Solar Powered Backup System

[wilfor03]

I have been working for several months now (when the money allows) on getting my "solar system" together. I've got 140w of panels on an old c-band satellite mount (no tracker yet) with manual actuator control. I ran that into a Sunforce 30amp charge controller down to 3- 1400 CCA Workaholic Interstate batteries (12v). Run it all out to a 2500w inverter. Well, last night here in Alabama we had a hell of storm pop up and knocked our power out. I went out and shutoff the mains breaker, went to the workshop and turned on all my "solar" stuff and started turning on things in the house we needed to have run. One way to do a test run, eh? I had on 1 CFL 20w lamp, the fish aquarium, the refrigerator, the freezer, the 42" Visio, Direct-tv, and charged the lantern. Had all this on for over 2 1/2 hours till the power came back on. I think not to bad for a test run. Still have along way to go yet, but can really see the light (LOL) at the end now!!   

[TomW]

wilfor;

Thats how it starts..

You are probably fully addicted now.

There is no 12 step program for the affliction. either.

Mine started like this:




We did some upgrades to the rack. It was built with expansion in mind:



It looks like this now:



Lots of hidden bits, too.

Just want to point out you may want to build so you can add panels should you have the chance.

Mine is built with heavy 3" angle so adding was easy.

Nice start you have going.

Thanks for the share.

Tom

[wilfor03]

Hey Tom
Yup.....my wife says I'm addicted for sure......just cuz I wanna sell the dog!!!  Hey, are you pushing your panels with a 24" 12v actuator ? no problems with the weight yet??? I've already got the brackets and 8' angle ready to mount for my expansion. Gotta get more money for more panels, yeah? Not real exciting just watchin the sun charging the panels yet!!! LOL    Bill   

[Bruce S]

PERFECT!!
You too have now had that AHH moment . It is a sickness (wife said so..) until the power went out.
Flipped a switch, turned on light started coffee pot and walked outside to see the reat of the neighborhood "darK". Made the whole thing worth it
Oh and a nice cup of coffee too.

Not soo exciting to watch electrons move around, but sure makes good coffee  .

Congrats on the timing!!
Bruce S
 

[wilfor03]

Yup...been pumping 7 Amps into the batteries since daylight (I'm tired from all that...LOL).....gonna put in some #4 awg to the controller, get the Redrock Tracker board and then start looking for the bigger panels.....wanna get around 1kw or so in the wind, at least that's the goal. I started something now....my 2 boys want to play "solar" for thier homes.....this is just to cool, eh?   

[ghurd]

Bummer!

It would have been more fun if the power was off a bit longer.


Probably be a Great idea to look into the RedRok tracker more...
especially concerning getting a reply from Duane himself
before using the automated shopping cart to send funds.

http://fieldlines.com/board/index.php/topic,133919.0.html

He seems to be MIA for quite a while now.
G-

[wilfor03]

   Appreciate the heads up, Mr. ghurd.....I'll have to check this out abit.....couple more days and I will be ordering something (from somewhere).....if I could get a ahold of a good tracker circuit I may just have to build my own.....you know how it is when you're retarded (retired)....lol....Bill 

[wilfor03]

Mr Ghurd....appreciate the info about Redrock.....don't really want to go that way with the complaints/probs I've read about......did you ever get your boards going for solar tracking thingy's? I fired off an email from reading about RogerS' circuit and maybe, might be able to make something here. I think I'd much rather make my own so when I have troubles, I have a better chance of repair, eh?  Thanks for any help you may offer......Bill

[hydrosun]

I ordered a tracker circuit from Redrok website using paypal this spring. After waiting a month and seeing the payment on my checking account  I sent an email to Duane and the circuit came a few days later. Maybe he doesn't check the website very often but the email goes to him. But I did finally get what I ordered.
chris

[TomW]

Hey Tom
 Hey, are you pushing your panels with a 24" 12v actuator ? no problems with the weight yet???

Bill;

Actually my tracking is down. I kept killing actuators. 36" 36 volt run by a 24 v battery bank. Long story that is more misapplication than too heavy. Binding and stripped plastic gears because of a bad method 3X.

