Victron Quattro DIY Battery Off Grid Build

[CVCPJared]

Alright, I'd say the build is finally far enough along to start posting stuff. No exciting electrical yet, but the structure is there...definitely past the point of no return. I installed my current solar system on our current house maybe 6-7 years ago, just the racking on the house and ~8kw solar panels, and let the electricians do the grid interconnect and inverter. We're moving out to the country so time for a new system. This is my first off-grid build, so naturally ground mount, DIY Batteries, and parallel inverters and building a seperate shed for it was the only way to go!

We will be fully off-grid. Going with parallel 15k Victron Quattros through a Victron AT (will probably replace with isolation someday, but for now the goal is to just get it up and running with the equipment I have). I'll be doing 5 sets of 16x LF280K's in parallel for ~71kwh to start with, managed by an REC BMS. Will have it all fed off 40x 540w Canadian Solar bifacials on the ground mount, going through a pair of Victon 450/200's. Backup is a Generac 26kwh on propane, hoping to use that no more than 100hrs a year to recharge batteries in Dec/Jan mostly (time will tell). We will be all-electric everything except for the stove, a gas fireplace, and the spa heater.

I've got a lot more to learn than to teach, so advice is greatly appreciated, but hopefully someone also gets something useful out of this, and hopefully not by means of an "I burned my shed down" thred.

Here's to learning some stuff together and not screwing this up!

 

[CVCPJared]

Yeah, i didnt cut down my 8' boards so my 8'5" walls didnt fit the 8' siding
Inspector made us add support on the inside where it meets and let us call it a day

 

[CVCPJared]

Solar poles held above the ground by these contraptions - plans called for 7.5ft deep hole, 3" schedule 40 galvanized only went 5' down so had to suspend them level in a way that didn't move a ton once concrete was poured. Pain in the butt, but did the job. I'm sure there was an easier way

 

[Bluedog225]

Looking good.

Are those tamarack post caps on each one? I ask because I thought they were only made to fit 4” pipe.

I’d run your siding down past the slab edge about 2” to be certain that water will not enter. In addition to the overlapping tyvek you already have.

Good time to put some boric acid and DE on the floor plates if you are going to finish out the inside walls.

 

[CVCPJared]

Are those tamarack post caps on each one?

They're Iron Ridge, and they're for the 3" (aka 3.5") Schedule 40.

I’d run your siding down past the slab edge about 2” to be certain that water will not enter.

Thanks, yeah I've got some cement fiber board that matches the house to put on it.

boric acid and DE

Boric acid for pests i assume? DE = Diatomaceous Earth? I hadn't heard of that being used to treat anything long term, how would that work?

I treated my battery shelves with borax/boric acid mix for fire retardant, pest deterant being a bonus side effect

 

[Bluedog225]

Yeah. Both boric and diatomaceous earth for pests. depending on where in California you are. Both relatively harmless.

 

[B-ManFX4]

Looks like an awesome, fun build.

Question - will the Generac have some sort of coverage / protection from the sun? I know they are "outdoor" units but I see them with the weathered appearance quite often around here.

Thanks for sharing. I hope to be doing the same thing in 2025 and I'm always looking for good ideas from others undertaking the same type of projects.

 

[CVCPJared]

Looks like an awesome, fun build.

Question - will the Generac have some sort of coverage / protection from the sun? I know they are "outdoor" units but I see them with the weathered appearance quite often around here.

Thanks for sharing. I hope to be doing the same thing in 2025 and I'm always looking for good ideas from others undertaking the same type of projects.

Thanks! Yeah, you're right - I hope to make a little lean-to over the Generac at some point. The power shed is maybe 4ft to the East, Solar will be maybe 4ft to the West, fence to the North. So mainly just a few hours of sun and some rain on windless days...enough for me to procrastinate that project a little while for now

 

[NC_hydro]

Area looks a lot like the area where my uncle lives just north of Lodi. Should have great sun there

 

[CVCPJared]

Area looks a lot like the area where my uncle lives just north of Lodi. Should have great sun there

Yup, same valley as Lodi, we're within an hour or so drive from there

I followed your build a lot, as I'm planning to use lots of similar equipment, so thank you for that! Wish I had bought the 10k 120v Quattros like you did, but I already bought the 15k 230v ones back in May before I realized they were going to be a little more difficult to work with

 

[NC_hydro]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. 24kw continuous will be crazy and 50kw surge

Are you going to be sad you won't be able to join in on the myriads of EG4 threads about their beta boxes not working properly?

