New Off Grid Inverter Charger

Started by nigel, June 15, 2012, 11:17:27 AM

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Highflyer

I'm glad you are using larger batteries.  Can't wait.
Brian

The one thing is the one thing

Robin

We should be able to build a good representation of a battery module in about a week. We keep on changing things. Time to get it right and then go for the tooled parts rather than 3D printed stuff. That could happen soon. The battery module has to pass some UL required tests. One of them is a drop test. That is the reason we keep doing redesigns. The module is totally packed and we cannot make it any bigger. That makes it a real challenge. One thing we are doing to help make it withstand a drop is to add stamped metal sides. We found out that it only costs $1.00 more to have these metal sides embossed, polished and chrome plated. Guess what we are going for?
Robin Gudgel

Highflyer

Robin,

Did the new boards arrive?  Any luck getting Rosie up and running ahead of Alpha or Beta testing? 

What about Barcelona?  Any updates you can share? 

Will either be available this year?

AND did you see the size of Elon's new battery. 4680!!  Will that fit in the B-17 :)

Hope all is well, and we can't wait for more news on your progress. 

Thanks for all the work, stay safe.
Brian

The one thing is the one thing

Robin

Lots of questions. We are building the Rosie control, filter and aux power supply boards now. We have not yet ordered the main power board. It looks like we still have about two weeks of design to finish before we can order the power board. Once we have all the boards, then we still have tons of software to do. Much of the B17 software is available for use on the Rosie, but how much is applicable I am not sure. The charging circuits are quite different on each unit. It will be interesting to see which inverter is ready for beta testing first. I am hopeful both will see beta testing with our people this year. We have missed so many dates thus far, I am very hesitant to make guesses, but I do know the B17 inverter module inverts extremely well. Charging from the B17 module is next.
The Hawke's Bay is up and running in the lab, in our solar lab that we call the homeless shelter and at Mario's house. I am not sure how much more software needs to be completed on the Hawke's Bay before we can send beta units to Maine, Florida and Missouri. It must be close though. We will skip over the Barcelona for a short period after the HB is ready for beta testing so Mario can start software for the B17 MPPT modules. We have quite a few modules built although the B17 MPPT modules do not yet have updates that the Hawke's Bay has. We hope to be able to use them. We are working on adding all the newest hardware changes for the next version of B17MPPT boards not yet on order. The Barcelona is two HB units in one, so it won't take much to get the Barcelona beta ready once Mario gets back to it. We still have two additional charge controllers I want to do after these three new ones, but we have our hands full at the moment. We also have another inverter to do after the Rosie and B17 also. That too must wait. We have 22 engineers and technicians in the engineering department, so we have plenty of manpower. This stuff is just hard to finish though. On the production front, we have been gearing up for that too. We now have 32 pick and place machines to build our circuit boards. We only need 22, but since our machines are older and not as reliable as newer machines, we have lots of spares. This gives us incredible capability!
Robin Gudgel

Robin

We won't be using Elon's new battery size. I don't think that is even available to the rest of the world. We are using something larger than 18650, but can't remember the exact size? I think they are 26mm in diameter. There are 96 cells in each battery module. There are 6 or 8 modules depending on the main frame selected. We have communications to the inverter and everything else in the system. We also can withstand cold temperatures beyond what other normal lithium batteries can do. The batteries are going to be very unique. We are even building some 12V lithium batteries to power some signs going up outside two of our buildings. More on that soon.
The picture is Shawn, our production manager in the circuit board building.
Robin Gudgel

Highflyer

Thanks for the update.

Can't wait to hear about any progress! 

One last thought, is there any concern about "trying to achieve perfection" being the enemy of "its ready to go?"  Sometimes I am guilty of that in my projects.  When I figure that out, the project goes a lot quicker.


All the best.
Brian

The one thing is the one thing

Robin

I assure you we are not delaying things trying to achieve perfection. There are many parts to the process and we just aren't done yet. Can't ship a product that isn't finished. I am sure we will leave some "non perfect" features in there. The good thing is that you will be able to upgrade the firmware. I am hopeful that our guys in Maine, Florida and Missouri will work out any obvious bugs before shipping outside of MidNite personnel. We will be adding features throughout the life of the projects, but there are certain ones that must be in the design and working.
Thanks,
Robin
Robin Gudgel

qrper

Quote from: Robin on October 06, 2020, 11:36:41 AM
I assure you we are not delaying things trying to achieve perfection. There are many parts to the process and we just aren't done yet. Can't ship a product that isn't finished. I am sure we will leave some "non perfect" features in there. The good thing is that you will be able to upgrade the firmware. I am hopeful that our guys in Maine, Florida and Missouri will work out any obvious bugs before shipping outside of MidNite personnel. We will be adding features throughout the life of the projects, but there are certain ones that must be in the design and working.
Thanks,
Robin

As Doctor McCoy said, "I know engineers. They love to change things."

