₦airaland Forum

Hello house, I am in trouble o! The glass of one of my panels cracked badly; any hope of redemption? There are screws at the side of the panel and i am thinking of openning it and replacing the glass but needs the advice of house members. Advice needed urgently please!!

NoMoreTrolling:
Thanks dude! I will definitely check out the install. I actually did it myself and didn't use a washer, just a nut to tighten the connection between the battery terminal and the cable ring terminal. An electrician recently worked on something in that room and had to disconnect and reconnect the batteries, so I'll check.

Though the hottest part of the wire, from my observation, was the negative part coming out of the inverter. That wire was supa dupa hot!!! If I had my way, I'd have installed 2 gauge wire in there, but since it's pre-wired, I'd have to open it up, which is a no no.

I've seen you use some PRAG inverters in your install, how are they working out for you? I know the 4kva 24V&48V PRAG don't come pre-wired, so you can basically do wire sizing yourself to get the correct AWG for the system.



I can't get specs of the wire the PRAG 2.5kva uses, but I wonder if it looks safe (pic attached). it seems they are joining two wires together to up the amp carrying capacity.

I had a similar problem with my 24V SUKHAM 1.4KVA inverter a few months back. It also occationally show low battery voltage warning light and switch off even with full battery. Problem was LOOSE NEGATIVE TERMINAL INSIDE THE INVERTER! It was ok once the nut was tightened .

kiekie1:
You can bro.. Simply bring out time for personal research, online orientation, field work etc .From DIY , you can also become a pro . #Safety first !! Trust you are good Sir ?

Quite good my brother, thanks!

richmon74:
thanks my Oga. I'm still waiting for your own pictures

HABA! I am DIY guy and not an installer; how can I produce such masterpiece??

richmon74:
Our own installation and our Inverter

EXCELLENT!

Harvest has been good since my upgrade. I have 2 settups: 6 X 255W (1.53KaW total ) solarworld Mono panels connected 3X2 to a 60amp MPPT CC to an 800amp 24v battery bank that generated 7.7kWh/day and another 6 X 180 W Poly (1.08kw) connected 1X6 through a 30amp MPPT CC generating only about half of the bigger system. The Inverter inbuilt 50amp PWM CC is now redundant but available as backup any time. Wants to dabble into thin film panels as soon as I have chance, I have a friend who keeps swearing on them!
. My connections are untidy, hope to get better with time.

Saipro:
I'm ready to install and considering a roof mount. Who in the house can supply pre-fab mounts. My PV panels are 1640mm x 992mm x 50mm.
I currently have 6 of such panels. Richmond et al, do you have my specs?
A swift reply would be appreciated.

Bought roof mounts + six panels from Chief Richmond a few months back>>>.....The thing dey kampe for my roof now; no leaking, no shaking and very easy to install. You need to watch the video and have access to an electric drill to enjoy the installation. One of these days, I will look for a good network and upload pics.

kiekie1:
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.

Bought the Ep tracer MMPT a few months back and it was not only promptly delivered the following day across country, the charge controller has been working well! If money surface, u go see my hand againn soon o!!
Thanks Bro!

pheleix:
DIY spd. Using MOVs across positive vs negative, negative vs earth, earth vs positive. it's better than not having @ all. Then a proper single grounding

I am completely lost!

Anybody interested in appropriate cable size for your installation can check this site:
http://www.solar-electric.com/wire-loss-tables.html
Excerpts:

Voltage Loss Tables for AWG Wire

Wire Loss Tables for Solar Electric Systems

Includes 12, 24, and 120 volt charts and a metric to AWG size conversion table.

This is a five percent table which means at these amperage ratings at the listed distances, 5% of the power would be lost to resistance. Five percent is normally acceptable in low voltage systems, but if you want a 2% figure, divide the given distances by 2.5. For a 10% loss multiply the distance by 2. For distances at 48 volts, double the 24 volt distances for a 5 percent loss figure. For 240 volt 5% loss, double the 120 volt distances. These distances include the NEC requirement for current over sizing of 25%.

Example: For a pump drawing 9 amperes at 24 volts, located 88 feet from the battery bank: look at the center table for 24 volts. In the far left column find the next number higher than 9 (which is 10) and follow that line across the table until you find a distance figure greater than 88. At the top of the column find the gauge of wire (#6) that should be used. This method insures that wire losses are kept to an acceptable level without spending too much money on extra-heavy cable. Using a heavier wire than indicated, however, will result in even higher efficiencies and we do sometimes invest in the next larger gauge. Wire can get expensive, and it may not be worth the money to get that last 1% if you have to go to a much larger wire size.


