Solar Energy

[viking]

I had black poly pipe coming from the spring but it was very troublesome, every union makes a small choke point that roots flowing down the pipe would get clogged at, I also had one time that a puncture got into the pipe and roots grew into the pipe totally clogging the pipe. Another time, after the neighbor had done some logging one of the logs that were dragged down hill scrapped across an exposed portion of the pipe flattening the pipe and creating leaks. I have used schedule 40 poly pipe to connect a water holding tank to a water pump due to a shallow well drying up, it was 1 1/2" diameter and I had to use boiling water to soften the pipe enough to get it on the fittings, that pipe is really tough and that's probably the size I'd need to run from our spring down to the cistern and from the cistern to the house. For my physical abilities at my age, getting our solar array frame together is hard enough, I don't think I could redo the whole water line system but I believe that I could do repairs on the existing one, I'm tough but not that tough and I'm not so sure my son or a younger friend could do what I did when I was a few years younger. When I look back at what I did, I wonder how I was able to do those things. It's kind of like I was a human backhoe.

 

[viking]

I'm at the point of setting the position of the mounting channels for the solar panels, as for the array frame, it's well braced and I've use carriage bolts to strengthen the most important joints, it has really stiffened the whole frame. Each caisson is roughly 2' deep with concrete and rebar in each core so the whole frame is thoroughly anchored, it may be overdone but I've always tried to overbuild or do more than code requirements, it's just the way I've always done things, mainly because I didn't want to go back and do things again, however what I've run across as time goes on, is the quality of certain plumbing supplies and products are going down hill. It seems like since we are getting next to all of the light fixtures from China, the quality of those fixtures is also declining.

 

[viking]

I think that the frame is completed, the EMT channels are in place for mounting the solar panels and all the 1"X2"X1 3/4" aluminum channels are cut and just need the sharp edges filed, I cut 36 of those with my table saw which I have a fine toothed carbide blade in, the other pics are a panorama from east to west that the solar array will get sun power from, the worst obstacle is our beautiful big leaf maple and I hate to do anything to it as it works as our afternoon cooling system, I'm pretty sure that there is enough open sky to give me at least six hours of sun for keeping the battery bank up to snuff.

 

[viking]

I forgot to mention that those short channel pieces are for mounting the solar panels to the EMT mounting channels, more pics to come when I get them filed and mounting holes drilled.

 

[viking]

I ended up making another support frame for the east end as I had to slip the array support channels to side, somewhere along the line I miss figured and after mounting two solar panels it looks like I'll have room to add two more, if I'd have known that I would have bought those before I started, Grape Solar no longer offers 195 watt panels without having to pay more for a special order. Oh well that's what getting older does, but I'm sure I can come up with something, all I'll need is for the additional panels to put out the same 36 volts or 72 volts for one higher wattage panel. Pics to come as when I finished for the day it was getting dark.

 

[Meerkat]

I think that the frame is completed, the EMT channels are in place for mounting the solar panels and all the 1"X2"X1 3/4" aluminum channels are cut and just need the sharp edges filed, I cut 36 of those with my table saw which I have a fine toothed carbide blade in, the other pics are a panorama from east to west that the solar array will get sun power from, the worst obstacle is our beautiful big leaf maple and I hate to do anything to it as it works as our afternoon cooling system, I'm pretty sure that there is enough open sky to give me at least six hours of sun for keeping the battery bank up to snuff.View attachment 11231 View attachment 11232 View attachment 11235 View attachment 11236 View attachment 11237 View attachment 11238

Really coming on along, looks nice and strong.

 

[viking]

This pic is from earlier and since then I've added one more panel. I hooked up a 40 watt bulb to the first two panels and at 72 volts it lights up like it's on a dimmer. All the up and down the hill and the ladder, poops out this old guy, makes my ankles a bit sore as well. Well this didn't get posted when I wanted too but that's alright because here it is 7:20 PM, the sun is behind the trees to the west and the light bulb is still lit up, I'm certainly well pleased with the efficiency of just two of the solar panels, just checked the light again and it's still lit and there is no sun on the panels, so it looks like my big leaf maple may not make any difference even though it puts shade on the panels, I'm looking forward to seeing how much solar charge time this array is going to provide.

 

[viking]

It's starting to look like a solar array, it's slow work getting the mounting channels in place to bolt the solar panels down, but I have to go slowly to keep the panels from slipping to the ground, next panel I mount I'll take some pics as it might help others in setting up theirs, so far I've done this without any

help. Only four more to go and I can start the wiring. The Unistrut channel works great for mounting the panels and they cost a lot less than some of the solar array mounting systems that are available and they are usually in most large stores that handle electrical supplies, like Home Depot and Lowe's, we got ours at Home Depot.

