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Expert Power, 200AH, basic version are around $900 at Amazon, sometimes with $120-150 off with coupon.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CJYSG3H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&th=1
After insulating my battery and sticking a small heating mat under it, it was time to test it.
Happy to report that thing is pretty nice. With -9°C outdoor and a battery at -6°C, the mat progressively warmed it up to 2°C under 1 hour and would have continued if I did not stop it.
Without much else going on (in a 24v system), it drew ~ 80 watts before 0°C and then moved to ~ 56 watts.
The temp sensor is on top of the battery (on the positive terminal) while the mat is underneath the battery so it should be healthy measures.
Time to get smart with the relay and I should be able to harness more solar power! Today is a lost cause because the panels are covered by a sheet of snowy ice 😅.
Finrel stranded welding wire is pretty much the standard for inverter and battery interconnects. DLO cable can be used too, but its also finely stranded, more expensive and only required for code compliant depending on your jurisdiction.
Something like this should work for you. How big is your inverter tho? It may be worth going with a larger guage incase you upgrade the system in the future.
I haven't seen those, what we have ready access to over here are the push fit single use pieces (which honestly would work 90% of the time). They're still rather expensive here in comparison at $22 for 50 and it looks like they only go to 12g (I'm not super familiar with them because they're not common here so I'm probably incorrect). For reference, red wire nuts (suppose to be able to hold three 12g wires which seems to be the max for Wago 222's) is $15± for 100 at our local hardware stores.
You don't need that. The load on the 12V power supply is your 12V lights, water pump, and refrigerator. The 12V power supply is replacing a 12V battery. You feed the 12V power supply 120V from your EcoFlow. You are going to have the EcoFlow on anyway running the AC and other appliances, use it to also run your limited 12V loads.
Then you have one power source with the EcoFlow. One gauge to look at for state of charge, and one thing to charge from your generator.
You use this for fuses for your 12V loads.
https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Waterproof-Automotive-Negative-Indicator/dp/B09NVJSD47
If you want to go that way, run your 12V stuff off the Delta Pro and don't mess with the 12V battery at all. It adds more complexity then you need. If the 12V output does not have the amps to do what you want, use a 12V power supply to run the 12V stuff off the AC side of the Delta Pro.
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Regulated-Switching-Converter-Transformer/dp/B08LDC41B6
You don't. The cells themselves you can't make at home. You can buy just the cells and "assemble" your own by gluing them a sheet of glass and soldering two wires to them.
https://www.amazon.com/SUNYIMA-100pcs-Polycrystalline-Silicon-2x2inch/dp/B0895XHPKT
Note that the soldering part tends to be difficult with these things without the experience and right equipment.
Used 250 watt solar panels go for about $50 on the online classifieds if you want to buy something and connect up different stuff to it and go that way.
You can also get a solar garden light and harvest the parts out of and set it up as a display that way.
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To figure it out, you measure how much power the well draws times how long it is on. You can use a data logger for this.
https://www.amazon.com/Extech-DL160-Voltage-Current-Datalogger/dp/B004OSHVQK
So this may be out of your price range but I got GoalZero's Flagship "generator", but you can also get lower WH versions for less $. These "lithium-Generators" are very safe, reliable, and compact with EVERYthing you need in one little package (minus the solar panels). Here is their flagship model:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08MBDN4VK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you use a battery protection circuit/module with your build then the 15V/4.5A supply would probably work, but it's kinda a brute force method. I'd suggest that you take the time to invest in a general purpose voltage regulator(*) so you can precisely control the voltage and current -- and watch to see the status and ensure you're not overcharging. Such a regulator could be used with any style of battery or even used to power DC devices like a laptop by setting the voltage/current properly.
*These regulators can be found in numerous voltage/current limits; dig around a bit. You still need an additional DC supply to input into it, but that supply can be any AC/DC supply or battery.
Not sure of the math, but yes on the 6 x 12v x 200AH Batteries. These are them here:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CJYSG3H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&th=1
I cant comment much on those units and I've never used them, but I haven't heard anything bad about them either. Their price seems good.
For mounting, I'd recommend:
1) Use a waterproof glanded cable entry cover like this, and face the glands towards the back of the RV: https://www.amazon.com.au/Solar-Weatherproof-Double-Project-Campervan/dp/B0111RNZDY
2) Cabling should be outdoor rated solar cable. The cabling will have an outer UV stabilised sheath, then inner sheath, then wires. You can use single core cables and pass one each though each gland, then terminate each one with an MC4 connector (one male, one female). This the industry standard. If your panel doesn't have MC4 connectors then I'd recommend removing the existing connectors (or even the whole cable) and adding on MC4's.
2) Sikaflex is incredibly strong and reliable for gluing the panel to an RV roof, no bolts required. Not silicone, genuine polyurethane Sikaflex like 252 or 522. You can either glue long aluminium brackets down and screw the panel to those, or glue the panel directly. Direct gluing is good for the flexible panels but you have to be more careful to allow some drainage paths. Google for the tips on how to apply it correctly.
You need to search for a solar "boost" charge controller. This will charge higher voltage batteries from lower voltage panels.
I've never used them but an example here for 36V lithium batteries, plus it's waterproof:
https://www.amazon.com/Genasun-GVB-8-Li-41-7V-WP-Waterproof-Controller-Batteries/dp/B087RTDLRP
adjustable for voltage and current. ive had 2 of these and have had them running for months on end with no issue, but i was running them at 5a, not the rated 12.
