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  1. DougfromdaUP

    Calculation Verification

    I second Bentley’s congratulations for planning before you buy, and I also think 48volts is the only way to go. I encourage you to do some modeling of solar photovoltaic production instead of relying on the too simplistic hours per day stuff. Look at PV Watts, and see what your 6500 watts of...
  2. DougfromdaUP

    Can I use AC stranded wire same as DC wire to extend distance to panels?

    No. 4 cable is way too small for a spectacular amount of current like that. You’ll need 1/0 as a minimum, probably larger as you de-rate for more than 3 conductors, etc. What kind of monster are you building? It would be fun if you post the details, especially which charge controller handles...
  3. DougfromdaUP

    Multimeter and charge controller show different voltage

    Six hundredths of oF a volt isn’t much. Many pieces of equipment -and voltmeters- are off by more than that. Don’t worry about it.
  4. DougfromdaUP

    Adding capacity

    Wire and fuse sizes should be determined by the current your devices will draw, not the current a device is capable of delivering. That kind of defeats the purpose of a fuse.
  5. DougfromdaUP

    100% SOC batteries taking current, randomly

    It's normal for the current to slowly decline as the batteries approach the fully charged voltage. My five LiFePO4s only draw a few watts each after they're charged to 55.9 then go to float at 53.9. I've never seen the draw spike after that point. I don't believe that it's a good idea to...
  6. DougfromdaUP

    100% SOC batteries taking current, randomly

    I don't think that the batteries should really draw a few thousand watts when they're fully charged. I've never seen mine draw more than a few watts each. So unless something like a cell overvoltage protection is shutting off the charge to a battery long before it reaches full charge and then...
  7. DougfromdaUP

    Solar panel/module grounding bolt size?

    An M4 screw is 4mm in diameter, and the standard clearance would need a 4.8mm hole. But through a thin aluminum panel I think you could easily get a screw through a 4mm hole. A little screwing action, or tappy-tap-tap. edited to add: most screws are a few thousandths smaller than nominal, too.
  8. DougfromdaUP

    Panel and controller wire

    Go to the website of the cable manufacturer. It will give you all the certifications, etc. For examplehere's the southwire I mentioned earlier
  9. DougfromdaUP

    Panel and controller wire

    The DLO number 10 doesn’t have hundreds of strands, only 27
  10. DougfromdaUP

    Panel and controller wire

    I don’t think the connector victron uses is robust enough to properly grip solid or low strand count wires. South wire makes many #10 wires with 105 strands and high temp insulation. You will pay a lot for them. Wireandcableyourway has diesel locomotive cable for about a buck a foot, for sale...
  11. DougfromdaUP

    Couple of Questions About Charging Requirements in Relation to Resistance.

    I’ve never heard anyone claim that LiFePO4 batteries need a high charge rate, and that a slow charge will harm them. I believe that may be true of lead batteries.
  12. DougfromdaUP

    Couple of Questions About Charging Requirements in Relation to Resistance.

    The size of your array depends on your energy needs, not just battery size. Lithium batteries work well at low charge rates, so any charge rate below the maximum is fine.
  13. DougfromdaUP

    Adding batteries and layout

    And don't forget the overpotential voltage. It's way larger than the voltage drop internal resistance and the resistance of connections and cables causes unless you have done something really, really bad. And it tends to equalize the current flow to and from batteries. A battery sourcing...
  14. DougfromdaUP

    Need to buy/make thicker gauge wires for outside, but problem

    Many people think that. It’s a shame that that chart is so often replicated without titles clarifying what it is. As soon as voltage drop is expressed as a percentage you know that the chart is voltage specific. Of course higher voltages and lower current leading to less loss doesn’t depend on...
  15. DougfromdaUP

    Need to buy/make thicker gauge wires for outside, but problem

    i just ran 13.3 amps, 72 volts for a 65 foot circuit using #10 and got 2.5% voltage drop. Are we talking about the same thing? Again, that chart is for 12 volt wires exposed in engine rooms. It is useless for anything else.
  16. DougfromdaUP

    Need to buy/make thicker gauge wires for outside, but problem

    That chart is wrong. It’s for 12 volts. Go to the south wire (or any other calculator) and run it using the actual voltage.
  17. DougfromdaUP

    When to use which type of conduit

    As I understand it, everything inside the house has to be in metal conduit. Flexible is ok too, not just emt.
  18. DougfromdaUP

    Open Loop -different batteries different SOC

    6% difference in estimated SOC isn’t significant. Heck, it’s probably a rarity that they’re that close.. I’ve been open loop with my 12 k for two years, and for the first year and a half the SolArk was great at estimating SOC. Then it started being really bad, but it’s not a supported...
  19. DougfromdaUP

    RFI issue

    Traditional solution is to start with bonding and shielding and grounding. Wider conductors offer lower impedance to rf-that’s why you see those wide copper straps bonding cabinets together. The shield from big,old coax works well. Put as much as you can in steel conduit. It adds a ton of...
  20. DougfromdaUP

    Single voltage power point setting - Set to VMP or is there more nuance to it?