 

[CVCPJared]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. 24kw continuous will be crazy and 50kw surge

Yeah, my wife was only OK with off-grid if she basically couldnt tell we had it. If I'm telling her to turn the toaster off because the AC is running, it wasn't going to fly. There were so many numbers I was guessing at, so I probably overestimated my overestimates to be on the safe side of my ignorance.

Are you going to be sad you won't be able to join in on the myriads of EG4 threads about their beta boxes not working properly?

Haha, no. I'm OK missing out on some things in life. Though I'm not confident enough to boast about the reliability of my still boxed-up system quite yet either hahaha

 

[NC_hydro]

You got this! Plenty of blue army on here to help as you progress.

 

[CVCPJared]

Thank you, I appreciate that. Never would have made the plunge if it weren't for the info and people on this forum.

 

[Haze]

Just wondering how you plan to get CA to approve the Victron stuff.

I’m also running Victron in CA off grid, with no permits but I’m way away from the road and peaking eyes and the nearest power is literally 20 miles away.

 

[CVCPJared]

Technically I got approved permits with all the equipment on the plans already. I had it stamped by an electrical engineer, which was 1 requirement of theirs, and from things others have said on the forum - that might be the reason they let it pass. I'm going to leave it at that for now and will share a little more once I'm in the clear. Still got a bit of a fear of that becoming an issue at the 11th hour

 

[CVCPJared]

Progress photo. Not all lined up yet, just getting them up there to start with

 

[B-ManFX4]

Progress photo. Not all lined up yet, just getting them up there to start with

Any chance of you posting a close-up of the rails and mounting hardware holding them to the main structure?

 

[Bluedog225]

That’s starting to look like work….

 

[WorldwideDave]

Going with parallel 15k Victron Quattros through a Victron AT (will probably replace with isolation someday, but for now the goal is to just get it up and running with the equipment I have). I'll be doing 5 sets of 16x LF280K's in parallel for ~71kwh to start with, managed by an REC BMS. Will have it all fed off 40x 540w Canadian Solar bifacials on the ground mount, going through a pair of Victon 450/200's. Backup is a Generac 26kwh on propane, hoping to use that no more than 100hrs a year to recharge batteries in Dec/Jan mostly (time will tell). We will be all-electric everything except for the stove, a gas fireplace, and the spa heater.

I've been on this forum just long enough to understand EVERYTHING you just said. Will be watching this thread!

 

[CVCPJared]

That’s starting to look like work….

That's good to hear, because it's felt like work for a very long time now lol

I've been on this forum just long enough to understand EVERYTHING you just said. Will be watching this thread!

I only understood half, so I might need you to explain to me what I said later on in this project

 

[CVCPJared]

Any chance of you posting a close-up of the rails and mounting hardware holding them to the main structure?

Of course! Rails aren't locked in the right spot yet so don't judge me for 1 u-bolt side being an inch higher than the other

 

[Bluedog225]

I’d be compelled to sleeve those. Inside or out. Or weld tabs. Just my ocd.

 

[CVCPJared]

I’d be compelled to sleeve those. Inside or out. Or weld tabs. Just my ocd.

I was going to splice it with some self-tapping screws, but they're schedule 40.
Ironridge support was throwing a fit about me possibly putting 3" OD mechanical tubing or 2.875" OD schedule 40, or anything non-galanized inside my 3.068" ID pipe. They said over posts like this was OK and I got help from my brother-in-law welding the one spot that wasn't over a pipe. I'm open to suggestions but not experienced enough to confidently wing a better solution here

 

[WorldwideDave]

+1 to the sleeve idea.
I have put up some racking lately and the wind blew maybe 30 MPH and after it died down I took the day off work to add additional bracing/supports. If you can 'sleeve' inside probably better than outside; not sure I would do PVC, though - if you can get even 12" pieces of that 2.875 and slip it in then tighten your ubolts down I think that small investment may prevent something far worse from happening. I am loving this thread by the way.