Off Grid desert nest

[sunshine_eggo]

That was a bit of tongue in cheek. Having worked in electronics and the power industry all my life I know the difference. Here on the board the thinking is VA=Watts. That's why I remind folks about Victron inverters. We can easily forget a 3000VA Victron is 2400 Watts. Saw one vendor today and the inverter was showing as 3000VA = 3000 Watts in the add.

Are you aware that all inverters are rated in VA regardless of how they're advertised? The issue here is that Victron makes their ratings clear. 5000W for PF 1. 4000W for PF 0.8.

Go look at the ratings for a Magnum MS4XXXPAE unit... Watts, Watts, everywhere... until you go look at the actual specs... 4000VA.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Yes, one needs to be aware of the fine print. Another thing is the weight. That APC is like many others, around a 100#. For me that is about $250 shipping from UT. Then arrange for the neighbor to be home, have the forks on the tractor and unload the thing. Next haul it out to AZ. Might just be easier all around to run into White Mountain Solar and get a 5k Atlas, 4000 watt to start. And 97# so only takes 2 men and a boy to move it. HA!

 

[Bop]

Yes, one needs to be aware of the fine print. Another thing is the weight. That APC is like many others, around a 100#. For me that is about $250 shipping from UT. Then arrange for the neighbor to be home, have the forks on the tractor and unload the thing. Next haul it out to AZ. Might just be easier all around to run into White Mountain Solar and get a 5k Atlas, 4000 watt to start. And 97# so only takes 2 men and a boy to move it. HA!

My 12kw one took three people to manhandle it into the cab of the truck- and I used the tilt-trays winch to unload it... 72kg/160lbs...

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Weight of items has been a problem for me with this whole project. I max out at a 65# AGM under the motor home steps. Can just barely get it out.
This has me rethinking the inverter. A 3000VA will power the 15000 BTU A/C and most weigh in at 55#.

On another note thinking about making a lean too style ground mount attached to a carport. That keeps everything in reach. Carport vertical posts are on 5 foot centers. And carport wind loading is up to 140 mph in a lot of states. Ours handled 130 mph last September . One didn't like the big tree though.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Expert Power 3000 watt/VA? Inverter due in today. Has an excellent manual. Even explains the difference between VA and watts. Also how to figure battery bank size with examples. Allmthe literature says 3000 watt. We'll see. 30 amp ATS, 60 AMP charger both of which I don't need. Again We'll see.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Tested the inverter yesterday and the smart shunt reported 3420 watts for 5 minutes. Guess I'll call this a 3000 watt inverter.
Last October we were given a quote of $40k installed for a 25 kWh system.
So far I've got about $3k in a 5kWh system and really only need 15kWh max.
Now to drag it all to the 🏜 next month.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Been at the desert nest for almost 3 weeks. AGM house batteries survived the winter just fine. Marginal AGM cranking battery also survived.
A few minor fitting leaks to tighten. Must not have gotten every drained.

New nest is due in Saturday. It has a few nice things, both refeers are 12 vdc. Hot water on demand LP. 200 Watt solar panel, Vmp 20 volts and Imp 9.45 amps.
CC is 30 amp pwm in poor location almost 20 feet from batteries. Batteries are group 24 flooded.
My thoughts are put the AOLITHIUM batteries in the new nest along with the expert power inverter. Set up 2 300 watt strings with 2 of the 100/20 Mppt's.

Hard part on all this is digging trenches. 8 hours for 10 ft of sewer line trench. 70 feet to go.

Almost forgot converter is Progressive Dynamics set up for lithium batteries.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

That MS45 can be setup for lithium's if you use MSView and a laptop. Is your unit the MPPT version or the PWM version?

 

[scrubjaysnest]

That MS45 can be setup for lithium's if you use MSView and a laptop. Is your unit the MPPT version or the PWM version?

Mine is the PWM, got msview and instructions. At this time we have no plans to change anything on the motorhome.
The new nest is a different thing. We have 4 100Ah LiFePO4 and 2 Victron 100/20 mppt cc's to use there. Also a 3000 watt inverter.
The new nest came with a 30 amp go power pwm located about 15 to 20 feet from a pair of 81 Ah FLA'S. Not good.
The FLA'S will be moved to a storage shed and used to power a pump connected to a 2500 gallon water tank. Also an inverter to charge power tool batteries. A 240 watt panel and 100/20 mppt to keep those charged. That leaves 900 watts of panels for expansion.
The motor home has its own 500 watts of panels, but typically we only use 200 watts here in the AZ desert.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Mine is the PWM, got msview and instructions. At this time we have no plans to change anything on the motorhome.
The new nest is a different thing. We have 4 100Ah LiFePO4 and 2 Victron 100/20 mppt cc's to use there. Also a 3000 watt inverter.
The new nest came with a 30 amp go power pwm located about 15 to 20 feet from a pair of 81 Ah FLA'S. Not good.
The FLA'S will be moved to a storage shed and used to power a pump connected to a 2500 gallon water tank. Also an inverter to charge power tool batteries. A 240 watt panel and 100/20 mppt to keep those charged. That leaves 900 watts of panels for expansion.
The motor home has its own 500 watts of panels, but typically we only use 200 watts here in the AZ desert.

I found that once I figured out how to get the PC to recognize the SCC it made such a huge difference being able to adjust the SCC for the lithiums. I had used Morningstar for about 15 years on AMG batteries to great effect. currently running 4 on the cabin and one in the camper.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

Dug into the existing solar on the new nest. What a mess, 10 awg from cc minus goes to some kind of terminal I never seen before. 2 - 22 awg leave and go somewhere. CC was showing 7 amps to batteries but there was a good 2/10 volt drop. Disconnected panel input, corrected battery wiring and hooked up a Victron 100/20 along with a dirty used 240 watt panel. Hit 12.5 amps and peaked at 209 watts. Stayed in absorb about 4 hours. A little over 700 watts for the day.
Not bad for a quick and dirty.

 

[scrubjaysnest]

The quick and dirty hit 910wH today.
Worked on mounting the Midnight Solar mini baby box and 2 Victron 100/20 mppt's. Mounted to a 1/4 inch thick sheet of aluminum. Since I haven't decided whether to mount the plate flush to wall I went ahead and counter sunk flat head screws. The mini baby box holds two 15 amp and two 30 amp Midnight Solar breakers.