411 on equipment needed 2 set up 6/51watt panels

Posted by Shawn Powers on January 11, 2005, 07:17:46 AM

Re: 411 on equipment needed 2 set up 10/51wt panels (Reply #5)
hi Roland,
thank you for your info ,i couldnt find what  you speak of .fuses ..i picked up my panels and i found that the two i thaught were broken are not,so i now have 10 /51wt working panels.i checked the out put and it is 19.5vts on a cloudy day.where do i purches 40amp breakers and controler?can i buy them used ?if any one out there has one i can buy,trade,or work for pleases say so ..Im on a tight budget for some time now,looks like I'll be on it threw this summer..
im looking at my panels every day dreaming of the day it will power my needs.
the fuses you spoke of are they for dcvt only,does it say 40amp dc on it?
do you have any info on the electric cars,made by ford [I think]? i went on ebay and saw them for the fist time.it looks like top charge is 45mls,but they didnt say the speed or what the voltage is.what size bat bank it has.thanks again for the great info ,im off to work now ill chat after..           shawn
 

Posted by Roland Funk on January 11, 2005, 08:57:37 PM

Re: 411 on equipment needed 2 set up 10/51wt panels (Reply #6)
Hi Shawn,
So instead 6 panels you have 10 working panels.
So rated peak Ampere will be slightly more than 30Amp, plus the safty margin of 56% = 48 Amp.
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The Voltage is not changing much with clouds mainly the Ampere will drop. What you are measuring is the 'open circuit' Voltage without load usually approx 3Volt higher (12V panel) than the 'peak' Volt (cold laboratory value). And the Panel under sunlight will warm up and run another approx 1V lower.
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You find many DC breakers here in Alt-E shop under section fuses/switches etc..
As I am not sure what your mentioned 1700W inverter is running on (12V or 24V), so I propose 2pc outback 60Amp up to 125Volt DC item = 'OBDC-60' for 26.80$ each.
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Charge controller to maintain your battery bank 3 stages (floating Volt when full, boost Volt when charging, equalizing Volt every 4 weeks....)
The Trace C40 costs new 125$, maybe somewhere you find a used one for less.
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Battery bank: 30Amp * 5hours = 150AH per sunny summer day which is 20% of battery storage so the 12V bank should be 750AH capacity (or 24V bank 375AH). The cheap alternative are golf-cart batteries, however they have 200 cycles 80% discharge or 900 cycles 20% discharge and will be worn off in 3-5 years. There are others more expensive good for 2000 80% cycles or 5000 20% cycles good for >20 years or some inbetween good for 10-12 years (900/4000 cycles).
For 12V battery bank:
The golf cart Trojan T105 would be 8pc 95$ each (760$ good for 3-5 years).
The Surrette S530 would be 4pc 215$ each (860$ good for 10-12 years)
The Surrete 6CS-25PS would be 2pc 700$ each (1400$ good for >20years).
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Hope this helps you a little bit. Sorry no info about electro cars.



 

Posted by Thomas Allen Schmidt on January 12, 2005, 04:25:12 AM

Re: 411 on equipment needed 2 set up 10/51wt panels (Reply #7)
Before you go and buy the wire and disconect divices you have to know the correct size.
One other thing not mentioned was a combiner box and weather or not the PV array is to be mounted on a dwelling.
Look on the back of each PV module, there should be a sticker with several values printed on it. Look for the Isc value.
That is what will decide the size wires and disconects.
You should really consider getting a licensed, electrical contractor to do these calculations for you. Tell him to take a look at Article 690 in the National Electrical Code handbook if he is not allready familar with photovoltaics. It shouldnt take him or her more than an hour to do it and thats if him or her has to bone up on Art. 690. You need to know the correct;
wire size and type of wire,
size and type of disconects as well as where to place them in the system.
There is lot more too this stuff than just sticking some modules in the sun and running wires here and there. If the wires and their protection (fuses or breakers) are not sized right they can start a fire. Thats why there is the NEC which is a branch of the NFPA the National Fire Protection Association.
Getting back too the combiner box. What these do is bring all of the PV modules together electrically speaking and then you only have one positive and one negative and one grounded conductor to deal with. Also if the PV array is to be mounted on a dwelling (I define dwelling as anyplace where a person is subject to sleep) Then a GFP Ground Fault Protection breaker is required. Whatever breakers or fuses or disconects you use on your PV system should have a UL listed DC (direct current) rating for the voltages and amperages found in a PV system, from the PV array right down to the inverter.
Take your time, study on it some, seek out a licensed electrician  that you are comfortable talking with. Be safe, not sorry.    
 

Posted by Shawn Powers on January 12, 2005, 08:06:08 AM

Re: 411 on equipment needed 2 set up 10/51wt panels (Reply #8)
Thankyou Sunour,
your info is most imporant to me.I will take this slow,Ive waited 10yrs to get this far but i wish I took time to learn this befor now.always trying
to live life in the fast lane.I just started to go back to school to learn how to  live in ease;not worry so much.
whats your imput on rebuilt 6vlt  batteries?they are 30$ each .When you speak of cycles do you mean
how many times they charge?
 

Posted by Shawn Powers on January 12, 2005, 08:24:28 AM

Re: 411 on equipment needed 2 set up 10/51wt panels (Reply #9)
Hello Roland
I didnt even look to se who sent the message,Ive replyed to the the wrong person .most of the questions were durrected to you.would a rebuilt battery be ok for now? Does cycles mean amount of charges? thankyou for price break downs. I see when I purchase the bat bank it pays off to buy
20yr ones.you both have alott of great info ,thank you for takeing the time to share it .
If theres any questions you may have on landscapeing or gardening feel free to ask me inreturn..i have to go for now and write your info long hand because the printers broken.so i can keep track of what your teaching me..
 
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