    I think you may be shooting yourself in the foot. I've noticed that on bad solar days (when you want to be overpaneled) the mppt runs at a lower voltage. So you'd be giving up production when you need it most. For example, when I was producing 7kW two days ago my strings were at 275v and...
  21. DougfromdaUP

    Turning off PV when batteries are full?

    No problem shutting off your solar arrays. In fact I’d recommend it, and keep it off until you are sure you are running with the proper settings. Why don’t you post your settings here? You’ll get lots of advice.
  22. DougfromdaUP

    How much wattage is my panels producing

    How much work do you want to do? You could install a small panel at the same angle as your current array and run the output to a resistor calculated to provide a load near the best power point for the panel. Monitor the current and it will predict quite nicely the potential power of your array...
  23. DougfromdaUP

    PV watts is giving me higher morning production in summer the higher I tilt a 270 degree array.

    It’s been a while since I’ve used PVWatts, but don’t they express angles as tilt from horizontal? So wouldn’t you expect the 35 degree (closer to vertical) panel to produce more when the sun is at a low angle?
  24. DougfromdaUP

    Upside Down Load Center

    I too have installed pairs of interlocked breakers to allow the panels to be fed from either the utility or inverter, I just didn’t think of those as “main” breakers.
  25. DougfromdaUP

    Upside Down Load Center

    To clarify, mine are distribution panels so there is no main breaker in the panel.
  26. DougfromdaUP

    Solar Charge Controller Question

    30 amps at 13 volts is 390 watts. How often do you expect those three panels to produce that much power? I suspect it would be a rare event.
  27. DougfromdaUP

    Upside Down Load Center

    It’s ok to invert some square D, I think probably all are ok, but don’t know for sure. I inverted three and passed a thorough inspection.
  28. DougfromdaUP

    Amp input Question

    The clipping you’re worried about won’t happen too often. You’ll be well below the rated output with your panels baking in the Texas sun most days. And the rest of the time those extra panels will be providing more power. Do you look for a #13 wire if a #12 has 1% too much ampacity ? No...
  29. DougfromdaUP

    ampacity-which wire type and temp rating?

    THHN/THWN is the most commonly used wire. It’s affordable too. Don’t forget to de-rate the wire for the number of conductors in your conduit. I think you should at least calculate the voltage drops. So you know what you’re getting into. If you go to a good online calculator, like Southwire’s...
  30. DougfromdaUP

    Multiplus tripping 50 amp shore breaker plus error code 24: Switch-over system protection initiated

    This is from a Victron document: The MultiPlus switches to inverter operation when no AC source is available. The inverter output is also 120V single phase. In inverter mode, the MultiPlus-II 2x120V internally connects both lines L1 and L2 together to provide 120VAC to loads on either output...
  31. DougfromdaUP

    Deye Weird Voltage Behavior When Time Of Use is Enabled

    Just to clarify, I have the problem whether I’m connected to the grid or not. It’s Never off as much as .5 volts, usually just .2 or .3 I updated the firmware yesterday, and saw no change. The gentleman I talked to said that they’re all off some and not to worry about it.
  32. DougfromdaUP

    4000 kWh usage per month

    Sunshine Eggo is far from normal. You are using about four time the power an “average” household uses.
  33. DougfromdaUP

    Question about the solar tax credits

    I don’t think they confirm it unless you’re audited. But you should keep documents to support your claim, like your inspections.
  34. DougfromdaUP

    Question about the solar tax credits

    Yes, as I understand it. As long as you otherwise qualify. You can’t take the credit until the system is in service, is correct.
  35. DougfromdaUP

    EG4 LifePower4 48V Battery showing 27V and High Pitch Buzz

    Since you already have the top off, why don't you measure the individual cell voltages before you do anything else? That will tell you if you have any outliers. And it will only take a minute. Then put the charger on, for what it's worth.
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