Ben Roberts's posts

Hi James,

The panel is a 180 watt Sanyo, model number HIP-J54BA2 with a junction box. Serial number 0302B7082. I have photos but can't attach or paste them in the forum.  Max amps is 3.33 and the sticker notes that the bypass diode is 6A.  Not sure if that is 6 amps or just a designator.

Ben

I agree. I have no disappointments with my turbine except that the wind doesn't blow as often or as hard as I'd hoped.  But that's my issue, not the turbines.  My 1.5 kW of solar and the Bergey keep us power up 95% of the time.  I'm limited by battery capacity, not power input.

Hi,

Went and checked when I got home.  I'm not sure that I have the exact model that you do after all but it's pretty close.  The options for my model are 24 volts in parallel for 40 amps (2 jumpers), in series for 20 amps at 48 volts (1 jumper) or wired without jumpers for 20 amp at 24 volts (which is how I have mine).  The fitting is a standard 1 inch pipefitting.

Ben

I don't have mine wired in parallel.  I have a standard threaded insert welded to a 3 ft. piece of 8 inch pipe.  The pipe sits flat at a slight angle with both ends welded closed.  A 2 inch piece of pipe is welded at the upper end for filling.  I have a vented cap on that so that steam can escape if it gets too hot.

Hi Thomas,

I have the same setup (Bergey XL.1 and 24/48v heating element) going into a custom made tank.  It's been working fine for over a year but the threaded connections and little insulators are pretty fragile.  In my setup the element is fully immersed.  I wouldn't be worried about burning out the element so much as ensuring the you can most effeciently transfer the heat and water/glycol solution is much better than air. It can get extremely hot (120 F +) so make sure that you use good wire as well. Make sure that you put in a breaker between the Bergey control panel and the element too.

Cheers,

Ben

I have 5 Sanyo 180 watt, 24 volt panels.  I recently noticed a change in time to fully charge my batteries.  While checking fuses and voltages I discovered that while 4 of the panels are producing voltage in the high 40's, 1 panel is producing only 14.2 to 14.4 volts.  I checked at the panel itself and get the same numbers.  I read in a troubleshooting article that it may be the diodes.  does anyone have any experience that can confirm this may be the issue and if so, how do I go about fixing it?

Thanks,

Ben