Small Off Grid Solar System ... I'm Taking the Solar Plunge

 
User avatar
tjnamtiw
Member
Posts: 364
Joined: Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 11:15 am
Other Heating: Sopka Cook stove

Post by tjnamtiw » Tue. Aug. 04, 2015 11:15 pm

McGiever wrote:Is your 2000 watt inverter "surge rated" at the typical 2X normal max running watts? (4000 watts surge in your case)

Curious as to the in-rush current causing this tripping. As you say, 1/0 wire is never going to be any issue.
What's the DC voltage? Are the 6X6 volt batteries all in series? If so, this can possibly be a "bottleneck" for peak amps.
Larry has his 4X6 volt batteries in series but they are physically huge in size with equally huge lead plates inside, but only has #3 wire size jumpers throughout.

How did you make a chest freezer be a fridge? Did you just make/allow a higher temp setpoint on it?
Yea, it's a Xantrex Pro SW with 4000 amp surge but as a later poster confirmed, fridges and freezers can, on occasion, demand huge starting currents. I even went as far as to put one of the 'miracle' surge capacitors on the freezer but no go. It only happens once a week or two but you need an alarm to warn you that the thing has tripped.
As for the freezer to fridge conversion, I bought a digital temperature control from Aliexpress in China for around $12 including shipping! Wired it to a solid state relay for higher current (also from Aliexpress) and enclosed the whole thing. Ran the sensor into the freezer/fridge and taped it to a bottle of water for a more constant temp source. Works great to keep my beverages and a few other things at 35 degrees. Since it's a chest freezer, opening the door doesn't lose all the cold. It cycles maybe once every 1/2 hour to hour for 5 minutes max sitting out in the 100 degree garage.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Auto ... 92327.html

Oh, I have my 6 batteries wired as 12 volt and three sets in parallel. It can go about 3 days without sun. Gotta watch the specific gravity though as getting below 50% on any deep cycle battery is death on longevity.


 
User avatar
davidmcbeth3
Member
Posts: 8505
Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra

Post by davidmcbeth3 » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 2:28 am

McGiever wrote:Everyone else without your car will have to do it another way.
But thanks for stopping by to say so.
You can use any car to keep the frig stuff cold ... run it off the car battery when running ... every 4 hours or so.

Just an option for folks to know about. Who wants a generator? Gotta run them at least once or twice a month etc. Pain in butt.

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 9:13 am

Looks great Larry. Keep us posted on the performance.

Have to run a generator once per month? I am not sure what you are doing, but my experience over the last 6 years has been quite different. I start my 5000w generator about every 6 months, and replace the gas annually. I have used it for 2 power outages in that time, and it performed as expected. 5000w requires some thought about what to run in the house, but at least it allows us to have water.

If we were not on a well I would probably consider an inverter for my truck.

 
User avatar
tjnamtiw
Member
Posts: 364
Joined: Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 11:15 am
Other Heating: Sopka Cook stove

Post by tjnamtiw » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 9:13 am

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
McGiever wrote:Everyone else without your car will have to do it another way.
But thanks for stopping by to say so.
You can use any car to keep the frig stuff cold ... run it off the car battery when running ... every 4 hours or so.

Just an option for folks to know about. Who wants a generator? Gotta run them at least once or twice a month etc. Pain in butt.
You still need a sizable inverter and good, heavy duty leads AND gas. Without the heavy leads, you'll drop so much voltage across the skinny leads when a big current is drawn, that the inverter will shut down on low voltage. You will often see this scenario on forums where people can't understand why their inverters won't work. In the case of a major electrical grid attack, there won't BE any gas for a long time. People will literally be fighting to get gas for their generators and cars.

 
User avatar
McGiever
Member
Posts: 10130
Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 9:44 am

People on parts of the east coast still have very vivid memories of Hurrican Sandy and the losses of basic living necessities.

When strife hits elsewhere it is a darn shame...when strife hits YOU (or yours) it is a friggen tragedy. :o

 
User avatar
Lightning
Site Moderator
Posts: 14659
Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 10:06 am

My generator has a total run time of about 50 hours, it's 12 years old and I run it for 30 minutes every 6 months roughly. It's important to shut it down by turning off the fuel valve so it uses up any gas in the carburetor.

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 1:03 pm

Rob R. wrote:Looks great Larry. Keep us posted on the performance.

Have to run a generator once per month? I am not sure what you are doing, but my experience over the last 6 years has been quite different. I start my 5000w generator about every 6 months, and replace the gas annually. I have used it for 2 power outages in that time, and it performed as expected. 5000w requires some thought about what to run in the house, but at least it allows us to have water.

If we were not on a well I would probably consider an inverter for my truck.
I don't even own a generator. I do have a rectifier (battery charger) as part of the solar install. It will only be used when the sun can't charge the batteries.

So far (since Sunday) there have been no issues with the system keeping up with running our refrigerator/freezer and our deep freezer. I need to find more loads to apply to it.


 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 8:07 pm

Come to think of it, in a round about way the batteries and inverter serve as our our generator, and (thanks to the 4 solar panels) the sun is our generators fuel supply.

