₦airaland Forum

DUNKA:
Oga Chris really appreciated your assistance in tweaking my system. Really grateful. A Guru is born not made

Plateau boyz stick together. You did the work. You have a good set up. With patience and a few tweaks it should serve you well.
Thank you for letting me assist. I did nothing you knew what you wanted.

bellyjean:
Gurus in thee house, pls i'm a starter in this solar/inverter business and I have zero background in electrical engineering, that power, Voltage and current concepts confuse me but I believe when the resources are available, no mountain is insurmountable.

My boss asked me design a solar/inverter system (the inverter will be hybrid i.e solar + any other AC power source like NEPA and Gen) for a house that wishes to run 2500 watts for 12hours daily.
My calculations are: total watt-hour is 30,000Wh.
Assuming 85% efficiency of solar PV panels, it becomes 30,000 x 1.2 = 36,000Wh. This means my panels should be able to capture 36000Wh daily to be able to deliver 30,000Ah to the batteries. Assuming 6hrs daily of sunlight, that means the total capacity of my panels should be 6000W. If I plan to use 200W panels, then I will. Need 30 modules.
At this junction, I don't know if my calculations are right.

For the batteries,
My hypothetical battery bank is 48V (as would be that of my inverter too i.e @48V).
Amp-hour is 30,000Wh/48V = 625Ah
This would imply 4 pcs of batteries of 12V 200Ah connected in series to get 48V 200Ah.
I will need 4 strings of the above set to be connected in parallel to give me 48V 800Ah. (i.e 16 batteries in total)
If my batteries work at 80% efficiency, then they should deliver 0.8 x 800Ah = 640Ah and this is greater than 625Ah. So I think i'm safe. Now i'm stuck, how do I put the Depth Of Discharge into consideration here?

For inverter, my recommendation is 3.5KVa 48V Full sine wave Inverter. But I don't know the specs of MPPT CC + other accessories I will need

Pls I want your corrections/comments on this. I saw this thread today and I have gone through the 1st 10pages. I can only grasp this little.

Thanks.

Who is doing the installation? You or a third party. Getting the equipment right does not guarantee that the installation will be correct.
Use larger panels than 200 Watts Solar World 255 or 260 Yingli 250 or 300.

You calculation of 6 hours assumes that you have nepa a few hours a day. Use fewer hours. I use 4.5 to 5 hours.

Your depth of discharge should not exceed 50% if you want the batteries to last up to the design life or duty cycle.

Your inverter size is inadequate, if you are buying one of the cheap indian or chinese inverters. If they are running 2500 watts there is at least one fridge and freezer. Did you calculate a surge into your numbers. Your 3.5 kva is 2.8 kw.

You should use higher AH batteries 2V or 6 V to minimize the string.

Well done you did more on your first try than many who have done it for longer.

I am no guru just Chris81964

Pharyn:
House,

What could be done to help this set of 4 Trojan J185?
Soon after topping up with distilled water and proper equalisation, the performance dropped by almost half.
The remaining of the distilled water later tasted acidic to the tongue, and looks cloudy. It was bought (under pressure) from a marketer (I won't mention name).

Men, what can be done? Can we get the right sulphuric acid mixture, pour out the one inside and refill back? Would it revive the performance?

Thanks.

Get a hydrometer and test each individual cell. Distilled water should be clear. It is drinking water that has no impurities. Go and buy distilled water and remove what you poured in.

DUNKA:
please help me with your WhatsApp number

+19739981590

brabus:
It was ordered online.

Thank you

durodee:
My daughter thankfully saw it early enough and raised the alarm. EXCELLENT inverter before that episode; withstood numerous insults prior to that and even more after!!!!
Can I inbox you later please?
Thanks.

Yes you can info@atlanticwastepower.com

durodee:
My inverter is almost 2 years old now. A 3KVA,30AMP AC charger with 50 amp PWM CC . Doing great except when i connected to NEPA and it caught fire within 2weeks. NOT SMELL OF BURNING WIRES O! VISIBLE VIGOROUS FLAMES!!. Worked fine for months with Gen charging before that fire issue. Fire went out soon after NEPA was disconnected. The inverter does it job well now (inverting only) without any trouble but i have not tried the PWM to check if still functional. I have other MPPT chargers but lost the automatic change over capability

Sorry to hear. That must have scared the PEE out of you. I have them all connected to NEPA. So far knock on wood. This is the second I am installing using the inbuilt charger. You have to follow the instructions from the manufacturer when you connect them or they don't work. (the inbuilt charger)
Yours is battle tested

brabus:
NextHome Brick+Stone | Simplifying Complexities.

