if I can figure out what went wrong with the dual input power.

Should have never separated the working double 100% usage configuration.

More soon

Like I said previously things are learned every time thing go wrong. Examples from this time.

Reverse input upto 24VDC will not harm the inverter as long as you don't cause a short across the common circuit board trace. Glass fuses on a 24 volt bench test could have saved the secondary inverter board. May be able to fix the board with a single jumper wire basically recreating the common trace.

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Figured out how you wire the dual 140VDC inputs for separate boards and the new double inverter board I am working on.100 % usage configuration.

Got it wrong several times before these drawings, with photos of the working double FET example I was able to figure it out, know exactly why the secondary board shorted.

Looks simple on paper, B1 powers both P channels and B2 powers both N channels or reverse, easy till you get it wrong.

Dots indicate timing one and two, Primary 555timer 60Hz signal gets flipped for secondary two FET inverter optic couplers, no need to power secondary board 555timer.

Diagonal lines on the circuit board/s show the common buss trace for common on each inverter.

Good news big forward progress in a couple days, have the critical data to fix both 100% input configurations and publish another untested PCB V1.1 with all the corrections noted from testing V1.0 and bench work on the purple boards, pushing hard to get it right.


Lots more soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

New Doubtwofet11.zip on Github

GitHub - Matt9876453/Two-FET-Inverter: Circuit board build files from Micad 6.0 Zip file containing Gerber/Drill files for PCB production.

Circuit board build files from Micad 6.0 Zip file containing Gerber/Drill files for PCB production. - Matt9876453/Two-FET-Inverter

github.com

Version 1.0 was not functional because of two missing 12VDC floating power supplies, secondary 60Hz signals were reversed, and jumpers were wrong for input power, previous post has the correct power configuration all previous post are wrong sorry.

Have done my very best to make it correct this time, ordering 5 more circuit boards to test the new 100% usage concept.

On the two FET Version 1.2 board works first time every time all the boards upto V1.6 should work exactly the same.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Order for the new circuit boards is complete, expect 4 to 5 days to receive them.

Expect Double two FET inverter to work this time around

Good sun conditions the past two days Project system performs great

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Purchased two new small soldering irons in preparation to gently transfer parts to the new circuit boards V1.1 on arrival.

Going to be on my own for the next few weeks planning to build and bench test the new Double two FET inverter, upon successfully testing, Going to change two of the solar arrays to 140VDC and start multiple day live solar testing of the 50% duty cycle inverter plus 180 degree phased 50% duty cycle in one circuit board for 100% solar panel usage and power

More adventures with solar soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Phase one of harvesting two FET inverter parts for the new builds, parts are being removed from the purple board with the burned trace and failed v1.0 double FET board.All parts in the photo testing good

Already know one reason the Cad files must be updated to v1.2 for the double FET board, top left Mosfet is missing about one inch of upper board trace to feed the source of the fet from the input. Going to test everything before next publish of Double FET V1.2 board.

Best wishes, more in a couple days.

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

New 555 and four optic couplers for the newest double FET board, going to use a small wire jumper to fix the missing source trace on the top left Mosfet, need four 12VDC zener diodes have two new and several that can be reused, all small diodes will be new, Four new potentiometers for the main optic coupler drivers.

Newest advice in optic coupler adjustments in full sun conditions starting low and slowly increasing to a maximum 120VAC on each P & N channels with small load 25 watts to 100watts, My cheap harbor freight red meter will display on the 200 volt AC scale each side by swapping the test leads

Wish me luck this simple configuration change has become complicated
If I had not actually seen it work properly previously we would be at a dead end.

Key to make it run both P channel Mosfets powered by one solar array and both N channels powered from the other solar array 140VDC, second set of MOSFETs must have swaped timing signal from the optic couplers.

Exactly what will be tested in a few days.

More shortly

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Off to a good start with the new boards V1.1, have already fixed with a small jumper wire the source feed to the P channel FET, drilled holes and anchored the 60Hz pure sine chokes.

Taking a break before doing more.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Finished for the day about 3 hours invested so far, about 50% complete.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Finished installing all the parts,next input and output wires for the power, Bench testing starts late today and into tomorrow.


