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Setting Up Off-Grid 12v 1200AH Lithium Power Bank

OffGridFoodForestCreators

Arthur & Fiona Cristian
Joined
Dec 9, 2019
Messages
6
Location
Moss Vale Southern Highlands NSW Australia
Hi everyone, seeking assistance, ideas, diagrams, feedback, etc, with the planning of setting up our off-grid 1200AH 12v Lithium Power Bank.

We are currently near Mittagong 2575 NSW Australia, in the Southern Highlands roughly 80 minutes journey by car from Sydney airport

We first posted in January this year in this forum and a fair bit has changed since then.

What we have already purchased

a) 12 x 300w 12v ETFE solar panels - Lensun LS-300ST
10 solar panels contain a 20amp PWM solar controller
2 solar panels contain a 30amp MPPT solar controller with bluetooth module

LS-300ST
https://www.lensunsolar.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=359
or
KickAss (Australian Direct):

https://www.australiandirect.com.au/buy/kickass-super-thin-solar-panel-300w/KASTSP300
it seems to be a rebadged Lensun LS-300ST

KickAss 12v 300w ETFE Slim Line Solar Panel.jpg

Lensun RM-5 30amp Solar Controller:
https://www.lensunsolar.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=363&search=RM-5
or
SRNE ML2430/ML2440 30A: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000966675011.html

Lensun SR-BT-1 Bluetooth with RS232


KickAss300wETFESolarPanel.jpg

Connecting the Lensun 300w ETFE slim line solar panels to the Morningstar Tristar TS-60 solar controllers, see specs below, we will bypass the solar panels PWM or MPPT built in solar controllers using Anderson connectors........

LS-300ST 1.jpg

b) 4 x 60amp PWM TS-60 Morningstar Tristar Solar Controllers already programmed for lithium by Enerdrive in Australia
https://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/tristar
or
https://enerdrive.com.au/product/morningstar-tristar-solar-controller

Specs MORNINGSTAR TRISTAR 60 AMP SOLAR CONTROLLER.jpg

c) 10 x iTech 120x 12v LifePO4 120AH lithium batteries
https://itechworld.com.au/products/...itech120x-water-proof-ip67-380a-max-discharge

iTech 120x 12v Lithium Battery.jpg


iTech120Xahlithiumbatteryspecs.jpg

d) 2 x Enerdrive 5 Stud Busbars 1 x positive and 1 x negative

https://enerdrive.com.au/product/5-stud-busbar

Enerdrive 5 Stud Busbar.jpg
Enerdrive 5 Stud Busbar Specs.jpg

e) 2B&S to 6B&S dual ducted cables with 150amp Anderson connectors (not purchased yet)

f) 2 x 8Zed 12v 6000w Pure Sine Wave Inverters with remote control
https://wallcann.com.au/6000w-pure-sine-wave-inverter-12v-vp



8Zed 6000w Pure Sine Wave Inverter Specs.jpg

g) 1 x Enerdrive Simarine Digital Monitoring System with a Pico System and a range of Battery, Water
Tank Level & Quadro Digital Shunt Modules
https://enerdrive.com.au/product/simarine-digital-monitoring-system

3 x 300w solar panels wired in parallel will be linked to 1 x 60amp PWM solar controller and the 4 x
solar controllers with 12 solar panels connected will be linked to the positive Busbar that feeds directly to the iTech lithium power bank but we are not sure how to set up the negative Busbar coming back from the lithium battery bank

a) to the solar controllers

b) to the solar panels

c) where? - we need help with this part of the set up.

We will be connecting the 2 x 6000w inverters to the lithium battery bank.

wiringdiagramResized.jpg

So far our ideas are to connect all the batteries in parallel.
To maintain 12v, is this the best way to set up the batteries?
Are there better/smarter ways of doing it?

Wherever possible all cables will be 2B&S and down to 6B&S if we have to for whatever reason.
We will also be looking at thicker motor vehicle dual ducted cables if they are even better than 2B&S.

Using the thickest cables possible we heard we can run them up to 10 metres between the lithium power bank and the 6000w inverters. Are we able to go longer than that and if yes, how long? Is there any particular cable product better than another?

Also, is this correct that the minimum spec for cables between the power bank and the inverter should be 35mm square thick cables for runs up to 3m and over that we need to look at going bigger ---> generally at least 2mm square per meter???

