Michael Riewer's posts

Posted by Michael Riewer on Apr 25, 2011 12:09 pm

#1 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Solar Electric System - Photovoltaic > Re: Xantrex C35
Max,

Just watch your battery voltages carefully with that charge controller.  My Xantrex C40 would go for weeks left alone at my off grid cabin and I would come back to go camping and see that my batteries were never getting charged adequately with my solar only setup.  Everytime I would use them, the c40 would just match the voltage and effectively make my solar panel input less and less voltage until coming to the cabin this spring and seeing everything dead as a door nail - and that was with me running the generator and charger for an entire day each time I'd visit.  Fast forward one month later with an Outback FM-80 and I can go a weekend of camping with my battieres not dropping below 12v, no generator and even heavier usage.  The batteries were ultimately toast thanks to the c40, but the FM-80 has brought them back from the brink.....so just watch that c35 closely...
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 04:12 pm

#2 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Shed Lighting off of Inverter
So far the 85w panel is doing great, and keeping up with our consumption when we are there.  When I installed the system a month ago the batteries were at 12.7volts and the weather was cloudy so I never even got to see if the panel was working correctly before we left.  After a weekend of use the batteries were at 12.4volts and the panel was only throwing 1amp into them.

The weekend after that the batteries were at 12.8 volts when we arrived.  This was a dissappointment cause they had a week to charge, but after talking to my uncle who lives near my property, he said it was overcast for most of the week. It was raining the Sunday we left and once again the panel was only feeding 1 amp into the batteries which were at 12.4volts. 

This past trip when I installed the LEDs and stuff in the trees we arrived and the batteries were at 12.9.  But after a weekend of inconsistent sunshine, sucking about 80-130watts the entire Saturday playing music and charging my drill batteries while working, we left on Sunday in bright sunshine and the batteries were at 13.3 volts and still charging to the 13.5 limit the controller is set at.  The sun angle was less than ideal as it was only 11am when we left, but the panel was feeding in 40 watts and 3amps into them.

I have yet to be at our property on a clear day and at optimal time for the sun angle to see what it indeed is putting out, but so far it seems to be working quite well, even in cloudy weather! Smiley
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 01:00 pm

#3 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Shed Lighting off of Inverter
I tied my 1000watt pure sine inverter output to a Square D 60 amp panel that supplies 120vac to my cabin, shed, and outhouse.  I just got a 3way plug and ran some 12-2 romex from the outlet of the inverter into the bus bars on the panel.  From there, there are 10amp breakers for lighting and outlets in the buildings.  It has worked flawlessly so far and is probably a NEC code book nightmare, but I have nearly 1000 hours of electrical experience when we revamped our office; so it is wired correctly. Smiley  My gallery has photos if you want to see my setup...
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 12:47 pm

#4 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Maximum discharge rates of AGMs
You can never have enough capacity, I have 552ah @ 12v and want more! Smiley  Once you get a taste for that offgrid power it just snowballs.  I don't know your setup, but for me it is such a cool feeling to be running lights, music, charging battery packs, and working on my cabin; with the convienances of 120vac power, while just using the power of the sun.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 12:19 pm

#5 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Small System Suggestions?
The math works out, but the real world is always different.  Batteries don't store as much when they are cold, panels don't produce as much with bad weather, etc...  I would think adding some panels and 2 more batteries would get you close to 100% up.  Keeping things on a budget is tough and this incremental approach is probably best.  If you are still experiencing downtime after this, you have the extra capacity provided by the batteries onsite and would only need to increase your solar yield during the day with another panel to bridge the up and downtime gap.  

BTW, what is using 5watts of power 24/7?
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 12:05 pm

#6 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Maximum discharge rates of AGMs
I used:
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html (click on "how long can i run my inverter" calculator)

I screwed up and put in 12volt batteries, it is 2.28hrs with 80ah at 350watts with a 24volt system per this online calculator, which may or may not be entirely correct...
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 11:10 am

#7 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Small System Suggestions?
^^^Agreed, it is by no means overkill, and possibly not enough for those cloudy days either.  For $130 more over the global solars I would step up to the 85watt Kyocera panel and add a few more batteries for capacity.  100ah @ 24v just isn't enough capacity if you are going to have a constant load draining them with days of no wind or sun.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 8, 2008 10:59 am

#8 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Maximum discharge rates of AGMs
Regarding the batteries - I think you need to get the largest AH available to you.  I have (2) 276ah wet cell 12v batteries that I have never seen drop below 12.4 volts.  I run music, lights and have charged multiple Dewalt 18v battery packs on these days.  If you go bigger from the start the piece of mind about not needing to worry "will my battery last?" is wonderful.  Based on a very basic calculation of 350watt drain with 80ah available(80%drain on 100ah agm battery) = 1.14 hours of run time - not enough in my opinion.

