Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.

Aug 31, 2008 08:26 pm
Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.

Friends:

My recently installed Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system is depicted here:

http://gallery.altenergystore.com/Bhikkhu-Samahita-gallery/v/7767136956/

Main components:
600 watt Hipower Micro-Hydro Turbine: http://www.hipowerhydro.com/
3 x 115 watt Evergreen solar panels
400 watt Southwest wind-turbine
3 x 216 Ah AK AGM batteries
1500 watt DR1512E Xantrex inverter
Outback MX60 solar charge controller
Xantrex Trace C60 diversion controller
Morningstar Tristar 60 diversion controller
Morningstar relay driver
Hellroaring 150A SSR relays
Outback power panel & breakers
 
220 Posts
Oct 25, 2008 02:17 pm
Re: Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.


 hello sir,

 while recently looking for information on hydro power i happened upon your posting. it has somehow gotten buried in this forum without comments about your fine job. what a beautiful system you have put together there. i especially like the use you have made of the outback power panel. i believe it is the ps4dc (discontinued in favor of the flexmax) series panel. i see you have changed it over to a hinge style panel..very functional. and as my dad used to say "if you can get the cover on the project box closed,  there is enough room" the cooling fans are a good insurance at minimal cost. have you seen the new flexmax controllers? they seem to be the mx series with cooling fans. i just picked up the fx80 and am impressed so far. the fx series controllers have a 5 year warranty and a built in ssr that has settable trigger voltages.

 thanks for including some photos of the countryside. looks like a lovely place.

 the one thing that impressed me most was, in about one years time you went from asking what a dc source center is to a complete and impressive power system using all your available resources. well done!

 wishing you all the best, dave
 
Oct 26, 2008 12:18 am
Re: Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.

Thanx a lot dave. Unfortunately have the inverter: A
Xantrex DR1512E 1500 watt just begun to give out wrong
frequency (200-400 Hz), which cannot drive some of my
applications. Xantrex support so far silent on the
warranty issue... Should have bought a true sinus Wave
inverter in the first place. Do you have any recommendation
on good durable true sinus wave inverter 1500-2000W?
FX80 with SSR! Great idea. Can the SSR also take 80A?
 
220 Posts
Oct 26, 2008 02:10 pm
Re: Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.

  too bad about that inverter. i hope xantrex can help out. sounds like it's not bringing the frequency all the way back down after the big step-up that takes place during conversion. i'm changing my big system over to 24vdc nominal after loosing my el cheapo 12vdc pure sine wave inverter..come to find out that this inverter would not shut off in the event of a dead short circuit. and that event happened! on the bright side now i have lots of parts for other things.

 so i just picked up the samlex 1500w heavy duty psw 24vdc inverter. so far so good. however i don't care for the inverter cable connections (set screw compression type) i like the lug and stud connections.

 i am mistaken in calling the trigger on the fx80 a solid state relay- it is a 12vdc 200ma outout max. can be normally open or closed and many different setting options. i have not set it in the way i would like yet. (to trigger the line power off to a modified ups i hacked). it has been taking some time to learn to navigate this menu. but i like this controller very much. after fooling around with some of the cheaper ones i believe i should have gone with this or the mx first.

  we see this theme time and time again about regretting our first purchase. we live we learn. i see many people on this forum speak highly of the exeltech inverters. and this samlex is to new for me to give an opinion of it's lifespan but it will handle a short without frying itself..one of the first things i did was short it out to see!

 take care and stay dry,(fall monsoon season?)

dave

 ps, i was curious why you went with the inverter/charger route with no grid? was there a possibility of a backup genset?
« Last Edit: Oct 26, 2008 02:55 pm by david ames »
 
Oct 27, 2008 02:50 am
Dead Xantrex Inverter.

Hey Dave:

U R inded very observant!
I use the MX AUX output to control a 150A Hellroaring DC-SSR
for low voltage disconnect.
The XantrexDR1512E was chosen since I have a backup generator. However I never used it to charge with.
Have also a good look on the Heavy Duty S-1500 Samlex (230V).
However it only have a surge ability of 2000 watt, while
the SK-1500 have a 3000 watt surge capability. This is important if one want to start up a refrigerator or in my
case a dehumidifier, which have 3-5x normal use watts start up surge. Its moonsoon here. Constant rain and on this mountain cloud. Humidity close to 90%... Hmmm
Needs that new sins wave inverter soon! ;-)
 
220 Posts
Oct 27, 2008 10:56 pm
Re: Triple Hybrid 1.5 Kw Solar, Micro-Hydro, Wind-turbine system.


 hello my friend,

  i looked around a little for some more info on that inverter. it looks like it is now a discontinued product. one possible thing you might try is a hard reset. it may be detailed in your manual? not sure of the exact sequence for that model or even if there is an exact sequence for it. you would disconnect it from all power. (all cables removed from unit. ac, dc, rts and all. wait for a set period of time. perhaps an hour or more then reconnect the unit in a given order. i can't find the info for this one. but if you search around you will see several reset procedures for other xantrex/trace units. i would try disconnecting it for an hour or so then reconnect it per original connection order in the manual and see what happens.

 i'm sure in your case that xantrex will rise to the occasion and get this resolved. i see that you mentioned last year that the cover screws were too long and were touching the circuit board. does this look like the cause of the trouble?

 on the possible replacement of this unit for a pure sine wave inverter. you may wish to think about a marine environment unit. with 90% humidity much of the year it may be a better option?

 your right about those startup surge numbers. inductive loads are funny in that they may surge to twice the running watts on startup one time then surge to five times the running watts on another startup. i think it has alot to do with where the motor came to a stop. and the lead/lag of the driving phase. interesting stuff.

 good luck, dave kb1mfz
 

Disclaimer and Disclosure

The Alternative Energy Store, Inc reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse or delete any posting or portion thereof, or terminate or block the access to this forum.

The opinions and statements posted on this forum are the opinions and statements of the person posting same, and do not constitute the opinion or act of the Alternative Energy Store, Inc (AltE). The Alternative Energy Store, Inc does not endorse or subscribe to any particular posting. No posting shall be construed as the act or opinion of the Alternative Energy Store, Inc.

Click here for BBB Business Review

McAfee SECURE sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams
Desktop Website | Mobile Website

Share

Click on an icon to share! If you don't see the method you want, hover over the orange "+".

Feedback

What can we do to help you?

Please enter a summary
Sorry, the copyright must be in the template.
Please notify this forum's administrator that this site is using an ILLEGAL copy of SMF!
Copyright removed!!