Unit has a 555 heartbeat but the cycle drift is more than expected, got plenty of time to adjust, adding last two input wires, should be able to start testing each of the four outputs soon.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Happy day!

11 AM Eastern time, First time finally got it working back the way I had it in the original bench test now on a single board instead of two separate boards.

Corrections will need to be made with the Cad files, Picture shows the needed improvements, magic marker shows missing trace on the left side and mark near the center shows where a trace needs cut, will make the changes ASAP.

With the noted changes the board runs good, still will need to make some small changes to 60Hz cycle drift before final testing. B1 array feeds both P channel FETs and B2 powers both N channel FETs. Dual inputs and dual inverter outputs 120VAC 60Hz is the target.

Need to mount the board in an inverter case and prepare for dual 140VDC input live solar testing

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

New DoublFET12.zip

Gerber files corrected, Main power traces beefed up, improvements in the help files contained in the zip file.

GitHub - Matt9876453/Two-FET-Inverter: Circuit board build files from Micad 6.0 Zip file containing Gerber/Drill files for PCB production.

Circuit board build files from Micad 6.0 Zip file containing Gerber/Drill files for PCB production. - Matt9876453/Two-FET-Inverter

github.com

More soon

Best wishes

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Four almost identical circuits except for polarity controlled by isolated optic couplers and commanded by a 555timer for dual solar 120VAC 60Hz power.

It is small and efficient in operation have a voltage controlled relay for Inverter board protection drop the inverter loads if the system voltage drops below 100VAC and the thing will likely last a very long time. Use the free Gerber files to make the circuitboard less than $200 in parts (60 Hz coils can be found in scrap pure sine inverters)

Only took two days to build and make it run and that was with a couple circit board defects.


More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Foward progress, circuit board/FETs mounted in a inverter case.

Insulated and meter tested isolation from metal case ready for dual 140VDC inputs.

Over the next couple of days I will do the rooftop solar panel wiring changes for dual 140VDC from the solar panels.

Multiple day solar testing of the new 100% usage dual output 120VAC 60Hz Inverter.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Feel sorry for California PG&E customers (400-500) electric bills lady on YouTube had a $451 bill she said she could not afford anymore.

My bill runs around (60-80) in a Hybrid solar/grid set up and the home stays comfortable right now 74.8 degrees Fahrenheit, One guy said with the thermostat set to 80 degrees Fahrenheit the bill stays high and he is uncomfortable even with ceiling fans.

One month away from helping a new home owner in Michigan do the same.

Have lots of data on vertically mounted east-west two sides bifacial solar panels, only one problem is a short dip in power at 12:00 noon, a timer could put the system on grid for a short time, More overall power than standard south pointed solar panels.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Several more days till live solar testing, working on many things.

Project system added/testing the variable voltage transformer I purchased inline before the secondary ISO transformer input, allowing fine adjustment of the natural power blender not sure it really helps much but so far I like it, can boost the ISO transformer input to 130 VAC.

Moving several computers to Linux from windows, tested about 12 different packages/distributions the one that works on my older equipment is Linux Mint has the best drivers

It's all about the drivers video,audio,wifi,Bluetooth, USB, etc. Matching your equipment.

My opinion: Win 11 is a AI spy bot

Still not happy with a 5Hz cycle drift on the new double inverter, Have seen it work many time much better, working on it.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Update: I am really liking the adjustment voltage control transformer on the input of the secondary ISO transformer to feed the project system inverter.

In a nutshell you can lower the grid powered input and make the solar panels work even harder on a good sky day or push larger night time loads by upping the input voltage to 130VAC on the secondary ISO.

I am by myself and taking care of a sickly dog, Right now in the middle of a streak of blue sky days and really don't want to disconnect the panels for testing. Intense bench testing shows it will work perfectly fine on full solar. You can expect from 14 standard 12VDC 100watts each panels 500-600 watts per channel of dual 120VAC 60Hz output, you can double or triple the input solar panels 140VDC to get up to a maximum 15Amps dual 120VAC output from the Double two FET inverter board.