More a poor alignment issue than anything. I don't weld worth spit so just made them fixed rather than rework everything.

I will get mine tracking again but with a better setup between the actuator ends so it doesn't bind.

The REDROK tracker WILL NOT work on a sat dish  pole. too much give the thing will never settle and will hunt constantly.

Plus the guy takes your money and sends you the unit and you get no service after the sale.  And his websight is about 3 gigabytes of unorganized drivel and massive photos.


Just my opinion and FYI.

Tom

[Volvo farmer]

The REDROK tracker WILL NOT work on a sat dish  pole. too much give the thing will never settle and will hunt constantly.

Bull Hockey.

I have been solar tracking every single day for three years with Redrok trackers. I currently have three arrays tracking, all on satellite dish mounts.  I've said it before, but the secret is to order the "anti-reversing" feature on the tracker. it costs a few bucks extra but it totally solves any hunting issues.

I have about 1000 east-west-park cycles on these trackers now and they work fine and do not hunt on clear days.  Whatever problems you have had with an earlier version of this tracker, you should not be warning people of a problem that does not exist if you order the "anti-reversing" feature. 

[TomW]

The REDROK tracker WILL NOT work on a sat dish  pole. too much give the thing will never settle and will hunt constantly.

Bull Hockey.

I have been solar tracking every single day for three years with Redrok trackers. I currently have three arrays tracking, all on satellite dish mounts.  I've said it before, but the secret is to order the "anti-reversing" feature on the tracker. it costs a few bucks extra but it totally solves any hunting issues.

I have about 1000 east-west-park cycles on these trackers now and they work fine and do not hunt on clear days.  Whatever problems you have had with an earlier version of this tracker, you should not be warning people of a problem that does not exist if you order the "anti-reversing" feature. 

That was "my experience" and from awhile back  so take it or leave it.

He did not mention that option  ever because he does not respond to questions. Just the ignoring questions bit is enough to raise warning flags and that is not just from me, or from long ago  either.

Sorry but I only know my experience. I wasted time & money on 2.

I know you seem to like him and it and also like to prod me whenever you can  so I will just let it go at that.

Tom

[rossw]

The disease strikes, for sure. I can pretty much mirror Toms experience.

I started with 2 x 80W panels just for a security camera and pumping water.
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/17jan2004/MVC-093X.JPG[/img]

A bit later, I added two more panels so I could also power the wireless access point, amplifier and a few other things too
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/05nov2005/MVC-529X.JPG[/img]

Then moved them to a commercial tracker to get a few more watt-hours per day from them.
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/17sep2006/MVC-488X.JPG[/img]

Then added a chunk more... 1.2KW on a frame that only adjusts for the season.
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/26jul2009/100_3584.JPG[/img]

Then another 600W on a home-made tracker
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/17apr2010/100_4336.JPG[/img]

And then another 600W (tweeking the tracker design)
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/25apr2010/100_4386.JPG[/img]

And then yet another 600W! I think this'll do me for now.
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/26apr2010/100_4395.JPG[/img]

And a whole lot of batteries I never used to have, just to store what I collect...
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/23may2010/100_4463.JPG[/img]

I've built on prototype control head for the tracker - it's working really well, is inexpensive, works over a wide supply range and has a bunch of features like soft-start and soft-stop so it isn't so violently rattle the whole rig. I've been asked to make some for friends, so if there's demand perhaps they'll be available here too.

[wilfor03]

hey there, RossW...your enlarged system looks pretty impressive....did you build your own tracker or purchase one? I went out this morning and noticed with my little 140w array I was putting out 1.3Amps (at the 1pm position of the panels). I moved it down to the 7:30am position facing the sun, and it jumped up to 6.3Amps!!!   Whoa......quite the difference here.....so, this just furthers my need/justification for the tracker circuit. I'm sort of leary bout trying to get ahold of Redrock again. I've tried two seperate emails and no responses yet. So, just think I'll have to really look at building my own.....enjoyed your post/pictures of your "empire". ........Bill

[rossw]

did you build your own tracker or purchase one?

