diy solar

diy solar

Test Hand Cart 3000W Near Completion

RickP

RickP

Solar Power Padawan
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
240
Location
Gulf Coast of Texas
I finally got to power it up today, just for charging and connectivity tests, but all looks good. The orange cord in the picture is a 10 gauge 120V ac connection. I still have to add the PV input cables, a SCC output breaker, and the Orion 24/12-70 converter and Blue Sea 12V fuse panel (going on the rear) but it is looking good so far. AC output breakers and receptacles go in tomorrow. BTW, it’s on a two wheel dolly, so I can move it through the house.

I have to say that I felt a bit like Dr Frankenstein when she came to life...

If you’re wondering what the purpose is, first emergency preparedness. I live in an area prone to hurricanes and power outages, so I wanted an option that’s available when gas isn‘t. I thought about the Point Zero Titan, but it’s not available until after this storm season, and I wanted to learn what went into these systems. I’m sure I spent more but I also know everything that is in this system can be relied upon in real life emergencies. When not doing front line duties, I’ll have it running a fridge and freezer at home.

I‘m enjoying the journey. I saw @Will Prowse built one on YouTube, and had to smile that we were working on similar ideas!

46F74859-B022-4CDF-9280-668A05B82012.jpeg
 
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Thanks guys! It’s up and running the fridge and freezer as I write this, as a test to see how long it will run under a real load on batteries alone. I did a Kill-a-Watt test with these units and am interested to see how closely the actual use matches the calculated load. The Renogy panels are late arriving, so I’ll just be recharging via wall power until they show up.

I have learned a ton through this, including how intricate it can get when you add components with a lot of capabilities as opposed to single purpose parts. And, yes, how quickly the dollar total can climb! I’m happy with it, though, as I think it’ll be more solid over time than other options. Thanks to everyone who helped understand the methods and possibilities along the way!
 
Nice build Rick, thanks for sharing!

Yeah I wonder sometimes how many of us have handcart builds floating around in our heads. I think about mine all the time, in 24v with a stainless steel box built around it, vents cut in with cooling fans, exterior plugs and sockets, 4/100 Battle Borns and the ability to roll it anywhere I wanna go or put it into the back of the truck and head down to fish camp or up to the mountain house, etc., etc., etc.

You motivate me to finish my build!
 
Very nice!! I'm in the information gathering phase for something similar. Thank you for posting this!!!
 
Will Prowse said:
Awesome component selection
Click to expand...
Thanks, Will. Your videos provided a lot of ideas and inspiration. Much of the tools, cabling, and supplies were purchased through your site links, so I hope you get some benefit for providing so much help!

@scrooster and @CatoSpatha I have been kicking around ideas for a while, but got distracted by many of the solar “generators” out there. Unfortunately, as Will has shown, many fall well short of their promises, and the only one that had the specs and performance to do what I wanted won’t be available until September, and that’s a maybe. I’m glad though because the frustration caused me to get up and going on building one. As I’d saved enough to purchase the biggest Titan setup, I had enough to go with really good components that will last. The things you can do with the Victron gear is pretty incredible, and suits my uses perfectly. It’s not complete, but I am really happy with it. Once the savings comes back up, I might get a Magliner dolly and up the batteries to 6. I think that’ll about top out anything you could call portable, but for home use, it would be great.

That reminds me... I need to look into a way to add extra batteries. For the future. You know. :)
 
Nice! 4 kWh? Looks like what @Ann needs in her thread (well, smaller inverter and jury's out on the MPPT) :unsure:
Thank you for sharing your build!
 
svetz said:
Nice! 4 kWh? Looks like what @Ann needs in her thread (well, smaller inverter and jury's out on the MPPT) :unsure:
Thank you for sharing your build!
Click to expand...
The Inverter/Charger is 3000W 24V 70A. I wanted to use it because they have an “AC Ignore” function that causes it to not route AC to the outputs or start AC charging unless the batteries reach whatever criteria you set. Then it will charge to 100%, and go back to ignore mode until the criteria are reached again. This is perfect to take a fridge and freezer off my grid power as a “non-emergency“ use of the system, without having to worry about losing food if there’s not enough solar over a couple of days. The amount of things you can do with a Multiplus is impressive, to me at least!

I originally had a 150/70 mppt ordered, but wanted more experimenting room with larger (320W) panels. Buy once, cry once... I bit the bullet and went for the big dude.
 
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Just went and read through Ann’s thread. Considering structural restrictions, her fears of having anything combustible in the house, and loads expected, I’m not sure what would work. I’m going to throw an idea her way...
 