We also heard that If the cables aren't correctly sized, we will be getting DC ripples in the supply to the inverters that could lead to issues? Any ideas on all this???

With long DC cables, and/or anything that can draw sudden sharp spikes regularly, we have heard that capacitors will help with that and will keep things running smoothly and improve the quality of the power but we have no experience with this and need to know what type of capacitors are required and just where, and how many, do you install them, and how do you install them???

Is this 2 Farad capacitor for 45 dollars good enough or should we be looking at something better?:
https://au-jbtools.glopalstore.com/...RMT5QG4HV8ct77I6YIIYFr6PcwARHruxoCCFcQAvD_BwE

At what maximum length can you run the DC 240v 10amp cables from the inverters to a washing machine or drier or food processor, vitamix blender, computers, monitors, audio gear, etc?????

It seems that 10 to 15 meters is the normal length for DC 240v power cables but can we run much longer DC cables for low draw such as TV's (we don't have/use TV's) and other small stuff. Is this correct?

And where do you install fuse breakers/surge protection in this set up?

And what recommended products/specs should we be buying to protect everything from spikes/surges????

Apologies for asking so many questions but we would be very grateful for any input.

We are setting up this off-grid system in the backyard of an half acre property near Bowral NSW and testing everything before moving into potentially a remote location without system infrastructure and be able to survive for at least 6 months while we are building up 1st stage infrastructure and the beginnings of a large food forest.

Our 100% off-grid rig is 12V solar, firewood, LPG, 10kva (at least) diesel/petrol backup generator.


Thanks
Arthur & Fiona Cristian
0418 203204 (Int: 61 418 203204)
action@loveforlife.com.au
 
Last edited:
Copy of email sent to Will today

Hi Will
We are in Australia.

Here is a link to a post we put up on your forum yesterday showing the 12v gear we have already purchased
https://itechworld.com.au/products/...itech120x-water-proof-ip67-380a-max-discharge

Can we pay you as a consultant to put together a diagram detailing everything else we need to buy, safety and all, and how it all comes together so we can follow your guidance and build this remote, no system infrastructure available, off-grid, 1070ah (minimum) 12v Lithium power bank for running (frugally) everything possibly on 12v come 240v DC 10amp (Australia) running off two 6000w 12v pure sine wave inverters.

This power bank will feed power primarily to the kitchen and laundry, and possibly the office and workshop. Keeping everything at close proximity for the 12v cables to feed clean, consistent/reliable 240v power to run all the 400w to 2400w (or so) appliances, etc, is where we are primarily focused.

If required, we will down-the-line put together a 2nd lithium power bank to run whatever in the workshop and office.

Depending on how far we can run 240v cables from the inverters will determine if we only need to increase the size of the lithium power bank using the iTech 120x 12v batteries, which can become as big as we need the power bank to be (no restrictions on size), or we go the more expensive route of building a 2nd power bank around the workshop come office area.

We are still very busy and as novices, we just don't have the spare waking life to throw hundreds of hours to research and learn and get up to speed at your standards/skill-sets. We will do all the labour in building the large power bank and are keen to pay you to help us bridge this gap by using your awesome 12v skill-sets as a navigation chart we follow as we sail on the vessel of all the essential 12v gear we have acquired.

We are competent working with tools having built and run from scratch a 20 years office automation, service, sales, spare parts, consumables business running on road and in house service, sales, admin, etc, staff levels of around 33. We learnt lots from our technicians, engineers, service manager along-the-way which aided us as being entrepreneurs wheeling and dealing high end office machines come fully re-manufactured machines supplied to all types of corporate clients come legal, accounting firms, amongst all other types of industries/businesses.

We moved on from this business in 2005.

We also have experience in home renovations.

We are also aware of a few of your videos, one example being "DIY 400 Watt 12 volt Solar Power System Beginner Tutorial: Great for RV's and Vans! *Part 1*":

We are currently staying just outside Sydney, NSW, near Bowral, 2575, in the Southern Highlands.

Look forward to hearing from you shortly Will.

Arthur & Fiona Cristian
action@loveforlife.com.au
61 418 203204 (local 0418 203204)
http://loveforlife.com.au
http://youtube.com/ArthurLoveForLife/videos
http://facebook.com/arthurcristian
PO Box 1320 Bowral 2576 NSW Australia
 
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