How to make your own home solar. With Pictures + solar book

[alarcon]

Hi, everybody! I'm back The thread was very quiet in my absence...

@Sir Alarcon
Did you clean up the bat with baking soda first or not? To know if a cell is shorted, use the probes of the multitester, dip in the cell (the positive in the 1rst hole until it touch the liquid and the negative in the second hole... you do that for all the cells), if one of them shows a voltage very low compare to the others, this cell may be shorted!
It's normal that the alum bat does not keep charge for long... at first. You need to discharge it as deeply as you can, then recharge it, then deep discharge na naman up to 10 times before having a more steady voltage. And because it's alum and not lead acid, the voltage will never be up to 12.70... but the good thing with this batteries is that you can discharge them very deep (around 5 volts lang) and they recharge very fast!



Update on my alum batt: since i was not home for 2 weeks, I did not recharge it. When I left, the voltage was 12.12 (the maximum I ever got), so after 2 weeks without charging the voltage is 10.95... I think I will have to make some more cycles "charge/discharge", because I was not able to finish all the cycles I wanted to do... all-in-all I made only 6 cycles which is not enough to get a steady voltage.

maam sinubukan ko ngayon ngayon lang umaga pinaiilalim ko yung test probe ng tester sa kada butas ng cell,meron isang cell na mahina ang volts lumabas,ito siguro dahilan ng battery kaya mahina current,


maam,nilinis ko maige ng tubig at baking soda,inulit ko pa nga yung proseso,

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sir alarcon... ang actual experience ni sir ronnel sa 100W poly panel >100ah solar master ay... after more than one year of daily use, ay nagka-"reversible/soft sulfation" ang battery niya... however, after more than one week of "charging without load" ay bumalik ulit sa dating capacity ang batt niya... parang bago ulit.

sir nomag19... ang ginagamit ko ay manual DPDT knife switch lang... as far as i remember, parang wala gumagamit ng auto transfer switch sa thread ni ma'am TS.

thanks sir tristanws,halos 8 month na rin ako gumagamit ng solar panel direct charging ng dalawang 3sm car battery,ayos parin ang performance hanggang ngayon,

 

[bongalzate]

I gave up on my alum batt....for how many charge cycles and discharge cycle I made still it is at 11.8 volts.....BUT I am not totally giving up on this! going to try it once more this time I have a 3sm size scrap battery at hand and I'll do it the lazy way.....Lazy way I say because my first alum batt was washed thouroughly twice with baking soda and about a dozen or more with water....I watched something in youtube an old guy who just washed it once w/baking soda and once with water then put the alum solution charged for overnight and worked.....I also read somewhere that sulfates is needed for the battery to work so in my first try I think there is no more sulfates in the battery they are all washed out already because of how many times I did wash the batts until the water is clear....so this time I'll do it the lazy way.....

maam sinubukan ko ngayon ngayon lang umaga pinaiilalim ko yung test probe ng tester sa kada butas ng cell,meron isang cell na mahina ang volts lumabas,ito siguro dahilan ng battery kaya mahina current,


maam,nilinis ko maige ng tubig at baking soda,inulit ko pa nga yung proseso,

sir alarcon may nabasa din ako advice na pag sulphated ang batts ang nagca-cause ito ng short circuit sa loob kaya minsan wala voltage ang isang butas nito kasi sulphated. Ito ang sabi ng nabasa ko ilagay ang takip ng mga cells para hindi matapon ang tubig sa loob then i-angat ang battery hanggang tuhod saka bitawan gawin ng mga hanggang 10-12 na ulit ito ay para matanggal ang kumapit/tumigas na sulphate sa contacts ng bawat cells......natry ko na po pero mga limang ulit lang at yun nagkaroon ng reaading yung dating cell na walang voltahe........

