₦airaland Forum

eniola1010:
Cc makavele

Please help me explain some things please

What exactly is this dod i keep hearing

DOD means depth of discharge . . the opposite of SOC which means state of charge . . simply put, it's how far you should discharge your batteries before recharging them. Typically, you shouldn't discharge below 50% to prolong your battery life. how do you know the DOD?
A full battery would typically be at 12.7 volts... once the battery hits 12.0V, that's 50% DOD. You should switch off and recharge, taking it below 12.0V will kill it faster.

Also, i use 1 ceiling fan, 1 55" tv, 1 laptop, 1 sound system, 2 white bulb.

A ceiling fan is typically 80W, a 55' TV if it's an OLED tv, should be around 125W, if it isn't led technology, can be as high as 300W
a laptop around 65W, sound system around 40W, 2 white bulb (CFL you mean: around 2 x 15w)
So rough calculation is: 80 + 125 + 65 + 40 + 30 = 340 (adding 10% losses 340 + 34 = 374W) almost 400 W
These are just estimates, if you would like to be more accurate, please check the ratings label on each appliance for a more specific power rating.

I need an inverter and good battery
I'm looking at getting 2 200ah batteries.

Well, for 400 W or so, you skipped out one important part. How long do you want them online? 24/7, 10 hrs, 4hs, afternoon only, overnight only. Without this info I cannot proceed. Let's just imagine you want all of them online at the same time for just 12hours per day.
400 W x 12h = 4800 Wh. Remember we cannot discharge batteries below 50% so we multiply by 2
4800 Wh x 2 = 9600 Wh and we multiply by 1.25 for efficiency sake = 12,000 Wh
So you would need at least 12,000 Wh divided by 200AH batteries = 60 then divided by 12V = 5 batteries
You can only connect 5 batteries in parallel (bad idea cos of too much current); so going series we have to add 1 more battery or drop one battery. to make either 4 or 6 batteries. 6 is better.
So to run 400W of load for 12 hours to 50% with peace of mind, you will need 6 units of 200Ah batteries.
A 1.5KVA inverter is golden here . . which will give you just about 1200 or less usable power. It's always a good idea not to load your inverter past 50%. You will only see a 1.5kva in 12 or 24 v . .
which means you will need to connect batteries at 2 series 2 parallel . . 2 x 2



I have nepa light 9hours out of 24hours.

I have idea about batteries which is why i know 2 200ah batteries would be okay for me.

But i dont have idea about inverters, which inverter would be suitable for me? What spec should the inverter have?

You can either go cheap or very expensive . . depends on your pocket. Each one get the job done. The expensive ones adds more perks; more charging power and more peace of mind.

Also, these inverters, can the batteries charge at the same time or one battery has to charge first before another one begins charging

They charge at the same time and discharge at the same time. I do not want to go into details about battery balancing . . where a battery will charge higher or discharge lower than another. Story for another day.

Kindly see my reply in blue ink above.
Forgive any typos and miscalculations. Had a very busy day.

eniola1010:
Cc makavele

Please help me explain some things please

What exactly is this dod i keep hearing

Also, i use 1 ceiling fan, 1 55" tv, 1 laptop, 1 sound system, 2 white bulb.

I need an inverter and good battery
I'm looking at getting 2 200ah batteries.

I have nepa light 9hours out of 24hours.

I have idea about batteries which is why i know 2 200ah batteries would be okay for me.

But i dont have idea about inverters, which inverter would be suitable for me? What spec should the inverter have?

Also, these inverters, can the batteries charge at the same time or one battery has to charge first before another one begins charging

will reply you when i am on a PC so i can type much

GAZZUZZ:
after all the commotion, Dipo brings out a scanner to scan Uncles car...

1min later...

dipo: sir it's a P0420

Uncle: 420 bawo?

Dipo: a catalytic converter related issue.. Dipo then points to the exhaust manifold, and trys to explain further.... Uncle cuts in... Indomie no' ni! Kamaru removed it in 2015!

Uncle: Indomie was blocked and the engine did not faya well.. So as Kamaru removed it, engine was firing well.

Dipo: sir that is the reason the light came up...

Uncle places a call... hello hello ore me Ema send won mo o! Ehn ehn we will sor it out ehn ehn.

uncle drops the phone: Dipo so what about my engine that has become a shower, every where leaking from different points?

Dipo: explains that it is prolonged use of tap water that caused a degradation on the aluminum passages, and a faulty radiator unit.

Uncle: dipo 5 years yes 5.. My water did not go down, and in 5mins after leaving your workshop my vehicle became a cry baby. Well it is late and I don't have any more money for a radiator today, and the catalyst is still pending.

Dipo places a call to Macavele: Baba, please do you have that your old radiator you replaced because you were doing preventive work? Macavele replies yes. Please can I have it, there's a small situation in the workshop. Macavele says no problem, but you will pay the okada man o! Dipo says no problem.

Dipo: sir in the interim, I will install a functional used radiator so the leaks stop.

uncle: oshe! Badest, at the end of the month I will replace it.

Sultaan the okada rider arrives in 15mins with the radiator, dipo pays N500 and asks for change, sultaan replies Oga dipo, "Change I no de"

Uncle: ahh dipo, that radiator is looking like the tokumbor I bought 5years ago, very sharp no ni!

Dipo is at this point thinking of his N500 and manages to give a smile.

dipo: sir you will need to buy coolant again sir.

Uncle: Don't worry put, end of the month I will pay in Uncles mind "sense wee not kee mi"

To beat you just dey hungry me

Saao:
thanks why I ask was that, I found it difficult in making payment online. so I don't know if you make ur payment in the bank?

i do not understand what you mean by "difficult to make payment online"

Use a verve .visa or mastercard debit card issued by your local bank; same way like paying online on jumia konga or quickteller

or paying your dstv subscription online.

no difference.

You can also visit thebank if you so desire, but i do everything from my house

and go pick up the cert's in hard copy after a week or so.

Saao:
ok then thanks. sorry you did everything online?

You asked a question, i havr answered
pls read your own question again
and read my answer again

Have done it one too many times

only took 1 week from reg'n to cert collection

Newbreed2018:
Replace Engine is familiar with one guy that types like this in the car talk section
Good job u r doing.

Shour out to Gazzuzz

hardywaltz:
Please I want to ask a novice question.
I have two 12v 170amps batteries connected in series for a 24v setup.
Can I add two extra 12v 200amps batteries connected in series then parallel the two strings?

My rudimentary cal say I will get 24v 370amps.

Is it a bad idea?

In theory, yes 24v 370a
in real life, 24v 340a
plus dead batteries within 6 months

jtcglobalventur:
hi the inverter set-up has 12-unit of 250w( i,e; 3000watts) mono pv,arranged in a unit of three in series and than the four units is connected in parallel ,this gives 112v open circuit voltage. it was observed that if the system is put off for about 1.5hrs during the day, the system works til-down each day. Thanks to everyone in the house.

Okay let me help you small.
You said the system isnt working till dawn
the sun goes down around 6pm, so it means from 6pm, client is on batteries, so around 2am system goes off, which means :
1. client depletes battery with heavy loads,,,,, bad
2, battery bank isnt correctly sized to accomodate 24hrs usage,,,,,bad
3, batteries arent charging well during the day,,,,,bad
4 village people are following client,,,,,,worse

thank me later

Saipro:
Now in the mix: Victron MPPT charge controllers!
Much better than anticipated.

in Niyi's voice: finicky victron, lol

kiekie1:
Hello, I feel your pains to the marrow! Most times,first hand experiences isn't easy.. Prag isn't a waste & can still very much serve you but you can contact me if you need to sell off your prag inverter .. Its not really a wasted investment although I see another Roy pwm cc with tiny guage cables in the pics which can be managed for now till you upgrade to an mppt. Contact me if you need to sell the dead batteries and top up cash for brand new batteries .. Cheer's

Smartcell global services,
081-350-31951

i have 8 dead 200ah batteries . . .
anyways 5 dead; 3 still perfect but to me all 8 dead
oya bring money

NiyiOmoIyunade:
If there were no mains (Utility or Gen) and one were truly offgrid, there would be no need to set solar priority on the VilPower or fiddle with disabling charging on the Felicity

On a lighter note, if you buy the HA02 balancer from me, I will reverse myself and declare VilPower the winner for this round .

