JUO:
thanks for the patronage and trust

Your effort is yielding result.
I was shock to discover my 10mm cables (about a yard long ) is eating up my harvest to 0.5v. For instance my CC was pushing output of 27.6v to the batteries but what the batteries are getting is 27.13v the painful aspect is dat there is nothing I can do except try another cable gauge.

I was a bit happy to note also that my 2kva -1600w microtek inverter has idle running of 27w even though I believed it was higher before installing the watt meter

JUO:
contact me for good price

Thanks Oga JUO!
I got the DC watt meters fast than I was expecting it.

Installed and working fine.
Thanks

NoMoreTrolling:
Anyone in need of a kilowatt meter?

I have one for sale for 7k, VI LAGOS

Call 08171942851

DC or AC.

I need two DC UNITS (+ OR - 100A) not kill A watt meter, pls.

Tanx

Barezzi:

www.powerforum.co.za

Tanx Bros

Is there any other solar forum/chatroom/blog apart from Nairaland?
Kindly paste links here.

Thanks !

babaegun:
Hello Guys,

So am trying to setup 12 nos - 250W, 30V/8A solar panels in series/parallel.

Kindly look at my diagram and suggest the best option that is most efficient. Charge Controller is 150Vdc/80A mppt, Battery Bank is 48V, 200AH and the Inverter is 5000va.

Thanks as I await your response.

Gurus in the house have spoken and I agree. While option A remains the best.If As A DIY FREAK with good rated cables & want to drive heavy equipment as stove, iron, water pump, etc. I will prefer option B
Reason: my DIY study of 60A fungpusun mppt revealed a considerable drop in cc temperature when trading off voltage for amps. to me it means the components of d CC are not stressed thus extending it's lifespan. ( But the problem is cable gauge to handle huge amps pushing through )

In addition, on a terrible day(s) when harvest drops considerably u will still have juice flowing to ur bank instead of depleting it further.

My view awaits correction from very experienced DIY enthusiast, particularly those with large arrays for us to extend boundary of knowledge.

DMerciful:
Bro,

This is clearly a communication mixup as assumptions were made rather than specifying however I understand your feeling as ur expectation is different from what you got. I can assure you that there is no appreciable difference in mono & poly of same rating other than the possibility of the mono being a little smaller in physical size and as such I have no doubt in recommending those panels. If however you feel it will affect ur passion for ur system, you can put it up for sale on the forum, a guy is already lamenting how he missed buying some panels by raising his request on my mention w
hen it was actually GeorgeD1 selling

I agree with ur view.
Also thanks to GeorgeD for taking pain to write.
My stake is that those who got those panels are lucky.
Its a win-win situation.

peaceland:
Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

Ur effort is modest. I use this medium to congratulate u on ur drive & accomplishments.
On ur worry, let us know what rating is ur mppt (amp) or take a snap shot of d nameplate & paste here. It will allow house to correctly advise u. #cheers!

therealMcCain:
I'm angry as I type this now & i want the house to be the judge

GeorgeD1 put up an ad for his panels for 30k, he stated he had SHARP and SUNTECH panels for sale 200w each, he equally stated that it was 1st come first serve basis

Immediately after his post I was first to indicate interest.


We spoke LAST WEEK and he told me he was not in town & that i should hold on with payment, that the panels will be RESERVED FOR ME.

SARTURDAY HE CALLED that he was in town & I promised to make payment on MONDAY which I did.

I paid for 4 panels including courier fee, the delivery date was Thursday/Friday which I agreed to.

Its worthwhile to mention that when the panels were put up for sale, the picture of the panels were MONO

When he later did a test on them using a multimeter, the pictures were also MONO

Imagine my disappointment when I went to pick my panel to see that they were POLY panels with no sticker or nameplate behind.

I am not happy at all. I called him, I couldn't really process what he was saying, background
Was noisy & i was really disappointed & down

It was when I got home to check the name plate, ALL 4 panels had no nameplate!

I called again & he promised to send a pic of rhe name plate from the initial installation


How do i know that these are really SHARP
panels as I requested?

I am weak, disoriented & angry

No comment yet. Let oga George speak first.
Oga George ur rejoinder is essential.

therealMcCain:
My journey for RE has started,

I have the following

1. 1400va Kevin inverter 24v
2. Epever 30a, 100v CC
3. 4×200w solar panels, acquired from our uncle in the house, GeorgeD1( yet to be received though)
4.watt meter

I rewired the house & have a dedicated DB for the inverter


Outstanding

1.Pv connection cable
2.breakers
3.BATTERIES
4.combiner box
5.Pv mounting kit or frame should I choose ground mount
6.earthing protection for Pv & inverter DB

CC
Dmerciful
GeorgeD1
Efuro
Bigrovar
Juo
Abunafiu

More questions coming please
1. The max for my CC is 780w, can I use the 4 panels totalling 800w?

