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I'm installing an array of ten panels in series and the short circuit current for the panels is only 11.3A. It seems excessive to use 10 gauge wire for such low currents but I'm not seeing any suitable 14 or 12 gauge wire with tough high voltage insulation and UV protection. I'm totally off the...

I'm working on programming a microcontroller(Arduino likely) to poll an EG4 3000EHV inverter for the battery state and PV input. When the battery is above something like 95% and the PV input is above something like 2000W(of a 4360W array) it will then turn on a SSR that powers the 1500w water...

That is the old system that I installed in 2020. I couldn't get LiFePO4 batteries here for a reasonable price then, little lone the cheaper than lead that I can get them now. It is only 1100Ah at the 100hr rate, with real world draw and not discharging over 50% it's only about 400Ah useable...

Lithium Iron batteries are fine to discharge when cold, it's only charging that needs to be done warm. So if you turn your batteries off when you leave they will be nearly at the same state of charge as when you left. They don't self discharge quickly like lead batteries. You will only have...

I strongly disagree. It's not hard to keep Lithium Iron batteries above freezing. But caring for flooded cells is a PITA and the just the power loss of charging lead batteries is enough reason not to use them. These days the Lithium Iron batteries are significantly cheaper per useable kWh. I...

I'm able to get them for around 50 cents a watt here in Dartmouth now and they will ship via freight. I just got a quote for ~$400 to ship 8 panels to our property in Doyles. I was going to bring them over on the roof of my minivan but they are a bit on the heavy side so I'd only be able to take...

With my first system I went 12v and went with a 12v water pump, lighting and fridge. I have mixed feelings on if I'd do it again. The lighting is fine and we likely saved quite a bit on wiring. It does mean I'm stuck running a 12v system that is expensive and difficult to grow. Originally I...

That generator plug is an L5-30 which means Locking 120v 30A. So you don't need a split phase inverter. A 3000 or better yet a 3500watt inverter will run everything that generator can. The panel is capable of split phase and much bigger inverters if you wanted. The main concern would be the...

Lithium Iron Phosphate(LiFePO4) are much safer than Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries that have the thermal runaway problems that cause major fires. That said messing with high current is a major fire risk. Running lead acid batteries at the wrong voltages, without the right fuses and...

Yes, you can generally just replace the generator with a solar system. You just need to make sure the wire is big enough to handle the full output of the inverter. What size plug are you plugging into the generator? A regular house hold u ground plug or Is it a larger 3 pin or 4 pin? Sizing...

Finally figured this out when I read somewhere else that the EG4 3000EHV-48 was made by Voltronic. The battery manual list Voltronic protocol. On the first battery I have dip switch 6 turned on and the left most RJ45 port connect to the "USB" style RS485 port on the inverter using the cable...

It's winter that has been the issue. In the summer the 1200watts of panels has the batteries on float by 11am. In the late fall/early winter it doesn't reach float. We didn't plan on using this system in the winter, so the panels are poorly placed and there is no temperature sensor. I've...

The comment is more to how difficult it is to grow the system larger. At 12v charge controllers get expensive. An 80A charge controller cost about the same at 12v or 48v but the 48v one can handle 4x the power. Similar story for inverters and AC chargers. The 48v all in one I just bought cost...

My first system I installed at the family cabin back in 2020 was a 12v system and I almost immediately regretted going with 12v. Originally I had planned on going 24v with 4x6v S550 batteries and an outback charge controller. But couldn't find a good deal on a 24v inverter or water pump at the...

It might work ok for a little while, provided you disconnect it before the sun goes down or when it clouds over. It's going to be over discharged in a very short amount of time and repeated over discharging will give you a life span of days rather than months.

Most UPS go into complete bypass when not running on the internal battery. So the modified sine wave will pass straight through. An online UPS will convert the incoming power to DC and back to AC all the time, but they are typically much more expensive than a normal UPS. Your likely...

Battery size does matter as the battery will see most of the load when say cloud passes over or you forget to turn it off when the sun drops below the trees. Lead acid batteries are a terrible technology. First off you can only discharge them to 50% before you start significantly shortening...

