How or Can Solar charge my new 82v mower.

[timselectric]

There are higher voltage chargers. But they cost too much for just charging a mower battery.

 

[OzSolar]

Did the the OP state a price limit of what was too expensive?

Could you provide any examples of "chargers" that are too expensive?

 

[timselectric]

Sandi can build a custom voltage.

Solar Charge Controller

Sandi Electric Co., Ltd specialized in the new energy source and electrical source scientific research, development, manufacture and service had surpasses for 15 years of electrical source field;

www.cnsandi.cn

 

[OzSolar]

Sandi can build a custom voltage.

Solar Charge Controller

Sandi Electric Co., Ltd specialized in the new energy source and electrical source scientific research, development, manufacture and service had surpasses for 15 years of electrical source field;

www.cnsandi.cn

You have personal experience with them successfully building you a custom voltage?

 

[timselectric]

You have personal experience with them successfully building you a custom voltage?

No
I have a 48v system.

 

[dianea]

Higher voltages are too dangerous. 50v is the low voltage wiring limit iirc. So anything 50 and under doesn't need to comply with all the electrical stuff.

True. I work with 480 volts AC and everything is within metal conduit and enclosures. Higher voltages DC would have increased protections. The highest I've worked with is 150KVDC for destructive high voltage cable testing and certification within interlocked bomb proof doors. It can be done safely, but quite differently from what is usually seen in residential.

 

[cs1234]

I don't really see the point in op getting batteries since he'll only be losing solar when sun is under 90v or he's using the mower which is a couple hours a week and 4kw, so has to make 5kw in a week.

Problem is he needs 5300w to run the 220v charger or 1800w to run the 120v charger. So at least 2000w of panels to run 120v and just have it turn on when he's making full sun which should be at least a few hours for a few days. And seems he has a few cuts per charge so can withstand a few storms.

The 5300w is another problem entirely. He'll need batteries or 6000w of solar.

But op is thinking ditch the AC charger and run off DC only. Which would make perfect sense in theory. Get over 100v of solar and use a charge controller that'll output 80v with a good profile. But we don't know if the batteries can be DC charged and the profile.

I think he would be better off getting a couple 12v batteries and either use them in series or parallel with a 2000w 120vac inverter. As long as the inverter has customizable voltage cutoffs of some sort, and the charger doesn't mind turning on/off when the inverter cuts on/off, he would be good to go.

He could use as many solar panels as he wants, and almost all their collected power will be used to charge his lawnmower. Once the battery voltage gets to a level that is good enough to power the charger, it will do so, and then cut off when it hits his cutoff voltage. The solar panels will continue to charge the batteries back to the point where the charger will kick back on again. Nothing wasted, other than some 12v battery lifespan.

This all assumes the lawnmower charger doesn't have to be manually turned back on after power loss, and that it doesn't die from relatively frequent on/off cycles.

 

[drps10]

I think he would be better off getting a couple 12v batteries and either use them in series or parallel with a 2000w 120vac inverter. As long as the inverter has customizable voltage cutoffs of some sort, and the charger doesn't mind turning on/off when the inverter cuts on/off, he would be good to go.

He could use as many solar panels as he wants, and almost all their collected power will be used to charge his lawnmower. Once the battery voltage gets to a level that is good enough to power the charger, it will do so, and then cut off when it hits his cutoff voltage. The solar panels will continue to charge the batteries back to the point where the charger will kick back on again. Nothing wasted, other than some 12v battery lifespan.

This all assumes the lawnmower charger doesn't have to be manually turned back on after power loss, and that it doesn't die from relatively frequent on/off cycles.

Sorry I missed a lot in the few days I was away.

This is what I am thinking is going to be the best option. In a perfect world, plug the solar right into the mower and let it charge but appears to be to much involved.

My price point is undetermined yet. Ideally would be under $2k, but I don't know if they is feasible or not.

 

[drps10]

Can someone answer a few questions for me?

