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Lets face it, the DIY crowd can be cheap sometimes 😂

Just like the price of gas changes daily, you pay what it currently costs to replace the product. Barrel of oil in middle east goes up - so does gas in Oklahoma... Tarrifs go up , product prices go up

The way i understand is - Its like a speeding ticket for your electric bill 😅

You could also buy a snowmobile to help winter production

Mount them vertical 🤷‍♂️ That "x" post is ridiculous. Whoever owns it pays for it.... but with panel prices nowadays, the same hailstorm probably did more damage dollar-wise to the local chevy dealer.

That sucks. I have seen "reconditioned" panels advertised at other places. Seems like thats what they sent you? None of what you are seeing is normal for brand new panels. Have you contacted Signature Solar yet. Im very curious about what they say.

Id be curious to know how many electricians or companies would even take the call. Off grid solar, diy installed, shipping container - likely result in several "sorry, too busy" responses or just the phone hung up. This is still a nich market that doesn't have full support everywhere.

If starting from scratch, Id probably just base it on loads and surges. Simply to keep wiring in the realm of "normal sizes" Less than 2000W inverter - 12V 2000-6000W inverter - 24V Above 6000W inverter - 48v Of course, this goes out the window when you buy solar panels by the pallet, and...

I love my 24V system. Wouldn't change a thing. If youre not using LFP batteries it gets expensive to go 48V.

I would only pull the meter, keep it easy to reconnect for unplanned scenarios. Anything from failed equipment to personal health complications can pop up out of the blue and a couple hundred bucks to have grid power is a nice option, even if its temporary.

Bad connection makes heat. Unfortunately this is pretty common with those. Get rid of them. Id go with a Midnite combiner and pv breakers.

Its not a real project until a family member, a neighbor and some form of emergency response personnel asks "what the hell are you doing?" Not always in that order

Get a quote in writing and work forward from that. Solark is a good trusted brand with good support and lately prices have come down. You will need a battery at least as a "keep alive" source plus absorbing surge loads. Seems like you are on the right track.

Send it

Ok, so it was metal beams with a metal sheet for the shelf (not particle board or any other material) with the HPL on top of/in addition to the original metal shelf? My apologies if I misunderstood what you have. I see a ton of people using shelves where the beams only go around the outside...

How much space between the panels and roof?

If your concern is failure, then you should start out with the best equipment that you can get. Using a cheap product is always a bit of a gamble, some work some fail. Invest in quality, well supported products.

My experience is mostly with ANL fuses. The cheap plastic bodied ones are trash, they almost always blow prematurely and the material seems to vary. The cheap plastic also does not contain the burned fuse pieces, then the plastic itself burns, so i dont know how they classified any of them as...

Right but the root cause that made the fuse blow in the first place is what everyone is interested in. To sustain an arc there needs to be high current flow, not just normal use. Where was all the current going and why?

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a pallet of panels for direct PV charging. The answer is always more solar!:)

Lots of overcast days here in Michigan, generally I can count on 7-10% of rated output. The ones I watch the most are my REC 365 N-peak panels. I have 6 on a pole mount for a 24V system. Midnite Classic 150. Overcast day normally gets me around 7 amps @ 26.xxV while in Bulk mode.

I find myself watching tv at the cabin where it used to be rustic living with campfires every night. Then the cell booster showed up.... no longer a cabin, just house #2. Dang solar...

I really enjoyed the book "one second after". I think everyone on here should read it!

Max pv voltage is never exceed. Not even once. Reconfigure will be required Edit: use the panels rated Voc and temp coefficient for your coldest temp to calculate your possible max voltage. Do not bump up against the charge controller max voltage, they dont like it, at all.

My day job is aircraft maintenance. My favorite part is still capacity testing batteries because when they fail I take them home for experiments 😅

What about anyone with a propane tank and ___ feet of copper line buried in the ground? Or a point well with ___ feet of steel pipe in the ground? Both of these are likely to lead to appliances that are grounded, and ultimately grounded to the main panel. It is my understanding multiple...

All that and still running a generator

There are some military surplus DC generators out there that are very robust and fuel efficient. I have one that puts out 100 amps of 28v dc. Very well built. Starts with 1 pull, but you literally have to wrap the rope around the crankshaft each time to start. If you dont need 100amps it can...