I am a fan of my Xantrex C40 charge controller with a CM faceplate as it is PWM, shows battery data as well as panel input data(all at once, with backlit display at push of a button), with a battery temp sensor, for about the same price as that Solar Boost unit

I have the SK(light blue anodized chassis) series Samlex/Cotek 1000watt pure sine inverter(need pure sine for charging those battery packs!!)and it has performed flawlessly so far(2 months).  I purchased that from donrowe.com.  Check out my gallery for some photos.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 3, 2008 12:05 am

#9 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Joel, sounds good man, you will be amazed at how bright 1 watt can be - it is painfully impossible to look at them! Let me know if you need any more help! Smiley
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 06:07 pm

#10 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
I will keep posting as i find info, because this seems to be a common issue.

james
altE staff

Ya, it is a very common off grid application and I can't seem to find any definite "must have switch" to use either, hence the use of the basic lutron ac switch.  No picture of the DC surface mounted switch sucks - go take a picture of it james! Smiley
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 01:26 pm

#11 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Well, I cannot even get my homeowners to cover my cabin since it so far away(4 hour drive) from my current residence anyway, so it is pointless from that perspective.  Ken, could you please supply us with an appropriate 12volt switch that would meet code.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 10:30 am

#12 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
I think they will be fine as LED's do fine in cold, and hate heat(enclosed spaces like glass fixtures which trap the air).  They are water tight and have silicone clearly used at the sandwich point where the heat sink was pressed around the LED.  I think they will do great as my cabin location will see rain, snow and teen or lower temperatures for 3-4 months of the year, and yes, any 12volt switch should work.  I just went with a 120vac switch on my setup as there is very little amperage passing thru the switch anyway as LED's draw nothing.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 02:27 am

#13 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
no sweat bud, anytime. 
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 02:19 am

#14 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Ah man, if you are open to other things and desire funcionality over beauty for the time being then by all means do what I did, but inside.�  After looking at your cabin pics(nice start by the way!) it seems this would be perfectly fine at this time.� 

Say you have 6 light locations(1 outside the front door, 3 downstairs and 2 upstairs for example), so get 6 sets of the http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=BARS and scroll down to the LBM1W series LED Modules (in warm white of course) which will give you 18 LED's in total.�  You can only cut the units in groups of 3's cause the "driver" is in one of the heatsinks and not the other 2.�  These are so small that you could easily screw them into the bottom of the bare 2x4's in your cabin and have 6 locations with 3 watts a piece lighting the place.� 

Wiring is super simple.�  Just cut the units at the location marked on the bubble wrap supplied with the LED's, giving you the groups of 3's.�  Get some alligator clamps for your battery and run your wire lines from there to the selected LED locations(if you haven't already) making sure the positive and negative are labeled and are the same throughout(LEDs are polarity sensitive and must be + to + and - to -).�  Then connect the positive wire to the red lead on the LED set and the negative to the black lead and bam, you have light.�  It is super easy and will really light that place up, using only 18 watts!  For wire just use some cheap 14gauge landscaping wire you can get at Lowe's for $30 for 100ft and just keep the writing side positive(or the side with ridges) throughout your system at each junction.  The just use some U shaped nails with those plastic guards on them to tack the wire up and you are set!
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 01:52 am

#15 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Joel that link is broken and doesn't specifically point to your profile gallery, but I wanna see it!! sounds like a awesome deal!!  Did you see the 2nd page in my gallery that shows the LED's at night?
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 01:20 am

#16 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Joel since you are running a 12volt system -and- require the edison base, this appears to be your only option from them, but I do not like the color temperature of the LED's used in that unit - at 8000k it will be very blue/white.

Forgive me, for I flaked and got excited recommending other units that were 120vac, thinking you had an inverter setup.  I did find a site that has nice looking edison based 12 volt led's that do include the 1 watt warm white LED's I love so much but I have not bought from this particular company. 

http://www.montanalight.com/low_voltage_led_lights.htm   
 
Regardless of what you choose, you always want the warm white LED's(much easier on the eyes) and want it to have a high degree angle like 100 or more so the light will disperse.  If you could somehow get away from the edison base, a world of lighting opportunities at reduced prices is out there.

Check out my gallery to see what 24 watts of 1 watt LED's can do for a campsite.�  They are wonderful little things!! Best of luck in your cabin lighting efforts and feel free to ask more questions!
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 2, 2008 12:43 am

#17 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
David, the website I listed above has those same bulbs for $15.95 but there are much brighter and better out now than those here http://www.superbrightleds.com/edison_globe.html and they consume 1 or 3 more watts but offer a much purer color temperature abd brightness
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 1, 2008 05:25 pm

#18 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: 12v Switches for interior lights/outlets
I have a basic 120v ac switch running my outdoor LED's, granted there is only 24 watts flowing through it, at the most, and 10awg multistrand landscape lighting wire was used throughout.  But I have no worries with this amount of load.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 1, 2008 05:18 pm

