Allen Jackson

After careful consideration, I've decided not to include the new BougeRV controllers in this build, but plan for the next build around them as the primary solar charge input. I'll probably still do some testing with one external to this box, but this box is too small to use with my current design and I don't want to scrap everything & go back to the drawing board - I've come too far to turn back now.

I did opt to order another Victron 100|50 controller for this box, so I will hold off hot-gluing that side of the lid. With the 30 amp nestled in the bowels of the one end, I'd have a total charging capacity of 130 amps, which translates to 1742 watts, and I currently only have 1200 watts of portable solar panels (plus 400 watts of non-portable panels). I can use the non-portable panels in the back yard, but they won't get packed away for any trip.

I should likely add more solar panels at some point, if I catch a good sale price, but for now I should wrap this one up and move on to my next projects.

I've received them (very late in the evening, thanks Amazon), and my first impression is that these are NOT going to be an easy drop in replacement for the Victron 50 amp controllers because they are HUGE by comparison... I know they list the dimensions online, but I don't think in metric, so it didn't register. I'll have to sort out how to best utilize these, cause they won't fit in the toolbox lid carveouts like the smaller Victrons do. I may have to settle for using the Victrons.

I probably won't get free from work tomorrow until it scorching hot outside too, so we'll have to wait and see how functional I am by mid afternoon too.

The problem isn't that the units are too big, it's that I planned for a smaller size package before I found these. I should probably just either accept the limitation of only being able to charge/recharge at just over 1/3 C, or buy more 50 amp Victron units... This is getting way more expensive than what I planned for!

I ran across these last night (during Amazon Prime Days) and ordered a few of them - they look like an even better choice for low voltage DC solar, but I don't know how well they'll perform, compared to the Victron 50 amp model:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFKYP1FG

We also are forecast to get a decent string of sunny days in the next week, so hopefully my work schedule will calm down enough to take advantage of them.

I found the manual for this model, and read it. The marketing claims are slightly misleading about the power output, as they claim it can provide "up to 900 watts" at a system voltage of 12 Vdc, & "up to 1800 watts" for a 24 Vdc system. This model has a "Load" connection, and that, combined with the battery connection, can yield those maximum power outputs, but it's never going to charge a 12 Vdc battery at 900 watts...

I don't imagine any scenario whereby I will want to use the "Load" terminals, to run anything directly from solar, so at least for my own uses, those terminals are pointless, or at least not relevant to the comparison of this model to the Victron 100|50 model. The part I care about, is whether it will charge a battery system at 60 amps (vs the max 50 amps of the Victron unit).

The BougeRV manual is also very lacking about the safety/best practices in connecting/wiring your system - they don't mention anything about the use of DC disconnects or breakers/fuses on any connections (points to the Victron manuals for that), but they do claim their models have an overvoltage protection on the solar input.  It's unclear if the protection kicks in at a lower voltage, like at 95 volts, with the max before damage being 100 volts, or if one can truly get 100 volts of operating solar panels connected to it. The Victron units make no such claim - if you exceed the rated voltage you should expect damage to the controller... I don't recommend pushing either to find out.

I won't get my hands on these until Tuesday, according to the order, so the best I can hope for, is to get ahead of my workload enough to have some free time when they do arrive. Complicating that, I also have a friend who has been hospitalized for the past 9 days, and they still haven't figured out what's wrong with them, other than it's potentially life-threatening, so I'm trying to visit regularly - they seem to improve with the visits.

Mike Haasl wrote:This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Electricity.

In this Badge Bit, you will fix an electrical appliance.  Fridge not working quite right?  Toaster only toasts on one side?  Let's fix that appliance!

There are youtube videos for nearly any type of appliance issue and repair so do some digging to figure out what is wrong, what parts you may need and how to do the job.