Lithium Iron Phosphate(LiFePo4) batteries are significantly safer than Lithium Ion or Lithium polymer batteries which are known for burning down homes. Some 12v lithium iron batteries can be connected in series and some cannot. It mainly has to do with the built in battery management...

There are a few major issues using group 31 batteries. First off if you want them to last more than 2 or 3 years you can never discharge them below 50%. So right off the bat you need to de-rate the amp hour rating. Secondly the rated amp hours is over 20 hours and in most solar systems the...

They don't include any cables included currently. I had to order the cable kits as a separate items. Build quality on the AOLithium batteries seems to be pretty good. I have them charging from the grid at the moment and I'm going to cycle them for the first time in the next few days. I won't...

I've gone with an EG4 3000watt inverter and AOLithium's server rack batteries. The AOLithium batteries are less than 2/3 the price of going with the EG4 batteries after the taxes, shipping and other import fees here in Canada. I'm very unclear what advantage, if any connecting up the RS485...

I didn't notice the part number was in the pictures. For those who would like to make their own cables, a quick googling finds: https://www.metabee.com/waterproof-energy-storage-connector-right-angle-125a-orange-25mm2-unshielded-cable-z-key-id20220600044.html At that price there isn't any...

What exactly are these connectors? Are they custom to AOLithium or are they available from other suppliers?

In my research so far I've gotten many different answers. From 45 degrees to 18 degrees from vertical and everywhere in between. We currently have 1200watts of panels roof mounted at something like 20 degrees which meets our needs in the summer as it was designed for. But now my parents have...

I'm trying to decide between 550w mono panels and 545w bifacial Longi panels. Price is nearly the same. We have extreme winds of up to 200km/h at our off grid property. Which has us very nervous about ground mount solar. We currently have 1200watts of panels mounted on the cabin roof. It works...

Well the seller sent me a message this morning saying they can't ship to my address and asked me to cancel the order. I had put in an order for 4 50AH cells to test them out. Looks like 18650batterystore.com is my only real option to get cells at this point.

Charging from the van may be quite limited. The typical alternator only provides like 100A when the engine is running at like highway speeds. Some of that current needs to go to powering the vehicle accessories and charging the starting battery. So say you get 75A@12v and drive on the highway 2...

Why are you running a water distiller? If your doing it for drinking water you may want to consider an RO water filter. Much more energy efficient. Sounds like you are way short on panels. You generally want to have more than enough solar panels to run your loads all day on top of charging...

VNSZNR has 302Ah cells listed here in Canada on Amazon at a reasonable price with reasonable shipping. Anyone give these guys are try? Not many reviews or anything just someone getting 90Ah cells rather than 105Ah.

When I originally but our system, we only intended to use the cabin in the summer. But now we want to be able to use the cabin year round and I don't think the panels will generate enough power in the winter so I need to add the option of charging from the generator. We have 4 S550 rolls flooded...

We have two outback charge controllers running at my parents cabin and at my aunt's RV across the field. They produce ~20khz spaced harmonics throughout the entire HF spectrum. My antenna was like 200ft from the solar systems and my laptop with an RTLSDR was running on it's internal battery and...

I just yesterday ordered 4 100Ah cells for just over $100 Canadian for a laugh. It said Fedex IE shipping and its tracking a DHL shipment at the moment. I will report back next week if I actually receive anything. I've ordered hundreds of things on Aliexpress over the years. I've only had to get...

Just another data point for reference. My parents cottage is in Western Newfoundland and we have 1200W of solar panels on the roof with 1100Ah of flooded lead acid cells at 12v. We have one of the unique 12/24v fridges. A 12V ~25A DC water pump, 12v DC lighting, and a 12v 1000w motormaster...

I ended up going 12v for the system at my parent's cottage. It was way more affordable. I could go with a small inexpensive inverter and use lots of cheap and available RV parts. Stuff like a 12v water pump, 12v lighting, 12v fridge(well that one is 12/24v). They only need to run the inverter...