I am sitting here in my office at work (yeah... I know but I needed to get this off my chest) wondering what happened to the United States of America I grew up in? We the people are at each others throats in class warfare, entitlement mentality and a welfare nanny state of mind. Our Constitutional rights obliterated with many Americans not even batting an eye while some of us that are paying attention are asking "What the Fuck!?". The government is too large and
continues to grow and now the EPA wants to extend it's power base even MORE.
The TSA is violating our rights and dignity all in the name of security and yet after all illegal searches and the indignation poured upon law abiding citizens... they still have yet to catch a terrorist! Americans willingly cue up and do as they are told like good little sheeple and don't question the man! Then there is the envy of those that have worked hard to get where they are and that envy is turning ugly as people are insisting those that WORKED hard give to those that haven't lifted a fucking finger to do a damn thing for themselves.
Men are afraid to be men and do man things... all because their wife or girlfriend or some bat shit crazy femnazi bitch says it's politically incorrect! What the fuck has happened to my country? Where are the American MEN that stand for justice, law, order and defense of the weak and infirm? When did being lazy and incompetent and irresponsible become acceptable?
When I was growing up I learned many valuable lessons. I will now write those lessons down so you can understand WHERE I am coming from and WHY I miss the America I grew up in:
- When you point a finger at someone for your own problems, remember there are always three fingers pointing back at yourself. : My Grandmother taught me this when I was 8
- Never start a fight unless you are defending someone that is being bullied. If you can walk away from a fight, you'll be a better man in the long run. But if you can't walk away and you can't reason with your assailant then don't waste time negotiating, kick the living shit out of him so he will never forget the ass whipping you gave him. My adoptive father taught me this when I was 10.
- Your word is your contract with every man, woman and child you give it too. If you abuse it and don't keep it then your worth as a man is diminished each time till you are nothing more than a worthless piece of shit that can never be trusted. My adoptive father taught me this when I was 11.
- Tell me the truth, admit when you do something wrong and you will be disciplined accordingly. Lie about it, deny it or try to run from your responsibility and you will regret it. My Grandmother laid this rule out for me when I was 9.
- Nobody owes you a damn thing you didn't work for. My adoptive father taught me this when I was 10.
- All you can do is your best, and if that's not good enough then maybe you need to rethink how you are doing things and learn a new way. My adoptive father taught me this when I was 12.
When I was growing up I was held accountable for my actions and words. And I learned pretty damn quickly that infractions of the rules of home were not tolerated. At the time I hated it, but now in retrospect I am glad my adoptive father was an asshole and my Grandmother a hard ass. They were preparing me for the world, when I would have to venture out on my own at the ripe young age of 18 (actually for me it was 17... another post later maybe...). They were setting me up to succeed and to realize that I would never get anywhere if I didn't apply myself.
It was this upbringing that got me through 14 years in the Navy (had to get out due to injuries) and got me through some pretty tough times in my life. And yes, occasionally I had help along the way and sometimes I would ask for it. But I always paid my debts back and with interest and I made sure that BEFORE I asked for help I exhausted every resource I had within my own self. In other words I am a self reliant man that can get along just fine. I can raise my own food, hunt and trap my own food, build my own house and provide my own clean water and power... as well as do it for my children and family. And now in today's society I am considered an "abnormality" a threat to the status quo of Metro-Sexual males and their masculine women.
We can no longer discipline our children... they are talked to and "reasoned with". And now we are seeing the devastating effect it is having on our society. This touchy feely shit has undermined the very fabric that build this nation. Ironically I am locked in a battle with my life partner over her son. She is trying to raise him the touchy feely way only to be continually frustrated as she is not getting the results she wants. I come in with my hard ass way that I was raised with... and I get results. She doesn't like it because there is no chance for him to have his voice. To which I reply... hey, I get it and I understand how important it is for a child to be heard. BUT when you need or want something done and they KNOW they can try to reason their way out of it... they will every single time. And he loses respect for you in the process.
She hates it... because she sees by result and action that I am right. She sees that that damn Berkeley education from those fem nazi liberal morons is bullshit. And it just irritates the shit out of her something fierce. What REALLY gets her going is when I compare her son to other boys his age... but again when she sees other 6 year olds BEHAVING in public and not running around screaming and climbing on shit and staying close to their parental units... she admits I am right in my curbing his "fun". There is a time and place for everything, and this idea that a child can willy nilly climb and raise hell in public places is ludicrous. It's disruptive to others and disrespectful as well. And slowly she sees... I am right.
How did this happen? How did we lose our way, and don't pull that bullshit "we took god from school" card. God has nothing to do with good moral values, people just want to justify their actions through some invisible dude in the sky. Can you tell I am not a believer? Good. You want to believe, please by all means do! But god in schools or not, is not the reason this is happening.
Oh well... this is yet one more posting that will get relegated to some dark corner of the internet, never to be read, debated or even enjoyed or scoffed at. If you read it, thanks for taking the time.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
DIY idea!
So I am looking to resolve my
solar issues once and for all! After shopping around and finding that
no matter what it’s going to cost me a lot of money, I stumbled
onto this site here: DIY Solar Kit
and the light bulb went on! So I started a new track of research and
finally realized that I can save a ton of money and build my own
custom panels!