If yes what's my best way of connecting them?

2. If my CC Max rating is 30a, won't it be a problem if my CC is producing almost this on a constant basis because of my 800w setup

3.can I use normal 10mm cable or it's best I go for the amoured cable

Distance from panel to CC will be 7m

Distance from CC to battery will be 12m


So how do I go about this please

welcome to the world of DIY
congrats on your acquisition.
My dear brother, you raised good questions from valid observations
these are: distance, away from water, ventilation, perhaps the capacity of CC.

But your statement below:
“The location of the CC in my balcony is safe from
water but battery at ground level won't be” I can't put my inverter there !

Shows you don’t have a problem (at least to me). However, I wonder why you can’t put inverter there?. If it is for security reason, I can reason with you. Solar devices are very expensive & attractive to undesirable elements, it’s when they are safe that you can enjoy 24hrs power.

We all know in ideal situation CC/other devices are best located near PVs (where possible) to minimize resistance or loss of harvest and frequent replacement of devices. The balcony would have been the best place to install you gadgets. I think monzpower in the house have plenty of such pix to convince you. But your insistence of not placing the inverter there leaves you with locating it 19m away.

Locating it insider
Sincerely I don’t see 19m too far away. First it will guarantee that your CC is safe remember: “The max for my CC is 780w, can I use the 4 panels totaling 800w?”
Yes In STC, you can get 800w but it is rare (even when mounting inclination is seasonally perfect). Your CC is safe because of resistance as a result of cabling (even if you step up your cable from 10mm to 35mm) not all harvest is delivered.

As for ventilation, CC are designed to work optimally at room temperature but I hope ur CC has inbuilt fan? if It has then you have nothing to worry. If not as a DIY, pls improvise just to be double sure.

Then you have the opportunity to maximize the cabling distance between CC-Bank-Converter.

Finally,
to question 1 = use the solar panel configuration of 2 by 2 to optimize AMP & VOLTAGE.
@ open voltage of 48.2v as shown by Oga GeorgeD indicate it will have enough Vmp sufficient to push through ur 19m cabling. Please do not be tempted to connect all the panels in series (i.e. 1 by 4).

to question 2 = using 2 x 2 config will give you a steady amp below your 30amp cc mathematically around 16.8amp.

to question 3 = your 10mm is more than sufficient for 800w.

if I omit any other item. am sure the house will add to it.
my regards!

earthrealm:
on another note, who has 40/45amp charge controller for sale?..new or used with waranty?

In addition to ur earlier post. I know some enthusiast will take me on it but it may fall true dat some of these ba3 are over-rated for Nigerian market. 200AH ba3 may actually be 180AH or less even with SON seal or LOGO.
So to enjoy 5 days of off-grid, consider over sizing ur bank.
On d condition dat u have powerful mppt firing @ 98% conversion efficiency to maintain ur ba3 in good shape.
Like big wigs here have said few months ago. In crease the abosption time of ur FLA 2-3hrs. U may soon find out that ur ba3 will fall in line in no time at all

earthrealm:
so my 4 units of 200ah flooded batts are not performing well...after 2 days of just led tv, energy saving bulbs and 2 ceiling fans used intermittently..the voltage will drip to 48.8v, when fully charged, hygrometer reading shows electrolyte status is ok, and meter readings show similar voltage +/- 0.2, apart from a load tester...is there any way i can resolve this issue?

when hooked to the inverter and using normally, individual voltages are almost same with just 1 unit being 0.2v lower
they are lumionous flooded 200AH bought from a dealer here last year, i am expecting it shud last upto 5 days, hr after phcn goes..voltage quickly drops to 50.4v and then later settles at 50v after about 4hrs...with a load of abt 180 to 320w

Even though I don't used FLA ba3, I assume one of ur ba3 is suffering which is typical of traditional ba3 set up of series & parallel. That culprit ba3 has been carrying twice loads as d 1st ba3 in series which means you may soon replace it probably 3 yrs early than the rest.

Consider changing d + output terminal from ba3 to inverter to another ba3, - output to another ba3 and do equalisation charge
Consider also the use of bus bar between ba3 bank & inverter if ur using multiple 48v ba3 banks @ 200AH.
Routine swap of ba3 in every 4-6 months will not be a bad idea.

My Best wishes.

DMerciful:
LiFeO4: The Review

As promised, here is the product review for the lithium iron phosphate (LiFeO4) battery I imported from China.