We've commenced preliminary ground works on this site and first challenge is how to do things the modern way - the easier way.
One of the main challenges of the project is how to power various equipment on site. How to cut down on operating cost. How to build a self sustaining system with low-maintenance cost.

Challenge 1 | Powering the borehole pump

This problem was solved using a solar panel system and a solar powered water pump which means we can meet our daily requirement for water without the need for an external power source.

Challenge 2 | Powering the site

By going mechanical, the site can absolutely produce 1,000 blocks per day without the need for electricity. However, I decided to factor in a small inverter to provide needed energy for site workers who may want to charge their phones and also provide lighting during late hours.
We are seriously considering the egg laying block machine over other systems. Though we intend to install the Traditional system first.

______
No ongoing operating costs

Yesterday, I took delivery of my 6L per min solar powered pump with an uplift of 30m. After the initial system setup cost, there won't be any other ongoing operating costs. Every single day the sun is shining, we are earning free money from the sun. I already got 2 x 1000 litres tank which is just about 1.2m high to store water in excess of our daily requirement. The sun shines down and water is pumped up from deep underground, saving us a lot from the electricity running bills or generator fuel/maintenance cost.

At the moment, I'm still picking up the pieces.

Who provided the water pump. I am looking for a good one for a client that owns a farm. My email is info@atlanticwastepower.com

Optimixim:
. I have worked closely with this axpert inverter closely, and the 3kw seems to get burn when a certain charging amps passes through it (DC current). I have so many cases cos I worked in a company where I handled both installation and maintenance, chris81964, did you got yours recently cos that company stopped the importation for some time now, the i-power inverter sold by zinox is same with axpert though they have corrected the error, another problem I experienced is that the paralleling of 3 units to form a three phase system do fail on synchronization, I met with the chinese chipmunks who does the manufacturing, they said that I need to upgrade the malware. So I now get my axpert from other source but now going for i-power which I have installed series of both,and still on close monitoring. Pls chris81964n if you have any experience with axpert, share here. Thank you

The oldest one I have installed is 2 years old. The fan failed and it is still working. The 3 Kva is more reliable than the 5 Kva. I have the 5 Kva paralleled I initially had a software issue. I did the upgrade and it worked for a while. One of the units developed an issue with nepa. It goes nuts when it sees nepa.
I import mine. They have yet to burn out from charging. They shut down when they get too hot. The common problem is a locked or failed fan
If they don't fail at the beginning they do last.

temizeee:
mr @adanny01 you don't have to take what I said as a weapon against another nairalander........i don't fight or like to argue online......i commented abt some guy having 4 ba3 bar blinking ish some times ago and you see i backoff...not becuz i totally agree but i don't argue online.
also this mr @chris81964 you are talking about is who i can call a professional installer in solar power (chk diz page u will see some of his recent installation www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta/126) ....he had knowledge in this system so i don't know d boss or who is right....my point is what i said abt knowing everything,isnt about him...... i just talked generally.

Thanks @Temizeee. Thank you for coming to my defense. There is an expression in Ibo that says when you have asked and received the head of the dog what will you do with the chin? I am sure I butchered the translation.

People who have way more time on their hands like to waste the time of others on hypotheticals. That is what school or Google is for.

Thank you once more. We try to learn and help others who have a system perform better. I am always happy to contribute my two cents.

DUNKA:
please which inverter is that in the installation?

Axpert Mex. It has the 60 amp AC charger and 40 amp MPPT charger for a combined 100 amp total. I have two more left.

Konnektions146:
Nice one Boss.

Weldone!

Thank you sir. We appreciate

adanny01:
A simple 'i dont know' should suffice or better still no need to throw attitude by keeping it to yourself instead of throwing questions to the same person who asked in the first place.

After the wild goose chase for no apparent reason, you send me back to google! If i had the answer i was looking for from google i wont be asking you. I blame myself for playing nice even when it was clear you had no idea.