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
  - fix a problem with an electrical appliance
  - more complicated that replacing a light bulb
  - must be an electrical issue for this BB

Electrical points earned vary from 1/2 to 4 points
 - the points awarded are up to the certifier based on the challenge of the troubleshooting and the complexity of the repair
 - replacing a heat element is likely to be low on the range
 - replacing circuit boards and motors and rat eaten wires is likely to be high on the range

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
  - the broken appliance before you start your project
  - explanation of what was broken, how you troubleshot it and how you fixed it
  - the parts you bought (if applicable)
  - the parts you replaced (if applicable)
  - the appliance at maximum point of disassembly
  - the appliance reassembled

In this instance, it's an electrical problem with a gas appliance - the ignitors are running constantly, not just when one initiates any particular burner. Research turned up one or more ignitor switches as being the most likely culprit, but this is a pretty old stove, and the individual switches are no longer available. There's a listing on Amazon showing a wiring harness with all 4 switches attached and claiming to be a correct match for our model number stove, so we bought it (for just over $100, which was theoretically cheaper than a single switch if we had more than one that was bad).

My wife sorta panicked when I started taking pics, because the stove top was dirty... She grabbed the burner grates and ran off to wash them, but I reminded her that this was an electrical BB, so I wasn't being graded on how shiny the stovetop was...

The part shows up, but it's NOT an exact match for our stove - the "D" shaped holes in the switches were way too small to fit our regulator shafts, and since it's "D" shaped, I can't just drill them out larger. They'll have to be carved/filed out by hand... Annoying but doable.

Next problem - the keyed openings didn't come anywhere close to matching the original ones, so they wouldn't ignite at the correct spot on the dial;they were all over the dial. Further disassembly of one of the switches showed that the cam on the hub wasn't aligned the same as our stove required, but I'd already enlarged the openings. I even tried rotating the switch assemblies to get the cam in the right area, but the connecting wires between the switches was not long enough, and this is some particularly high temperature wire, so I didn't feel comfortable just substituting generic wire.  Back to Amazon for another set...  At least it's still cheaper than buying a new gas stove (with a double oven) by a long shot.

This time, I disassembled each of the switches to ID where the cam was aiming, and then carved a new opening with the correct orientation. Testing the harness assembly with an ohm meter showed them shorting out (the switches were closing) at the correct places on the dials, so I put it all back together and tested it with gas/fire. It Works!

This is sorta what I have in mind, but subbing the retractable shade with solar panels and maybe larger...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5TZx7krOaE&pp=ygUWd29vZCBieSB3cmlnaHQgcGVyZ29sYQ%3D%3D

He lives in the northern Illinois area, and appears to have many of the same local building code restrictions I do.

I've been looking at those for a few years, and the reason I haven't pulled the trigger, is that I saw a YouTube video where someone showed you could be both more flexible with a DIY battery/inverter and an off-the-shelf mini-split AND do it cheaper too.

The most common question I see on those product pages, is whether there's any way to use the solar panels for any other purpose when AC wasn't needed. With a DIY battery/inverter, you can plug in anything that you want, not just the mini-split.  Not to mention that I already have the batteries, inverter, and nearly everything but the solar panels (and a place to put them...)

The EG4 hybrid units will allow it to run from either grid or solar power, but won't allow the solar to power anything else.

I've got intentions to build a large "pergola" I can mount solar panels to, but my wife keeps trying to plant shade trees there ☹️

Recent changes to the NEC require solar panels installed on building roofs have module-level shutdown capabilities, in case a firefighter needed to cut through the roof to save lives during a structure fire, without worry about being shocked/electrocuted. They later ammended the code to exclude "ground-mounted arrays", because no one will ever need to chop through those panels to access & save a life. I believe that a pergola so equipped, without any walls, would qualify as such a ground mounted array, thus saving the considerable extra expense of needing all components to drop down to below 30 Vdc in 15 seconds, or whatever the new ridiculous standard has become.

In the same update, they separated battery energy storage systems, recognizing that it's impossible to get such a system to go down to zero volts in a hurry safely, and the best they can do is require clear hazard labeling and a rapid shutdown switch for the inverter.

A nearly PERFECT day for solar, ruined by having to work (inside)...

More toys came in the mail today - I now have (I think) all the remaining parts I need to complete this build. I can hook up & use all 3 charge controllers with these parts.  Now I just need to get the time to do it!