My large system that I have plans
to build is based on a 48VDC side. But some of the problems I was
running into were finding solar panels that were configured in 48V. I
found one by Solar Canada, but the price is rather steep and further
research showed that I can build a more powerful panel that meets my
48VDC requirement (actually it would be 49.5VDC which is optimal!)
and generates an estimated 20 Watts more power per panel.
Better yet since I already
planned on building my own array platform this would allow me yet
even more control over the final system. So now I am looking to buy
this set-up here: More gooder DIY solar panel kit!
I just need to shuffle some money around to do it. And since right
now I need to increase my solar capacity, this DIY panel kit has the
wattage AND amperage I need to make up the difference. Toss in
a 10A charge controller and done! I have a bunch of wire at home so
this would be easy to set up.
And I also learned how to make my
own combiner box for a couple dollars. So will definitely be doing
that soon! Okay, that’s all for now, I have to bolt soon!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Okay... so cloudy days, they suck worse than you think!
Okay! So cloudy days really suck for amorphous solar panels! The peak amps I saw were about 3.2 and not for very long. The average was just over 1.4A. So the realization that I will need more powerful and efficient panels hit home hard. Not to worry though it's all part of my learning experience. With full winter sunlight at peak I will see 6.1A from the current set-up I have (photos are still coming) and average of 4.6A.
So I am looking at these systems here as an augment to what I have in place now:
170W System from Lowes - This is most likely the one I will get... when I have the $$$.
260W System from Lowes
So going back to what I said about matching your capacity to your load... guess I need to take my own advice! LOL!!! Anyhow this brings up another interesting element that needs to be covered eventually... so why not now?
Solar panels... holy crap! There are hundreds of them to choose from and they are of differing compositions! Which one to get? What wattage to get? It's enough to really drive you bonkers! So I will start by defining the types of panels available and what the pros and cons are.
From my research I have found that there are four main types of solar panels that you can currently purchase. They are Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, String Ribbon, and Amorphous.
Monocrystalline Silicon Panels - Monocrystalline (or single-crystal) silicon solar panels are around 14% to 18% efficient. They are made from a single continuous sheet of silicon that has pieces of metal connected to the edges so as to increase conductivity and to assist with the excitation of electrons.
These panels are the more expensive of the panel types you can buy but they are also more effective, so in the long run these are the best bet for a good ROI.
Polycrystalline Silicon Panels - Polycrystalline (or multi-crystal) silicon solar panels are about 12%-14% efficient. Essentially these are a lot of individual photo voltaic cells grouped together that also use metal conducting materials connected to the sides so as to help with electron excitation as well as connect the individual cells together.
Polycrystalline panels are the most cost effective to produce as well as the most cost effective. An added benefit is that if one of the cells on a polycrystalline panel is damaged then you can replace the individual cell instead of the entire panel. This is one selling point of polycrystalline over monocrystaline panels.
String Ribbon Silicon Panels – String ribbon silicon panels are constructed similarly to the polycrystalline silicon panels and have generally have about the same level of efficiency The fundamental difference between string ribbon and polycrystalline is the photo voltaic cells in a string ribbon panel are constructed of strips of silicon attached to metal bars that connect the strips to form a cell.
By using strips of silicon to form the cell in lieu of using a solid square of silicon make the production cost of string ribbon panels a bit lower than the production cost of polycrystalline panels.
Amorphous Silicon Panels – Amorphous silicon panels are the least efficient of all types of solar panels. Amorphous silicon solar panels generally run about 5%-6% efficient. This is due to the panels not being manufactured from crystalline silicon. Generally they are comprised of a semi conductive metal, such as copper, with a thin silicon film over the top that is attached to some metal connecting pieces.
These are the least expensive panels to manufacture and they are great for small short term projects. But their inefficiency does not make them a cost effective long term solution for solar applications.
So there now you have a bit more insight to various solar panels. Again I have a base system that is using the amorphous technology, and I knew getting into it that it will be a short term set-up. I also knew that it was the least efficient. But by starting small and inexpensive I have been learning a lot about off-grid solar power.
So I am looking at these systems here as an augment to what I have in place now:
170W System from Lowes - This is most likely the one I will get... when I have the $$$.
260W System from Lowes
So going back to what I said about matching your capacity to your load... guess I need to take my own advice! LOL!!! Anyhow this brings up another interesting element that needs to be covered eventually... so why not now?
Solar panels... holy crap! There are hundreds of them to choose from and they are of differing compositions! Which one to get? What wattage to get? It's enough to really drive you bonkers! So I will start by defining the types of panels available and what the pros and cons are.
From my research I have found that there are four main types of solar panels that you can currently purchase. They are Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, String Ribbon, and Amorphous.
Monocrystalline Silicon Panels - Monocrystalline (or single-crystal) silicon solar panels are around 14% to 18% efficient. They are made from a single continuous sheet of silicon that has pieces of metal connected to the edges so as to increase conductivity and to assist with the excitation of electrons.
These panels are the more expensive of the panel types you can buy but they are also more effective, so in the long run these are the best bet for a good ROI.
Polycrystalline Silicon Panels - Polycrystalline (or multi-crystal) silicon solar panels are about 12%-14% efficient. Essentially these are a lot of individual photo voltaic cells grouped together that also use metal conducting materials connected to the sides so as to help with electron excitation as well as connect the individual cells together.
Polycrystalline panels are the most cost effective to produce as well as the most cost effective. An added benefit is that if one of the cells on a polycrystalline panel is damaged then you can replace the individual cell instead of the entire panel. This is one selling point of polycrystalline over monocrystaline panels.
String Ribbon Silicon Panels – String ribbon silicon panels are constructed similarly to the polycrystalline silicon panels and have generally have about the same level of efficiency The fundamental difference between string ribbon and polycrystalline is the photo voltaic cells in a string ribbon panel are constructed of strips of silicon attached to metal bars that connect the strips to form a cell.
By using strips of silicon to form the cell in lieu of using a solid square of silicon make the production cost of string ribbon panels a bit lower than the production cost of polycrystalline panels.
Amorphous Silicon Panels – Amorphous silicon panels are the least efficient of all types of solar panels. Amorphous silicon solar panels generally run about 5%-6% efficient. This is due to the panels not being manufactured from crystalline silicon. Generally they are comprised of a semi conductive metal, such as copper, with a thin silicon film over the top that is attached to some metal connecting pieces.
These are the least expensive panels to manufacture and they are great for small short term projects. But their inefficiency does not make them a cost effective long term solution for solar applications.
So there now you have a bit more insight to various solar panels. Again I have a base system that is using the amorphous technology, and I knew getting into it that it will be a short term set-up. I also knew that it was the least efficient. But by starting small and inexpensive I have been learning a lot about off-grid solar power.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Some of my calculations sheets...
As I had said in another post, I would start posting my calculation sheets for people to use in their own off grid endeavors!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av2bNlufN8JodEJnMTlyTnBseE95cWd5TkVranlXVXc
Oh... and to use the sheet any area that is bold and blue is a field you edit. The other fields will update as you make your changes. But this sheet is a critical part of planning your system out. There is more information coming later... I have to go now but check back occasionally and see the changes I make to the calculations sheet. There is a lot more I have to upload.
Okay, I have updated my worksheet a bit more. Now there is a sheet that allows you to compare batteries for cost versus performance based on configuration. You can tweak the numbers to match the system you plan on designing. As I noted elsewhere most systems are 24 volt, I am working on implementing a 48 volt system due to it's efficiency over 24 volts.
I have also included a rough battery charge calculator sheet. One thing you have to look at is how long will it take with your system do recharge the batteries? The goal is to have it so your panels will keep you at least up to 95% capacity. Remember once a month or so you will have to equalize your batteries anyhow, so if you can recharge without running the generator then excellent!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av2bNlufN8JodEJnMTlyTnBseE95cWd5TkVranlXVXc
Oh... and to use the sheet any area that is bold and blue is a field you edit. The other fields will update as you make your changes. But this sheet is a critical part of planning your system out. There is more information coming later... I have to go now but check back occasionally and see the changes I make to the calculations sheet. There is a lot more I have to upload.
Okay, I have updated my worksheet a bit more. Now there is a sheet that allows you to compare batteries for cost versus performance based on configuration. You can tweak the numbers to match the system you plan on designing. As I noted elsewhere most systems are 24 volt, I am working on implementing a 48 volt system due to it's efficiency over 24 volts.
I have also included a rough battery charge calculator sheet. One thing you have to look at is how long will it take with your system do recharge the batteries? The goal is to have it so your panels will keep you at least up to 95% capacity. Remember once a month or so you will have to equalize your batteries anyhow, so if you can recharge without running the generator then excellent!
My current system, an experiment to learn from...
So before I invest a lot of money and time into a full blown system, I decided to start small. And I am really glad I did! First it’s going to be a while before the house is finished so there is no real drive to have a full blown system in place. Second I don’t have the money right now for a full blown system. So it’s saving time and with a new kid on the way, the economy borked and my pay raise an insulting joke... well it’s going to be a while before I can afford all the components I will need.
All I need is power for my TV, DVD and some simple lights. Since we have a propane refrigerator (I really hate that fucking thing!) I don’t need to run my big energy hog of a fridge. Actually my AC fridge is pretty efficient but is still takes a bit of power. As for my deep freeze, I have that over at a neighbors for the time being.
So I looked at my load requirements and realized I can support the load so long as I am very very careful with use. And it’s been about a month now and so far so good! My TV and DVD (home theater) draw about 280Watts which converts to about 2.333A. The lights I am using draw .5A each (they came with the kits I bought). So knowing this I started to shop around and I found this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html
After some rough math in my head, I determined that 3 of these kits would suffice. And so far... so good! I have 2 of these set up on the balcony of the cabin with the third kit up at the “barn”. Along with the kits I have 2 12V 105AH batteries in parallel, which gives me 210AH of capacity. We run the generator every 4-6 days so we can pump water from our well into our storage tanks so I will then run a charger to top off, equalize and float my batteries.
The inverter is an inexpensive 12V inverter which I am estimating to be about 85-88% efficient. I say this as my Trimetric TM-2025RV battery monitor shows a draw of about 7A, and I know it’s not the TV and DVD player and lights. Having measured them independently and then validated their consumption using a Kill-A-Watt the extra draw has to be from the inverter. Either way, the solar array of 6 – 15 watt panels has been keeping my batteries pretty consistently around 95-98% charged. Although we just today had our first cloudy day so I am anxious to see how the panels performed.
I will post some photos of my basic set up later. First I have to take the pictures of the system... anyhow I will briefly describe why I made the statement “And I am really glad I did!”. See little dumb ass... well, I am not really little but I definitely pulled a dumb ass move! I screwed up when setting the batteries up. See I tried to do it from memory. Mistake #1. While what I was doing technically was not wrong, how I did it was and the accident that happened shouldn’t have.
I wired the batteries in series, which like I said isn’t wrong, but for my application it was. As when you wire in series you double voltage not AH which is what I wanted. What saved my ass and equipment is the fact that I connected my components to a single battery instead of across the series. What? Each battery has a positive and negative terminal, we know this. When you wire a battery in series you connect the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of another and so forth. So a better way to explain this is lets say you want a 48VDC system, to keep it simple we will use 12V batteries to create it. You will need 4-12V batteries.
You connect battery 1 positive to battery 2 negative, battery 2 positive to battery 3 negative and battery 3 positive to battery 4 negative. Now this is a series connection. But in order for the 48VDC to be realized you need to connect battery 1 negative and battery 4 positive to your inverter. If you do like I did and connect your inverter to battery 1 positive and negative... well, you just get 12V. And that was a mistake that saved me a bit of money.
Now I almost blew myself and batteries up because I wasn’t paying attention to detail and I didn’t have any instructions with me and I was working tired. A stupid way to operate and I know this. Why I am admitting this is very simple, I hope you the reader learns from my dumb assery. Anyhow I dropped a connecting cable that essentially created a loop on the batteries... fortunately I was fast and saw (more like smelled) what happened and all that was damaged beside my ego was one of the terminal threads was melted. I checked the batteries and they all test fine with the hydrometer and volt meter.
So some words of advice...
- Be well rested.
- Don’t rush, take your time and triple check your every move.
- Read the instructions, they are there so you don’t do something stupid.
- If you are unsure of something STOP! READ! ASK! There is no shame in asking for help.
- Use personal protective equipment for just in case an accident does happen.
The current system consists of the following components:
- Sony home theater
- Sony 40” TV
- Three 5W 12V CFL lights (there are actually 6 available but I am only using three in the cabin) all with inline rocker switches installed.
- 800W 12V DC-AC inverter
- 15A battery charger (it’s a multi-stage charger and will perform all the battery maintenance I need)
- Trimetric TM-2025RV battery monitor with a 500-50 shunt
- 3 – 45W solar panel kits from Harbor Freight(these kits come with a charge controller, lights and panels) (2 are used on the cabin and the third on the "barn" which is a small office with a laptop and printer and 2 - 12V 5W lights)
- Extra wire for the lights
- CAT5 for the Trimetric monitor
- 20A circuit breaker
- 8ft of 8GA wire
- Battery interconnect wires
- 1 – 15W trickle charge solar panel
- 2 – 12V 105AH deep cycle batteries
Now don’t assume I allow the batteries to be drained down so far on a regular basis. Actually with the solar panels in place and our usage I am finding the batteries are never getting below 70% and they are generally recharged to 95-98% capacity with just the solar panels I have set up. I verify this with hydrometer reads, voltage read with a volt meter and my Trimetric monitor (which was a damn good investment!) Anyhow I have a metal box on the balcony of the cabin where my batteries and components are all kept. This is so I can keep the off gassing from inside and to also keep the noisy ass inverter outside.
So I then punched two holes in the back of the box and through the cabin walls so I could run the lights and power for the inverter into the cabin. These were later sealed up once the wires were run through them. We get some real nasty weather up on the mountain where we live and the last thing I want to do in the evening is go outside to turn off lights and inverters after watching a good movie. How the inverter is connected is I cut the hot side of the battery cable and ran it through a 20A circuit breaker (yes I know... it’s not a “proper” switch, but it works AND I have the added protection of a breaker in place!) and the main power button is left on. Then the inverter is left connected to the batteries with its main power switch in the on position. When the circuit breaker is tripped or open, no power to the inverter. When it’s reset or closed, power to the inverter and I can then run my TV and home theater!
Now the lights that came with the solar panel kit don’t have any kind of switching and rely on you either plugging them into the charge controller or unplugging them. So I used a simple inline rocker switch so I could keep them plugged in yet control their state from inside the cabin. I also had to run some extension wires as the existing leads were insufficient to reach where I wanted to in the cabin.
So we have power on the property now... not the full system I have designed and in planning but it’s a start and I am learning and have learned a great deal about living off grid. It’s not as easy as many make it out to be and you have to sacrifice some conveniences. But if you are like me, it’s well worth it. Life is a bit more simple in many ways and a bit more complex in others.
Until next chance I have to write... C U L8R!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Random thoughts of no consequence
Okay... so the power thing has been put off for a while... again. I am doing the work of 3 people at my job, I don't have internet at home. And even if I did I wouldn't have time to do anything with it as I have a house to build, power to install, food to cultivate, food to hunt... then there is the family.
So I am just going to rant very briefly... California really sucks. Okay done. I'll rant more later, time to go home now.
So I am just going to rant very briefly... California really sucks. Okay done. I'll rant more later, time to go home now.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Batteries... so many choices... so much confusion...
Well you have finished your power consumption spreadsheet and now
you need to figure out how the hell you are going to power it up with
batteries! This part can be quite frustrating for some, but if you
have good solid figures for your power foot print then it's actually
pretty easy. Again once I have my spreadsheet posted you can see how
I set up a consumption calculator, and that even includes a charge
time calculator using a generator as well as solar panels. The
spreadsheet also shows run times at various states of discharge.
Okay, first you need to determine at what voltage you are going to run your DC side of the power house. The higher the voltage the greater the level of efficiency of your components and the smaller the cabling needed to connect your power grid together. Now one factor that plays into your battery set up is cost, what can you afford? The better the battery and greater the capacity as well as the better the efficiency the higher the cost.
When it comes to batteries, 2V is the best way to go. They have the highest capacity and can handle deeper discharges than other batteries of greater voltage. They also have a longer life expectancy if you take good care of them and don't regularly discharge them past 60%. BUT they are also the most expensive so most people opt not to get them. Most off grid systems use 6V batteries in series / parallel.
So essentially you have the following choices (best first):
Pretty much all residential system will use the 6V battery in a series parallel set-up. The cost to use benefits are the primary reason for this.
Next you have the following battery manufactures to choose from. While they all have quality products you really need to read the fine print and reviews of each product before you deside who you will use for your battery source.
I have decided that for my base system (start small and work your way up) I will start with 8 Trojan L16HC; 6 volt 435 AH deep cycle batteries wired in parallel. This will give me the time I need to run my equipment I have specified in my worksheet with only a small buffer for poor solar days. But I have an alternative solutions for that which I will cover in another post sometime later.
These batteries are about $400.00 a piece once you factor in tax, shipping and handling. Now here I am lucky as there is a local seller so I can save on shipping and handling and the batteries will cost me around $365.00 each after taxes and fees/fines (core and so forth)
Alright, now an area I would like to touch on is understanding capacity and how it translates to something understandable. As I may have noted elsewhere, I am a mechanical engineer by training and trade so a lot of the electronic and electrical mojo is not in my vocabulary. But after working with my simple base system (which I will describe later) I now have a good understanding of what it all means and now have a way to help translate it to you, the layperson that is like me... just an average Joe that wants to not be on the grid.
So the first thing I will do is create the dictionary of terminology you will encounter. Then I will define it and lastly I will break it down so you “Get it!”. This section will also try to make it so you can understand how to convert power types from one to another
Okay, first you need to determine at what voltage you are going to run your DC side of the power house. The higher the voltage the greater the level of efficiency of your components and the smaller the cabling needed to connect your power grid together. Now one factor that plays into your battery set up is cost, what can you afford? The better the battery and greater the capacity as well as the better the efficiency the higher the cost.
When it comes to batteries, 2V is the best way to go. They have the highest capacity and can handle deeper discharges than other batteries of greater voltage. They also have a longer life expectancy if you take good care of them and don't regularly discharge them past 60%. BUT they are also the most expensive so most people opt not to get them. Most off grid systems use 6V batteries in series / parallel.
So essentially you have the following choices (best first):
- 2V
- Pros: Best capacity available of the lot and the best
longevity, estimated 10-15 years of service.
- Cons: Extremely costly. Very heavy
- Pros: Best capacity available of the lot and the best
longevity, estimated 10-15 years of service.
- 4V
- Pros: Also have very excellent capacity available.
- Cons: Extremely costly. Very heavy. Lifespan is estimated to
be about 2-4 years shorter than 2V.
- Pros: Also have very excellent capacity available.
- 6V
- Pros: Nice balance of capacity and cost.
- Cons: Life span is estimated between 6-8 years (although
with proper maintenance and not to deep of cycling they have been
known last up to 10 years).
- Pros: Nice balance of capacity and cost.
- 8V
- Pros: Not as many are required to build a system.
- Cons: Cannot be used for 12V systems.
- Pros: Not as many are required to build a system.
- 12V
- Pros: Least expensive and smallest of the batteries
available.
- Cons: Very short lifespan and limited in capacity.
- Pros: Least expensive and smallest of the batteries
available.
Pretty much all residential system will use the 6V battery in a series parallel set-up. The cost to use benefits are the primary reason for this.
Next you have the following battery manufactures to choose from. While they all have quality products you really need to read the fine print and reviews of each product before you deside who you will use for your battery source.
- Surrette
- US Battery
- Trojan
- Sun Xtender
- Full River
- Crown
- Rolls
- Sportsmans
- Lifeline
- MK Batteries
I have decided that for my base system (start small and work your way up) I will start with 8 Trojan L16HC; 6 volt 435 AH deep cycle batteries wired in parallel. This will give me the time I need to run my equipment I have specified in my worksheet with only a small buffer for poor solar days. But I have an alternative solutions for that which I will cover in another post sometime later.
These batteries are about $400.00 a piece once you factor in tax, shipping and handling. Now here I am lucky as there is a local seller so I can save on shipping and handling and the batteries will cost me around $365.00 each after taxes and fees/fines (core and so forth)
Alright, now an area I would like to touch on is understanding capacity and how it translates to something understandable. As I may have noted elsewhere, I am a mechanical engineer by training and trade so a lot of the electronic and electrical mojo is not in my vocabulary. But after working with my simple base system (which I will describe later) I now have a good understanding of what it all means and now have a way to help translate it to you, the layperson that is like me... just an average Joe that wants to not be on the grid.
So the first thing I will do is create the dictionary of terminology you will encounter. Then I will define it and lastly I will break it down so you “Get it!”. This section will also try to make it so you can understand how to convert power types from one to another
Amp Hour – This is the rating
assigned to deep cycle batteries and how it works is if a battery is
rated at 100AH then in theory is should deliver a constant 5Amps for
20 hours. This is theoretical as there are many conditions that
affect this (temperature, humidity, battery age, specific gravity...)
State of Charge – This is
essentially a level or percentage of charge on the batteries based on
specific gravity. It’s critical you are aware of the state of
charge of your batteries, this is due to the fact that when the
specific gravity of a battery falls below 1.225 or the voltage for a
12v battery falls below 12.4v or for a 6v, 6.2v then the batteries
will start sulfation.
Specific Gravity – This is the
ratio of density of a given substance compared to the density of
fresh water at 4oC (39oF). At this temperature
the density of water is at it’s greatest value and equal to 1 g/ml.
Before you can obtain specific gravity
readings on your batteries you need to do a couple of things.
*** NOTE: Don’t perform this test if
you just added distilled water to your batteries. Wait several hours
to allow the newly added water to mix with the existing electrolyte
fluid. ***
- Take the load off your batteries. (This is one reason why it’s a good idea to have two banks of batteries. One bank on load and the other on charge.)
- When you start your readings, fill the hydrometer several times. The idea is to stir up the electrolytes so as to increase the accuracy of your reads.
- Fill the hydrometer enough to float the indicator.
- In your battery log write down the specific gravity reading then repeat for the remaining cells in each battery in your array. As a note a 12V marine deep cycle batter will generally have six cells and a 6V deep cycle battery will have 3 cells. Each of these cells produces about 2 volts.
The next step is to normalize your
readings. Remember specific gravity is a temperature based process.
So for every 10 degrees ABOVE 80 degrees, add .004 to the readings
and for every 10 degrees BELOW 80 degrees subtract .004.
The last step is to compare the
readings with what the battery manufacture says the specific gravity
should be. As an example, below is the specific gravity of
Rolls-Surrette batteries:
Charged Specific Gravity 100% 1.265-1.275 75% 1.225-1.235 50% 1.190-1.200 25% 1.155-1.165 0% 1.120-1.130
Parasitic Drain – This is
pretty self explanatory, but just in case. Basically any load that is
attached to your batteries is a drain. A parasitic drain is a small
drain caused by “ghost” loads. One example would be the battery
monitor you have installed so you can see how your batteries are
performing. I have a Trimetric TM-2025RV battery monitor that draws
about .1A. That is a parasitic load. I can control it by installing a
disconnect between the monitor and the battery array, otherwise that
drain is always there.
You need to really keep an eye out for
parasitic drains, also known as ghost loads. They can cause you all
sorts of headaches if you don’t keep a check on them. Anything
electrical that is plugged in has the potential of being a ghost
load. Your DVD player, your TV, your microwave... and so on. They all
draw power even when you turn them off. And it adds up pretty fast as
to how much power they will draw.
A good practice is to have an isolation
switch between your loads and source. Case in point, I use power
strips mounted to the wall in my cabin (we are still building our
house and the electrical is already designed to have a switch for
every outlet in the house, more on that later) and have all my loads
plugged into the power strip, when I am finished with a load I simply
turn the power strip off... no more drain.
So unless you have a lot of money to
put into regeneration (solar, wind, hydro, generator) you need to be
a power “nazi” so as to save yourself some serious headaches.
Equalization Charge – Hey
anyone that said off grid living is easy and without hassle is an
idiot. There is a lot of maintenance that has to be done, and the
larger your system... the more the maintenance and that is my segue
into what equalization charging is.
Over time battery performance degrades
and this degradation is due to each battery in an array reacting
differently to being charged. As time passes the difference will
become more pronounced and when that happens it’s time to perform
an equalization charge. Now the rule of thumb is once every 10 cycles
or at least once a month or when the voltage range across the
batteries in a bank is over .30 volts.
*** WARNING!!:
Equalization charging must be performed on
VENTED (not sealed) wet lead acid batteries! ***
To perform an equalization charge the
current is limited while the voltages are higher than normal. This is
in order to bring ALL the cells in all the batteries to 100% charge.
Most lead acid battery chargers use a fixed charge voltage around
13.6 volts in normal operations. When you perform an equalizing
charge the voltage is increased to 14.4 volts or higher (if you have
a 24V or 48V system then the values are higher).
Now when this is going on some cells
may already be at 100%, which means they will start venting as the
electrolyte boils. So exercise caution when performing this
maintenance action. It’s a good idea to wear acid resistant
protective clothing and make sure the space your batteries are in is
well ventilated. Another safety precaution is to ensure there are no
heat or spark sources close to the batteries as the gas that is
vented is volatile and can combust explosively.
This method of charging is the best way
to help ensure the longevity and efficiency of your batteries. A
final word of caution, don’t over charge for very long. I don’t
really have a time, but at least 1-2 hours of over charging should be
sufficient.
Absorption Charge – Absorption
charging is where the voltage is constant and will gradually taper
off as internal resistance increases during the charge cycle.
Float Charge – Float is when
the batteries are fully charged and the voltage is reduced to a lower
level (in a 12V system that would be around 12.8 – 13.2V). This is
done to help reduce gassing and prolong battery life. You know this
as trickle charging it’s sole function is to keep batteries that
are charged from discharging.
Sulfation – There are
theoretically three types of lead sulfate. The first is soft lead
sulfate which will generally decompose with regular charging. Second
is a hard lead sulfate that will decomposes during equalization
charging. And third is a very hard lead sulfate that fails to
decompose even equalization charging.
“Lead sulfate (PbSO4) is created
at both the positive and negative electrode plates during a
discharge. In principle, during the charging period, 100% of the lead
sulfate transforms to the positive plate (lead dioxide), the negative
plate (lead) and sulfuric acid. However, in real life, when PbSO4
(lead sulfate) is left in the battery for a period of time, it
crystallizes and becomes a hard sulfate that coats the surface of the
electrode plates. This phenomenon is called sulfation. Because hard
lead sulfate is a non-conductive material, when it coats the
electrode plates, it causes a reduction in the area needed for the
electro-chemical reactions. It also reduces the batteries' active
materials needed to maintain a high capacity.”
Source: Boat Electric Co., Inc. 2520
Westlake Ave N Seattle, WA 98109
Okay I
think that’s enough on batteries for now.
In the beginning we had an idea...
Hello!
Welcome to my trials at setting up an off-grid power system. I live in the mountains where we don't have power. PG&E never connected power to the property and my woman never bothered to pay the $40k+ to have them connect power. Now I am in the picture and I come with an electrical load that has to be met.
So I decided to build an off-grid power system. I mean I was a mechanical engineer in the Navy and had many years experience with main propulsion systems and auxiliary power generation, this should be a breeze! Ah... no, it's actually a lot more difficult than many realize.
Well I am not one that is easily deterred and generally when I am challenged or told "no you can't do that" I embrace the challenge and head into the fray! Well, let us say this has not been without it's own painful lessons, but I figure might as well share them so that others don't have to suffer as I have. Learn from my mistakes.
One thing I have noticed is there are very few sites out there that actually show, document or tell what is going on. Hence this blog!
Okay to start this is an OFF-GRID system. That means there is no power coming in from any utility company at all. This is an important thing to keep in mind as that means you get no rebates, to my current knowledge NO tax breaks and essentially no financial help for setting up a solar battery system.
To start your load requirements. This is something that will mean sacrifices will be needed on your part if you want to build a realistic off grid system that doesn't require you to hawk your first born child and one testicle. Look at all the electrical gadgets you have and ask yourself "do I really need this item"? Seriously you would be surprised at how many thing you have that you really don't need and can quite easily live without.
Once you have gone through your electrical gadgets and sold off or discarded the ones you don't need, your next step is to check how efficient your current items are. Generally the newer your electrical components the more energy efficient they are, this equates to a lower power foot print. And really this is a prime key to success.
Now that you have updated or validated your electrical components it's time to check their power consumption. This is where a lot of confusion can happen and it's an area that got me several times before I finally "got it!".
Every item you have that plugs into a wall socket has a label or tag that will tell you the following information,Voltage and Amps. Now some items will actually post the watts which is great! But that's what you need, is the watts and eventually kVa (which will be converted to kWh).
So to determine the watts of a particular item you take the Watts = Volts x Amps
Here I will show the total watts my refrigerator uses when running (this does not include start up which is much higher initially). So I have a 5 year old Kenmore refrigerator the data plate says the following:
Volts = 120
Amps = 4.5
So the calculated Watts would be 120 x 4.5 = 540.
Awesome! But we are not done yet, no now we need to calculate kVa and the formula for that is kVa = Watts / 1000.
So my calculated kVa is 540 / 1000 = .54
Bored yet? Head hurt? Don't worry, if it does then you are most assuredly not alone! Okay now we still have more to do. Run times, how long are your items going to run for? This is important as it's part of the kWh calculation, which in turn is used to determine the amount of Amp Hours (AH) you will need from your batteries. The best way to find this out is to use a Kill-A-Watt to obtain equipment run times. You can gather other information as well, such as validating your energy calculations and so forth.
Now before I proceed, remember I said that you also need to include start up power. Now this applies to items such as refrigerators, freezers, fans and microwaves. This is also a hard one to figure out (although the Kill-A-Watt can help!) but it's important as it will affect your battery performance. What I found by talking to my friends that are electricians is that generally the Amp surge to start a motor is generally 1.5 time operational Amps. But keep in mind that it's instantaneous, which means when you apply a time to it generally .25 is sufficient.