#19 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Need a little help
Joel, try looking at superbrightleds.com as they seem to have good prices on LED materials and are a stand up company that I have dealt with multiple times over the years.  I would definetly go LED if you are looking for lighting that will last as long as possible.  Check out my gallery as I just installed some at my cabin to light the grounds only drawing 24 watts in total, yet lighting the whole place up.  With your battery, you probably don't want it to drain below 60%-70% so based on that you have 60-70ah to work with.  Say your lighting draws 60 watts, that will give you 5 hours of lighting(wire voltage drop aside).  If you can get away from those Edison based 12v bulbs and venture into creating some fixtures and wiring some LED's yourself you will have way more options.  But you are on the right track for sure...
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Oct 1, 2008 05:04 pm

#20 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: Amp Hours
If they are both the same voltage they can be hooked together in series to double voltage or parallel to double amps hours.  For instance, if the batteries are both 12volts you can wire them in parallel and get a 182ah, 12volt system.

Brand of battery and amp hours does not matter - however battery type does matter.  If you were to charge an AGM and Wet cell (even if they were both 12volt) together you would have some big issues.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 22, 2008 08:18 pm

#21 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > Re: GFCI Inverter outlet to Panel - keeps tripping
Thanks john, this is the same conclusion I came up with onsite, there was no way around the onboard gfci(it is a "portable" inverter and serves it's purpose).  The only thing I truly felt uneasy about was not having the inverter grounded at all, as it trips the gfci if the chassis ground is used.  But, again, I could find no way around this issue.  The neutral and ground are bonded at the panel and everything appears wired to code(I bought the place a month ago)so gfci's that are used from the panel on will work correctly.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 22, 2008 12:36 pm

#22 -  Renewable Energy > Technical Discussion: Other > GFCI Inverter outlet to Panel - keeps tripping
I have a Samlex inverter 1000watt(just like the one sold here but not 1500w)that came with a standard 120v GFCI socket as it's outlet.  I have fabbed a 3 prong plug that plugs into the inverter's GFCI and runs to a 60amp panel for my small cabin that shares a mutual neutral/ground bus bar.  Unfortunetly I have come to the conclusion that I cannot use the main chassis ground at all on the inverter or the plug outlet at the panel or the GFCI will trip, in addition the inverter itself cannot be grounded or it will trip - not good! 

Scenarios:
Inverter grounded to ground rod, the same one as the panel. Ground and neutral output going to same bus bar in panel and hot to hot - trips GFCI upon plugging in, clearly doesn't like it.

Inverter not grounded and ground and neutral go to bus bar in panel with hot to hot - trips GFCI upon plugging in

Inverter grounded and only neutral to bus bar with hot to hot on output - trips on plugging in.

No ground on inverter and no ground from output, just neutral and ground to panel - inverter works perfectly but is not grounded whatsoever, eek!!

My question being, is there a scenario that I have overlooked that would make everything work?  Is this just something I will have to deal with since I am essentially trying to run a GFCI backwards?  Would a seperate neutral and ground bus bar in the panel fix things?  I am thinking this may work but it would isolate the neutrals altogether making things not work correctly....  Thanks for the help!
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 22, 2008 12:05 pm

#23 -  AltE > Discussion > Re: 50FT cable run from 80w kyocera panel, bad?
Well I installed my system this past weekend at our cabin.  I ran 10awg quality multistrand low volt lighting wire from my panel to the charge controller.  The total run was about 65 feet and I have zero voltage drop in the run, zero!  I had my fiance' on one end yelling from the controller and myself on the panel with a multimeter and they were the same everytime. Woohoo!...having a/c power at the flick of a switch sure was a nice change from firing up the generator all the time.
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 15, 2008 01:12 pm

#24 -  AltE > Discussion > Re: 50FT cable run from 80w kyocera panel, bad?
That helps a lot, thanks james!
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 14, 2008 04:51 pm

#25 -  AltE > Discussion > Re: 50FT cable run from 80w kyocera panel, bad?
Thanks Rene, I found another chart that stated I should use 8ga for my run, but we'll see how much voltage drop I get with 10 first I think...
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 14, 2008 12:43 pm

#26 -  AltE > Discussion > 50FT cable run from 80w kyocera panel, bad?
Hey all,

I am assembling a little off grid system for my cabin and was wondering if a 50+/- foot run of 10awg from my Kyocera KC85 will result in too much voltage loss/drop.  Reason being that the panel is to mount on the storage shed roof in the sun and I am placing the batteries/charge controller/inverter/etc in another out building where the main panel is.  Thanks for the help!
 

Posted by Michael Riewer on Sep 12, 2008 06:43 pm

#27 -  AltE > Discussion > Re: Praise for altE community and staff
You must not have used UPS ground - my order is taking an extremely long time to get delivered to Seattle - Placed on September 6th expected to be delivered on September 16th.  This gives me only 2 evenings to mock up my system before I head to my cabin and install it all, ack!  I should have known better that they would take the most time possible...
 

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