Live testing soon

Linux mint in some ways is better than win but GUI glitches at times, audio settings are strange, Adjustments like file and start programs associations need adjustment. One example my RTL-SDR radio USB dongle work first time but no audio, In a sub menu of the program had to toggle demodulator from off to on to get output sound, On a radio application why would ever default to decode audio to off?!??. The kernel runs faster than win and the performance of things like VLC and native Linux apps will amaze you.

First picture transformers, second heavy clouds moving over. Three glass fuses in the first picture safety first.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Permanent changes on the main Project system, 750VA 12VDC UPS for Inverter CPU and ventilator fan.

Adjustable transformer 0-130 VAC 15Amp on the secondary ISO transformer input to the inverters, allowing maximum fine tune usage from the solar in the day and the option to boost the system amps a bit in night time situations. Orange transformer is sitting next to shelf ventilator.

My main message is going solar actually works, lots of great options out there, The project system also works and has benefits you would not expect from a low cost system, compared to my older system much less maintenance and cost involved in harvesting big power on sunny days and more than you expect on overcast conditions

Live testing soon, it really has been the case too many blue sky days to disconnect the panels right now, This stuff will turn you into a sun farmer

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

My concept is catching on factory systems/inverters available now with support of 11 series solar panels, Project system is based on groups of 9 standard solar panles 180VDC and everything with the two FET inverters uses groups of seven solar panels at 140VDC.

Yes it is mains voltages but on the flip side it can all be done correctly and it definitely works, first time working with 9 series panels noticed how the inverters just commanded the situation instead of just making things limp along

Better half is coming home tomorrow late afternoon, Feel better about making rooftop solar changes.

More soon, another beautiful solar day

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Last report on upgrade windows 7 laptop to Linux mint only install, Successful replication of the same functionality in about one week of trying different programs and adjustments, Several caveats on linux system and Bottles program for WINE, Issues including must talk over the internet to keep bottles program working, Linux upgrade about three days ago broke Several MAME & MESS bottle programs I already had working. Also only about 75% successful in making bottles work on any given windows based program.

What works, 64bit software versions work the best (Fast/smooth operation) in bottles but sometimes an older version of something can be more compatible with the bios/ files. What is working for me Firefox browser, VLC media player/converter, Xroar 64 coco 1-2-3 emulator for 6809 processor in bottles, mint has a good suite of native programs that run great. Foward progress continues.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Just moments ago finished rooftop solar panel wiring changes for dual 140VDC to the inverter area, today is first heavy overcast day in about two weeks of great sun conditions, Forcast calls for mostly sunny conditions for the week ahead.

7 standard 12VDC solar panels 140VDC B1 input, 7 standard 12VDC solar panels 140VDC B2 input to the inverter board

Both "P" FETs B1 input.
Both "N" FETs B2 input very simple, I have struggled to keep this straight and it absolutely will not run if you get it wrong.

Warning second time I have run into large yellow jacket bees nest under rooftop solar panels

Have to put small heat sinks on the main 15Amp diodes on the double FET board and other wiring preparation for testing.

Will full test the double FET inverter in the next few days.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

Eight out of Eight small heat sinks on the 15Amp diodes on the double FET inverter board, sorry moving slow but also hopefully making this part of the normal daily solar production for the home.

Picture features two of the 15Amp diode small heat sinks one straight up and down, the other tilted right touching the yellow wire. Wire will be relocated and the heat sinks are reused from a trashed pure sine inverter also diode coolers.

More soon

 

[GridWorks Green Solar]

5AM ready for Double FET inverter testing today.

More testing of the 50% duty cycle inverter + opposing 50% duty cycle inverter that task the 14 solar panels 100% of the time.

The operation was previously tested good and passed testing using two separate two FET power boards this time it is all in one power board.

Planning to integrate this system into daily solar power production.

Will proceed slowly today need good full sun conditions to prove this Double FET board V1.2.

All inputs and outputs glass fused at 5amps maximum for this test, 25watt bulbs should light as the sun rises, load testing will begin around 9:30AM if no cloud conditions.

My plan is to test around 500watts each on the dual 120VAC 60Hz outputs A & B channels.

Third picture 7:25AM dual 25 watt bulbs starting to glow, clocking a rock solid 60Hz.

Still an hour and a half away from full sun voltage going past 112VAC.


More later today