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diy solar

diy solar

Newbie that needs alot of help

SmokeAKAscotty

New Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2024
Messages
4
Location
Michigan
Bear with me, I'm new here and to posting on forums in general.
1st off, I'm a complete noob. I've done alot of reading and research but I'm still not able to get a total grasp to make informed decisions. I'm trin to post all relevant pics. A note to remember while responding, I'm older and disabled on a fixed income, also this is my life, I bought land way out in the woods and off grid is my only option for power. I have a small 30 foot camper. The camper has a 30 amp plug that now only powers the 120 volt outlets, I've removed the converter completely from the RV and wired the 12 volt system directly to my batteries. Being on a fixed income, I've had to slowly (and will have to continue upgrading slowly) upgrade. The batteries I have are all at least 3 yrs old 2 are identical marine batteries and 1 car battery all wired in parallel. I also have a Ryobi generator and 3000 watt Power Drive 12 volt inverter. I run generator for 3 hrs in morning and 3 hrs at night b4 bed and i plug everything into 120 camper outlets when generator is running and when on batteries i unplug refrigerator from 120 camper outlets and plug into inverter thats wired to battery bank, I get 14.5 volts and 12.9 to 12.8 resting volts with nothing running, the the refrigerator kicks on I lose about 0.5 volts for the 10 minutes it runs for. The fan and TV I only use when generator is running because the batteries won't last.

Next I bought a 400 watt solar kit that came with 2 200 watt panels and 30 amp charge controller (its not the mppt controller but the other kind, like I said, I'm a noob here lol don't remember the other kind, pw or something???). So I made a adjustable stand and mounted panels and connected to battery bank. Now with this setup, I no longer need to run my generator in the morning as the panels do that. But I still have to top off the batteries every night because the sun goes down long b4 I goto bed. Now if it's really cloudy and I watch TV, this is definitely not enough to last all day. Charge controller readings I've noted are PV (by observing the read out,I think that means soalr panels) 6 amps is highest I've seen and 0.5 amps lowest (not including night time of course). volts I've noticed are 12.2 to 13.6

What I want,
1.I want to be able to watch TV 6 hours, run refrigerator 24/7, fan about 12 hours a day, and the occasional air fryer microwave and coffee maker for 10 to 15 minutes at most 2 times a day.

2. I want a expandable system that i can buy pieces for as i can afford them, because I definitely can not afford to buy a $5,000 to $10,000 upfront.

3. A system that can 100% run on solar and or 100% on battery and or 100% on generator all at same time or system switched (if possible)

4. Here's the one I really having trouble with, I want to charge my current and future system that is 12 volt or maybe 24 volt or 36 volt or 48 volt (I'd definitely like to goto at least 24 volt from the research I've done) but how do I charge anything other than a 12 volt system with my gas powered generator (as of now I just use a 12 volt car battery charger) and still have it connected to solar system (like a few days in row with heavy clouds) without have to unhook all the batteries in the higher volt systems that i assume i will wire in series and charge each 12 volt battery one at a time?

4A.The other issue I can't wrap my mind around is how do I charge a system while I'm using it, because right now, the only way to top off my batteries is to run everything off generator and charge batteries (with absolutely nothing pulling juice) with car charger.

Pics are
10 cubic fridge
2 12 volt marine batteries
1 12 volt car battery
Ryobi gas powered generator
Serenelife 400 watt solar kit (2 200 panels and 30amp controller)
12 volt car battery charger
32 inch TV
120 volt fan
12 volt LED lights have replaced all old incadescent bulbs in camper

1 last thing, if you could use the words instead off shorthand letters (like PV I deducted means solar panels). I get so lost having to Google so many acronyms.
 
You could benefit from a power audit. How many kWh do you want to use each day? That will inform how much battery capacity you need. (What is the power draw of your TV, of your fridge, of your fan, etc.)

Second, given that you have batteries, you don't need a system that runs off of "solar only" because the solar could charge the batteries and you run off the inverter, powered by said battery. (There are inverters that run off solar only with no battery, but you probably don't have one and don't need one.)

