Motormouth
New Member
I want to experiment with making a small starter system that I can use as an UPS
My neighborhood has had at least 5 multi-day outages in the last 20 years, which is very inconvenient.
I have a whole house back up generator, with a manual transfer switch, it works well but as you know you temporarily lose power with this configuration
Right now I have a couple APC UPS which work ok, but have very limited capacity.
For this build, solar is a nice to have but not the primary use of the system, rather I want to be able to backup all my network equipment, ie routers, switch, nas, maybe a refrigerator or two.
So after looking some of Will's and Ian's (Watts 247) videos ended up ordering a MPP Solar 2724LV-MR, it has AVR capability
I want make something similar to what is on this youtube video:
So two questions,
Question 1) one for the AC input to the 2724LW-MR the manual suggests a 40 amp direct wiring. I would like use a 30 amp plug (ie a TT30 or nema L5-30) so that I can hook it up to my 3500 W inverter generator or use a 30 amp outlet let that I would install in the house
Do I need to go up to a 50 amp plug or will the 30 amp be sufficient (ie the all in one is 2700 watts or 2700Watts/120v = 22.5 amps)? or is 40 amp wiring that critical for things like surge?
Both Will and Ian wired theirs up with 15 amp lines on their demo videos.
Question 2) Batteries, the manual suggested at leat 100ah batteries (ie I was thinking two 12.8 V 100ah batteries, but these usually have 100 amp BMS), will this be enough? If, the batteries only have 100 amp BMSes, that would only be 2400 Watts they could pull, and the unit is 2700 watts. Do I need to find batteries with at least 120 amp BMSes? or can I get away with the more common 100 amp BMS batteries out there. Larger capacity batteries usually have larger BMS, (but not always) and some times lower capacity batteries have small BMSes, again not always. What are your thoughts?
Eventually I will need to replace my roof, in about 3-5 years, and want to be ready to go big, ie SolArk 15K or 18K EG4/luxpower, or what ever else is out at that time and 20+ KWh batteries, etc. At that point I will use this little system in my little cabin.
My neighborhood has had at least 5 multi-day outages in the last 20 years, which is very inconvenient.
I have a whole house back up generator, with a manual transfer switch, it works well but as you know you temporarily lose power with this configuration
Right now I have a couple APC UPS which work ok, but have very limited capacity.
For this build, solar is a nice to have but not the primary use of the system, rather I want to be able to backup all my network equipment, ie routers, switch, nas, maybe a refrigerator or two.
So after looking some of Will's and Ian's (Watts 247) videos ended up ordering a MPP Solar 2724LV-MR, it has AVR capability
I want make something similar to what is on this youtube video:
So two questions,
Question 1) one for the AC input to the 2724LW-MR the manual suggests a 40 amp direct wiring. I would like use a 30 amp plug (ie a TT30 or nema L5-30) so that I can hook it up to my 3500 W inverter generator or use a 30 amp outlet let that I would install in the house
Do I need to go up to a 50 amp plug or will the 30 amp be sufficient (ie the all in one is 2700 watts or 2700Watts/120v = 22.5 amps)? or is 40 amp wiring that critical for things like surge?
Both Will and Ian wired theirs up with 15 amp lines on their demo videos.
Question 2) Batteries, the manual suggested at leat 100ah batteries (ie I was thinking two 12.8 V 100ah batteries, but these usually have 100 amp BMS), will this be enough? If, the batteries only have 100 amp BMSes, that would only be 2400 Watts they could pull, and the unit is 2700 watts. Do I need to find batteries with at least 120 amp BMSes? or can I get away with the more common 100 amp BMS batteries out there. Larger capacity batteries usually have larger BMS, (but not always) and some times lower capacity batteries have small BMSes, again not always. What are your thoughts?
Eventually I will need to replace my roof, in about 3-5 years, and want to be ready to go big, ie SolArk 15K or 18K EG4/luxpower, or what ever else is out at that time and 20+ KWh batteries, etc. At that point I will use this little system in my little cabin.
Last edited: