(Part 2) Top products from r/SolarDIY

Here's a 'shopping list' for as light-weight a system that I can think of throwing together from 'off the shelf' components:

>Solar Panels:
Two of these will give you a light-weight solution for 400 watts of power!
https://www.amazon.com/Dokio-Monocrystalline-foldable-Inverter-Controller/dp/B075SZMFP2/

>Charge Controller:
The included controller won't be terribly useful I'm afraid, because it's for Lead Acid, and is a crappy PWM controller anyways. So, let's assume you're going to DIY this a bit and build a weatherproof box for your battery and a controller like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Controller-Monitor-Temp-Sensor-Package/dp/B06XNP1BGR/

>Batteries:
Here's where you drop the real cash; At least one but preferably TWO of these guys.
https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-volt-Deep-Cycle-Battery/dp/B06XX197GJ/

>Inverter:
If you'll be needing AC power, you'll want something like this:
www.amazon.com/AIMS-Power-Watt-Inverter-Cables/dp/B002AMPHHC/

>Container of sorts:
You'll be needing something weatherproof for all this non-weatherproof stuff to sit inside. Find the 'weatherproof storage lockers' at sporting goods stores, and you can machine them to be what you need for stuff like this. It'll need to fit your batteries, inverter, and charge controller, and you'll need to mount them in there somehow so it doesn't bounce around. Then all you need is some slick weatherproof electrical connectors to mount going through the wall of the box, and you've got yourself a great system. You can even put in things like a 12 socket and weatherproof volt meter to keep an eye on your battery voltage.

Overall, this would cost probably around $3000. But, it'd work well. :)

If you can give me more specs on what sort of weight you can carry, you could have the option of switching to Lead Acid as a battery type; but that would add like 150 pounds of weight to this whole setup, but you'd save $1500 or there about on the batteries, and you COULD use the included cheap PWM controllers... but honestly that MPPT I think would be worth the extra cash.

The comparable product (excluding the panels, and assuming you only got one battery) would be the Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium. It's $1700 and is about the same thing, again excluding the panels.

Honestly, for your purposes, the Goal Zero Yeti looks pretty good if you're not really into the DIY stuff; cause you'd be looking at $1700 plus $500 for the 400 watts of panels, so $2200 total. That's not bad! (Assuming you DIY it like I'm suggesting, and only use one battery, you're looking at around $2000. So, really, not much cheaper if the weight matters to you.)

Happy to be of service. I really like helping people realize these projects are completely doable. I spent the better part of a year researching mine and begging my electrician friends to let me pick their brains anytime we were hanging out. I'm happy to pass that on.

Yeah, if they're under a heavy charge (like an equalization cycle, which your MPPT will do every 14 days for several hours) or discharge, they vent hydrogen into the air. I should have bought AGMs. I bought FLAs. Mostly they just need checked every couple months for water levels.

I'd keep them in series like you are. I have mine setup differently because they're on a bus, and I can't control the shadows that hit them as much. So, I need them to be kind of independent. If you have a cabin, I'm sure you have a way to make sure they're always out of the shade.

Yep, that's true about the 4AWG interconnects. It's just such a short distance that it probably wouldn't cost much to make them a little beefier, and that gives you some future-proofing if you ever decide to throw an inverter on them.

You should download the manual for the MPPT before you buy it. Read it so you know what you're going to need as far as connectors and stuff.

Good point on the fuse. I forgot you were doing 150V when I typed that section. My apologies. Instead of an ANL fuse, look for a CC type fuse rated for 150VDC and 10-12A. Eaton/Bussmann makes them and they're like 5 or 6 bucks if you can find one cheap on Amazon. They're more like $25 if you have to buy from somewhere expensive like Grainger. Also, you need a special fuse box for them. They're basically what houses had before breakers.

This one might work... but it's only AC rated. Because the polarity on AC alternates 60 times a second, it's what's called "self-extinguishing." Meaning AC has a hard time to hold an arc for a long time. DC doesn't alternate, so it just burns an arc until the air-gap gets long enough that it can't sustain it. Typically you de-rate AC gear by 50% when using it for DC. This is a 600VAC fuse you'd be using for 150VDC. That's twice as much safety margin. It'll probably be fine, but I'm not an electrician or anything. Do your own research and shopping until you're comfortable.

