my new project
- Thread starter dali1972
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OffGridInTheCity
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Congratulations! 43w? Don't forget to turn it on (ha ha) 
you could have told me earlier that I needed sun to run it....Congratulations! 43w? Don't forget to turn it on (ha ha)
Hi Ellyse - im in the testing phase now... starting up the system and making sure everything works as i would expect it to..
I will post very shortly with this update... but if you plan to build a similar system, i would be more than happy to help with what i have learnt...know. But many of the members here have a VAST knowledge... and are all very welcoming.
Hi All
Its been a while, so here is the update on the system. Its been running almost 11 months now, mostly without issue...
So far ive managed to produce 7440 kWh of electric.... and used as much as possible.
The system was designed to be off grid as much as possible.... so winter was always going to be the big strain.
The loads....
1. house which uses 180-200w during day...and night that goes up to 300w ish.
2. Cattery business - this has pens for cats staying while customers go on holiday, and during the colder nights we use electric heaters to keep them warm. The heaters are 400w convector heaters in each pen... so it doesnt take much for several kWh's worth of electric use.
3. Campsite - campers connect up to a 16A supply... and we have 3 supplies on site. This can generate roughly 500w per van...sometimes more during winter when heaters are on.
4. Other supplies, Its a small holding, so we do have other outbuildings that use electric, but not a great deal.
The load is greater than the supply (most days).... so it was always made to have grid connection. We have always had the house totally off grid 100% the whole 9months... apart from a couple of mishaps. We manage the rest of the loads by switching them on or off depending on the expected sun...battery storage percentage. During sunny periods all 4 loads can be running off grid totally for several days.... but then i hate the the time when i need to switch them over.
Issues/problems ive had....
1. The initial cables between the inverter and cables had lots of heat. - problem solved by doubling up cables, and separating them.
2. System shutdown due to Cell imbalance - The tesla modules were second hand, and over a period it was seen that 1 battery showed a higher charge. This caused the BMS to shutdown the system.... It was a pain in arse trying to work out why it happened, but this clearly showed the BMS worked well. This is a post all on its own.... as i took pics of the cells...alarms... and graphs to show exact cut off point... and recovery actions. (had to switch house back to grid - how bloody awful !!!!)
3. Bird shite/farmer - yep... solar panels are next to a field, farmer plough's field...creates dust...dust covers panels. Farmer also sows seeds...birds love seeds... then fly over panels and typically shit all over them... - resolution - wash panels every now and again !!!
4. One module faulty.... have had to alter the total charge on the battery pack... so may need to consider taking out the offending 18650's or just replacing the pack - still not done this yet...
Down side to the system... during winter need more power during night to cover lack of full charge on batteries, during summer need more batteries to cope with load. I plan to make a wind turbine... so thats the next step, as i think this will be cheaper than buying more batteries...
Thats all for now....
Thats it.... fairly happy
Its been a while, so here is the update on the system. Its been running almost 11 months now, mostly without issue...
So far ive managed to produce 7440 kWh of electric.... and used as much as possible.
The system was designed to be off grid as much as possible.... so winter was always going to be the big strain.
The loads....
1. house which uses 180-200w during day...and night that goes up to 300w ish.
2. Cattery business - this has pens for cats staying while customers go on holiday, and during the colder nights we use electric heaters to keep them warm. The heaters are 400w convector heaters in each pen... so it doesnt take much for several kWh's worth of electric use.
3. Campsite - campers connect up to a 16A supply... and we have 3 supplies on site. This can generate roughly 500w per van...sometimes more during winter when heaters are on.
4. Other supplies, Its a small holding, so we do have other outbuildings that use electric, but not a great deal.
The load is greater than the supply (most days).... so it was always made to have grid connection. We have always had the house totally off grid 100% the whole 9months... apart from a couple of mishaps. We manage the rest of the loads by switching them on or off depending on the expected sun...battery storage percentage. During sunny periods all 4 loads can be running off grid totally for several days.... but then i hate the the time when i need to switch them over.
Issues/problems ive had....
1. The initial cables between the inverter and cables had lots of heat. - problem solved by doubling up cables, and separating them.
2. System shutdown due to Cell imbalance - The tesla modules were second hand, and over a period it was seen that 1 battery showed a higher charge. This caused the BMS to shutdown the system.... It was a pain in arse trying to work out why it happened, but this clearly showed the BMS worked well. This is a post all on its own.... as i took pics of the cells...alarms... and graphs to show exact cut off point... and recovery actions. (had to switch house back to grid - how bloody awful !!!!)
3. Bird shite/farmer - yep... solar panels are next to a field, farmer plough's field...creates dust...dust covers panels. Farmer also sows seeds...birds love seeds... then fly over panels and typically shit all over them... - resolution - wash panels every now and again !!!
4. One module faulty.... have had to alter the total charge on the battery pack... so may need to consider taking out the offending 18650's or just replacing the pack - still not done this yet...
Down side to the system... during winter need more power during night to cover lack of full charge on batteries, during summer need more batteries to cope with load. I plan to make a wind turbine... so thats the next step, as i think this will be cheaper than buying more batteries...
Thats all for now....
Thats it.... fairly happy
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OffGridInTheCity
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Congratulations! And this should continue, year after year - solar is soooo cool.
I'm offgrid and use ATSs to switch to grid (and back) as the solar/batteries charge up and down.
How do you integrate the grid in your system?
Will be interested to see more details on this if you post. I'm in year 4 of operation and have only needed to do minor tweaks to my 18650 packs so far - but clearly operational issues are coming in time.
