Michael B's posts

Hey David, I'll second that. Beautiful job Keith, on both the install AND the website. And Keith, kudos to you for stumping Thomas Allen "the Computer" Schmidt. That may be the most amazing part!

Holie crapolie! Had a few spare minutes to spare, so I decided to check out this thread. I usually learn quite a bit from all the responses to all the questions. This occasion has been no exception!
Lesson # 1. Don't buy anything from a company run by someone who is a jerk. Irregardless to the quality of any of the products, the person representing the above mentioned company (whatever his name is today) is beyond rude and ridicules. I would never buy or recommend anything from this other company based solely on his attitude.
#2. All of the AltE employees involved in this (massive) thread have been beyond patient and gracious. How do you guys do it? Thanks for keeping it cool and being so selfless.
A two year long saga. Someone bury this poor, dead horse already!

Aahhh! No lemon pledge. Probably wouldn't hurt anything, but mild soap (dish or car) and water is fine.
You should be looking for a cc capable of aprox. 10 amps. A 6 amp one will be a bit to small I think. Mppt is a great suggestion though. Check out the products from Solar Converters Inc. if you cant find something used for cheap. They make some small, simple mppt cc for a reasonable price.
-m
ps. sorry to hear about your Trojans, sounds terminal...

Just wondering Ann, why #4 wire. Seems pretty large for a 24v system. Is the run to the breaker very long?

Haaaa ha ha!

Ann, I have heard that soldering will provide the best connection. This may also help you avoid doing curls.
Can't put the bare wire directly to the nuts? This would avoid both issues.

Not to add carbon emitting greenhouse gas producing gas onto the fire, but I have to agree with Mr. Ken on this one. He may have come across as cross (not to me mind you) but his words ring true.
Having an idea of what you want to power during a power out, and for how long is important. Not essential but important. I did it the other way and its working out just fine. However, i do not intend on releying on it for power outages. Mine is just experimentation, learning, and lots of fun (if not slightly dangerous!).
For you, it sounds like powering the beer fridge and the TV (the essentials)is key. Having an idea of the above will really help. First and foremost for me would be those batteries. Auto batteries (yes, even the deep cycle marine ones) are designed for cold cranking amps, with a dept of discharge in the neighborhood of 3-5%. Solar batteries are the ones that will work better. They are designed to be discharged to, say, 60 or as low as 50%. So when Ken says you may end up smoking them, he's probably right. Car Barteries will still work, but you may want to really oversize things on the batt side.
Either way, like ken said, good luck! -m

sorry. thats a sharp 224 watt module. a pair of those with a tracker and a roll of 00 wire would only set you back 5 grand or so. mostly just joking. mostly.

Hey, i did'nt even notice you were an m b too. right on.
as far as any additional diodes, i dont see why you should need them. stock ones should work fine.
12g wire on a 12v system will be losing more than 2% @ 11'.
15', you'll be at a loss, but probably not a lot.
ever consider upgrading to a tracker with some sharp 224 s or something like that? maybe string it all together with some 00  wire.

Woah!! Time to move..

Wow. I guess the first thing i would look to do would be to get a charge controller. This can be very important. Helps to not only charge batteries, but charge them correctly.
 18v looks a bit high as per the specs on these modules, but if that is what the meter reads then happy bonus volts to you!
What do the amps read at the end of your wire run? my guess is that the next big upgrade would be to go with a larger wire. extension cord... probably 16g, maybe as big as 14g. at 14g you should start to experience significant losses after about six or seven feet! try like a 10g wire. fatter the better.
what angle do you prop them at? the photo looks pretty steep. this time of year in AZ i would be putting them nearly flat probably not much more than 25* or 30* in the dead of winter. you'd have to check what is recommended for your area. Only other thing is not to let your batteries get too low, and dont let them stay too low. trojans are pretty nice, give 'em lots of love. good luck!

Where are these batteries located?

Which is better, improperly sited wind jenny or solar panels in the shade? I got myself an air X and put it on a pole in a bad spot. Production? Zero. Even on a super windy day that was knocking down branches and blew open my front door (which doesn't always shut well anyway). General rule of thumb, put solar modules in the sun facing south and wind generators 30 ft. above anything within 200 ft. They like lots of "clean" air (very little to no turbulence). As for amperage, I think even one of these little air X generators would be pretty good. Putting a wind turbine on a house tends to be very loud. The building can be like a large resonating chamber.
If you do decide to go with a wind option, I would highly recommend either a 24v or 48v option. Wire sizes decrease substantially! Sorry if I just threw a wrench in your works.

Not my intention to imply that anyone who hangs around the alt store (or other similar venue) would ever be fat and spoiled. More directed at society in general. The link listed is exactally what I was looking for! Thanks JD. Think  I may have just lost a pound or two!

I cant help but feel that the beast's time is coming very near an end, and the tribes will be "alone" again. Alone with themselves. If they fought before, what will happen now that the pet is gone?
It would be good if we could all just "make the change", go back to a simpler time, live like the Amish or the Indians. Unfortunately we have become fat, spoiled children who will make no change unless it is forced upon us. "Mommy, where is my soft furry beast?" "Look in the back of the SUV" she said   over her blue tooth...

Hey yeah, me too. Inverter with a low voltage disconnect/switch to brown power? I've been looking for something in this arena as well. Grid tied, just not grid synchronous.