For you my Oga Makavele, I will give a special price and even personally hand deliver to your Lekki residence - that is if you have not already setup with extra cables to loop your batteries like KieKie suggested.

i can see d spirit of keikei1 in you.
anyways, let's meet in za oza room

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Danke schon!

Imagine a 5kWH battery bank fully charged and you have mains available for 5 hours then mains withdrawn after 5 hours.

With the Felicity attached to the battery bank and charging disabled, if you run a 500w load for those 5 hours and then mains fails, there will be no impact on your battery as they will still be fully charged since the Felicity will power loads directly from mains and not drain the battery at all.

With the VilPowerStar attached to the battery bank in Solar Priority mode, and you run thesame load for 5 hours your battery would be discharged ~50% - if mains fails after 5 hours you would be left with a deeply discharged bank and in need of a power source to charge so the batteries don't suffer damage if depleted too low

The two scenarios above show a significant difference between disabling charging and using the line/mains directly with the Felicity vs. running in Solar Priority mode with the VilPower.

There is a battery type selection setting #9 on the VilPower which may behave similar to the Felicity but I have not yet tried or tested it - luckily I have both the Felicity and VilPower in my house but the Felicity clearly wins this round with the elegance of its features.

Too much English does no one any good.
They serve different purpose albeit to the same effect.
What if there were no mains, and you are truly offgrid?

VILPowerstar gives you the true definition of being offgrid . . even if mains comes in, it will ignore it. It will only resort to using mains,
as the last resort when batteries are too low, and the sun is not yet up. If your DOD is calculated well, the batteries will not discharge to even 50% before the sun comes up the next day and the cycle restarts. That's the true definition of being offgrid.

Felicity will allow the mains to pass through, and that is not a definition of being offgrid.
because whatever load you are running, will be accumulated to your power bill.

So you want to go fully offgrid, powerstar
you want to still use mains once in a while, felicity.

End of discussion

cc: kiekie1

hancock:
Hi Makavele
I think you have painted two different scenarios
One inverter is discharging the battery even when there is grid/gen power while the other one is NOT DISCHARGING the battery when there is grid/gen power.
Don’t see how that is “almooost” the same thing abi?

We arent talking about discharge so we dont care, we are talking about disabling charging
thats why i said one is more direct and one is indirect
but the same aim is achieved,
i rather choose the must version because its the best definition of being offgrid

radautoworks:
Delphi Fuel Pump Module Assembly
Strainer is inside the module assembly. To reduce risk of contaminating the replacement pump, Delphi recommends cleaning the fuel tank before installing a new pump. Use of fuel tank cleaning kit FC01 is recommended. N123,005 1 year warranty http://weblink.carquest.com/acl/?mfgName=FP&partNumber=FG1242 6-10 day delivery

OR

Carquest fuel pump N115,340 1 year warranty http://weblink.carquest.com/acl/?mfgName=FP&partNumber=M2496323 6-10 day delivery

Labor 1.6hr = N8,000

Thanks, all four legs for the strut

fuel pump 05 fx35?

struts [shocks] ?

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Oga KieKie,

No the 'Solar Priority' setting on the PowerStar light is not synonymous with disabling charging as BigRovar described.

Solar Priority will power loads from the battery until the low voltage cutoff point (11.5v for a 12v battery) and then run one full battery recharge cycle before going back to sourcing power from the batteries - I have attached a pic from the manual.

In Solar Priority, the inverter drains the battery and is not in line (bypass) mode until the low voltage cutoff point. When you disable charging as BigRovar described, you basically source power directly from the grid or gen and the batteries are not drained at all while there is grid or gen available.

There is a battery voltage profile setting # 9 on the PowerStar which should behave exactly as BigRovar described for his own Felicity.

Just to ensure the correct information is out there...

It is almost the same thing, almoooost . . .

I can confirm that in battery priority, the inverter will continue working with batteries even in the presence of grid power (mains or gen)
hence, inverter will not charge batteries. It will totally ignore the grid presence until the batteries are getting low;
if DOD is calculated well, the batteries will not reach 11.5 (for a 12V) before sun wakes up the next day.

