12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
Here in Vermont I haven’t even made 1 KWh total over the last three days. I hate winter.
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Should have known living in a forest would cause problems
- Thread starter dtcboxfit
- Start date
We're looking to mark on the calendar the day that the sun clears over the top of the tree's at noon, then we know on what day our solar will start working again. We're going to put it on our family chat group to give the day a special name
Tony Scott
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2020
- Messages
- 207
the charger you have in your pic is for a 12volt system .
As I am remembering you have a 48 volt system so that won’t work .
As Steve said I would also stay away from that manufacture .
I’m looking at a IOTA brand battery charger not power supply .
It will work with your generator .
I could use a little more charging power so I plan to use it with my inverter .
It like some one turned off the sun here but Most years it’s below zero and snowing .
I think selling a system with out support is a dirty trick , if I had a internet connection
my suppler can log on and tweek my setting from the other side of the country .
I use out back equipment and there is a big on line following so guy can help you .
As I am remembering you have a 48 volt system so that won’t work .
As Steve said I would also stay away from that manufacture .
I’m looking at a IOTA brand battery charger not power supply .
It will work with your generator .
I could use a little more charging power so I plan to use it with my inverter .
It like some one turned off the sun here but Most years it’s below zero and snowing .
I think selling a system with out support is a dirty trick , if I had a internet connection
my suppler can log on and tweek my setting from the other side of the country .
I use out back equipment and there is a big on line following so guy can help you .
Ok maybe these guys can get you up and running , I don’t FB
I had a mentor helping me with my equipment , he was just a guy that learned his system from a mentor .
We are paying it forward kind of speaking .
I think my mentor has passed away , he was older and has not been on line since June 17th
It’s funny from a guy that has been around for 12 years . Check out these guys on face book .
Solar has a learning curve .
I had a mentor helping me with my equipment , he was just a guy that learned his system from a mentor .
We are paying it forward kind of speaking .
I think my mentor has passed away , he was older and has not been on line since June 17th
It’s funny from a guy that has been around for 12 years . Check out these guys on face book .
Solar has a learning curve .
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
I'm seeing you getting multiple recommendations. I don't agree with most as much is left unaddressed on the MP/generator issue.
Have you confirmed that your MP is configured so that it doesn't overload the generator? If your generator is limited to 13.9A, that means you're limited to ~3000W.
If your MP is configured to charge above those levels, you will not be able to charge reliably.
Please read this:
www.victronenergy.com
It discusses all configurable options for dealing with stubborn generators.
Additionally, when you are on generator power, you are effectively limited to the generator's power, i.e., if your charging + loads exceeds the generator's ratings, you will trip the generator or MP.
Have you confirmed that your MP is configured so that it doesn't overload the generator? If your generator is limited to 13.9A, that means you're limited to ~3000W.
If your MP is configured to charge above those levels, you will not be able to charge reliably.
Please read this:
MultiPlus Generator FAQ [Victron Energy]
www.victronenergy.com
It discusses all configurable options for dealing with stubborn generators.
Additionally, when you are on generator power, you are effectively limited to the generator's power, i.e., if your charging + loads exceeds the generator's ratings, you will trip the generator or MP.
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
NOTE: PLEASE ONLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE ITEMS CIRCLED AND THE ACCOMPANYING DESCRIPTION ABOVE OR BELOW THE IMAGE. I AM SHOWING YOU MY CONFIGURATION, WHICH IS FOR A DIFFERENT UNIT WITH NORTH AMERICAN POWER.
You need to set the MP to limit the maximum pull from AC. Recommend 12A in your situation:
Enable Dynamic current limiter.
Start with both disabled (UPS and wide input):
If the generator is too dirty, enabled wide input. DO NOT ENABLE UPS.
Enable power assist:
This will prevent overload of generator if your charging/loads exceed 12A * 230V = 2760W as the MP will supplement the generator.
Review charge parameters:
Enable weak AC input only if necessary.
Since you've limited AC input to 12A, 12A * 230V = 2760W
This means that your absorption voltage * charge current must be no greater than 2760W.
Assuming LFP, 56.8V absorption.
2760/56.8 = 48.6A - round down to 45A for additional margin.
You need to set the MP to limit the maximum pull from AC. Recommend 12A in your situation:
Enable Dynamic current limiter.
Start with both disabled (UPS and wide input):
If the generator is too dirty, enabled wide input. DO NOT ENABLE UPS.
Enable power assist:
This will prevent overload of generator if your charging/loads exceed 12A * 230V = 2760W as the MP will supplement the generator.
Review charge parameters:
Enable weak AC input only if necessary.
Since you've limited AC input to 12A, 12A * 230V = 2760W
This means that your absorption voltage * charge current must be no greater than 2760W.
Assuming LFP, 56.8V absorption.
2760/56.8 = 48.6A - round down to 45A for additional margin.
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You still have "screaming deal" for solar by living in South Carolina vs. OP's Lithuania (or Finland for that matter..
)16 kWh in Lithuania vs. 106 kWh in Charlotte SC for 1kW panel setup in entire december. (or 7kWh here..)
Even Steve_S in Canada is bathing in sunshine compared to Baltic and Nordic countries.
Little late for OP but "EU science hub photovoltaic tool" is a good way to get some idea what is possible and what is just not going to work
JRC Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) - European Commission
Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS)
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
Canada "bathing in sunshine" in December... LOL
Oh, I know! I actually live in NC, not far from the SC boarder though. The center structure is my shop, if you look closely, you will see a small black line… that is my string of Harbor Freight 15W panels… I ran my house all year off them… when the power lines were … ahem… disconnected for some reason or other… aside from being unable to run my ac, I didn’t have any issues until the car batteries started failing to take a charge… gosh, how little I knew about solar at that point…You still have "screaming deal" for solar by living in South Carolina vs. OP's Lithuania (or Finland for that matter..