Yes sir. I'm at 45 panels (13kw PV) and opting to add 15 more / just loose power in summer to have more in winter. In the early days this would have been unthinkable but I'm more about offgrid/winter-power these days and will never recover my $ in any case - so it's less of a mental issue for me these days.
Will be interested to hear how this works out.
Thanks for sharing
italianuser
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That's a great result, for both the electricity you produced and for your personal experience (=satisfaction!). Looking forward to your follow-ups! Well done
harrisonpatm
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- Jan 5, 2022
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Also interested in hearing about your wind turbine build. As methodical and thorough as you are with solar, I would be very interested in seeing you apply it to wind.
Hi , in what material is the white panel where the victron is attached? regards MB
Hi Mchlbgs2I
firstly placed 4x2" studs onto the brick wall, then placed a sheet of plywood onto that, then topped that off with Pink plaster board which i just painted white.
> Pink Gypsum plasterboard with glass fibre and additional additives to increase the fire protection characteristics with pink paper lining for easy recognition. The additional fire protection properties above standard board products enable the plasterboard to be used in partition, ceiling and steel encasement systems where more stringent fire performance is required such as in domestic separating walls, corridors, garages and steel encasement.
This was just a safety part...always just in case !!!!
firstly placed 4x2" studs onto the brick wall, then placed a sheet of plywood onto that, then topped that off with Pink plaster board which i just painted white.
> Pink Gypsum plasterboard with glass fibre and additional additives to increase the fire protection characteristics with pink paper lining for easy recognition. The additional fire protection properties above standard board products enable the plasterboard to be used in partition, ceiling and steel encasement systems where more stringent fire performance is required such as in domestic separating walls, corridors, garages and steel encasement.
This was just a safety part...always just in case !!!!
OK... so this is my rating on the BPATH BMS - Im only saying how it was for me... so please dont criticise
Initial discussions - shipping... all good. (slightly taken aback at re-using another manufacturer's box plastered with packing tape... but won't complain as its re-cycling!! - but it looked like a second hand package from ebay)
Instructions.... mmm this was not good. In parts over complicated in others missing details, maths didnt add up. I work in a sector where i work with operational instructions... TBH these were Sxxte.
Setting up system parameters... went rather tits up. I had a 15000 Victron Quatro... and 85 kilowatts of battery... i dont think the testing on the system had been done to accommodate this setup.... so not good. The main circuit board was getting an unexpected stray voltage from the victron Cerbo GX. The Victron kit WAS to spec...and I tested the voltages and described the output to Bpath... who suggested i was wrong !!!! It wasnt until i showed via video call they accepted my findings...
This Started to then cost me... i had to send the BMS back to Holland... and a new board was sent out, and after several weeks i was talking to the actual designer of the circuit board... who made a bodge that would stop the stray voltage... long story...but its still in a bodged state...but working !!! The LCD on the front failed also... and the box is very cheap.
TBH - The owner of Bpath needs to work on his customer service skills... as his personal issues should not affect a company...i was told at one stage that his doctor had signed him off with stress and so he shouldnt be talking to me... very nice after he took my money and his product was faulty...get someone else to help me then....
Now - ive tried to contact him to discuss the bodged product and have had NO reply. Its a shame as i think it could be very good... just needs the rough edges taken off it. The balancer does its job... but to be honest.... I think you are better off sticking with a known working system such as Batrium.
Sorry... but I would not recommend this product.
Initial discussions - shipping... all good. (slightly taken aback at re-using another manufacturer's box plastered with packing tape... but won't complain as its re-cycling!! - but it looked like a second hand package from ebay)
Instructions.... mmm this was not good. In parts over complicated in others missing details, maths didnt add up. I work in a sector where i work with operational instructions... TBH these were Sxxte.
Setting up system parameters... went rather tits up. I had a 15000 Victron Quatro... and 85 kilowatts of battery... i dont think the testing on the system had been done to accommodate this setup.... so not good. The main circuit board was getting an unexpected stray voltage from the victron Cerbo GX. The Victron kit WAS to spec...and I tested the voltages and described the output to Bpath... who suggested i was wrong !!!! It wasnt until i showed via video call they accepted my findings...
This Started to then cost me... i had to send the BMS back to Holland... and a new board was sent out, and after several weeks i was talking to the actual designer of the circuit board... who made a bodge that would stop the stray voltage... long story...but its still in a bodged state...but working !!! The LCD on the front failed also... and the box is very cheap.
TBH - The owner of Bpath needs to work on his customer service skills... as his personal issues should not affect a company...i was told at one stage that his doctor had signed him off with stress and so he shouldnt be talking to me... very nice after he took my money and his product was faulty...get someone else to help me then....
Now - ive tried to contact him to discuss the bodged product and have had NO reply. Its a shame as i think it could be very good... just needs the rough edges taken off it. The balancer does its job... but to be honest.... I think you are better off sticking with a known working system such as Batrium.
Sorry... but I would not recommend this product.
I have 4 different parts - 3 x single-phase, 1 x three-phase. I use manual switches at the mo, but im trying to make a semi auto system i can remotely control with an audino and actuators to allow me to control it via my phone remotely. Over complicated - yes...but will be fun.
My system is 48V and had an imbalance to one of the batteries (modules)...so took 2 modules out... left it to rebalance over a week... and tweeked the system.
With the price of electricity in the UK now... its making a hatched(botched!!) system like mine able to repay itself within 3.5/4 years... but i never thought that would be the case when i made it.
Im also tweaking my wife!!!!! .... i always used to ask her to pop the washing machine/dishwasher on at night when we had ecomony 7 cheap electric... but now im ask her to use as much as she likes at mid day.... I do this all without being sexist of course
Will be interested to hear how this works out.
Thanks for sharing
Yes please dali1972