As for that ANL fuse you found... Man, you found one of the most expensive fuses on Amazon. But, yes. That's exactly the type of thing I meant for everywhere else. Try this instead and use the leftover cash to take a couple cases of beer and a nice steak to the cabin with you. I'm using a few similar car-stereo grade ANL fuseholders in my system, but they're 400A fuses because of the big inverter.

And you only need to fuse your positive side. Negative DC should be grounded. Properly grounded. Look at your local building codes for grounding requirements. Ground moisture, soil composition, and lots of other factors affect grounding requirements.

> You state that your batteries are in series but that would make this a 24V system and you only have a 12V inverter. I think you meant they are parallel. They appear to be parallel in the photo as well.

Thank you for the observation. I've updated the page.

> Also though you have sealed batteries, they should be isolated from the other electronics incase they burst leaking acid and hydrogen gas.

I was under the impression that AGM batteries did not leak unless punctured or dropped. Would putting each battery in a container like this and let the airflow push the air out of the main container be enough?

> ...the inverter should be a larger fuse though, likely more like 60a if not 80a.

While I was testing the inverter capacity I blew its internal 40 am fuse, So i figured using a 40 am breaker would be enough. if I increase the breaker to 60 or 80 as you described, wouldn't that allow the internal inverter fuse to blow again?

> The wire you have appears to be too small for the inverter amp draw.

I am using AWG10 for these connections. Others have also mentioned that this may not be think enough. Would going to a size 6 be enough?

Thanks very much for your feedback, by the way! I'm still learning but all the comments and suggestions help a lot!

Do you have a recommendation on an inverter that you can link that is an OK deal? Do you think this one is an OK deal for what I am looking for? https://www.amazon.com/AIMS-Power-PWRI60012S-Inverter-Cables/dp/B007KDDSXQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1497633728&sr=8-3&keywords=aims+power+inverter

When you say fat wire, would you guess the wire that comes with it would be suitable, or is it recommended to get thicker gauge to be safer?

I'm also wondering on the battery, I'd probably want more power than the one I listed, but if I understand it, they can be daisy chained? That way if my buy for fun and learning needs to turn into something more practical, I could just daisy chain more?

Thank you so much, I think I am starting to better understand.

Your best bet is to replace your TV with a 12V LED TV. They only use 18watts-30watts

example: https://www.amazon.com/SuperSonic-1080p-Widescreen-Compatible-22-Inch/dp/B0066AE4M8/

​

You connect them directly to a 12V battery. No inverter or solar panels necessary. (Inverters waste about 20% of battery power converting DC to AC (and then the TV adaptor itself wastes another 10% converting BACK to DC) Just get a deep-cycle battery and charge it at home before leaving, and you'll be good for 8 to 12 hours. If you want to, you can bring along a 50W solar panel and a cheap little 5-amp charge controller to keep it running all day as well.

Alternatively, if you feel like a workout, get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/K-TOR-Generator-Emergency-Lightweight-Polycarbonate/dp/B00EZS8VQS. (20W max) The advantage is it will work rain-or-shine and you can keep that TV running a long long time

​

best of all, they use a lot less power. Even a nice 40" LED TV uses only 30 watts or so. you'll be good to go all night.

​

80w is just too much power requirement to make sense for solar.

Yes it would be stationary if it end up being small hiding under ground or in between the shrubs.

It would be a string of lights. To light the two big palm and shrub on the front yard. mostly using the linked 1w eagle eye LEDs.
I might use a LED string but the big 16 ft unit pull from 1 to 2 amps.

Yes I was looking for a small controller like the one in the Alpha LED I linked above that one work with the solar panel. Once the solar panel drop below a set point then the Light come on as it know is dark.

I searched for 'energy harvesting chips' but no much luck. I would prefer something more like plug and play. screw on terminal to hold the wire or similar.

I did found this less expensive controller HQRP Solar 10A
But it don't have built in timer like the Sunlight controller.

I would much prefer a chip style controller they are way smaller, but not sure if they can handle a 40w panel.

Thank you! This is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

As far as I can tell, no-one makes a 12V DC pump that actually comes with a decent warranty, and is rated for continuous duty. Mostly, they're made for aerating small tanks (e.g., a cooler with fish you've caught) for a short period of time. The advice I've seen is "buy one, and plan to replace it at least every year".

Still, it might be more cost-effective to replace one of these every year than build the much bigger solar power system that would be required for a 120v system.

