Location: Seattle, WA
Took this project on mostly to learn. I liked the process of figuring out how to design and then install this small off grid system.
2x300W Solarworld panels
600W 24V Samlex inverter
30A Midnite Solar Kid CC
4x T105 6V batteries for a 24V battery bank (around 225 ah).
Other midnite products used: MND-C enclosure for the DC wiring, breakers, GFP, WizBang JR, BTS
A few things worthy of note were the modifications needed to the inverter, i removed the GFI outlet, and lifted the NG bond on the inverter because I wanted the NG bond to be made in the panel.
The system currently runs landscape lighting, ebike charging, and some small computer loads (a stat logger, and a temp probe), and in the case of a prolonged outage it will recharge my Goal zero yeti 1400, which can power the house critical loads for about 16 hours. -- In the summer i think i make this work for several weeks, spring/fall i can probably go a week, and in the winter it might buy me an extra 48 hours maybe? ..
Pictures and a diagram:
more pics
more pics
final set of pics
A few upgrades i want to make sooner than later --
1 - add a fuse to the battery cable (thats on order already)
2 - add a battery disconnect switch
3 - replace the 40A breaker for the KID with a 30A breaker.
Looks nice.
What about a venting system for the battery box
Quote from: Matrix on June 15, 2018, 09:20:54 PM
Looks nice.
What about a venting system for the battery box
i put 2 x 3/4" conduits leading from the top of the box ... might be inadequate ... (its what i had on hand) .. the shed itself is vented .. the roof has a several inch gap where it meets the wall, and the box is not sealed.
final pic,the monitoring dashboard
looks good... :)
Nice job ! That is a lot neater than anything I put together ever looks . Or at least ends up looking like.
You should try to see if the 8 Gauge wire will fit in the Kid terminals - one of the techs at the energy fair I just went to said 8 will fit .
From top of your ground rod looks like you pounded it in. I was told a trick for pushing in a ground rod and works every time for me. You take scoop of dirt out of ground, pour in some water, push in ground rod then pull it back up. The water will run down the hole, then push in ground rod , pull up , keep enough water in hole. I can push down an 8 foot ground rod in a few minutes that way - no pounding or very little needed unless you hit a rock I guess.
Larry
Very nice setup.
Any chance you could annotate the photo(s) of the DC Load Center with arrows and text describing all the connections? This would be a great resource. I mostly understand what all the wires are doing, but there remains a little ambiguity.
Thx!