I was being polite. You are obviously challenged. Use Google or go to school to learn it like others before you.

Today we finished another installation in Port Harcourt. We used the US batteries for the first time. They are rated highly in the United States. We will keep you posted.
This 3 kva comes with a 60 amp AC charger and a 40 amp MPPT controller. At 11 am we were seeing 750 watts from 1500 watts in panels on a not very sunny day.

Busy last three days. Installation in Ogun state. Client is off grid

Busy week for us Installation in Oyo state on Saturday and finished another in Port Harcourt today

adanny01:
That has been answered already. 1st system has 4800wh when full and the 2nd has 9600wh when full.

If to say the second inverter was 12v, there is no way to connect 3 x 8v batteries. The same thing goes to the first inverter if it were 24v, 6 x 2v batteries will not work. Thats why i prefered an example of a battery bank that can be connected in both 12v and 24v systems. Besides both cases are series connections which is not the case i am trying to compare.

Since you know what you are looking for. Answer your own question then. When that fails Google it.

Expertt:
Hello Gurus in the house.what is the advantage of 48v inverter system over a 180v inverter system. I saw an advert of a sukam 10kva/180v inverter that is cheaper than prag 5kva/48v. Please your professional advice is important. Thanks.

180 V is a lazy man's way of doing DC to AC. The transformer on the prag is bigger. Knowing how challenging our systems can be, I will take the bigger transformer

adanny01:
At first sight of the configurations, i assumed the first will charge faster.

However, i need to calculate it to know for sure. Let me get on with the calculations as best as i know it.

1. 6 x 400Ah x 2v all batteries must be connected in series to have a total of 12v 400Ah (current remains same on series connection).
Total power is 12x400=4800wh
Charging time is 400/20=20hrs

2. 3 x 400Ah x 8v all batteries must also be connected in series to have a total of 24v 400Ah (same reasons as above)
Total power is 24x400=9600wh
Charging time is 400/20=20hrs

At the end, if the calculations are right, they both should charge at the same rate. From your analogy, the first system is like a 48 litre jerry can and the second is like a 96litre. Using a 12mm diameter nozzle (12v) to fill the 48L and a 24mm dia (24v) to fill the 96L with water flowing at the same rate of 20L/min (20A charger). Both may fill up same time.

In this case, the bucket or jerrycan are not the same size because the actual size of a battery in a bank is the total power it can store. Another example with exactly same bucket but different connection will be closer to my question.

The charge time is resolved. Now which has more stored? You answered it. The 12 V equivalent to the 24 volt system will be 800 AH.

adanny01:
Oga, i asked a simple question over and over again just to satisfy my curiousity. My room mate in the university for 3yrs and currently flat mate who is an electrical engineer has not been able to answer this question for me. I came here wanting to know from those who have the experience, if you dont want to share you knowledge, just say so.

I have had two answers to my question. One is yours and out of the people who said otherwise i quoted one for you. I am lost but more inclined towards your answer using my common sense, but as i have been thought how to logically calculate it, i arrived at a different answer. How can i know which is absolutely correct if you dont expantiate so i can understand more. I just wonder how you came of the impression i dont want to know.

Let me rephrase the question incase you change your mind.

Would the charging rate of a 20A charger be the same under a 24v series or 12v parallel system connected to 2 x 12v 400Ah battery bank?

Those who said no gave their reasons using the numerous same calculations above.

You seem to say yes. Can we learn from your experience. I want to know.

I will ask you a question too. I have 12 200 AH 2 V batteries on a 12 V system or 3 400 AH 8 V batteries on a 24 Volt system.

They both have 20 A chargers which would charge faster and why?

The buckets are the same size and the rate at which I can fill it is the same. Which one will I fill faster?

No need to over complicate a matter. Serial or parallel the size of the buckets are the same and the rate I can fill it is the same.

adanny01:
chris81964 do you agree cos that seems to be the logical case?

I am not going to teach you something you don't want to know.

adanny01:
Thats my point. In every individual use case has its positives and negatives. As a system planner you have the responsibility to balance the negatives and positives.

In the case you cited above, assuming it has a 20A charger. The system should fully charge in 400/20= 20hrs.