Third, relating to your 4. The solar charge controller is perfectly capable of delivering current to your battery at the same time the inverter is drawing from the battery to run your loads. You could add more panels until your solar charge controller was maxed out, and you could then operate for longer. You could also add even more panels and another solar charge controller, put it in parallel with the first one, and charge your batteries even more, and this would allow you to operate even more. However, you may need to add more batteries to operate longer into the night before running them down, depending on the outcome of the energy audit.
 
I posted this 2 times by accident, all the power requirements are in my other post and I do not know how to delete this one lol sorry, new to this
 
Great post! Lots of information to unpack.
Sounds like you got enough inverter power to run the air fryer or microwave. Those are both power intensive (surge requirements mostly)
Your solar production amps sound low for 400 watts of panels. (I see up to 20amps from my similar equipment, 2x200watt panels wired in parallel)
But they might not be wired and or positioned ideally for solar collection. Seasons are changing and in your neck of the woods it will be more challenging to gather sufficient solar with only 400 watts of panel. Solar panels are an important part of the equation, but in my opinion secondary to battery storage capacity as you have a generator already. Anytime the generating is running you are wise to be using any excess for direct energy usage beyond primarily charging your battery bank for off solar (nighttime) energy requirements.
Not knowing what capacity batteries you currently have, only that they are lead acid type, mixed sizes possibly and 3 plus years of use is a potential major factor.
I’m living in a similar set up, 27ft RV trailer, 400 watts of panel but no microwave or air fryer,
I’m also in Southern California, not Michigan.
In my humble opinion, forget 24 or 48 volt complications. Unless your solar array is a distance from your trailer, the wire savings won’t offset the more expensive initial equipment purchases and complications of stepping down voltages to the 12v systems already on board the trailer.
I purchased a kill a watt device off Amazon for $20.
I used this to record all my 120v appliance draws…tv, fridge, stereo, fans, iPads and phones.
I run a chest freezer as a refrigerator with an external temp controller.
You certainly don’t need to spend $5-10k to live as you desire now.
Solar panels are cheap and only getting more so.
There are much better battery technologies than lead acid, even for your seasonally colder parameters.
With the raw data numbers of your actual overall watt daily power needs, everyone can and will chime in with solutions to your situation. It very likely will require more and better battery capacity. Again, my humble opinion…that’s the 1st upgrade that will be suggested. Then, more solar panel. Almost can’t have too much solar panel. Also your current solar controller isn’t ideal. I paid $120 for my solar controller( a MPPT type) and it was a solid investment, I completely understand your income limitations and parameters, but being located rurally 100% off grid, return on investment isn’t your primary concern.
Watch local Craigslist ads, and Amazon. Black Friday will be coming up. Catch whatever deals you can on better equipment. Quality products purchased at this point in your life will serve you very well.
Quick breakdown of my costs..
200ah lifepo4 battery @ $390 (LiTime) x2
Solar charge controller @ $120 ( Victron 100/30)
200 watt bifacial panel @ $130 ( NewPowa) x2
All purchased on Amazon.
 
Another way to save money is with used or surplus panels. I regularly see panels offered on Craigslist that are around or below 25 cents/Watt, e.g. 350 W panels for $75 each, and sometimes people just want to get rid of them and they are free. These will still have many years of life left in them.
 
Not knowing what capacity batteries you currently have, only that they are lead acid type, mixed sizes possibly and 3 plus years of use is a potential major factor.
You can estimate AH capacity from 'reserve' (see the other thread) by using 25A load during the time specified.
 
You've made the classic newbie mistakes of buying stuff without a plan, and you just have to suck it up and recognize that you've wasted money and it's better to start over. Do NOT buy anything else until the plan is complete.

First, take a hammer and smash that controller into little pieces, and place them in the electronic waste bin. Next, take those panels and place them in a closet and leave them there. They may not ever be useable? Then, start over and only spend money AFTER you've drafted a functional plan.