So Sometimes you need to shoot the engineer and get on with the project!
System one: 7kWp w/ Trina 250 W panels @90 Vdc. Classic 150 to 16-6 V U.S batteries. Trace 5548 sine wave inverter.
System two: 6kWp grid tie with solaredge inverter.
System three: Midnite Brat, two 120 W Astropower modules, 100 Ah battery. Runs the LED streetlight in the back yard.

Robin

Believe me, I am ready to shoot all 22 engineers!
Robin Gudgel

boB

Quote from: Robin on October 06, 2020, 02:58:56 PM
Believe me, I am ready to shoot all 22 engineers!

Ummmm....   

Can I just choose my own demise then ?   I have some fun ways to go instead of bullets.



K7IQ 🌛  He/She/Me

Trukinbear

Nice to hear you are working hard on this! If you guys ever need an average joe, fumble fingered, do-it-yourselfer with poor eyesight, and hearing - I'm your guy. There are so many 'common knowledge,''rules of thumb' and such that your first time DIYer aren't going to have. Often a manual that reads perfectly well to the EE, or knowledgable sales people, may read like 5 dimensional chess to the novice - perhaps a 'for dummies' (but don't call it that) version of the manual that leaves out all the tasty goodies the techs love, but puts in all the stuff that you already know so deep down that you can't even imagine someone else not knowing. I'm in the middle of building a house of my own design, no experience or anything like that. I can buy a book (or watch a video) that shows me how to do most of what I've done, but they don't tell me the stuff that any half-decent carpenter's (electrician's, plumber's) helper knows - I've had to overcome some serious errors because of this. Now I know printing a 2nd version would cost twice as much, but in this digital age a 2nd version shouldn't cost much more than the cost of writing it. Just my thoughts. Keep up the good work.
SMA Solar Sunny Island SI6048
JA Solar 330W 72 cell panels (18)
Classic 250 (2)
MODBUS/Canbus comm adaptor for Sunny Island
SMA-OG E-panel
WhizBang Jr
MNSPD300V (3)
Atkinson GSCM mini-i
Onan Quiet Diesel QD-8000
Monterey 986Ah 'Big Sur' 24-125-11 48V battery
Off the grid on the PNW coast

Robin

4 Hawke's Bays will ship this week. No manual yet. The one going to Todd in Missouri will be used for starting the manual. Mario still has stuff to finish on the Hawke's Bay before moving on to the Barcelona, but when he does, the Barcelona should be a piece of cake. It is actually two Hawke's Bay units in one box. The Barcelona can be run independently or summed together.
Bob is 99.9% ready to charge off the grid for the B17. Then paralleling code. Then we need to finish Justin's board and all the Canbus communications.
Mario will also have to get the B17 MPPT finished. We came up with enough changes based on the Hawke's Bay that the B17 MPPT will want to have new boards built.

Rosie boards are all in and Andy is expecting to fire it up in about one week. Then we will start thinking about a Little Rosie. The Rosie is somewhere between 5000 and 6000 watts out. 120/240VAC with a 48V battery bank. We will do 12 and 24 later.
The Little Rosie will be 3000 watts but only 120VAC.

Scott is finishing up board changes to the B17-B Lithium Battey system. Looks like a B17 inverter with modules.

We are still considering the "Lunch time Project" too. A charge controller to compete with offshore stuff.

One project that is taking some of our engineering resources is the Sunspec Rapid Shutdown project. There are three different receivers.
Robin Gudgel

unyalli

The Little Rosie will be 3000 watts

Not 30 amps AC, not able to power a standard RV.

Robin

The little Rosie can be 60 amp pass thru.
Robin Gudgel

Highflyer

Robin and all,
Great news!  Glad to see things are finally coming together!

Little Rosie, 3000 watts, not the expected 2000 watts.  Rosie, 5000 to 6000 watts not the 4000 watts expected.  Out of the park upgrades! 

B-17 getting ready to grid connect, Awesome!

Hawk's bay and Barcelona coming along nicely, also awesome. 

Glad to see the new products are about to see the light of day!

When possible can we see some new pics?  Also, any willingness to give expected efficiency numbers?  Other specs?

Thanks so much for the hard work, we are eager to see the fruits of your collective labors!

Great work all!
Brian

The one thing is the one thing