 

[Bacpacker]

Viking, those look great. You'll get plenty of power from the array once your done. I may be wrong, but I think you said those were 195 watt panels, or something like that. What are the diminsions of them?

I'll share what we've been doing at work to install the panels we've been putting up. Our are 295 watts and are around 36" x 60". Our installations are one per station and are mounted on a Telephone pole around 10' off the ground. We have access to a bucket truck, but are also using a pulley and rope set up to lift the panel to the mounting we had fabricated. I know you have a totally different mount, but I thought the rope and pulley set up might make things a bit easier to get them on your rack.

 

[viking]

So here are some pics on how I've mounted the panels without any help. The first thing I do is to clamp a heavy 2X2 at the top of the array frame and on that 2X2 I clamp two long 2X4's on their narrow edge, the panels are light and easy to handle and so I can slid them on those two 2X4's until the mounting bolt holes line up with the mounting channel pieces that are bolted to the Unistruts, at this point I clamp a short 2X4 to the right hand 2X4 and go to the back and unclamp the left hand 2X4 turn it to the flat side, pull it up and out, I then go underneath the panel and install the upper and lower 5/16th" bolts and ny-lock nuts. I don't thighten them all the way until I've removed the right hand 2X4, which is done after removing the short 2X4, after that's done I install the other two 5/16th" bolts and tighten them all down.

 

[Meerkat]

We've decided to make our solar transit. So if we have to leave for whatever reason we can pull it with us.

 

[Bacpacker]

I figured you had a good method figured out to do the mounting. Looks like a good plan that working well for you.

 

[viking]

We've decided to make our solar transit. So if we have to leave for whatever reason we can pull it with us.

Good idea, I've seen some pics of a trailer mounted solar system and it's probably something we would consider if we were much younger, as it is I'm PO'd because of our socialistic governor and her push for carbon exchange tax system along with all the other things that are going haywire here on the left coast, sometimes I think we should have sold our property years ago and bought a sailboat and end up as people without a country, tie up in a harbor in Costa Rica and live our days out. Anyway we've decided to make the best of what we have here in Oregon, it's just not fun seeing all the socialism that's going on around us, makes me want to say a lot of bad words and it makes me feel bad for the coming generations, rant off, sorry about that, sometimes it seems I think a bit too much. But then I get happy when I see that I only have to mount two more solar panels and start on the wiring.

 

[Meerkat]

Good idea, I've seen some pics of a trailer mounted solar system and it's probably something we would consider if we were much younger, as it is I'm PO'd because of our socialistic governor and her push for carbon exchange tax system along with all the other things that are going haywire here on the left coast, sometimes I think we should have sold our property years ago and bought a sailboat and end up as people without a country, tie up in a harbor in Costa Rica and live our days out. Anyway we've decided to make the best of what we have here in Oregon, it's just not fun seeing all the socialism that's going on around us, makes me want to say a lot of bad words and it makes me feel bad for the coming generations, rant off, sorry about that, sometimes it seems I think a bit too much. But then I get happy when I see that I only have to mount two more solar panels and start on the wiring.

Well you should feel fine since your mount looks .

 

[viking]

Hurrah, finished mounting all eight panels today, now the wiring starts.

 

[Bacpacker]

Looks good.

 

[viking]

Everything is wired except the jumpers for grounding, everything is grounded but I'll feel better with solid copper jumpers. Anyway, I'll be putting the solar system charging to the test in the next few days and I've already shut off the charger from the inverter/charger, so now the battery system is off the grid.

 

[viking]

I fired up the solar charge system at 9:00 AM and the last time I looked at the charge voltage it was 29.23 volts and the batteries were busy bubbling along in the bulk charge state and as soon as the solar controller gets through with its' charge cycle I'll do a test run on running some of the electrical systems in our home.

 

[SheepDog]

Viking allow time for the batteries to degas before placing a load on them. The rule of thumb is to let them sit for as long as they have been on a charge. The gas bubbles block the electrolyte from touching the plates and will cause dead spots on the plates if they are cycled without degassing. If the batteries are accessible you can gently tap the sides to help clear the gas bubbles from the plates. You should also check the level of the electrolyte after degassing and fill to the proper level at that time only.

 

[Bacpacker]

Viking you may have mentioned before, but what type and rating are you using for a charge controller? Same with your inverter?

 

[viking]

Viking you may have mentioned before, but what type and rating are you using for a charge controller? Same with your inverter?