What? Okay in layman's terms, when my refrigerator starts (this is the compressor pump) it will surge at about 7.5-12Amps for less than a second. So using the Watt formula my total watts consumed would be:
120 * 7.5 = 900W
900 / 1000 = .9kVa
900 * .25 = 225kWh OR .23kVh
So make sure you include start ups in your calculations. I will include a link later to the spreadsheet I set up for my power calculations. If you find it helpful great, if you find errors... shut up! LOL! Kidding, if you note errors please feel free to let me know and I will correct as I validate. If you find what I have set up helps you with your system design, awesome, please send some credit my way.
Okay back on task. To calculate kWh or kVh it's simple as the formulas below!
kWh = Watts * Time
kVh = kVa * Time
See how easy that was?! Now as you build your power use list you want to have a running total of power consumed. This will later be converted to Amp Hours, which we will from here on refer to as AH.
Welcome to my trials at setting up an off-grid power system. I live in the mountains where we don't have power. PG&E never connected power to the property and my woman never bothered to pay the $40k+ to have them connect power. Now I am in the picture and I come with an electrical load that has to be met.
So I decided to build an off-grid power system. I mean I was a mechanical engineer in the Navy and had many years experience with main propulsion systems and auxiliary power generation, this should be a breeze! Ah... no, it's actually a lot more difficult than many realize.
Well I am not one that is easily deterred and generally when I am challenged or told "no you can't do that" I embrace the challenge and head into the fray! Well, let us say this has not been without it's own painful lessons, but I figure might as well share them so that others don't have to suffer as I have. Learn from my mistakes.
One thing I have noticed is there are very few sites out there that actually show, document or tell what is going on. Hence this blog!
Okay to start this is an OFF-GRID system. That means there is no power coming in from any utility company at all. This is an important thing to keep in mind as that means you get no rebates, to my current knowledge NO tax breaks and essentially no financial help for setting up a solar battery system.
To start your load requirements. This is something that will mean sacrifices will be needed on your part if you want to build a realistic off grid system that doesn't require you to hawk your first born child and one testicle. Look at all the electrical gadgets you have and ask yourself "do I really need this item"? Seriously you would be surprised at how many thing you have that you really don't need and can quite easily live without.
Once you have gone through your electrical gadgets and sold off or discarded the ones you don't need, your next step is to check how efficient your current items are. Generally the newer your electrical components the more energy efficient they are, this equates to a lower power foot print. And really this is a prime key to success.
Now that you have updated or validated your electrical components it's time to check their power consumption. This is where a lot of confusion can happen and it's an area that got me several times before I finally "got it!".
Every item you have that plugs into a wall socket has a label or tag that will tell you the following information,Voltage and Amps. Now some items will actually post the watts which is great! But that's what you need, is the watts and eventually kVa (which will be converted to kWh).
So to determine the watts of a particular item you take the Watts = Volts x Amps
Here I will show the total watts my refrigerator uses when running (this does not include start up which is much higher initially). So I have a 5 year old Kenmore refrigerator the data plate says the following:
Volts = 120
Amps = 4.5
So the calculated Watts would be 120 x 4.5 = 540.
Awesome! But we are not done yet, no now we need to calculate kVa and the formula for that is kVa = Watts / 1000.
So my calculated kVa is 540 / 1000 = .54
Bored yet? Head hurt? Don't worry, if it does then you are most assuredly not alone! Okay now we still have more to do. Run times, how long are your items going to run for? This is important as it's part of the kWh calculation, which in turn is used to determine the amount of Amp Hours (AH) you will need from your batteries. The best way to find this out is to use a Kill-A-Watt to obtain equipment run times. You can gather other information as well, such as validating your energy calculations and so forth.
Now before I proceed, remember I said that you also need to include start up power. Now this applies to items such as refrigerators, freezers, fans and microwaves. This is also a hard one to figure out (although the Kill-A-Watt can help!) but it's important as it will affect your battery performance. What I found by talking to my friends that are electricians is that generally the Amp surge to start a motor is generally 1.5 time operational Amps. But keep in mind that it's instantaneous, which means when you apply a time to it generally .25 is sufficient.
What? Okay in layman's terms, when my refrigerator starts (this is the compressor pump) it will surge at about 7.5-12Amps for less than a second. So using the Watt formula my total watts consumed would be:
120 * 7.5 = 900W
900 / 1000 = .9kVa
900 * .25 = 225kWh OR .23kVh
So make sure you include start ups in your calculations. I will include a link later to the spreadsheet I set up for my power calculations. If you find it helpful great, if you find errors... shut up! LOL! Kidding, if you note errors please feel free to let me know and I will correct as I validate. If you find what I have set up helps you with your system design, awesome, please send some credit my way.
Okay back on task. To calculate kWh or kVh it's simple as the formulas below!
kWh = Watts * Time
kVh = kVa * Time
See how easy that was?! Now as you build your power use list you want to have a running total of power consumed. This will later be converted to Amp Hours, which we will from here on refer to as AH.
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