 
User avatar
WNY
Member
Posts: 6307
Joined: Mon. Nov. 14, 2005 8:40 am
Location: Cuba, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90K, Leisure Line Hyfire I
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Contact:

Post by WNY » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 8:27 pm

SOunds like a decent system.

I converted my sisters farm house from Wind (broken turbine) to Solar. I am using 2 x 230 Watt panels right now (4 x 250 watt panels yet to be installed). FM60 Outback Controller, and 12 x 6 volt golf cart batteries. 690aHr total. Run into 2 x 2000W Xentrex? Full sine wave Inverters. The house is completely OFF GRID. We do have a generator backup if needed. never had to run it. Mostly a weekend get away. Been running for 2 years now, check the water levels every month or so, but very efficient use of hte controller and the batteries stay charged nicely.

Attachments

solar_panels.jpg

2 x 230W PANELS IN SERIES

.JPG | 207.7KB | solar_panels.jpg
controller_Mar_2015.jpg

OUTBACK CONTROLLER FM60

.JPG | 211.8KB | controller_Mar_2015.jpg
inverters_chargers.jpg

2000WATT INVERTERS/CHARGERS 24vdc TO 110VAC FULL SINE WAVE (220VAC)

.JPG | 135.4KB | inverters_chargers.jpg
battery_bank.jpg

6 Volt Golf Cart Batteries GC135 230Ahr each. 4 in Series for 24VDC.

.JPG | 202.9KB | battery_bank.jpg

 
User avatar
tjnamtiw
Member
Posts: 364
Joined: Fri. Jan. 10, 2014 11:15 am
Other Heating: Sopka Cook stove

Post by tjnamtiw » Wed. Aug. 05, 2015 10:25 pm

Nice setup WNY! Once you get those last 4 panels on there, it will be ready for full time use! Plenty of battery capacity, which is what I lack. Those MPPT controllers are great. Mine is a Morningstar 60 amp, which I have hooked to a laptop for monitoring.

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. Aug. 06, 2015 5:25 am

lsayre wrote:
Rob R. wrote:Looks great Larry. Keep us posted on the performance.

Have to run a generator once per month? I am not sure what you are doing, but my experience over the last 6 years has been quite different. I start my 5000w generator about every 6 months, and replace the gas annually. I have used it for 2 power outages in that time, and it performed as expected. 5000w requires some thought about what to run in the house, but at least it allows us to have water.

If we were not on a well I would probably consider an inverter for my truck.
I don't even own a generator. I do have a rectifier (battery charger) as part of the solar install. It will only be used when the sun can't charge the batteries.

So far (since Sunday) there have been no issues with the system keeping up with running our refrigerator/freezer and our deep freezer. I need to find more loads to apply to it.
My comment about the generator was directed at davidmcbeth, who had stated that generators have to be run once or twice per month...which is not accurate.

 
User avatar
davidmcbeth3
Member
Posts: 8505
Joined: Sun. Jun. 14, 2009 2:31 pm
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea/anthra

Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. Aug. 06, 2015 11:45 am

Rob R. wrote:
My comment about the generator was directed at davidmcbeth, who had stated that generators have to be run once or twice per month...which is not accurate.
My generator's manufacturer says once a month for 30 min .... what your generator's manufacturer requires may vary.

 
KLook
Member
Posts: 5791
Joined: Sun. Feb. 17, 2008 1:08 pm
Location: Harrison, Tenn
Other Heating: Wishing it was cold enough for coal here....not really

Post by KLook » Thu. Aug. 06, 2015 3:25 pm

At the correctional facility, the generators were started and run for 30 min every week with a load test being done every month.
I built several homes with generators built into the system from the start, mostly propane fired. These units ran every week on a timed schedule. Buying a generator and calling it a back up generator may not be what the manufacturer had in mind for it.

Kevin

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Wed. Sep. 09, 2015 7:06 pm

Update: Roughly one month plus one week of running the homes refrigerator/freezer and deep freezer (simultaneously) on merely a 1,500 Watt inverter, and not a single inverter "trip" (from these sources) so far.

And along the way we have ran the following items off the inverter several to multiple times:

Vacuum
Microwave (the only thing that has caused an occasional inverter trip, it being a 1,500 input and 1,100 output Watt microwave. Our Kill-A-Watt meter says 1,460 Watts.)
Bread Machine
Washing Machine
Portable Induction Cooktop
Coffee Pot
Coffee Grinder
Toaster
Others I can't even remember right now

Plus so far we have not had to run the battery charger once. The solar panels have been doing all of the battery recharging.

 
User avatar
WNY
Member
Posts: 6307
Joined: Mon. Nov. 14, 2005 8:40 am
Location: Cuba, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90K, Leisure Line Hyfire I
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Contact:

Post by WNY » Wed. Sep. 09, 2015 7:51 pm

Larry - Good Job. Just takes a little conservation, but looks like you are mastering it. !


Post Reply

Return to “Wood, Pellets, Gas, Oil, Geothermal & Other Heating Types”