A new guy and some questions ( PV )

[sparkz]

I Just joined up and thought i would wave a hand at you all.

I am a RET. lic. Comm / indust. Electrical Contractor from Illinois now building and liveing in southeastern Kentucky.

my intrest and still hobby is electric

I have been lurking in the fourms for homebrew gen sets and in the PV section

I would like to kick it in da butt and get started

my thoughts are a hybreed system PV and Wind or hydro ( Have a creek 30 foot from the new house and tons of wind on the hill tops )

but my thoughts are starting with a PV set up

thinkin 2 panles like 75Watts@12/24 volts

I can weld so i would make the rack to mount them in  

Question is whats the best place for price, and avalb?

what would be a good / best brand to start with that i could later build on?

please advise on what your thoughts are on a start up setup and

as i would be peiceing it  what other good componits might i look in to

I am one of those guys that hates to wish i had done it a dif. way after im done LOL

so please tell me what luck you have had with other stuff ( controlers, chargers, Batt brands & other stuff )

help me get it going awn LOL

thankz

Sparkz Campbell

Southeastern highlands of Kentucky

PS. as i said i Was a contractor and still have thousands of feet of cable of all sizes some short ones as well as motor starters / contactors and many other goodies

Posb i have something you need and you have something i need so let me know and we might horse trade LOL

Mail

Sparkz_Campbell@Yahoo.Com

[ghurd]

A lot of opinions here I'm sure.

A search of the board will get a lot of results.

I do NOT like thin film PVs. Only crystalline (single or poly/multi).

I DO like Morningstar controllers, PWM, temp. compensated, etc.

So 2 75w PVs and a SS-10 controller is a great start.

Wire I usually use is 12-2 wg UF-B, the dark grey kind for UV protection (the light grey isn't too good).  There are waterproof box connecters for $2 each.

A pair of 6v golfcart batteries.

For the mounts. Stainless washers between the PVs and mounts and all the bolts need to be stainless too.

G-

[pyrocasto]

Sounds like a good start.

I like the Morningstar controllers as well, but I'm using a BP right now and have had no problems with it.

[Gary D]

Welcome to the board! A thought, if you intend to eventually expand your capability ie. tap potential hydro and wind, you might want a matched set of 4 panels (for a 48 volt system in the future). This gets addictive and 12 volt systems have their limits. My thoughts are starting with 12 volts first, then when funds allow, upgrading to 48 volt inverters (can't find em at wallmart). Sometimes years later it's hard to match panel outputs. Just a suggestion, maybe  not worth 2 cents... Gary D.

[ghurd]

Good point Gary.

Worth the 2 cents for sure!

But the 75 and 80W PVs are common (now at least), so should be easy to match later.

Or 150 and 160w 24v PVs should be more common, given the current trends.

The SS-10 is cheap enough to not be much concern when upgrading.

[henjulfox]

Hello and welcome!

Your setting sound ideal for wind and PV and hydro. A mix of all three tends to work

well, one picks up the slack when the other leaves off.

Xantrex(trace) has a good reputation for quality components, though others like Outback have their followers.

Anything you set up you want to try to keep as close to the point of use as possible.

The loss from long transmission distances tend to eat up the juice you worked so hard to capture.

Hydro electricity is usually the most cost effective electricity generation - if you

have enough flow (gallons per minute) and head (vertical drop). What you get won't

seem like much but you get it 24/7, unlike wind and PV.

My reccomondation is to spend hours searching this board for whatever strikes your

fancy. There are some very intellegent folks here who have tried it all.

-Henry