The charge controller is a Morningstar TriStar MPPT 60, it's a good match for the solar array as it's designed for a maximum of 1,600 watts and the total wattage of the array is 1,560. The solar controller can be set up for 12, 24, 36 or 48 volts for charging the batteries, the maximum solar voltage input is 150 volts and the peak amperage for charging batteries is 60 amps. As I have mentioned before the solar array is hooked series of two panels for 72 volts and with four series hooked up parallel with each series putting out 5.38 total amps it gives me a total of 21.52 amps, that's roughly 1550 watts. MPPT controllers do a great job, the people at AM Solar in Eugene, Oregon taught me all about them and that's what I have in our motorhome, last time we were out in the desert in northern Nevada we only had to charge the house batteries once off of the engine alternator due to a very cloudy day, we were out there for six weeks and that experience was a good solar power teaching situation. It made me a big believer in high cell count solar panels, MPPT solar controllers and the 2,000 watt Xantrex pure sine wave inverter.

 

[Bacpacker]

Thanks for the info Viking

 

[viking]

Today I just ordered a meter front for the Morningstar solar controller, I can figure out what the three LED's indicate but with a meter front there are readings for solar voltage and amperes as well as easier controls. I need to go up and see how the Equalizing of the batteries is doing.

 

[viking]

Viking, those look great. You'll get plenty of power from the array once your done. I may be wrong, but I think you said those were 195 watt panels, or something like that. What are the diminsions of them?

I'll share what we've been doing at work to install the panels we've been putting up. Our are 295 watts and are around 36" x 60". Our installations are one per station and are mounted on a Telephone pole around 10' off the ground. We have access to a bucket truck, but are also using a pulley and rope set up to lift the panel to the mounting we had fabricated. I know you have a totally different mount, but I thought the rope and pulley set up might make things a bit easier to get them on your rack.

Sorry I didn't give a size, they are just over 35" wide and a little over 4' long.

 

[viking]

I got the meter front today and here are some pics, the amperage shown is while the inverter was running which was running a refrigerator, three ceiling fans and a few lights, as soon as I turned the inverter off by tying the grid power back in, the supply amps from the solar array dropped to 16 amps, so the difference of the amps shown on the meter was being used to run the inverter while the batteries were charging. The solar array voltage output is very close to what I figured it was supposed to be, this is a full sun day with very few clouds.

 

[Bacpacker]

Looks like everything is working good for you.
Our panels are running right at 29v or slightly over on all the panels we installed in full sun.

 

[viking]

I've been running half our home off of solar for up to about five hours a day, this morning I shut off the grid power to the solar backup from the house breaker panel, there is a 40 amp two pole breaker that is dedicated to the system and when I finally went up to the battery shed, everything was working as it should. I also just shut off the grid power to the back room breaker panel and switched on a solar feed breaker so that almost all outlets are now running on solar, so as it is now two refrigerators, a small freezer, four ceiling fans, this computer and anything else on outlets is run off of the solar system. At the same time, due to a larger amount of solar array power being produced the batteries are also being charged, no draw down until the sun goes off the panels, at that time I'll switch everything back to grid. I'll do a trial run on just battery power in the near future.

 

[Bacpacker]

Good report Viking. Glad to hear things are running well for you.

 

[viking]

So I thought I'd give a short report on how the solar system is doing on a very cloudy rainy day. The array is putting out 71+ volts and the batteries are getting a little over 7 amps charging at 4:45 PM, I'm honestly beginning to think that I underestimated how well this system would do. Above all things, if you are considering a solar system of any size, do your homework, understand what you need and think small as to what you want to power, don't get carried away with all the things you think you want to power. If you are able to have a gravity feed water system, go for it, it helps to have a hill behind your home as we do but even having a tank stand can reduce pumping costs for pressuring water to your home. I could run a submersible well pump with our solar system but I'm thankful that I don't have to as our water source is about 500 feet up the side of the mountain from the cistern at the top of our property, the fall of the water from the spring to the cistern is about 100 feet elevation and from the cistern to the home is approximately 50 feet elevation. Not having to run a well pump has been a blessing for keeping our grid bill low.

 

[Meerkat]

Good idea, I've seen some pics of a trailer mounted solar system and it's probably something we would consider if we were much younger, as it is I'm PO'd because of our socialistic governor and her push for carbon exchange tax system along with all the other things that are going haywire here on the left coast, sometimes I think we should have sold our property years ago and bought a sailboat and end up as people without a country, tie up in a harbor in Costa Rica and live our days out. Anyway we've decided to make the best of what we have here in Oregon, it's just not fun seeing all the socialism that's going on around us, makes me want to say a lot of bad words and it makes me feel bad for the coming generations, rant off, sorry about that, sometimes it seems I think a bit too much. But then I get happy when I see that I only have to mount two more solar panels and start on the wiring.

Well Viking seems the ' socialism ' is spreading now to other places. I watch a young couple who live on sailboat who were in Costa Rico a few years go, and had to have permits to anchor there and only for short periods. We watch them for entertainment mostly since good entertainment is hard ot find now.
If we were younger we'd do the same thing..
Here they are figuring out best wiring for their new catamaran sailboat , interesting test they are performing. Parallel or series.