At the point of purchase, if you had opted for the 24v inverter with same charger, charging time would not have been that long but 10hrs.

24 V 20 ah charger 400 ah battery takes the same time as a 12 V 20 ah charger on 400 ah.

It is still 400 / 20

spanishkid:
If the igbos like they should employ lawyers from the moon. That still doesn't change the fact that Nnamdi Kanu is either going to die by hanging/firing squad or be given life imprisonment. If them like they should file one million complaints. Nothing dey happen. I thought they said they were gonna burn down the zoo? So they're no longer burning down the zoo after all their rants? ICC, UN, ECOMOG and the AU can't do anything in this matter. Nigeria equally has a strong case against Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB followers. They are;

1. Operating an illegal radio

2. Inciting hate messages through that illegal radio

3. Soliciting for funds to buy arms to fight a sovereign and independent country.

4. Trying to lump others in ther proposed banana republic

5. Calling for the extermination of yorubas and hausas.

6. Calling the citizens of a country monkeys and baboons.

7. Calling a democratically elected president a pedophile.

By the what case does that charge and bail Dutch lawyer have against PMB? Is it by removing an incompetent and clueless buffoon called Gej through election? Is it for trying to sanitize a system that has been messed up by the previous administration? Is it for employing the necessary measures needed to ensure agents of destruction such Nnamdi Kanu, Olisa Metuh and his fellow ipob from having a field day? PMB have committed no crime as far as any nigerian is concerned.

1 and 3 are the only items I agree with.
Calling a person (including the president) name is not treasonous. It is in poor taste. Does not rise to the level of persecution.
Calling Nigerians Monkeys and Baboons. Are you a monkey or a baboon? Then if you are not why worry what someone says? Last time I looked he had a Nigerian name. So what does that make him?
He will get his day in court after enjoying his brief flirtation with fame.

adanny01:
140A is quite a big charge.

Thats why i gave example of two inverters with same 30A charger, same 4kva, but different dc volt of 24 and 48. In this case, unless you plan on using high Ah batteries for the 24v it makes more sense to buy the 48v using the average 12v 100/200Ah commonly available.

Also i believe, an inverter with high charging current such as 140A like you have will definately be more expensive to an 80A charger.

Lets assume you have 48V 140A inverter and i have a 96v 80A inverter and we both have 16 x 6v x 500Ah batteries.

Yours will be connected 8S8P and will give you 48,000wh and take 7.1hrs to charge.

Mine will be connected 16S and will give me 48,000wh and take 6.3hrs to charge.

In conclusion, i will save more money and i would get better from my system than you. The point is, in buying an inverter the voltage, the charging Amp and battery bank Ah is directly proportional and very inportant. It is better to buy an inverter that i wont have to connect my bank in parallel.

The SMA comes with a 140 amp charger on 48 V. My Rich electric 6 kw has 140 Amps.
You are allowed to believe what makes you happy. I can't wait to see your 96V 80 amp inverter.

I am sure that Outback, SMA, Victron, Magnum and other very good manufacturers of inverters believe that 48 V is the way to go. You and the newest entrants into the market believe something different. I am sure one of the two is right.

I will bet on the guys that have done it for more than 40 years.

adanny01:
I get the point.

Example: there is this certain inverter of Prag brand in 2 variants both 4kva with 30 charger and cost the same 165k. The only difference is one is 24v the other is 48v. Lets say i have 4 12v batteries of 200Ah.

1. 24v will give 2S2P arrangement to get 24v 400Ah. This will take 13.3hrs to full charge and store 9600wh

2. 48v will give 4S arrangement to get 48v 200Ah. This will take 6.7hrs to full charge and store 9600wh

Am I right to say there is no point or benefit of buying the 24v inverter when it simply slow down charging. It also means as much as possible we should avoid connecting batteries in parallel as it will take too long to charge. It also means if am to advise a user who already has a 48v inverter and plans to upgrade the battery bank to 8 12v batteries to better plan for a 96v inverter too.

This is interesting.

You are not quite correct. I have a 24 V 6 kw inverter with a 140 Amp charger. What determines how quickly you charge is the battery bank and the size of the charger.
You can do parallel connections as long as you don't exceed (recommended that you don't exceed) 3 banks. You can avoid multiple banks by purchasing higher AH batteries. You can find 2V 4700 AH batteries in the market if you so desire

Im2Busy2Bother:
My friend used this type of flexible cable. He bought 16mm ( @ the rate of N350 per yard) You may buy lesser size.