 

[awinahe]

I gave up on my alum batt....for how many charge cycles and discharge cycle I made still it is at 11.8 volts.....BUT I am not totally giving up on this! going to try it once more this time I have a 3sm size scrap battery at hand and I'll do it the lazy way.....Lazy way I say because my first alum batt was washed thouroughly twice with baking soda and about a dozen or more with water....I watched something in youtube an old guy who just washed it once w/baking soda and once with water then put the alum solution charged for overnight and worked.....I also read somewhere that sulfates is needed for the battery to work so in my first try I think there is no more sulfates in the battery they are all washed out already because of how many times I did wash the batts until the water is clear....so this time I'll do it the lazy way.....





sir alarcon may nabasa din ako advice na pag sulphated ang batts ang nagca-cause ito ng short circuit sa loob kaya minsan wala voltage ang isang butas nito kasi sulphated. Ito ang sabi ng nabasa ko ilagay ang takip ng mga cells para hindi matapon ang tubig sa loob then i-angat ang battery hanggang tuhod saka bitawan gawin ng mga hanggang 10-12 na ulit ito ay para matanggal ang kumapit/tumigas na sulphate sa contacts ng bawat cells......natry ko na po pero mga limang ulit lang at yun nagkaroon ng reaading yung dating cell na walang voltahe........

hehe... I think you are right to do it the "lazy way"... I told you before that the cells should be slightly sulfated, so washing them too thoroughly makes the opposite effect! Me, I even did not wash my bat with baking soda, just rinse it with water several times! Anyways, 11.80 volts is not so bad as you can discharge it very low with no worry of damaging it, so even if the voltage is low, you can still use the bat for many hours... for a scrap battery it still worth it! Lucky you to have scrap SM batts!!! I will wait for the results of your new experiments

 

[tech102673]

anu-ano po ba ang mga brands ng Pure sine wave inverters na tested nyo na. Kailangan ko po kasi mga 1000watts. Sana meron din pong pricelists o halaga ng pagkakabili nyo at kung saan ito nabili? I'm looking forward for more reliable info. Thank you.

 

[bongalzate]

I own a UNIVPO brand 1000w with surge up to 2000w use it for 1 yr na with no problems at all....(led tv ps4 and sound system total of around 500w everyday for 3-4hrs) 1 yr ago it was priced at 9500 I bought it online at OLX. Others have more expensive inverters worth around 18k-20k for 1000w but they are more efficient because they use torroid transformers....mine is of the ordinary transformer type but still it is efficient enough w/ a 90% efficiency rating....the brand is something like powermaster I think....It was posted by sir tristan this month try to back read in this forum all the specs are there also....

 

[awinahe]

anu-ano po ba ang mga brands ng Pure sine wave inverters na tested nyo na. Kailangan ko po kasi mga 1000watts. Sana meron din pong pricelists o halaga ng pagkakabili nyo at kung saan ito nabili? I'm looking forward for more reliable info. Thank you.

Mine is a PowerStar LW7 pure sine wave 1000 watts with surge power of 3000 watts. heavy duty. With charger/ups function... very efficient, reliable (I'm using it everyday for a minimum of 6 hrs/day since 4 years) Medyo mahal, but the price went down since I bought it: around 16 k now according to Sir Tristan (http://www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=1035780&page=203)

Whatever you decide to buy, please avoid TBE inverters... they are cheaper but have very bad reputation! If you have the budget for, make some research about hybrid inverters!

 

[TristanWS]

sir tech102673... Powerstar W7 Pure sine wave inverter using torroidal transformer is on page 405, including the link for the Sole Distributor in the Philippines.

share ko lang...

to properly charge your "Li-ion / Li-polymer mobile powerbank" using your 12V solar setup, you should only use a USB CAR CHARGER ADAPTER with Output Voltage: DC 5V, Output Current: 1A & 2.1A, Input Voltage: DC 12 - 24V

example from cdr king:
CAR-A049-DA (DC-CH-58)
2-PORT USB CAR CHARGER ADAPTER, Php 120.00
http://www.cdrking.com/index.php?mod=products&type=view&sid=21087&main=161#.VWr08tKqqko

example of mobile power banks from cdr king: (active link, 5/31/2015)
http://www.cdrking.com/index.php?pr...bile+power&x=13&y=21&mod=products&type=search

 

[raypaz]

Good day sa lahat....lalo nake mam awinahe at sr tristan...

 

[awinahe]

Good day sa lahat....lalo nake mam awinahe at sr tristan...

