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System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
From northern ontario Canada, Have a camp that I am powering with either a 1000 or 2800 yamaha inverter style generator. The camp us 20 x 25 and has 2 bedrooms, a cirly 13 wat in each bedroom and sunporch. three 23 watt ones in rest of camp. one in steam bath and four in garage, but usually only two or three are on at the most times.
No phone as in cell but have a 12 volt radio phone much like a moterolla cb and have a car radio made by Pioneer, it is 12 volt. What I had been doing is I had two 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries, and two cheap not in price but qualaty Canadian tire 4 mil amp panels. Every second day I would recharge the batteries with a Natulis Smart Charger 15-10-2 amp charger. the panels were there mainly to keep the batteries from freezing in the winter.
With the high price of gas I have decided, sort of to go partial solar.
I have a Sun tech 85 watt panel 4.83amps 1000 xantrex x power inverter, Matrix Solyte MPPT 25 amp charge controler, and another two 120 or125 amp hour Trojan Batteries they are 6 volt wire to make 12. I also recieved 2 Guest battery switches model 2111A.
The question is should I just hook up the phone and radio for know and forget the inverter and panel or try hooking into the 110 panel with the inverter and use the lights, the disconect I thought about but wondered if not plugging the panel into the generator would work and making another plug from the inverter to the main panel. disconect and connect would be a 110 volt three prong plug any suggestions
Bill
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: new and first post

    in general i'm confused by what you are saying. now you are already using 12v batteries charged by ac chargers and to me just saying go ahead and add the solar power and controllers to charge them is a given, but then you said something like this, "the disconnect I thought about but wondered if not plugging the panel into the generator would work and making another plug from the inverter to the main panel" and if you intend to invert the battery power and feed it to the generator like a grid-tie arrangement, don't do it. you can isolate battery and pv systems to operate only certain things if you wish when the batteries are differing makes, models, and ages and there's many wiring arrangement possibilities there.
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
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    Re: new and first post

    instead of getting better with age I sometimes wonder if it is getting worse, yes I confuse my self sometimes.
    The way the original system was made when I bought the place was that in the garage, 40 ft from the camp, the owner had his generator located. There were three male plugs on underground cables, One was going to steam bath and when you wanted lights or plug in for 110 you started generator and plugged in male end plug to generator. the same for garage the camp had a panel and he kept trying to tell me it was wired for solar. It had a 110 220 panel with 10 15amp breakers. The problem was some wall plugs in the camp would not work, when I tested them they were only getting , if I can remember 60 volts. I do not know much about electricity I was a millwright and our electrical work consisted of two hacksaw blades. cut off cable until it blows first blade and cut off cable the rest of way with second blade. Anyways a electrican said that the panel was split and had the ground wired into the neutral and some how only half of 110 getting to some breakers, so he re wired every second breaker and know all plugs and lights work on 110.
    I was just using 12 volt to do what stated in first post.
    I thought to split the banks in two, with the switch and charge them with the new panel, seperately. Then confussion stepped in or greed or stupidity whatever.
    First ideal and question if I wire solar controller to battery switch and take second switch and wire it to generator then to battery will this work and is the natalis smart charger strong enough to charge the Trojan batteries and a good enough charger to give it the required charges. I know that it does the marine batteries, even when they are at 30 % which I have read was wrong to do, so If they are used instead for trolling motor would they be able to be charged by solar.
    Next questions regarding disconnect latter as I am starting to confuse my self
    Bill
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
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    Re: new and first post

    if i'm reading this right, yes you can split batteries into differing banks. also, what one uses the power of the battery on does not mean it can't be charged by solar. you just have to be sure not to deplete your batteries too far and make sure the charge rates are appropriate for your battery capacity and be able to bring the batteries to a full charge.
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