16 kWh in Lithuania vs. 106 kWh in Charlotte SC for 1kW panel setup in entire december. (or 7kWh here..)
Even Steve_S in Canada is bathing in sunshine compared to Baltic and Nordic countries.
Little late for OP but "EU science hub photovoltaic tool" is a good way to get some idea what is possible and what is just not going to work
JRC Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) - European Commission
Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS)re.jrc.ec.europa.eu
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
Dead serious? Holy cow. I can’t imagine.
And when I started with my own solar I thought I was scraping the edges with a 200W windyNation kit and some 8-year-old batteries.
15 watts…
Yup… I had 7 of them… tied to a bank of pulled car batteries. Worked fine, but I had to run the tractor every few days to cover the charging…
It was all I could affordably buy back in 2004… they were $99 on sale with a coupon for a set of 3 in a 45 watt kit…
Kept my fridge running, and lights and my computer. Also ran a 12V air compressor for the shop air tools.
That was very interesting and it's not the first time it's been suggested to use a separate charge and inverter. Thanks for the info.
Yes 4 batteries in parallel.
IOTA charger, I would like to have a look at them as well
yes same here, very grey skies, tree's blocking the sunlight, shade of the house, but at least we know now, we are possibly going to move the panels for next year as there is an area that gets more light through the gaps in the tree's
My supplier has been ok, the generator was never considered to be any part of the system and they'd told me it wasn't suitable. I haven't bothered him much but I might ask him to let the Victron tech know I will be asking for help.
Sad to hear that the world lost a good person, there's not enough of us.Ok maybe these guys can get you up and running , I don’t FB
I had a mentor helping me with my equipment , he was just a guy that learned his system from a mentor .
We are paying it forward kind of speaking .
I think my mentor has passed away , he was older and has not been on line since June 17th
It’s funny from a guy that has been around for 12 years . Check out these guys on face book .
Solar has a learning curve .
sorry Wellbuilt "these guys"? was there supposed to be a link or name for them.
Thanks
Yes there has been a lot or advice and recommendations, I do appreciate everybody's input and I believe it is done in the best way they think. It all helps me with the learning curve.I'm seeing you getting multiple recommendations. I don't agree with most as much is left unaddressed on the MP/generator issue.
Have you confirmed that your MP is configured so that it doesn't overload the generator? If your generator is limited to 13.9A, that means you're limited to ~3000W.
If your MP is configured to charge above those levels, you will not be able to charge reliably.
Please read this:
MultiPlus Generator FAQ [Victron Energy]
It discusses all configurable options for dealing with stubborn generators.
Additionally, when you are on generator power, you are effectively limited to the generator's power, i.e., if your charging + loads exceeds the generator's ratings, you will trip the generator or MP.
We bought this property 4 years ago (nobody had lived here for 30 years) and we spent the first 3 years visiting from UK, driving over with a trailer full of stuff and spending 4 weeks holiday working on the house. At that time we got the generator to supply us with power for working and living in the caravan, we always thought we'd get the mains electric reconnected and the generator was going to be used occasionally for other things. Solar HA, never even been considered back then.
The information from Victron is really good, thanks, and fits with what sunshine_eggo has posted.
We only tripped the generator once, it was the washing maching water heater. It runs all of our electrical needs without any issues but running it 14 hours a day, even for the few months in winter is going to kill it.
If I can get the Multiplus configured to charge the batteries (MP set on charge only) we can run the generator and turn off all the high loads such as water pumps and waste treatment while it's charging.
That's amazing, thank you very much. What are your thoughts on me disconnecting all the high loads, setting the MP (after it's been configured) on charge only and running the generator to power computers. If that works I can introduce more loads in stages to see at what point we hit a limit. Ultimately if we could run the generator part of the day and charge the batteries to use the battery power for the rest of the day we would be very happy.
MattiFin, yes the tool would have been useful but when we bought this property 4 years ago, we always assumed we'd reconnect to the main grid, we never considered solar until the last year and it was rushed and I didn't research properly. "It's solar, there's always sunshine, we'll have no problems" ??You still have "screaming deal" for solar by living in South Carolina vs. OP's Lithuania (or Finland for that matter..
16 kWh in Lithuania vs. 106 kWh in Charlotte SC for 1kW panel setup in entire december. (or 7kWh here..)
Even Steve_S in Canada is bathing in sunshine compared to Baltic and Nordic countries.
Little late for OP but "EU science hub photovoltaic tool" is a good way to get some idea what is possible and what is just not going to work
JRC Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) - European Commission
Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS)
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
When you leave the inverter in inverter mode, it passes through the generator to the loads and uses surplus to charge the batteries. With power assist, it also has the benefit of getting the MP to support the generator in case you exceed generator loads.
There is no advantage to your proposal over just leaving the MP in inverter mode and charging until full, then turning the generator off to use the batteries. You would simply need to turn the generator on and off as needed.
Furthermore, if the inverter is in charger only mode, you would need to manage it as a load as well and configure it to charge at an even lower setting.
With it in inverter mode, the MP will pull a near constant ~2700W load from the generator - powering loads and charging the battery. Running the generator like this at a higher power for shorter periods burns less fuel.
Think of it this way... Rather than running it for 14 hours at variable power levels to provide power for those 14 hours, maybe you only need to run it for 4-5 hours at ~85% power and can use battery for the other 19-20 hours.
ok got it, thanks. over the next few days I will get my head around the configuring set up and then try it, fingers crossed.
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