Meanwhile on the felicity, the inverter will acknowledge the presence of grid and bypass your loads to grid, but will not charge the battery

So they are both the same thing; just that the felicity offers a more direct approach; while the must offers a cunning approach,

Peace !!

cc: kiekie1

kiekie1:
Yep! Had to capture that via whatsapp .. What are friends for .. Am grateful !

Thanks for being grateful, but you should still pay for "copyrighted" content marketing

kiekie1:
Hello Bigrovar, its synonymous to the "solar priority" DIP switch in the newer version of powerstar light pure sinewave inverters .. It enables clients to choose between solar charge only or phcn/gen.

Image:Courtesy Makavele

Hahaha; nice one !!!!

The "powerstar" model will not allow you select 0amp but the "not used" battery profile does work . . .

You can say that again, charging with prepaid meter is suicide when the battery bank is heavy.

I burn close to 7kWh during one complete charge cycle; if my DOD is fair.

mank1234:
I thought both were for input from different power source.
Congrats one again.

Oh okay,
i am trying to design labels and warning stickers
which would be placed appropriately for identification and clarification of what does what etc

thanks once again

mank1234:
In lay man's parlance,
1) highest voltage expected must be less than Vn on breaker.
2) (a) current rating of conductor must be higher than rating of breaker to protect wire(b) rating of breaker must be at least 1.25 of expected current to avoid nuisance tripping
3) short circuit rating of breaker must be greater than possible short circuit in the connection else the breaker will fail to trip in some short circuit situation.

If you see an unsafe act, stop it. If you can't stop it, report it.

without resorting to speaking too much English,
well said !!!

mank1234:
@makavele: your setup is neat and lovely.
consider using a contactor for automatic changeover instead of 2 separate switches which can both be turned on accidentally

thanks but i dont understand what u mean by 2 seperate switches which can both be turned on accidentally.
there is only 1 dedicated switch for generator or mains input which is drawn from the main db
and one for output; thus they can both be and should be left on

then the fancy white privacy box for changeover between inverter, mains/generator and total darkness(neutral)

so please elucidate

pranil:
since we are on DC breaker please ensure polarity is correct.( unless the breaker is non polarized) the attached document is very clear for the D.i>Y installer.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W44FlBLvVdz6lTJ0nfHZLzFLVQlIguox/view?usp=sharing

We are all humans and prone to mistakes but I think polarity issues is one mistake I cannot make because I quaudruple check before giving it the breathe of life. Although I have a couple of non polarized mcbs, sitting somewhere, if my memory serves me right

pranil:
The wires to the CC breaker and CC are at an odd angle. The wires should come out at least 1 -2 inch and then bent in a hook shape not immediately after existing the MCB

Strain relief, okay I get that .
Thanks

NiyiOmoIyunade:
The convention is to break/disconnect at the positive side of the battery cable, then you may use the negative side to pass a shunt to measure power in or out as required - adhering to this convention is especially good in a negative grounded system given the way DC current is thought to flow from positive to negative (speaks plenty English and waxes technical, philosophical and professorial all in one about the technicalities of negative grounding vs positive and allied matters ).

Practically I don't see any danger at the DC nominal bus voltages you are working with but for the sake of compliance you may consider doing it the conventional way.

Lovely work you have done with this install - it is a great aesthetic standard to aspire to and I will try to beat it in my next job

Yes, but for custom reasons, I need the circuitry to remain active at a point, that's why I went with the low-side disconnect as against the conventional high-side disconnect. It was well thought out.
Glad to see you appreciate the aesthetics. I appreciate it too.

kiekie1:
Hmmn , on same inverter ? I didn't see clear pictures tho ! Are they different batt banks? If No, how did you integrate all .. Thanks

i had 24v 400ah bank on the microtek 2kva before
convert to 48v 200ah
used a dual battery bank selector
can switch from bank a to b like hot knife through butter

kiekie1:
Yes its very effective too since you are on a 48v stringed 210a bank.. I will send you schematic here or via whatsapp as usual ! Cheer's

Correction: bank 1 is 48v 210ah
bank 2 is 48v 200ah

total bank: 48v 410ah

kiekie1:
A unit of the 48vdc balancer can actually serve for your design if only you are a fan of looping extra 2.5mm cables .. If you ain't comfortable with looping cables due to little stress involved, its best you simply add another battery balancer. Cheer's

Do you have a diagram you can share for the looping? Let me see if i can try

kiekie1:
Good morning Sir.. I can see all renewable materials supplied ready for action ! Pls ensure you use a battery balancer for your bank . Do not also forget to use a central servo stab of your choice ratings / budget ! We also use DC 250a breakers for the inverter to battery connection "aids in easy disconnect to your aligned busbar & safety".. The leakage or little shocks you feel can be solved by simply earth rod grounding .
Contact me for Schneider SPD or MNSPD"if you are in a thunder prone Lekki area" ... We also supply industrial salt, copper earth cables, pure copper earth rods of any length/ft you wish to use .

Smartcell global services,
081-350-31951

Good morning bossman,

For now, i'll love to see how I can fix the leakage cos of kids who might be curious to touch even with warning signs glaringly displayed.
my house is a 6 bedroom duplex so a central voltage stabilizer was necessary a long time ago.
The breaker is a 100A rating, would increase to 250A as said and then we will chat privately, of course!
How are you today?

pranil:
Congratulations lot of hard work has gone in it .

The installation looks to me similar to Salvador Dali's painting. Beautiful but not following the standards
All wires are existing at an odd angle from the machines.
the first rule of electrical wiring is the wires exist straight out of the box and then bent away on the insulation portion preferable after strain relief.
When you open a normal 13 amp plug you will see that the space inside is left for wire to come out and bend and then clamped together on insulation before it exists the plug to avoid failure
This is to avoid straining the connector and the wire near it's weakest point ( as it is stripped for the connection)

this guide (especially point 5 and 6 ) will be useful for the D.i.y. installers - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WqDrBT0sB5MrhoB0Joev8wTeCunOYs6F/view?usp=sharing

The only wire I can see with my "novice" eyes coming out the opposite direction is the inverter negative cable . . .
please clarify more and i,ll see if it is fix-worthy
are you talking bout the blue and yellow wires (battery to bus bar cables)
i doubt so. once again clarify, until then, peace out

S007:
quote author=makavele post=69564967]And the final look . . .

Replaced the sockets with 20A switches for input and output disconnect; the 3rd one up is for the automatic water pressure booster.






So at is my battery bank stands at: 19680 kWh and panels at 3kWp.

The only issue I am having now is some of my batteries are out of sync.

Would have to order more balancers before it's too late.

And I think I would have to create a dedicated earthing rod brouhaha for the inverter system; because

I am having issues with that annoying un-grounded current flowing through the inverter chassis when I am standing barefoot on the floor.

How do I fix this please?

What a wonderful DIY job. I have seen quite a few DIY and ones done by 'installers'. This one will rank among the very good ones. Board is well arranged. Cables are well crimped, insulated and routed. I can connect with your thought process. I know you must have spent a lot of times thinking things through. It is not easy. Weldone sir!

I have the following suggestions to make. You have already done almost all the hard work so these are probably improvement opportunities.

1. Replace the 20A switches with AC circuit breakers. Circuit breakers are the right component for your inverter input and output. They will serve two purpose. They will serve as disconnect and they will also protect your cables and inverter in the day of trouble. Cost is about the same as 20A switches.

2. Looking at the final picture, I can not see any protection for your inverter cable to battery. If it is there all well and good. If it is not there, there are different methods you can use. You can use a battery disconnect in series with an inline fuse. Alternatively you can use a DC breaker which will serve as both disconnect and protection. I prefer the DC breaker option.

3. For the battery issues, HA02 will do the magic. Oga Niyi has done justice to this one already.

4. Earthing.... earthing issues discussed some pages back. There is no 'one rule fits all' All inverters are not same. One good starting point will be to look at your inverter manual for earthing requirements, then move forward from there.
To avoid writing an epistle I have to stop here.

Weldone sir!

There is a breaker on negative inverter cable, affixed to the rack [ oh i forgot to snap the rack ] yes and one unit of HA02. Thats why I said I needed to order more before its too late.