Hehe... salamat at good pm sayo! Sobrang tahimik na dito... Maybe nobody wants solar anymore or... they know everything na

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Info

Harvesting electricity from growing plants? Dutch scientists develop Plant-e!
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/111681/dutch-paddy-power-pulls-electricity-from-rice-fields

 

[alarcon]

maam awinahe,tanong lang po,sa solar panel direct charging,oke lang ba sa battery kahit ito ay full charge na,kung mahina na sikat ng araw,halimbawa mga 5pm ikonek uli sa panel ang battery,umaabot na lang sa 13.xxx volts ang reading,yung parang FLOAT charging,saka importante po ba sa battery ang may floats charging?
thanks po,

 

[awinahe]

maam awinahe,tanong lang po,sa solar panel direct charging,oke lang ba sa battery kahit ito ay full charge na,kung mahina na sikat ng araw,halimbawa mga 5pm ikonek uli sa panel ang battery,umaabot na lang sa 13.xxx volts ang reading,yung parang FLOAT charging,saka importante po ba sa battery ang may floats charging?
thanks po,

Yes, it's ok and you are right, it's like "float charging"... but don't forget to turn off at around 6 pm
Actually I was used to do that always. I let the batt on even it's full up to 6 pm, then let it rest up to 7 pm and start using it for the night (up to 12 or 1 am) Now, I don't let it rest anymore... and the voltage in the morning is the same or even higher than when I let it rest!

 

[raypaz]

mam awinahe gd pm...ask ko lang okey lang ba scc ko pwm..umaabot lng ng 13.0v at flashing na ang green led..tapos balik na agad sya sa 12.8/12.7v..tapos pag past 4pm na maging 12.5v na lang sya..la pang 8pm 12.1v na lang sya..lights lang ang load..la pang 30watts lahat ng led lights..1k inverter ko..160watts total pv..135ah batt bank..10amps pwm scc..meron pa akong nakakonek na 1.5farad na cap sa inverter..

 

[TristanWS]

sir raypaz... remind ko lang sa'yo, hindi gumagamit ng scc si ma'am TS... direct charging sya... (150W >360ah solar master).

"umaabot lng ng 13.0v at flashing na ang green led"
* float charging stage na?... dapat umabot muna ng 14.xx volts (absorption stage) tapos bababa sa 13.xx volts... baka may effect ang 1.5 cap sa charging?... akala ng scc ay full charge na dahil sa capacitor?

"tapos balik na agad sya sa 12.8/12.7v..tapos pag past 4pm na maging 12.5v na lang sya..la pang 8pm 12.1v na lang sya.. (less than 30W led lights load connected to 1K inverter > 135ah batt)
* bilis naman ma-discharge? deep cycle ba batt mo? old battery ba?... in theory, less than 3A lang ang current draw, dapat ay 34 hours ang batt runtime... therefore may problema na ang batt mo.

your setup is: "160watts total pv..135ah batt bank..10amps pwm scc..meron pa akong nakakonek na 1.5farad na cap sa inverter.."
* in theory, aabutin ng 7 hours ang pag-full charge ng 135ah batt... hindi ako gumagamit ng capacitor kaya hindi ko alam ang epekto nito sa charging.

 

[awinahe]

mam awinahe gd pm...ask ko lang okey lang ba scc ko pwm..umaabot lng ng 13.0v at flashing na ang green led..tapos balik na agad sya sa 12.8/12.7v..tapos pag past 4pm na maging 12.5v na lang sya..la pang 8pm 12.1v na lang sya..lights lang ang load..la pang 30watts lahat ng led lights..1k inverter ko..160watts total pv..135ah batt bank..10amps pwm scc..meron pa akong nakakonek na 1.5farad na cap sa inverter..

It seems that there is a problem with your controller... where did you put your capacitor? Between the batteries and the inverter? Did you try to charge your batts directly from the panels to see if there is no problem with your batteries?

 

[DaddyMonsi]

magkano kaya magagastos set up ng solar para sa piso net computers ko?

 

[raypaz]

sir raypaz... remind ko lang sa'yo, hindi gumagamit ng scc si ma'am TS... direct charging sya... (150W >360ah solar master).

"umaabot lng ng 13.0v at flashing na ang green led"
* float charging stage na?... dapat umabot muna ng 14.xx volts (absorption stage) tapos bababa sa 13.xx volts... baka may effect ang 1.5 cap sa charging?... akala ng scc ay full charge na dahil sa capacitor?