From personal experience, I'd say drop 12V completely. After implementing my first system at 12V years ago, I will NEVER recommend 12V to anyone that isn't pulling their system down the road.

Follow these steps....

1) Wire the two marine batteries in series to get a 24V battery bank. This will be totally inadequate, but at least enough battery supply to get a system turned on. Save the 12V automotive battery for it's core charge. That is its only value. Plan on upgrading to bigger batteries within a year.

2) Buy a 150V limit MPPT controller. Epever has a new budget controller that can handle 150V. Search for "Model: XTRA4215N". You can get it for about 130$ on Ebay right now.

3) Buy 1000+ Watts of high-voltage residential panels. Here's an example of a seller that might be within driving distance to you. Don't order panels through the mail. The shipping charges are what get extreme. Buy cash and carry off of Craigslist.


BTW, if you purchased the 345W SiFAB panels the seller has, you could match the voltage of the two panels you already payed for. Buy three of those, and wire them in parallel to your charge controller. Then wire the two SereneLife panels in series, and place that 38V series string in parallel with the three 345W panels.

On paper, 1235W of panels is too much amperage for a 40A charge controller. But, if you use 85% de-rating like I normally recommend, you are not likely to see more than 42-45A in the real-world. Another alternative is to get a slightly higher capacity controller, like the Tracer 5415 or 6415, but that would raise the price to 200-240$ The 60A version will allow for further future expansion.

Shop for a 24V sine-wave inverter. Do NOT be tempted to purchase a cheaper modified sine-wave model. They will burn out the electric motor in your refrigerator, or any other motor-driven equipment you have. I'd suggest getting something in the 2000W range. Take a look at Samlex's PST2000. It's a better-quality budget-inverter that' UL listed.

For now, just forget about using the air-fryer or any other heat-generating appliance. Those small batteries will just not tolerate it. Just use propane to heat all your food for the next year.

Based on my own personal experience, I'll suggest that to keep the lights and TV on and the frig running 24/7, you will need at least 2.0-3.0 kWh of power per day. That's with propane heating of all your food. Assuming a sunny day during the Michigan winter, I'd expect you to be able to make that much power from ~2.0 sunhours of daylight from 1000W+ of solar panels. Because your SereneLife panels are only ~19V each, you will have a challange to wire them with other panels. Depending on what else you find out there, they might never be useable. Those 345W panels listed above are a fair deal. You might want to buy four of them, then wire them 2S2P and forget about the SereneLife ones.

For cloudy/rainy winter weather, you WILL need a generator. Otherwise, you'd need to to have 4000W+ of panels to make 2.0kWh of power in the rain.

So, for starters, get the new controller, higher capacity solar panels, and a 24V inverter. In the near future, plan on replacing the batteries. Maybe upgrade up to four 6V golfcarts to start. CostCo has a 210Ah 6V golf-cart for 110$. With no more than 50% depletion, you'll get ~2,500Wh of useable power per day. Because your batteries potentially might get cold, I would NOT recommend Li. Trojan L-16 batteries would be a good choice if you want to expand larger than the golf-cart level.
 
OP, your posts are too long, which means 2 things.
1) not many people will read all that. Fewer eyes=less help.
2) you have not done any research for yourself. Spend more time reading here and your posts will shrink.
 
OP, your posts are too long, which means 2 things.
1) not many people will read all that. Fewer eyes=less help.
2) you have not done any research for yourself. Spend more time reading here and your posts will shrink.
On the contrary I thought his post was rather most honest and complete it gives us a good idea of what's going on and what his demands are so we don't have to ask him a 100 questions I'd find it better than most responses which are what I refer to as half baked :fp2:fp2:fp2 oh by the way love your handle it suits you well. :unsure:
 
I sell off grid diy solar.I just sold a 5kw system with 15 330 watt used panels and and a 6.2 kw hybrid inverter coupled to 5kwstep up down transformer 120/240 vac and ground mount racking everything was 5k this is in socal. I just bought s bunch of solar eq at auction.
 

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