LiFeO4 batteries are among the newest technology which offers longer lifetimes, better power density (the rate that energy can be drawn from them) and are inherently safer than other lithium based batteries. LiFePO4 is finding a number of roles in vehicle use and backup power especially in home solar/inverter applications. It is said to deliver over 2000cycles (5.5yrs if used every day) at 80% DOD and about 5000 cycles if used btw 30%-50% DOD(13yrs!!!) hence my attraction to this technology.

Packaging
The battery is house in a plastic container formed into a briefcase style design. I will rate the casing fair but will expect improvement in its structural integrity as time goes on.

It weighs about 13kg for 12V, 100AH battery and this weight is consistent with Lithium iron phosphate due to the presence of iron which is quite a heavy element unlike lithium polymer that is lighter(lithium polymer[phone batteries] are not as long lasting as lithium iron phosphate).

Internal Construction
As a DIY guy, I needed to see what’s inside this expensive box, so I opened it up. I wasn’t impressed. The cells were crudely put together, poor wiring with electrical tapes/foam packing holding wires/cells together…I was like what the hell!

13yrs for battery, 25yrs for panels. Enjoyment galore. Get ur popcorn near by & banish the shout of Up Nepa.
Keep it up my oga, we appreciate ur effort.

kiekie1:


Its not been easy I must say BT WELCOME ON BOARD my man .. You wer indeed lucky to have contacted me earlier for the supplies of Magnum 4348,300w×15 pv array,USB L16 premium flooded batteries, pro solar roof mounts,improvised pv combiner box as i tweaked for Dunka too etc , all before the hyper inflation tho.. I admire your courage kk... I also want to use this medium to thank DUNKA , ID SOLAR, ABUNAFIU, SAIPRO, DURODEE, GEORGE D, BODEJOHN, EFURO, BODE4REAL, RICHMOND, CHRIS AWPS, KONNEKTION and so many others on this wonderful platform my humble appreciation all this years .. Remain blessed, Amen !

We are with you my man. You've always been there for us even on Sundays or ur rest times.
The beauty is that you're creating a bridge across 36 states of Nigeria

@ Chuckdee

Congrat. You've done well. Your setup meets YouTube standard, be proud of it as we are, in the face of dollar scarcity you pulled a feat. In my usual words "enjoy ur sweat" let's tell Nigerians solar has come to stay.

Finally, I love those USA batteries. Men you've got quality we preach.

GeorgeD1:
zenith has really blown my mind!

...cumulative for each string = 51.3v

after years of use and babysitting batteries

the load test is very IMPRESSIVE !

A teacher must not fail exam!

Nice one Oga George D1

grafikii:
Please people, I need your advice urgently, someone is selling modified sine wave inverter instead of prag pure sine inverter 2kva. His argument is that the modified one does not consume batteries as much as the pure sine.
My load is quite low though. Please should I accept the modified inverter?

Your question makes me think of d difference btw 1985 volkswagen bettle & 2010 Toyota Camry. Honestly, Which do you prefer?

Do not compromise quality. Save ur electronics from unnecessary stress.

obiageIi:

Thanks sir. Quick questions Sir

1. Mono panels are better than poly?

2. Pure sine wave inverter is better? Please any brand name or qualities I should look out for

3. Flooded batteries are the best?

4. What should I look out for in getting a charge controller, brand names?

Pls house, assist a newbie.

kindly read previous pages.
in the meantime, your questions are subjective
and relative to the depth of your pocket.

you can always start small and expand gradually

which-ever-way, I think you should consult an installer to guide/advice you appropriately before you make your decision.

As stated earlier, reading previous pages will do you good and possibly make you ambassador to free and renewable energy as we are.

welcome to the world of 24hrs electricity.

DMerciful:
The charging port is just a duplication of the terminal as they are directly connected. you can charge via the terminals or charging port perfectly.

Thanks. Awaiting more review pls

tivta:

You are always so quick to talk against series connections in large numbers, if it is so bad why do manufacturers say it is possible to series a system from KWh to MWh? An example is the solar system provided by gennex for filling stations plus other high power usage companies. It all comes down to the charging system not the amount of series connections, prove me wrong...

I am not against stacking ba3s in series. After all gives us upper limit of our systems. However don't throw away caution wen dealing with lithium ba3s while stacking up to a great architecture. Furthermore, I will love to have ur views regarding subject matter and guide dmeciful during his review. Am here to learn & contribute my bit to the growth of RE in Nigeria.