Assuming these are NOT sealed batteries, this is what an equalizing charge is for.
You get one of these (and read the instructions on how to use it).
https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4619-Professional-Battery-Hydrometer/dp/B0050SFVHO
And take a measurement of each cell and note the reading. Then add water if needed, then you start an equalizing charge leaving the caps off the batteries with lots of ventilation. Really boil the batteries for a few hours.
Take a reading with the hydrometer every hour. When they are all the same reading, the pack is balanced. Stop charging them and add more water, and you are good for several months.
Drilling a hole in the side of your house is the simple way to do it. Anything else is going to be more complicated.
You can also get a box like this: https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Edge-Power-Weatherproof-Outlet/dp/B07KWD1V1B
Or a regular "cable entry gland" that is typically used on RVs but will also work on a house.
use this ^^^ to get the voltage down to 13.8v. that float charge for lead acid battery. just set it at 13.8 and let it run forever. it will work okayish.
you really need 3 stages to charge a lead acid battery the right way, but this work fine, just takes longer. also makes it easy to upgrade to lithium as you can just change the output voltage to match new batteries.
I've been planning on doing basically this on a building I own. In my setup I'll have 2000w of solar (8 older panels) that I'll run into a grid tied inverter. If the grid goes down I'll redirect 4 of those panels into a charge controller to service the battery bank. When the grid is up, my battery bank charge will be maintained by the Aims charger/transfer/inverter unit that will run a lighting circuit and a fridge. The unit runs as a pass through with 20a grid AC running into it.
Personally I'd run a single dc disconnect before the A/B switch.
I recently picked up one of these switches, and I think it'll get the job done.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SKNMY9P?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details
Every battery has slightly different internal resistance. You need something like this to keep them balanced
Yeah that should be more than enough I think. Before this upgrade I am doing I was using the battery bank below and a 25 watt panel. It would take a day or two for full charge in direct sunlight.
ROCKPALS 300W Portable Power Station, 280wh (78000mAh) Solar Generator with 110V Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet, USB-C PD Input/Output, QC 3.0, CPAP Backup Lithium Battery for Outdoor Camping Emergency https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LVTXJRG/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_SEFK31FWPYV9VPD10FZW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Does appear that it might work, it's just an over-charge protection board.
I'd try for something (for use in between each panel + battery combo) like that, or perhaps like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Aleyfeng-Controler-Regulator-Parameter-Adjustable/dp/B0987N1MPN/
Can you please explain why this is needed after the capacitor and what the capacitor does?
Is this what I would need?
Battery Charge Controller Protection Switch Digital Display On Off Relay Charge Controller for 12V 24V Battery https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07415C9VJ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_HRK5BB6JV72YSAY37SWN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The graphing is done with a program called grafana. https://grafana.com/ It can be used to graph pretty much anything. It's a bit complicated to get going but very powerful. No idea what hardware/software he's using to get the data from his charge controller into grafana.
I found an Inverter/Charger that I think will work for my situation. It might be overkill, but if I ever want to add loads to my system (I'm thinking about a mini split AC system in the future for my living and dining room), this will probably handle the load. It's pretty pricey, but I like the idea of combining the charging and inverter into one unit. It will also automatically switch to grid/shore power when it's available, which means I can use a switch that runs on a timer or other remote control to charge when my house batteries are full. If I could find a smaller system like 3000 W for 48 v that was a lot cheaper I would consider it but there just doesn't seem to be as many options for 48 v.
In germany they sell micro inverter for up to 800 w of solar power which have an power plug. You can put that power plug directly in your ac homepower inlet and supply your baseload. But you will loose energy which is not used unless your electricity meter is gona spin backwards.
the output will be at some voltage - if you covert that voltage to 12V, or whatever the fully charged voltage of your battery is (either boost up, or step down) then you can connect it to your battery and it will charge. but really you should use a solar charge controller like this one
i found the item on amazon i purchased a few years ago here.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HBOPJ3U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .
since you are here what are your thoughts on this panel package i am considering. im trying to go as cheap as possible.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TVMX9D2/ref=twister_B07TTMLWJW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
That connector does not include a diode as diodes are not used in that way in the industry. That cable does nothing special other than splice them togetehr, it just prevents you from having to use a jbox.
You do not need to use these Y connectors, just giving other ideas. Also, if you really want to add a diode you can. They are inexpensive. It adds another failure point so I wouldn't, but that's up to you. Here is an example of an easy way to add diodes to each string: https://www.amazon.com/ZOOKOTO-Solar-Panel-Connector-Waterproof/dp/B07SWTJ4FH/ref=sr_1_5
Nope. It is possible if you have some unusual situation where you have one string in complete sun and the other in complete darkness and the path through the other string is lower resistance than the intended path to the CC. This would be highly unusual and the amperage would be so low anyway it wouldn't damage anything. Thing is it just wont happen. Huge ground mounts of millions of modules are installed with out string diodes for reference.
Typically you will combine in a junction box near the solar and bring back a single home run set. For two strings you could even do something like this https://www.amazon.com/PowMr-Branch-Connectors-Parallel-Connection/dp/B0822QMRCW/ref=sr_1_20?
I have never used that particular brand, just a link to give you an idea of the product so you can avoid messing with a jbo.