Reddit reviews Drok 300001 Micro Led DcDc Digital Boost Voltage Converter Adjustable Volt Regulator Board Module Power Supply Transformer

That's basically what I wanted to do but everything is really really really rigged to prevent up and coming people from developing anything to help customers. My work around was basically just to do "consulting" for people wanting to DIY with the various systems and to offer my support i/e I basically come by and build it for you but you still gotta be there because otherwise it wouldn't be a DIY it'd be a me doing it which would require me to have all kinds of stupid expensive licenses that ultimately make everything too expensive. There's just so many people going around telling others how "complicated" everything is and that they need to hire a contractor to do it but it's just a huge huge huge lie. It's not complicated at all and really the biggest and most important thing to know is safety. What sort of systems are required for you to have them on your house, that kinda stuff. Most regions a simple island protection is the main thing you need for your inverter which is what basically any grid-tie inverter will have. It's setup so it can sense when the grid goes down and will shut down the system when that happens so the lines aren't energized when they are being worked on. HOA's are another gigantic pain in the ass because it's basically just ignorant lazy stay at home mom's or old people who know nothing about technology who want to tell you what you can and cannot do to make your house better. I actually had a HOA down in georgia try to tell me that putting up solar panels will drive down the value of the other houses around me....seriously they said that. I have no idea how anyone could think that's a possibility but oh well. So I got around their control by just installing the panels on PVC pipes on the ground and attached wheels on them so they were mobile when I wanted them to be. They were no longer a "permanent structure or addon" so the HOA couldn't do or say anything. Loved that one. Also had my neighbor try to tell me that I couldn't do solar because "global warming is a lie"..... I didn't even need his permission I was just asking how he felt about it.

I got into it at first because my dad wanted a solar panel system and so I started researching it for him for pricing. I would get quotes for 2kW systems(generates 2kWh's per hour) for like $20,000 and I just didn't understand how it could be that expensive. So I researched it by physically building my own panels and systems. Was able to build my own solar panel, cells and all for 72 watts at $50 and being able to make one per day or so based on materials. Then I found pre-made things solar panels, inverters, batteries, etc.... and put together a 2kW system and it only cost roughly $2000 or 10x less than what that company wanted to sell it for. Basically it just seemed to me that they didn't actually WANT to have people adopt more solar and were just in it for a quick buck. I hate that. A standard house uses anywhere between 30-50 kWh's per day so buying a 2kW system is almost enough to go off the grid entirely since a kWh is calculated at kW's times hours so a 2kW system will generate 2kWh's per hour or 16+ kWh's per day. You can also cut down on your power consumption drastically by doing away with all the converters in all your system i/e those power bricks on the cords. Pretty much everything you have uses DC power but it converts it from AC so if you were to just use DC it would cut out a good amount of waste. Only issue would be to make sure you have the correct voltage but that's simple by using a buck-boost converter on each socket so you can just set the voltage you want and you're good to go. It'd actually be super cool looking. https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Adjustable-Regulator-Transformer/dp/B00J03PBW0/ref=pd_cp_23_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00J03PBW0&pd_rd_r=TMDYZV4BN1T9BFJNRN58&pd_rd_w=bRJs2&pd_rd_wg=4RLeo&psc=1&refRID=TMDYZV4BN1T9BFJNRN58 basically you could even cut out a little section so the controls and display are visible to you. Idk about you but I think it would look awesome and really really high tech. Only areas that you can't do that would be anything with motors in them because they do actually usually need AC power so your fridge and central air/window unit would still need AC.

Thanks for the input. I agree on second thought, rather than have angrier pixies and try and calm them down, would be better have calmer pixies and try and get them angrier.

Any idea for a good board for this?

DROK®Micro LED DC-DC Digital Boost Voltage Converter LM2577 3-34V to 4-35V 5V/12V 2.5A Step-up Adjustable Volt Regulator Board Module Power Supply Transformer for Solar Panels Car Battery Charging https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00J03PBW0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_W-eTybWN408CA

It would miss out on the coolness factor of dropping a tool battery in the wife's jug pumper though.

something like this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J03PBW0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AFHAE9RJVUMB
and
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MUT4ZE6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2PMIWMSUTAYGS
??

>(Also, in the schematic, the LED being on will not indicate that the battery is charging, simply that power is connected)

Yeah that's all I care about.

Here's the BMS

Here's the boost converter I was going to use... until I fried the POT on it - lol. My 3A power supply must be slightly >3A. I've got some POTs on order, I'll fix it tomorrow, and use a 2.5A power supply instead. Gotta love the smell of magic smoke in the morning.

I guess I could just get a 13v power supply instead but they're not easy to find, so, 16v and a buck converter?

>Most BMS/battery chargers will have an output that indicate when they are charging.

Is that what the 2 terminals with the diode symbol are for between P+ and P- maybe?

modifying them to accept external voltage is both cheap and effective.

I have 4 dc boost modules, one per axis + single extruder. with the printer running and the heated bed off (since it cycles on and off when it only needs to be at 60degC), the control board + the boost modules + the fans + the heater cartridge + the LCD screens (I have a TFT28 and RepRap discount controller hooked up at the same time), the printer consumes about 84 watts when printing (measured at the AC input).

You could do what I did a lot easier by using just one unit like this 150W one: https://www.amazon.com/Gowoops-10-32V-Converter-Adjustable-Voltage/dp/B00J1X4XXM/ref=pd_sbs_328_1?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=GBF90A2DQJT7VEMF415F&th=1

or perhaps even this one since it's about 100W

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Adjustable-Regulator-Transformer/dp/B00J03PBW0/ref=pd_bxgy_328_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M4D39ZHV4RJRJHK4A93Y

I think the total power consumption at 30V is around 60-65 watts (at the AC Input), so with air cooling that should work fine.

Thanks man, I misunderstood the schematic. How would you feel about using the following:

• Small solenoid
  
  
• Boost Converter
  
  
• NPN Transistor
  
  To be honest I don't know if that's the right transistor to use, I kinda ballparked on the specs. And I guess it would need a resistor too?
  
  Here's my schematic: http://imgur.com/a/YDZQG

Thanks for the advice!
Would something like a ULN2803 work for the driver? https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/IC/uln2803a.pdf

And something like this for the dc-dc step up?
https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Adjustable-Regulator-Transformer/dp/B00J03PBW0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1468354392&sr=8-5&keywords=step+up+converter