Agree with u on charging since the charging point is separated from its discharging
Am looking forward to Dmerciful reviews soon

obiageIi:
Hello guys, I need a complete solar system to power about 1000watts on my farm, pls who is the most reliable or the go to guy here that can help with purchase and installation.

lucky you. I love quiteness of farmstead. U are welcome to fast growing Nigeria's alternative energy thread.

1. I hope u don't have trees to shade ur panels wen installed.
2. I hope u don't have armed herdsmen around ur farm who may be attracted to luxury of ur farm.

Aside that, I believe it is a great I idea to see u live big in farmstead instead of in city suffering power problems & paying bills for unconsumed power.

Back to ur question. Read about 20 pages back u will see contact of good dealers who hold their reputation high to assist u.
Cheers!

DMerciful:
Waiting for the second one to make it 24v. my inverter is 24V however i did test with my 12v and it was great though i will share the concerns in the reviews. charging through the terminals is possible as it is a direct connection to the charging port.

Seperate charging point is d bane of these lithium ba3s. Watch ur charge source (particularly wen using generator) not to fry in-built cuircut or BMS Also watch stacking many in series in case of any 48v system.

abunafiu:
Demerciful, congratulations on the arrival of your new batteries.
RE rules brother.

@abunafiu
enjoy enjoy & enjoy ur investment/sweat . I hope it will inspire young ones on ur street to think solar
Pls what was ur AH juice ur batteries received at 17.6kwh (I figure it should be close to 555AH)

Dam5reey:
Gotten the Source for Solar Cables,
Now,
What are the Requirement to generate Effectively 150 Watts Electricity 24/7

Battery Bank and best Type ?
Charge Controller?
PV array size? Total wattage required?
Inverter is ready though it is Hybrid, But I prefer Solar controller to monitor my Power generation.

Come out clean with ur request for genuine help. With ur dc cables, hybrid inverter &cc statements. I assume u know the answer to ur request already. If ur lost, pls go through the thread again u will find repeated answers to ur request.

anidat77:
Hello Gurus,

I've got a panel that got damage before installation. It fell during strong storm winds and shattered the protective glass.

Any ideas on diy repairs on the glass so it can resist water ingress to the cells . A friend recommended using a transparent liquid that hardens when it cures. Yet to explore such option.

Never touch the surface of a shatterd solar panel glass with your bare fingers. Believe me I know

I know how u feel. Don't worry! It is part of the joy of being free, being ur own NEPA & rudimentary test of a DIY benefits.

I had 2 cases of shattered PVs, one of my poly PV just shattered after few months of installation. It never came up again. The second got shattered during haulage & needed glass replacement wit silicon gum which I did before installing.

I think u need to just repeat ur glass replacement & secure installation. Remember to remove ur first glass replacement.

I hope to hear from u with pix. For others to take note.

NextDayPn:
@ Bigrovar, DMerciful, GeorgeD, Kiekie1, dapsyra, efuro, Chris81964, JUO, and others not mentioned.

First I want to thank God for your lives and knowledge. I want to also thank you for not keeping what you know to yourselves.

I have been a regular on this thread for about 2 years, learning and learning and learning. I have downloaded more than 150 videos from YouTube including those of Mr Chris and Kiekie1 (those videos on power generation during rain showers are eye openers). So while I learn, and because I do not have a job, I have concentrated on how I can benefit from solar considering our grid situation.

I received a cc from someone I met on nairaland on another thread. We got talking and he shared his problem with his solar setup. He said he wasn't getting charge on cloudy days with his 30amps/100v mppt cc as against what he read, but seem OK on sunny days. Immediately I new the panels were in parallel, which he confirmed from his installer. By the power given to me by this house, I confidently told him to tell his installer, who seem used to pwm only to change all 4x100w panels to series. The guy refused until the owner assured him to take blame if anything goes wrong. He is a happier man now, he has since installed another 100w panel in his shop to power a rechargeable fan and small TV. I could not be there because of the distance, but I gave 'technical support'. So I own this cc to the house.

Now I want to make use of this by starting a recharge card shed where I can use solar to charge phones. So I'm here to appeal to people who God have blessed to help me with panel of up to 100w, since this is a 15a mppt controller, I will prefer 2 pieces of 50 watts to maximize output. I have approached a battery charger (i know car battery is a no no) in my area to help with a car battery I can manage till I'm able to buy a 50AH battery, which I believe should be enough since I'm going to be using the power as I generate. I dug deep to find an item on aliexpress which erase the use of inverter to reduce cost and increase efficiency, I hope. It's a battery to USB device, 5 pieces should be enough to start with. And for light, one or two LED dc bulbs should do. https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32524497188.html

I have to also say I want to use this as a stone to kill 2 birds. When you tell people something, especially an area like mine, they want to see it to believe. Once I start this, it will help in no little way to convince shop owners and the likes to embrace portable solar setup. Thank you all for your time.