Some of the newer grid tie systems inverters, such as the Sunny Boy, use up to 600 volts DC. Generally in these systems loss in wire is nothing to worry about. HOWEVER - you will have to be more careful about selecting and installing the wiring - high voltage DC is not something you want to do a 2nd rate wiring job on. Make sure the insulation is rated for 600 volts, and that there is no damage to the wire or insulation.

All distances are in FEET


Do not use any wire sizes that might fall into the red zone - this would exceed the amperage rating of the wire and it may overheat and burn.


120 Volts AC or DC Chart

Amps in Wire Watts at 120V #14 #12 #10 #8 #6 #4 #2 1/0 2/0 3/0
2 240 422 656
4 480 187 328 516
6 720 141 225 328 562
8 960 103 159 272 422 666
10 1200 84 131 216 337 534
15 1800 56 84 131 225 356 562
20 2400 65 103 168 272 422 675
25 3000 84 131 216 337 543
30 3600 65.63 112 178 281 450 722
40 4800 84 131 216 337 543 675
50 6000 67 103 171 272 431 543 684


24 Volts DC Chart

Amps
in Wire Watts
at 24V #14 #12 #10 #8 #6 #4 #2 1/0 2/0 3/0
1 24 169 262 412 675
2 48 84 131 207 337 532
4 96 37 66 103 169 267
6 144 28 45 66 112 178 282
8 192 21 32 54 84 133 216
10 240 17 26 43 67 107 169 270
15 360 11 17 26 45 71 112 180 289
20 480 13 21 37 54 84 135 217 270 343
25 600 17 26 43 67 108 172 217 274
30 720 13 22 36 56 90 144 180 228
40 960 17 26 43 67 108 135 171
50 1200 13 21 34 54 86 108 137


12 Volts DC Chart

Amps in Wire Watts at 12V #14 #12 #10 #8 #6 #4 #2 1/0 2/0 3/0
1 12 84 131 206 337 532
2 24 42 66 103 168 266 432 675
4 48 18 33 52 84 133 216 337 543 675
6 72 14 22 33 56 89 141 225 360 450 570
8 96 10 16 27 42 66 108 168 272 338 427
10 120 8.5 13 22 33 53 84 135 218 270 342
15 180 6 8.5 13 22 35 56 90 144 180 228
20 240 6.6 10 16 27 42 67 108 135 171
25 300 8 13 22 33 54 86 108 137
30 360 6.6 11 18 28 45 72 90 114
40 480 8 13 21 33 54 67 85

These are one-way distances, measured from point A to point B. The out and back nature of electrical circuits has already been included. For PV arrays, figure the entire run, from the panels to the charge controller to the batteries


Cross Reference of AWG (American Wire Gauge) Sizes to Metric (mm)



AWG mm2 AWG mm2 AWG mm2 AWG mm2
30 0.05 18 0.75 6 16 4/0 120
28 0.08 17 1.0 4 25 300MCM 150
26 0.14 16 1.5 2 35 350MCM 185
24 0.25 14 2.5 1 50 500MCM 240
22 0.34 12 4.0 1/0 55 600MCM 300
21 0.38 10 6.0 2/0 70 750MCM 400
20 0.50 8 10 3/0 95 1000MCM 500

Hello house: please what is the advantage of thin film panels over mono or poly panels?

Oga JUO, you got mail!

Thanks salam12 and kiekie1! Info and advices noted. With severe daytime rationing, I am presently managing not to dip below 23.5v after overnight use.

Since I am not able to add more panels for now ( seems my system can only take 2 more 180w panels anyway) I will be forced to rely on Nepa to supply the needed amps to charge my system effectively.

Barezzi:
1. No, that's a very bad idea, I'm sure the cc in ur 3-in-1 unit is a PWM cc. The voltage band is 30-32Vdc, so u can only connect them up in parallel (24Vdc). Also, the Voc of a 24V panel is above 35V, hence u cant connect them in series...[ur CC has a max Voc of 60Vdc]
2. Such a combination will blow up the cc...

Thank God for small mercies! if anything blows up now, nah to almost get heart attack be that! Lol!

Hello house! After using inverter for about 3 years (Sukam 1.4kva, 24v, 2 200amp Luminous batteries ) I decided to upgrade to Solar energy. I was able to get 10 used Full Rivers 12v 200amp batteries, 6 used 180w poly panels ( initially imported from USA, ?24v, 72 cells , no other information available ) and a new 3000w 24v, 50amp charger , 3-1 inverter -charger - charge controller.
I connected only 6 of the batteries to the panels and 4 to the old Sukam.
After installation of the panels (all in parallel ) , the inverter displayed the panels as 24 v and a Max charging current of 20 A so far.