Find attached picture

Please whatsapp me where he bought the cables +19739981590

pdozie:
My Learned people, please help me out with this (CC: Chris, Saipro, Abinafu, Rich etc)

My 2.5KW panels runs off a 45A controller. With a 2x5 configuration (2 in series and five parallel strings). Each Panel has approx of 8.6A which is 43A for the 5 strings. Rated 24v.
I plan adding about 2 more panels. If I add the string to the existing ones, it will take the Current to 51.6A. That means the 45A controller will leave some juice to waste right?

Option one is to upgrade to 60Amp controller

Option two is to get another 45A controller, connect the new panels to it and parallel the output of the controllers

Option three is to change the strings configuration 3 x 4 (3 in series & 4 parallel strings). This will maintain a current of 34.4A which the existing controller can handle. But the voltage from the 3 strings could rise as much as 123v.

Option 3 is more economical but is there Any implications or trade-off in terms of efficiency? The Controller can handle max of 150v though.

I saw the The following attached diagrams in the controller manual. (Battery Current Vs Array Voltage) and (Tristar MPPT 48v Efficiency). One is showing that Current to the battery starts reducing at 140v, which seems OK for my option 3. The other is showing efficiency is higher at lower voltage.

Please advice

You have maxed out at 45 amps. 2500 / 48 = 52 Amps more than is recommended for your 45 A controller. Your 60 amp will handle 3 kw. What is the short circuit voltage of your panels? Add 20% to that number and as long as it less than 150 V you can do your wiring to match.
You can go for a 60 amp and have a clean look and less complication if money is not as much a factor.

For the sake of disclosure I have a client that I installed 3 kw in panels on a 24 V system. The 80 amp controller sees 80 amps regularly and the fans come on a lot. Next time I would have done two 60 amp controllers.

Dragovich:
Honestly, I never thought of my parents to be over-protective, until I spent a few days at a friend's house. It was then I realized that I've never been allowed to enjoy my teenage years and emancipate myself. I'm 20+ and in my final year in the University, but my parents (especially my dad), are extremely controlling. Apart from the constant phone calls, they still treat me like I'm a five year old. My dad hardly ever let's me drive, and even told me that he feels embarrassed if neighbors see me driving. The best I can do in this regard is to sometimes "steal" the car. Also, they are both obsessed with what other parents think about their parenting skills. Everytime we have visitors or we visit someone, he always tries to speak to me harshly as if trying to show off his strictness to other parents. I feel so disrespected and trapped. While other parents of my friends allow their kids drive, give them responsibilities, and a certain sense of freedom, I stuck with these helicopter parents that are always hovering over my life trying as much as possible to make me not to have any form of independence. I'm really beginning to hate them. Please what can I do abt this?

Get a job and get your own place. Buy your own car with your own money and your parents will no longer have anything to worry about. You are a typical child of the current generation with a sense of entitlement. You are blessed with parents that pay attention to you. They care enough to call you. There are so many other kids that would welcome the attention.

zeestone99:
Hello we have sharp and solar world solar panels at very affordable prices, call 08117398294, 08033913155 or email Info@monzpowersolutions.com

Check again

pdozie:
Thanks again Saipro.
I do not have the manual that came with the inverter so I really can't tell what the self-consumption is. I think I may have to plan to add another string of 200aH batteries. That na another project
I really want to have 1 day autonomy without touching my Gen. I want to make the best use of the investment and enjoy it to the last.
Moreso, I will look at replacing my bulbs with the the 6W or 8w bulbs.

Thinking of batteries, I understand its not good to mix batteries. I want to go for Trojan batteries. If I have another string of 4 x 12v trojan batteries connected in parallel with existing string, is it OK?
For the guys dealing on Trojan (Frank and co) do you have flexible payment options?

