Best Of
Re: Low panel voltage on one inverter, normal on the other???? Could they have all failed?
You are very welcome Phil.
Don't fall in love with your inverters/solar charge controllers.
If the solar array has been too high of voltage (over Vpanel-input-max), the hardware may already be damaged or ready for early life failure.
All may be ok... Just a bunch of unknowns and some possible unknowables.
Bill
BB.
0 ·
Re: Red Bricks as New Battery/Super Capacitors (yes, those red bricks used in construction)
A single brick, elevated to a height of 4 feet, when dropped, transfers a lot of energy to your toes.
mike95490
5 ·
Re: Sudden death of 3 auto batteries inside of a week!
But you gotta love those Cummins engines.softdown said:Yet all quite explainable:
1) 2014 battery was an absolute champ at starting a 454 engine. This summer it sounded like the engine turned over at a slower rate. Yesterday the battery was dead in spite of a new charge. Showed 12.8 volts and and just 160 CCA from a 1000 CCA battery. Bit odd to show normal voltage from a dead battery. A 450 CCA battery then started a warm engine quite easily.
2) 10 month old Prius battery was stone dead in spite of recent charge and trip. What killed it? Left the rear hatch open for at least a day a couple weeks ago. Sometimes a 100% discharge can destroy a lead battery pretty quickly. Bit odd.
3) 5.9 Diesel battery was stone dead after being parked a few weeks. The truck had a faulty brake light switch that seemed intermittent in nature. The brake lights did not remain on when last parked. But the battery was stone cold dead anyway. Could not even charge it again. Bit odd. Perhaps related to not being hooked up to the other battery. Perhaps the other battery (drivers side) realised all of the amp charge from the alternator. Replacing brake light switches can be a real nuisance fwiw.
littleharbor2
6 ·
PV input to CC plateaus in Grid Tied Battery Backup system
Seeking expert comments on an issue I am facing. Thanks in advance.
I have a grid tied battery backup system. I recently changed charger settings on MPPT and XW to match with the Battery manufacturer's recommendations.
Since then the PV Input plateaus at 2KW from 10AM to 5PM even on a clear sky day.
Same with the DC Energy In and Out from the MPPTs.
The Grid Output also almost plateaus.
The battery summary chart shows battery current fluctuating between +3 and -3 Amps during night and maintaining at the grid support voltage.
P.S. I haven't yet figured out how to insert images in a discussion. Once I figure it out, I'll insert the charts here.
System configuration follows:
20 panels; two parallel strings of 10 panels each
Two MPPT 80 600 Charge Controllers - each one connected to a string
One XW-6848-01 Inverter/Charger
48V Battery Bank 190Ah capacity; 16A charge current; 4 12V batteries in series; Mfr: Enersys
Per manufacturer, battery Bulk, Absorption and Float voltages are the same at 54.53V at 20 Celsius; Battery temp correction is 3mv/C per cell at 20 Celsius; Total 24 cells.
MPPT settings:
Battery type: Custom (Old Flooded)
Charge cycle: 3 stage (No change)
Nominal voltage: 48V (No change)
Bulk voltage: 54.53 (Old 57.6V)
Absorption voltage:54.53 (Old 57.6V)
Float voltage: 54.53 (Old 54V) )
Recharge voltage: 51V (Old 50V)
Maximum charge rate: 23% (Old 100%)
Equalize voltage: 57.6 (Old 64V)
Battery bank capacity: 190Ah (Old 440Ah)
Battery temp coefficient: -72mv/c (Old -108mv/c)
XW settings:
Battery type: Custom (Old Flooded)
Charge cycle: 2 stage (No change)
Nominal voltage: 48V
Bulk voltage: 54.53 (Old 57.6V)
Bulk termination voltage: 53.53V (Old 54V)
Absorption voltage:54.53 (Old 57.6V)
Float voltage: 54.53 (Not found because of 2 stage cycle)
Recharge voltage: 50V (No change)
Maximum charge rate: 13% (Old 100%)
Equalize voltage: 57.6 (Old 64V)
High battery cutout: 59.53 (Old 65)
Low battery cutout: 39.2 (Old 44)
Battery bank capacity: 190Ah (Old 440Ah)
Battery temp coefficient: -72mv/c (Old -108mv/C)
AC Coupling: Disable (Old Enabled)
Search mode: Disable (Old Enabled)
Grid support voltage: 52 (Old 53)
kiko
0 ·
Re: Use cheap controller for LVD
Most charge controllers (cheap or not) don't have load control functions. If you have to go with a cheap controller it will need to be used as a charge controller and the Morningstar as a load controller. Trace/Xantrex/Schnider Xantrex controllers are another brand that will do load control. You may find a used one fairly cheap, or buy new for something north of a hundred bux.