My main questions are:
(1) would it not be better to connect the panels as a 2×3 48v system ?
2) will the new combination not drop the charging capability of my system?
Kindly see the attached pics, all advices welcome!

richmon74:
Hi Sir

i'm sorry for the delayed response.
The two sets of panels are not on the same elevation and they don't affect the output because they are both on the sale SS direction without any hindrance to sunlight.

Noted and thanks!

richmon74:
It's such a pity that in your 15yrs of electrical engineering practice you have always been limited to environments where energy conversions from SOLAR PANELS stay within 100%.

But in my 2 months of renewable energy apprenticeship I av installed 12 of 255w solarworld solar panels at Unity road in Lekki in Lagos (a very easy place to locate in case anyone wants to chexk it our) which is by calculation 3060w and the Outback FM80 charge controller records a Maximun Wattage output from it to be 3654w as shown in the pictures below. Or maybe the charge controller is faulty or I can't read the digits very well.

Maybe I need a better explanation to that readout

On a different issue entirely, when looking at the 2nd picture attached to the quoted post above, it seems the panels were all not all installed with the same elevation. Wouldn't that affect output or it was just looking like that in the picture?

GeorgeD1:
durodee,

kindly check your mailbox.

Thanks ++++

GeorgeD1:
all,

a while ago, i decided to put my sukam to the test just to confirm it is still in good working condition. i hadn't really had the
chance to try it out ever since the faulty cooler fan was replaced. results? well, i was quite impressed that the old work horse
was back and kicking! needless to say, it is a welcome relief to know that i can always fall back to its use should in case the
magnum decides to behave funny.

i ran it over a week without any issues before putting it back in the cooler.

pics below:

Oga George D1! Many thanks for this! U got mail ,though a key question already answered! !

paulsir: Team 5kva:,it carries 2acs with 1.5 horsepwer,2frezeers(one small and medium one),everything in the house which include 1 fridge,lcd,6 fans(2 big and 4 small ones).best thing is to get imported inverter mind you it lasted for 10hrs with those loads on it.its using 8 batteries.

'Team?' Please is that the name of the inverter? If so how much does it cost?

Please is there anyone in the house who knows the maximum charging currents of Sukam 1.4 and 3.5kva inverters? Many thanks in advance!

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tivta: Don't know if you guys have noticed but there has been a sharp improvement in public power supply this past week. I think its time to give solar a break for the meantime or better still use it as backup power supply. What do you think?

[color=#006600]
That stability must be area dependent! The total PHCN supply in my area in the last 1 month has been less than 1 week!!

chris81964: Why are you doing the upgrade? What do you want to accomplish with the upgrade. There are so many inverter brands in the Nigeria market. If you have had good experiences with the Sukam why would you consider another manufacturer? Everyone including me will tell you that the product we sell is the best. The user experience is what is the ultimate arbiter. The fires you experienced could happen with any manufacturer if you have a poor installation. Don't skimp on the quality of the materials and the protection you can add to your systems. There should be an interrupt device and or a fuse between your inverter and battery. The cables you be thick. As thick as you can get away with.

Thanks chris81964. I planning an upgrade mainly because my energy need will increase in the next few weeks and my current 1.4kva will not be adequate for my @1.5kwh need nor be able to charge my proposed bank of 8 200amp/c10 12V batteries. I am moving house and the new site is completely off grid. My eventual destination is solar but I want to start with something not too expensive but with the ability to rapidly charge my bank if I am using a genset. I read that Century and Bluegate have a 70amp Max charger that was why my interest. I know sukam has a 3.5kva too but being cash trapped now, I was looking for cheaper but a bit reliable inverter to use meanwhile.
The main culprit in the incessant fire incidents was NEPA!!!!! 300v surges fried my stab (Century) and the locally made inverters; seems Sukam was able to performed better - got blown once but easily repaired locally.

Good day, the whole house: I am a very newbie to Nairaland and I was pointed to this forum by a friend that saw my suffering trying to ensure some form of constant power supply to my small establishment 24-7!
You cannot imagine my joy when I came here and I saw the colossal work, postings, pictures and info here!!! I am finally home! !
By the way it took me about 3 weeks to read through from page 1 till 71( I guess I missed some good info from the data loss issues ) but I cannot but bow for the gurus in the house!!!!!
I am on my tenth generator in 4 years ( both petrol and diesel) with a monthly budget of about 100K on fuel minus maintenance!! Oh I have suffered!
My experience with inverter systems have been turbulent (I started with the locally made ones - 3 fire accidents at least) and I could now see my numerous errors plainly!

Presently I am using a 1.4kva Sukam 24V system with two 165amp/ 10 hrs batteries and enjoying it. I will definitely upgrade in the next few weeks!

Pls do anybody have info for or against Century or Blugate 3.5 kva 24V inverters?

Thank you once again guys!