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This is kind of ugly and could have been done better, but it was great for camping. Essentially just a basic small solar system using a cheap PWM controller and two 7.2AH lead acid gel batteries. I also had an arduino setup so it can auto power off if voltage gets too low as well as show a...

In telecom we pretty much just go by the voltage. Float is at 54 volts (2.25v per cell) for a 48v system when AC power is on and rectifiers are running. So when power goes out and the load is running off the batteries, the voltage will typically drop to around 49.x volts fairly fast. It...

People here seem to crap a lot on lead acid but they're not THAT bad for the price and easy availability. Lithium is more expensive to buy initially and not as easy to get, and it's a tech that's improving and will probably get cheaper and more available with time but now they are just not as...

Ah no that's not me at the Ford forum, I guess I must have an imposter. :P So the trees are completely gone now! That one branch in front looked easy in the picture but in reality it was a hard one which is why I left it. I kept looking at it too thinking I can do it then when I started to...

This is sorta a work in progress from a few years ago, since I currently have zero automation involved (low voltage shut off etc) so I tend to just turn it on as required. I plan to eventually do all that. Right now It's off and the panels are covered in snow and ice so I don't bother in...

Here's what I would do: Rectifiers(AC/DC power supply) -> batteries -> inverters. Rectifiers are powered by commercial AC, inverter powers the backed up panel. You can then charge batteries with solar too, the rectifiers just need to kick on if voltage is too low. That way you're not...

Interesting I figured a high level solar flare was much harder to protect against and that a simple faraday cage was not enough. And yeah I lumped EMP all together, as it's a sorta similar type of threat in the sense that it's sending tons of energy out that can damage electronics. A solar...

So wiring is done, did end up going with resistor, I feel better doing it that way than wondering if the switch is being damaged every time I use it. This is more or less the final product. The solar panels stow away in front and door closes over them. The two small switches at the bottom...

Been interested in solar for a while now and have played with small systems including a 400w setup on my shed, and been watching some of Will's videos so figured I'd join. It's my dream to eventually build an off grid homestead as I just like the idea of being more self sufficient energy wise...

I find with climate change we get way more weird weather patterns here now including freezing rain or wet snow. This ends up causing a crust on the panels which cannot be brushed off like regular snow. I have a 400w system on my shed which I just turn off completely in winter but it would be...

Could be that you have fibre to the node, and the node batteries are shot. They are typically not any bigger than what's in a standard UPS but setup as a 48v config, usually 8 12v batteries (2 strings). I've heard of techs being able to charge these with their truck in a pinch. Not sure if...

Years back I put 400w of solar panels on my shed, it was feeding a small battery and 350w inverter, and I always had the intention of upgrading that setup and mounting it on the wall so I can make it look decent, as it was just sitting on the ground. So recently that's what I did. There is...

That's my issue too if I decide to put panels on the house, they would be at the same angle as the shed ones, except I would not have enough ground clearance to get to them with the long broom due to the angle of the roof. Ex: I would have to back all the way up to the neighbour's house and...

Here's some of the videos on the solar setup: (my hair was so short back then and it's weird to see myself without a beard haha) There's other videos of the shed build and some solar related ones but those are the main ones. Looking back I probably should have provided more details...

My goal is to eventually live off grid, bought the property now I need to start building, will be a long process due to work and often lack of good (non rain) days to go work on it, but with inflation I won't be able to keep living in the city if I want to eventually retire. But yeah, need to...

The panels are out of the equation when I connect it, it's just the charge controller alone, as the battery does power it to show the display etc. It seems they decided to put a fairly beefy capacitor in there on the battery side. I might go ahead and just add the resistor anyway to be safe. I...

You definitely want something that has a bit of intelligence, such as a delay before switching. A fast transfer switch could work for non motor equipment such as computers if you're trying to use the transfer system as a UPS, but for general purpose where you're going to plug anything in it...

Yeah I would avoid mixing batteries. Not just because of age but because they are not made equal especially over the years. You can buy the exact same model number a year later, and it will be different than the one you bought before. What I would personally do with oddball mixed batteries...

Some more expensive inverters will do a 120/240 split phase system which is what you'd want.

I always kind of wondered myself if doing cycling once in a while is a better idea than constantly letting it full charge. I know doing equalize once in a while is good too but not sure if it's enough on it's own.

Yeah I'm 33 and life is too short and time is going by too fast. I want to do it as soon as possible before I'm too old. I don't even know where the last 10 years went and I'm not any more ahead than I was 10 years ago because all the money I make just goes towards bills and other costs of...

Since you already have a 12v system wired I'd lean towards two systems myself, do a 24 or 48v system for all the AC stuff and that would be your main system. Have the solar panels charge that system up only, then have that system charge the 12v system. Consider the 12v system as basically a...

One tree is in my front yard, it started to split in half. I cut most of it myself but there's one section going over the house that I rather hire out. The other tree is in the back, and it's too risky to do myself so I will hire out. That one just started to die and is rotting inside out and...

If the DC one is from a reputable brand that is backed by HVAC techs I would go for it, but if it's some Wun Hung Lo brand off Ebay or Amazon I would avoid it, as there will be zero support. Drawback is that they are probably less common so may be hard to even find one but if you can find a...

When solar started to remotely get popular this is what I was afraid would start to happen. Any time something starts to get popular the government wants to regulate it and make it harder and more expensive for people to do it. Just look at what they did with drones. RC aircrafts have always...

Everything is prewired so everything gets hooked up at once, technically. Charge controller and inverter both connected to battery, the switch would then take the battery out of circuit. The solar panels are plugged in the back so are disconnected from circuit when the station is being setup...

Yeah this would not be a permanent setup anyway, just a bench test thing. I've done much worse when it comes to safety with temporary setups lol. The cat stays out of the room for those questionable experiments so that nothing that should not be licked gets licked. If I needed a DC power...

Going to cycle it a few times while it's within warranty period and see how it goes... I put clear plastic tape over the cell caps, if there is any leakage it should cause a bulge in the tape or something visible at least. Also been measuring temp of cells to see if any are warmer than others...

I won't be typically loading it up to it's full capacity, I just like the ability to be able to momentarily (ex: mitre saw) if I need. I did 1800w as a test and yeah the voltage drop is massive and I also lose capacity much faster. Typically though I'll be pulling 400w or so, maybe 800w. It...

That's the problem, a few bad actors ruin it for everyone else. 99% of people are going to be responsible and not fly near an airport. Instead of dealing with those few bad actors they punish everyone. Now you need a license and registration for anything under 250g...