littleharbor2
5 ·
Re: Midea U Inverter Window Air Conditioner
Yep, got one from Costco a few weeks ago,. 10k unit.
Was a bit confusing to install (we have vinyl widows), but did install with no cutting off the window frame. Just a couple small screw holes for the support frame.
One issue for some folks. No outdoor air venting. If you need fresh air, open another window or door.
Using in a "hot" bedroom with some insulation and double pane windows. Works fine.
Bill
BB.
2 ·
Re: Connecting output of solar and wind generators together
Shouldn't the charge controller take care of the battery charging once it reaches float, even if turbines are turning? The wind turbines are anyway not expected to provide more than a float charge on average in my case.
During day the solar and wind may generate slightly different voltage and connected together in parallel, may adopt the lower voltage of the two like connecting two panels of different rating. The charge controller shouldn't know if the solar or wind is supplying power.
But what I am concerned about is if the wind charge will go into solar panels and solar charge will go into turbine when either of them is idle without voltage potential to block the reverse flow. Anyone has experience using this configuration? Connecting the two source in the same distribution box, reduces the trouble of taking additional wiring as the panels and wind turbine are close together..
During day the solar and wind may generate slightly different voltage and connected together in parallel, may adopt the lower voltage of the two like connecting two panels of different rating. The charge controller shouldn't know if the solar or wind is supplying power.
But what I am concerned about is if the wind charge will go into solar panels and solar charge will go into turbine when either of them is idle without voltage potential to block the reverse flow. Anyone has experience using this configuration? Connecting the two source in the same distribution box, reduces the trouble of taking additional wiring as the panels and wind turbine are close together..
telljf
0 ·
Re: Lead calcium acid batteries opinions
I recently switched to LiFePo4 batteries and am quite happy with them.BB. said:.now, LiFePO4 ("almost" the perfect battery, great for hot weather, light weight, sort of expensive, and usually use a BMS to keep battery from being damaged from under/over voltage).
Finding LiFePO4 batteries at a good price--Their longer cycle/service life can mean a lower total lifetime cost. But they are not usually the first battery bank you want to experiment with unless you need them (light weight, small volume, warm/hot weather performance/life, etc.).
-Bill
I built my bank from scratch with 16 230 ah cells, BMS and active balancer. This gives me 460 ah @24 volts of which over 400 ah. are usable This is somewhat comparable to 8 L-16 batteries. with the added bonus of (hopefully) 4,000 + cycles. When you factor in capacity and lifespan I think I did very well for just under $2,000 and believe this is cheaper than Lead acid.
littleharbor2
5 ·
Re: Mammoth .015kW PV System <grin>
Thanks Bill! I had racked my little pea-brain trying to figure this panel out! Once you mentioned the conductor running down the middle of the cells the fog mystically lifted and I could see the circuit!!! Makes sense now! The next good sunny day I'll try to get a good open circuit volt reading.
Intheswamp
0 ·
Flexmax 60 grounding
My RV's chassis is grounded to the grid power, I've mounted the flexmax 60 directly to the rv wall which means it's also grounded to the grid, is that okay?
waynec5
5 ·