Does the inverter pump up the voltage from a 12v battery to charge the 82v mower, or is the 82v mower the output power? Does it have a bunch of little batteries in it that I don't need an output charger of 82v?

Would hooking a voltmeter to the charger while its charging help with any information to further research this project?

What products would I need to make the above post a complete setup? ( i don't necessary need link to exact products, but I like to learn about the components and how they operate and why I need them)
IE.. What type of battery would be best and how many would you recommend (series or parallel), What type of inverter and why just a 2k one? (would going bigger future proof for other projects?)

I'm trying to understand how it works so I can continue to do my research. Thanks everyone!

 

[justinm001]

The problem is the charger charges the battery a certain way so you want to power the charger that comes with the mower. An inverter will change the DC solar power to 120V AC so you can plug the charger into it. The batteries hold the solar for the charger

 

[timselectric]

An inverter takes in DC power and outputs AC power.
Different versions are made for different input and output voltages.
If you are wanting to start with charging your lawn mower. And possibly expand the system to cover other parts of your home. Then you should plan for the future with the choices you make, now.
In this case I would recommend a stackable AIO (All In One unit). This will let you start small and expand without replacing what you purchase, now.

 

[drps10]

The problem is the charger charges the battery a certain way so you want to power the charger that comes with the mower. An inverter will change the DC solar power to 120V AC so you can plug the charger into it. The batteries hold the solar for the charger

thank you! this is the route that I figured I would have to take, which is fine. I need to put some real world use to the mower and get some data to see how big of a system I need to design.

What would be the better option for solar battery storage? Something smaller and let it build up and charge the mower once solar battery is full, then recharge the solar battery the next day over a few days? This seems like it will kill the solar storage very quick with the amount of cycles this could take.

Is there a controller or something that I would need to be installed between the battery and mower charger to wait till solar battery is full and ready before discharge?

 

[justinm001]

You need an inverter to convert solar and battery to AC power.

I'm not sure. Kinda depends on the inverter and even the charger. If the charger is fine going on/off multiple times a day then it's fine

 

[Supervstech]

thank you! this is the route that I figured I would have to take, which is fine. I need to put some real world use to the mower and get some data to see how big of a system I need to design.

What would be the better option for solar battery storage? Something smaller and let it build up and charge the mower once solar battery is full, then recharge the solar battery the next day over a few days? This seems like it will kill the solar storage very quick with the amount of cycles this could take.

Is there a controller or something that I would need to be installed between the battery and mower charger to wait till solar battery is full and ready before discharge?

Knowing the Wh of the mower battery is a good start.
You would need a bank about 50% larger than the mower battery due to losses etc.
If your charger can start automatically when the sun begins powering the inverter, then all you need is an inverter that runs directly off solar, and enough panels to power the charger.

 

[740GLE]

Knowing the Wh of the mower battery is a good start.
You would need a bank about 50% larger than the mower battery due to losses etc.
If your charger can start automatically when the sun begins powering the inverter, then all you need is an inverter that runs directly off solar, and enough panels to power the charger.

Looking at the marketing wank it says it’s a 16kwr battery.

As with all BEV there’s nameplate KWhr and usable KWhr values might be safe to say it’s 12kwhr usable.

Figure mowing will take half a charge every two weeks. Looking to harvest 6kwhr two weeks, or say 500whr a day.

So I’d say 1kw hr of PV (with possible upgrades for 2k if needed) and 5kwhr of storage and 2kw inverter should do it. The idea would be let the mower slowly charge between mows set the low voltage disconnect of the inverter cycle on and off as the sun allows.

It’s an $18k mower so coin isn’t an issue for a nice future proof system.

 

[drps10]

Looking at the marketing wank it says it’s a 16kwr battery.

As with all BEV there’s nameplate KWhr and usable KWhr values might be safe to say it’s 12kwhr usable.

Figure mowing will take half a charge every two weeks. Looking to harvest 6kwhr two weeks, or say 500whr a day.

So I’d say 1kw hr of PV (with possible upgrades for 2k if needed) and 5kwhr of storage and 2kw inverter should do it. The idea would be let the mower slowly charge between mows set the low voltage disconnect of the inverter cycle on and off as the sun allows.