Personally am proud of ur achievement so far. Welcome to the world of renewable energy. Your drive will inspire others that solar is do-able , however, you need to state ur location&what app contact for u to access help from any willing to send unused PV to u.
As for ur link regarding USB charger. It is ridiculous you intended to start with such. No matter how u share it, u will soon find out it is a waste of effort. Pls look for something better. If you can afford to download up to 150 videos on renewable energy then u can afford some thing like 400w or 500w micro inverter. I saw one in abuja few weeks ago less than 10k it will serve you beyond ur venture.
Am sure u will get help from gurus soon.
Cheers!

DMerciful:
House,

One out of two of my LiFeO4 batteries arrived today, hopefully the second arrives next week or upper week so I can do the required testing and share the review. Coming soon

Good investment! Be sure not to over charge dem in order to enjoy > 2000 cycles.

I only hope this type don't come along with regulatory circuit board inside (which some inverters don't like)

Oga Dmerciful you can now significantly breath air of freedom. We are indeed proud of you!

DUNKA:
Please what is the difference between this and the Fangpusun Outback clone?

JUO:
just the components every other thing are same

I agree with JUO

with what Sir Chris told me and I concur
Fangpusun is a clone of Outback 60A & 80A (I have not seen Fangpusun 80A with it's features sha!)

However, for me, Fangpusun 60A is rugged just as the real ones and it is cheaper than outback CCs
generally, I believe people with bucks prefer midnite solar to outback because of it network /internet flexibilities
without buying additional mates which outback requires (also buying additional mates makes outback really expensive).

in addition, I expect fangpusun to cast the design of 70A in the like of 60A,80A series.
this has been giving me worries why as high as 70A will come in structural cast of lower fangpusun CCs of 40A, 30A etc.

Has anyone observed that too? maybe sellers here can help me out, pls. info is needed!
I am tempted to think 70A could have been a stamped nameplate of fangpusun.

chris81964:
Axpert Inverters
Do we have anyone that repairs them? We have a few that have failed and need the mosfets replaced. Please whatsapp me if you know any good repair people +19739981590.
Thank you.

Sir Chris are the inverters out of 2 yrs warranty ?

subjectively, losing both functions of CC and DC/AC conversion is
the reason why I don't like fanciful hybrid inverters (even if you out-size loads).

imagine batteries have to wait till repairs are done (think of Sulfation at the nodes if left for weeks)

DMerciful:
This one na power station o #Danger

to keep kids and unwanted hands away

it is ugly but it is doing it's job, my brother.

pdozie:


I quite agree. Actually concern is how to set the cutoff..the Sukam inverter I use has no such setting.
If there is a way of setting the cutoff on the inverter please do share.

I plan to upgrade the panel size first , then the battery bank. It was during the panel upgrade that the issue CC smoking came up . And I quite agree with your analysis suggesting that the CC is maxed out.

I definitely have to upgrade the CC because 3 new panels are lying on d roof wasting. More so over time, I will still add few more panels

Solar is addictive. We always need to improve/upgrade our set up to improve its efficiency. Do all you can my brother, the sun is waiting & wasting !

I think u can use watt meter to estimate ur usage over nite & shut down or trim off loads. I use 24v microtex just like ur sukam with 7200wh battery bank but I keep my loads as low as 150w- 170w over nite & battery still read around 24.9v-25.2 daily which I pump to 28.8v absorbing for 2hrs and floating @ 28v by 11am-1pm ( from my 1050w PV I.e 7 150w panels)

Pls work on ur load @ nite if you don't have immediate plans to upgrade.

nannymcphee:
@Dmerciful

Don't know why i can't quote, According to you

1.Recommended panels-1000w

2.Array config-2×2

3.Charge current to batteries 0-33A

A.Pls can you show the calculations you used in arriving at No 2 & 3

B.if my battery spec sheet says Max charge current 25A, how then do i regulate the CC not to supply more than this? 33A is in excess

C.Pls what's the difference between max rated power & max array power

D.In the morning, at what point will i know that my panels are producing enough "juice" to power my loads, what parameter will i be looking at on the CC

I ask the above cos some folks will say they put on their fridge btw 11am-4pm

Why 11am? Why put off at 4pm? What parameters informed them to turn on & off the fridge at that time?

Thanks Sire

Let us see some pix of ur installation and Cc reading.
Location
AWG of ur cable, ba3 type, inverter type etc.
Renewable is rewarding but come clean for advice