RickP said:
That reminds me... I need to look into a way to add extra batteries. For the future. You know.
Click to expand...


Very nice system. Something to think about for additional batteries (this is something that has been stumping my head) - figure out a way to make them Plug-and-Play. So you can bring an additional cart of batteries over to the system and hook them up.
 
Prefersdirt said:
Very nice system. Something to think about for additional batteries (this is something that has been stumping my head) - figure out a way to make them Plug-and-Play. So you can bring an additional cart of batteries over to the system and hook them up.
Click to expand...
Anderson SB connectors! See my milk crate system for an example. I used SB175 connectors but you can go even bigger and use SB350s.
 
Finished the AC and put in DC converter and fuse panel today. I had some 8-2wg cable from a prior project to get to the breaker panel. The Blue Sea breakers I bought didn’t fit where I wanted, so I rehabbed an old RV panel that I had to get a 30 and 20 amp circuit. The bottom picture is with the cover up. There isca gapnat the bottom so cable can pass through with the lid closed. There’s also an adapter behind the box for converting the RV plug to normal outlet when needed.

The Orion converter went in easily, as did the Blue Sea 12V fuse panel. I’ll add a panel with USB and cigarette plugs soon that will also contain a switch to turn the Orion on/off. I’m not really sure how much 12V I’ll need, but it’s there for whatever comes.

Now, if Renogy will get my two-weeks-overdue panels here, I will be able to finish this up!

F63E6F05-51E4-49D2-999C-17E05B1BA613.jpeg
DD4A925A-F4EB-498A-AF81-CA0B0F73A619.jpeg
 
I noticed the phone pic gave an odd look to the wheels. Not sure about that, they’re not bent But can move in and out a bit. I replaced the ones that were always flat with solid tires, but they’re not quite as wide. Another good argument for a new cart!

Added a display to the SmartSolar 250-100... just arrived this afternoon.

Question: Can anyone recommend a good 12VDC surface mount box with a couple of cigarette lighter type outlets and several USB charge ports? I have one that I‘m returning because I think a self-contained surface mounted box would work better for me than knocking a bunch of holes through the plywood.
 
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I ordered a Blue Sea panel for the 12V stuff, which should arrive tomorrow, and then its just waiting on Renogy... two weeks plus late, no contact or response to emails. Might be making a change on the panel side of things...
 
Unit is done, works great on 12/24/120 volts. The Blue Sea 12v dash panel works and looks great, much better than the cheapie units on Amazon.
9F5D91F8-4980-4AD2-85E0-18891D42220C.jpeg
(I don’t know why it posts ccw 90 degrees).

Renogy... where do you start? Zero. That covers it.

Zero product delivered in 6 weeks since ordering almost $1500 in panels.
Zero contact from Renogy to explain why nothing was sent.
Zero luck calling. Put on hold, then disconnected.
Zero response to email to support.
Zero response to Amazon seller email, until almost 8 pm on the 7th day of a 7 day limit.
Zero response to my replies (multiple sent to them)
Zero luck (so far) getting a refund through Amazon.
Zero action taken by Amazon on the “will give a decision in 7 days” on the refund requested on June 23rd (now July 8th)
Zero satisfaction in this, my first and last effort at using a Renogy product.

While I’m sure others have had great success, and I am happy for them, my experience has been a complete personification of the term “fail.” No more Renogy anything in this house.

Soooooooo...

The cart is a smashing success on grid recharge. I still have no proof it’ll do what’s needed on solar. I will find out as soon as I get my money back to buy panels. Thanks, Renogy. For Zero.
 
RickP said:
Finished the AC and put in DC converter and fuse panel today. I had some 8-2wg cable from a prior project to get to the breaker panel. The Blue Sea breakers I bought didn’t fit where I wanted, so I rehabbed an old RV panel that I had to get a 30 and 20 amp circuit. The bottom picture is with the cover up. There isca gapnat the bottom so cable can pass through with the lid closed. There’s also an adapter behind the box for converting the RV plug to normal outlet when needed.

The Orion converter went in easily, as did the Blue Sea 12V fuse panel. I’ll add a panel with USB and cigarette plugs soon that will also contain a switch to turn the Orion on/off. I’m not really sure how much 12V I’ll need, but it’s there for whatever comes.

Now, if Renogy will get my two-weeks-overdue panels here, I will be able to finish this up!

View attachment 15894
View attachment 15895
Click to expand...

Very nice. Thank you for sharing. I am curious why you added a separate MPPT charger. Doesn't the Multiplus have a built in charger? And on that note, does the second charger "talk to" the Multiplus in anyway since they are both Victron?
 
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