It’s an $18k mower so coin isn’t an issue for a nice future proof system.

Thank you! I like seeing those numbers. I had hard time wrapping my head around needing such a big system for a small slow charge I’m hoping for.

I found the mower on a special deal for $12k. With federal rebate of 30% brings it to $8400 (in theory) and I sold my ice mower for $5k. With the 0% finance, I will pay $175/mth till April and then pay it all off with $3400 out of pocket.

 

[Rocketman]

What type of battery does it have?

Morningstar I think had a 96v mppt. (I think it’s been discontinued).

“Electric car parts company” has a 96v mppt solar charge controller - you may want to call and ask if they can get the 84v mppt. They do have an 84v battery charger.

I got some Fortune batteries from them a few years back (they were local to me at the time - nice people).

Good Luck

 

[drps10]

It is lithium ion (wish it was lfp). The charger says output of 82v and 15a. Do I need enough battery to push out 82v or the inverter that I will plug into take care of that?

I cut most of the yard yesterday and used 25% of the battery. It took about 5.6kw to charge in 4 hours.

The kwh is about 16.1 ( I can’t remember exactly but I remember seeing it was 16.xxx)

 

[timselectric]

Do I need enough battery to push out 82v or the inverter that I will plug into take care of that?

The storage battery voltage must match the inverter selected.
If you use the AC charger plugged into the inverter. You only need to match the AC requirements of the charger.

 

[cs1234]

It is lithium ion (wish it was lfp). The charger says output of 82v and 15a. Do I need enough battery to push out 82v or the inverter that I will plug into take care of that?

I cut most of the yard yesterday and used 25% of the battery. It took about 5.6kw to charge in 4 hours.

The kwh is about 16.1 ( I can’t remember exactly but I remember seeing it was 16.xxx)

DC to AC inverters generally use common 12vdc battery range configurations, 12vdc, 24vdc or 48vdc. The inverter will convert the DC power to AC power. You then plug in your existing AC charger into the inverters AC output and your existing charger will charge the batteries. You just need to make sure you have an inverter powerful enough to run the charger supplied to you by your lawnmower manufacturer.

Your previous posts charger statistics indicated a 2000watt inverter should be able to power your charger when it's running in 120vac mode.

You only need enough battery power to turn on and run your inverter for the desired length of time you want it to be able to run from BATTERY POWER ONLY. If you hook up solar panels, they will supply power to the batteries and inverter simultaneously and any extra gets stored in the batteries. The nice thing about using batteries, vs an inverter running from solar panels only, is that you will have less drop outs on your AC output to the lawnmower charger. The batteries act as a buffer to gather up the sporadic output from the solar panels to be converted to AC output for your charger once enough energy has been stored.

Say you have 2000 watts of solar panels, and your charger needs 1700 watts to charge your lawn mower. During full sun you might actually get that 2000watts output from the solar panels for a brief moment during the peak of the perfect day, but then a cloud comes by and you drop down to 200watts of solar output. Down goes your charger, then the cloud moves away, up comes your charger, then a bird lands on your panels and cuts you down to 1500watts output.. down goes your charger.

With batteries, all those dips and rises get stored in the battery and you don't disconnect and reconnect as often.

Don't let anybody talk you into running an inverter without at least enough battery power to run the load for a few minutes with only batteries. You don't know how tolerant your lawnmower charger is to frequent starts and stops that solar only would create. Maybe it's highly tolerant, maybe it damages itself, maybe it kills some charging circuitry in the lawnmower itself, who knows.

Don't let people talk you into buying thousands of dollars of batteries, just to charge another battery in your lawnmower. You only need about 2000 watts of battery power to run that charger for nearly an hour on battery alone, two 12v 100ah lifepo4 batteries would give you that and supply enough amps to run a 2000 watt inverter.

You can build a bigger system if you want to, for future proofing, but if building your own system for the first time, you might want to start smaller.