To back up a bit, my pond-aeration options are more broadly:

• This continuous solar powered pump that I'm trying to price out here (maybe ~$800 if I go with the DC pump and 2x 100AH batteries)
  
• A battery-free kit from Missouri Solar that would only operate when the sun was shining ($689 for this one)
  
• A windmill-powered pond aeration pump that'd only work when the wind was blowing. We live in a pretty windy area, so I'd guess that average something like 12-hours per day of aeration, and about 2x the volume, at about 125 LPM vs. these pump's 60 LPM. ($1,335 here.)
  
• Tie in to our well power line that goes about 50' from the pond, and have an electrician install an outdoor outlet so we can plug in a traditional 120v aerator. ($300 for the pump since I'd probably get a bit bigger pump with unlimited power available, plus $?? to have an electrician hook up the power, plus ~$10/mo in electricity costs)
  
  This give me the info I need to have a much better assessment of my options. Thank you!
  

In lieu of the switch I have on there, would this be a better alternative?

Edit - The goal is to not have to open the case in order to turn on power. I would also like to leave the inverter in its original state so it could be easily removed and used outside of this unit.

I'd highly recommend getting a halfway decent multimeter if you don't have one. Given that you'll have more electrical work to do (and test) after initial diagnosis, you'll get a LOT of value out of a decent multimeter.

Something like this won't break the bank, and all the major functionality you will need to troubleshoot:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVYGZA/

Done.

• Solar Controller
  
• Converter Charger
  
• Inverter
  
• Battery
  
• Grand total so far is us$ 290. I havent included a box, wires as needed, 12v outlet, and fuses (the yeti says it isnt fused) all of which you could source for under $50.00. It would have more than 3 times the battery storage capacity and better charging specs.
  
  Edit: Link here to the Goal Zero Yeti AGM for comparison.

Square-plastic-bag + lots-of-water + gravity = spherical-blob + stress-points = fun-for-audience = safety-requirement-for-self (steam explosions are 'not funny').
You can try one of these (example) to experiment with.

Even with a simple 'flat plate' collector it is possible to reach 200⁰C+ temperatures, a pressure relief valve is mandatory (in my opinion), having some way to control to about 90⁰C maximum is a lot smarter.

typically I have a bus bar where I connect my batteries, my charge controllers and my loads. I have an overall fuse connected between the batteries and the bus.

Something like this is a good idea. Having a fuse for every load helps.

https://www.amazon.ca/Blue-Sea-Systems-Blade-Block/dp/B001P6FTHC/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=bus+bar&qid=1567973923&s=gateway&sr=8-4

With ground rod use this kind of clamp because "Approved for direct burial" and not this kind because "Above Ground Non-Direct Burial Pipe Clamp".

Products

MPPT Tracer Charge Controller
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KWPH12/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Go Power! 4 Stage Battery Charger
https://www.amazon.com/Go-Power-GPC-45-MAX-4-Stage-Converter/dp/B007GN4VKY

1200 Watt Pure Sine Inverter
https://www.amazon.com/Power-PWRIX120012S-Inverter-Transfer-Switch/dp/B00TI1D5JK

Eco Solar Cool Refrigerator
https://www.ecosolarcool.com/collections/upright-refrigerators/products/solar-refrigerator-12-5-cuft-escr355ge

Trojan T105-RE Batteries
http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/t-105-re/

Solar Panels (Monocrystalline)
http://www.ecodirect.com/Canadian-Solar-CS6K-295MS-T4-295-Watt-Mono-PERC-p/canadian-solar-cs6k-295ms-t4.htm

I think I would pay a little more and get the Renogy kit. Double the panel watts for just a bit more. For the battery maintainer, I would get something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-1162-Charger-Controller/dp/B004Q820UK/ref=pd_sim_263_7

Hook the input side to the load terminals on the charge controller. You can hook both of the ATV batteries to the output of the same trickle charger.

Morningstar are not the cheapest by a long way but will give you many years of service.

If you want something a bit more budget. Epsolar are reliable.

You can go even cheaper of course

Only one book to buy; https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Electricity-Handbook-installing-photovoltaic/dp/1907670661/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Solar+Electricity+Handbook&qid=1549631828&s=Books&sr=1-1

​

Solar Electrity Handbook, I have the 2013 edition, it covers everything.

​

From there, go online, watch youtube videos, google etc.