I may also want to change the SUKAM inverter to PRAG and have the SUKAM as standby. The SUKAM gives me little worries. Each time I switch it on, it trips off by itself and comes back on. That happens like 3 times before it gets stable. Sometimes hours later when everything is running, it also trips off and on. Does anyone has that experience yet?
Sometime in the past when it overcharged my batteries, It was already doing this trip off thing. I took it to Symba and complained all these. They told me its all sorted. But it turns out that only the overcharging issue was fixed as the tripping continued. I have changed the DC switch at the back of the inverter yet it continues. So I need the equivalent PRAG inverter to 3.5KVA SUKAM.

Not forgetting AC and DC protection from lightening. Oh boy, this thing no easy ooo...

Use only similar battery type. Preferably by the same manufacturer. You can't mix flooded with sealed. Different charge and discharge characteristics

GurlFriend:
Pastor Abodunrin could not believe his eyes and as the lions landed on him, the look of terror in his eyes could only be better imagined. In a matter of seconds, he was torn to shreds. He died on the spot and the lions snacked on his remains. A single, well-aimed bite from a lion is enough to kill an adult human being in a matter of seconds. Abodunrin’s red robe was redder with the splatter of his blood all over the place, his torn and bloodied Bible in one corner of the lions’ cage

What remained of the audacious preacher was later recovered and you can see it in the photo. Today, many preachers across the globe have made attempts to recreate the narrated stories and miracles of the Bible but they have ended disastrously, from the pastor who drowned while trying to walk on water to another pastor who entered a lion’s den in Taiwan only to be wounded after shouting to the lions: ‘Jesus would save you!’. Nigerians have to learn to embrace rational thinking instead of beclouding their senses with religious ideologies that will only end in sorrow and offer nothing of value to humanity.

[img]http://4.bp..com/-naCNqe6hx1g/VqCkI-dtRLI/AAAAAAAAVDE/uW8sBl8eatE/s1600/4.JPG[/img]
Prophet Abodunrin's bloody remains

When ebola disease broke out in Nigeria, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo angered not a few Nigerians when he said that even if people drank ebola virus, nothing would happen to them because they were children of God.

THE AFTERMATH

In an instant, the story was all over the country that a pastor who entered the lion’s den was mauled to death and consumed by the beasts. Many could not believe their ears. However, there were some Christians who actually believe that the pastor was a true man of God and that the lions were actually possessed by demons to have attacked the anointed ‘man of God’. This set of Christians were enraged and demanded that the lions be killed.

At this point, I will make reference to the experience of a journalist from that era, someone who actually had the experience of the saga, Akeem Soboyode, he wrote of the incident in July 2004:

About a year later, I also had cause to comment on the sad and tragic escapade of a pastor who deliberately sneaked into the lion’s den at the University of Ibadan zoo and was mauled to death by a lion. Despite my growing reservation then regarding issues of religion, my interest in writing an article on that issue came primarily from the fact that I am a proud alumnus of the university and paid many visits to that zoo while I was a student there. Immediately after the tragic event, many suggested that the lion be put to death.

I argued in my article, also published in the PUNCH, that the lion was a beast, not a rational being as one would expect its victim to be. That was the way nature programmed it to react to such an event, and the unthinking “Daniel” should have known better. I don’t recall if the lion was eventually destroyed, but I do remember that after the article was published, one of my Christian friends made a comment along these lines: “Akeem, don’t you know the lion must have been possessed to have killed the pastor? Why should it deserve to live?”

http://www.lailasblog.com/2016/01/how-prophet-daniel-abodunrin-was-killed.html

I am waiting for someone to get swallowed by a whale. Daniel as per the story did not voluntarily enter the den.

pdozie:
Thanks Chris.

You are right. Its a 48v, 3.5KV SUKAM inverter. 4 x 12 x 200ah batteries connected in series. I understand the part of having another string of 4 batteries and connect in series to double capacity. I was just asking the possibility of upgrading in bits due to cost.

I.e if I buy 2 batteries now, it wont be enough to have a 48v string from it. So is it possible I take one the new batteries and parallel one of the running batteries now and do same with a second battery another running battery, till am able to get another 2 batteries to have a whole 48v string?

What will be the implication of doing that please?

I just don't to risk loosing another battery because once am not around, the people at home dont care if the battery voltage drops. I had a situation where I came home and the inverter was beeping already!!! They were still rocking the TV and other appliances

An installer claimed they did that. I can't imagine how that can work and how you can properly charge such a beast.
The people rocking the TV had power and they did not know there were consequences.