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High Solarnerds, have you had bad experiences with MC4 connectors? I got some recently from Alix - yes dont all jump on me here. It was for the purpose of examining what fake products were like (not for serious use OK). Looking closely at the basic design, its been carefully formulated...

Well guys, I have opened up a can of worms here and rattled a few cages with dodgy dealers on EB. I suspect (correct me if Im wrong Cousins and Canadians), but you have some serious regulatory muscle to back you up if anyone is trying to sell you undersized solar cable and the EE has to sign off...

I have taken delivery of samples of TUV solar cables 6mm2. I was curious to know if these conformed to the specs. Correct me if I am wrong but we should have tinned Cu wire 0.3mm dia x 84 strands. This gives 5.94mm2 thats ok for 70A. The samples I got a) looked genuine printed on the...

@curiouscarbon , I hope you spend time on google/peltier cooling - way too much hype out there - selling beer can coolers for RVs. IRL this system is barely a few percent efficient use of your precious electrical power. IMHO dont waste your time and energy on Peltier. @Frank in Thailand I know...

Now you see, a half truth here, the relay is a contactor and a PTC Thermistor connection goes to the start winding, so as it heat up it de energises the start winding. That all makes sense. It also shows that this PTC relay is not there to limit current inrush as you first implied. Hope...

Yep JR that sums it up very well (dump the MC4s) I like the idea of sharing load current, split it into say 50% paths, dont go loading connectors to max. (eg 2 x 20A paths are more benign than 1 x 40A path - cos heat = I^2*R and the devil is in your contact resistance. I also like the idea of...

Guys these are the standard "Lucas" pattern push fit connectors widely used in the auto industry for decades. However beware Chep Charlie, he makes these out of thinner metal so they dont maintain the spring force between blade and female socket.. Check your self to see the difference. In...

Good User info JR. As you say a lot depends on the environment - and warm marine is the worst. Maybe a take away here (apart from your preferred grease) is that copper - elec connections need to be cataloged and inspected periodically YMMV on nautical locations. But then so much else afloat...

Andy at https://www.youtube.com/@OffGridGarageAustralia/search?query=busbars had a lot of issues with busbars getting hot and studs becoming candles. I am fixing to do some lab tests on these jointing methods. There is such a lot of disinfo around this subject (eg conductive grease, Using...

@chrisski Precharging the caps on the INPUT of an inverter is already recognised as necessary and devices are out there to deal with this. My post deal specifically with the ac OUTPUT of the inverter

Great stuff, so what do you use for protection and balancing? No BMS, over current breaker, main fuse?

AFAIK the convention (code?) is that a fuse link is the last line of defense? All house have that system - a main utility cartridge fuse sealed by the Utility Company (100A) then you got to the board with the main mcb breaker plus all the branch cct mcbs etc. BTW I noticed on Fleabay that...

Can anyone identify the connectors used on the new black JK BMS, for the No3 LCD display 6pin 1mm pitch and carries a thin spade locator - NOT JST AFAIK. Mini JST SH 1.0mm Pitch Wire Connector SH 1mm.

The OP is for the purpose of sharing usage experience and generating informed opinion. Of course there is the often opposing view that ignorance is bliss and better to be uninformed and claim plausible deniability (a popular position adopted by polititions no doubt) Feel free to ignore the OP...

I guess RV guys would know about being careful what piece of kit to start up and in what order, but a domestic household with kids? Solarists with deep pockets can afford BIG inverters $$$$ :ROFLMAO:

FWIW I offer this gem I found http://cmte.ieee.org/pes-essb/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/07/2017-WM-DC-Arc-Flash-Analysis-Fundamental-Concepts-and-Standards-R-Veeraraghavan.pdf Its taken from some very credible research work by leading authorities on dc Arc flash issues. My take on this is...

Indeed ok if you have welded studs. Lots of cells out there with threaded holes. His scattergun approach to testing is informative in some respects but frustrating in others when you are looking for an "real engineering" approach rather than "suck it and see" but I guess he needs drama to...

Ive got some 18650 SiBs in for testing from Hikadi (Alix). They are printed on case as 1500mAh. Hmm. I recently set up a newly acquired ZKE ap20 battery tester (so far seems a nice piece of kit with neat PC Win 10/11 s/w drawing nice compact graphs etc. It does a full automatic CC disch + CC...

Thanx for the heads up, that thought (what to do with excess ac in an island grid) occurred to me last night and fried my skull. Its notable that ac systems havent been adopted on Solar Farms (neither has Panel Solar tracking. They seem to favour, med 500Vdc strings and branch inverters...

Right on bro - there is no doubt there are some very sound guidelines laid down in the site (even as a promo). Sadly Cheap Charlie has infected the whole domain of terminations from thin wall knock offs, crimp tools/anvils dont work giving very unreliable joints, poor quality heat shrink, and...

Serious approach , thats the way. I havent yet seen anyone comment on data logging systems from monitoring battery banks typically say 1hour samples over a year. That .csv data storage is trivial btw ca 3k records easy fit on a USB. I have been trialing systems and have a jaundiced view so...

Hi Guys I dont wish to hijack @milopalmer thread EG4 6500 Inrush Amp Limit but my post is related - hope this is proper etiquette Has anyone made use of thermistor devices (eg Ametherm or others out there) intended for current inrush protection on the load ac side - typically for small domestic...

I had one of these, beast to start (typical poor spark from magneto). Lots of thump G3L and one of these BSA M21 600cc sv - easy starter (geared for sidecar outfits), ride around town in 3rd gear, cr 5.5:1 meant I could run it on paraffine oil - light heating oil) which was 1/5th cost of...

BougeRV supplier of fridges, solar panels etc for recreational vehicles MC4 style connectors - btw the staubli original was not designed for multiple matings as you say YMMV and these are only rated for 30Adc thnx

Hi Guys Happy Yurts:) I was fascinated to read about the problems you faced is such an environment up there Kudes for your ingenuity BTW. As I am currently setting up a home based small scale evaluation program to test out Sodium Ion batteries that have come on the market via Ali from Hina...

The worst nightmare is fire on board afloat, and electrical connections are a serious culprit (especially if one is a bit slapdash about all that stuff - come on own up). PVC sheathed cable gets hard to handle as it ages (with heat) especially around machinery. Silicone cable is a much better...

Worth noting that the boaty crowd must have their craft signed off by ABYC inspector to get insurance. You dont get to dock without insurance, so all your electricals must be to the "CODE". Electrical fires/explosions are a common hazard - given marine setting and sea mist everywhere. I my...

many thanx I didnt know about LYP cells, nor appreciate the merits of the Winston cell - bit over budget for my app but certainly a must have for a serious long term off grid installation - imagine a 20 year fit and forget (well nearly - at least not worry about Mickey Mouse kit. I am following...

Wow guys, this JST NSH https://www.jst-mfg.com/product/pdf/eng/eNSH.pdf is a nightmare. the whole 1.0mm pitch x6 is smaller than my pinkie and I would need special crimp tool to assemble a male wired plug. This is a serious issue against JK BMS cos any loss of connector cables means your BMS...

WOW I am so glad the OP raised this topic. It seems that a lot of DIY constructors are unaware of the consequences of a LiB going ape. Ive just seen an astonishing vid made from a conference of Fire safety professionals and presented by a a leading expert Professor of 20 + years studying the...