"tapos balik na agad sya sa 12.8/12.7v..tapos pag past 4pm na maging 12.5v na lang sya..la pang 8pm 12.1v na lang sya.. (less than 30W led lights load connected to 1K inverter > 135ah batt)
* bilis naman ma-discharge? deep cycle ba batt mo? old battery ba?... in theory, less than 3A lang ang current draw, dapat ay 34 hours ang batt runtime... therefore may problema na ang batt mo.

your setup is: "160watts total pv..135ah batt bank..10amps pwm scc..meron pa akong nakakonek na 1.5farad na cap sa inverter.."
* in theory, aabutin ng 7 hours ang pag-full charge ng 135ah batt... hindi ako gumagamit ng capacitor kaya hindi ko alam ang epekto nito sa charging.

tnx sir tristanws for the reminder....kahit wala capacitor ganon na sya..deep cycle both quantum brand 7 mos old..tsek ko palagi water level n sg okey naman..tnx anyway for ur never ending support...owe u one again..Gb..

 

[awinahe]

magkano kaya magagastos set up ng solar para sa piso net computers ko?

Need more details: How many watts ang piso net computer mo? how many hours use per day?

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tnx sir tristanws for the reminder....kahit wala capacitor ganon na sya..deep cycle both quantum brand 7 mos old..tsek ko palagi water level n sg okey naman..tnx anyway for ur never ending support...owe u one again..Gb..

Suggestion lang: unplug one of your panel and charge the batteries directly with the other one (assuming you have 2x80 watt panels!)
Where did you get your scc? 10 amps for 165 watts of pv is a little bit kulang... although it's ok with a good scc, with a cheap one it might be not so good...

 

[raypaz]

It seems that there is a problem with your controller... where did you put your capacitor? Between the batteries and the inverter? Did you try to charge your batts directly from the panels to see if there is no problem with your batteries?

tnx mam awinahe..will follow ur suggestion..bought my scc in iloilo for less than 1k,,bogus brand..am going to change my scc to higher amperage..of course the number one reason for the delay in changing is budget concern hehe...my capacitor is connected to the inverter..yup between the batt n inverter...ur first advise before was direct charging to pv...when my set up was 50watts pv and 70ah dc batt and it works...after upgrading to 160watts pv and 135ah batt was charging it thru scc...since then the voltage is what ive told you...owe u again one..tnx for the never ending support..Gb

 

[TristanWS]

sir raypaz... personally, ito ang concern ko "umaabot lng ng 13.0v at flashing na ang green led" ... ilang oras bago ito mangyari?... may problema kung hindi umaabot ng 14.xx volts... lalabas na "chronic undercharging" ang batt at posibleng sulfated na, kaya mabilis na ma-discharge... testing mo i-direct charging ng panels mo, kung aabot sya ng 14.xx volts or use AC charger to check kung umaabot ang voltage charging sa 14 to 15V.

yung sa akin kasi ay 2 x 80W panel >20A scc >100ah solar master... ang pinaka-mabilis na full charge ay 10AM at pinaka-mabagal ay 3PM if makulimlim... sa range na iyan, palaging aabot muna ng 14.xx volts tsaka bababa sa 13.xx volts (float) maski malakas pa ang araw.

 

[awinahe]

tnx mam awinahe..will follow ur suggestion..bought my scc in iloilo for less than 1k,,bogus brand..am going to change my scc to higher amperage..of course the number one reason for the delay in changing is budget concern hehe...my capacitor is connected to the inverter..yup between the batt n inverter...ur first advise before was direct charging to pv...when my set up was 50watts pv and 70ah dc batt and it works...after upgrading to 160watts pv and 135ah batt was charging it thru scc...since then the voltage is what ive told you...owe u again one..tnx for the never ending support..Gb

hehe... that's the problem with cheap things, sometimes it's better to wait to have enough money to buy a little bit more expensive... kawawa naman tayo dito sa Pilipinas, daming fekeng bagay... at the end it's always more expensive for the people who don't have money than for rich people because the rich will buy right away the good ones... for the rest of us, we have to buy cheaper so it does not last... so we have to buy again and again until the total price is more than if we buy a good one right away

Coming back to your controller, if you can afford, you better buy a MPPT controller, 20 amps will be enough... unless you plan to expand your solar setup later on...
If you have undercharged your batts for several weeks with your bad controller, you need to recharge them for few hours at 15 volts to equalize them...
Good luck!