I designed and built it from the ground up.

I went out this morning and noticed with my little 140w array I was putting out 1.3Amps (at the 1pm position of the panels). I moved it down to the 7:30am position facing the sun, and it jumped up to 6.3Amps!!!   Whoa......quite the difference here.....

Absolutely! I'm running my array at 100 volts. The "fixed array" produces just on 12 amps at solar noon, but mornings and afternoon it makes hardly anything, 2 amps. (thats about 200W). The same panels on my trackers hold 5-6 amps pretty much all day. I'm yet to do the numbers, but my gut feeling is that the trackers are roughly doubling my daily watt-hours over just fixed arrays.

I'm sort of leary bout trying to get ahold of Redrock again..... I'll have to really look at building my own.....

A long time ago I looked at theirs, and from a design point of view, I really don't like it.
The commercial one I originally got blew up several times and has been nothing but trouble.
I've designed one that has a very minimal number of parts but a whole lot of smarts. The prototype works well, I just need some time to make a "production" version. Inexpensive, ruggard (electrically), simple.

RossW

[Bruce S]

RossW;
I too have to say, that the setup you have built is "Impressive".
When you get around to building or spec-ing out a tracker you can count me in for one.
I hasve begun my own little empire, even here in the city w/grid power and I can say tracking seem to be the best way to go for a constant output.

Nice Pics too!!
Cheers
Bruce S

[wilfor03]

Hey RossW.....you gonna leave me hanging about that tracker circuit or ya gonna share something with us.....I need to get a circuit put together....want me to be another guinea piglet for your prototype? Okay then, I will....seriously....I'm gonna be a skinny old man after running outside 3-4 time a day to move that switch for the panels.....LOL....Here's my address if ya want it: wilfor zerothree at yahoo dot com......give a hollar if ya want to expand your horizons. I pumped out pretty much 6.3 Amps all day long......not bad for a little 140w system, eh? Yours looks great, like a big solar ranch!!!  I'm jealous!!   

[rossw]

Hey RossW.....you gonna leave me hanging about that tracker circuit or ya gonna share something with us.....I need to get a circuit put together....want me to be another guinea piglet for your prototype? Okay then, I will....seriously....

OK, OK, I'll draw up what I have a little more clearly and try to get it "in print" for you guys

I'm gonna be a skinny old man after running outside 3-4 time a day to move that switch for the panels.....LOL...

A simple suggestion then. Get a length of ordinary figure-8 wire. (speaker wire, bell wire, whatever) and connect that to your actuator.
Run it inside. Grab a double-pole double-throw toggle switch *with centre off*
Connect the switch as a "reversing" switch (NO of one side to NC of opposite side, for both sides to make a "crossover").
Then, from inside you can swing the array one way or the other (I mount the switch horizontally and mark it west-off-east).
Just move the panel and peak the current meter. Saves the legs

You can just see my switch here on the right hand side - the 5A meter shows me the actuator current (all actuators are in parallel)
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/23may2010/100_4447.JPG[/img]

[rossw]

Hey RossW.....you gonna leave me hanging about that tracker circuit or ya gonna share something with us.....I need to get a circuit put together...

Wow, how time flies. I originally penned this circuit on 14-May-2007. The original included a couple of extra features (like monitoring actuator current). The diagram presented here is incomplete - it has no values specified but they're mostly not critical. I have working code but it's a crude first cut only. It uses PWM to vary the motor drive speed based on how far off-axis it determines it is. It has a deadband and "overnight return" etc all working, but there are a bunch of other things I want to implement before releasing it.



It's small enough - here was the first prototype:
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/02nov2008/100_2940.JPG[/img]

And my "replacement" built in the box of the commercial piece of junk that blew up more times than I care to remember.
[img width= height=]http://house.albury.net.au/02nov2008/100_2939.JPG[/img]

[Volvo farmer]

That's pretty nifty.

Here's a stupid question. What's involved in programming that PICAXE chip?  And would it be easy to crank out a couple dozen of them once the code is solid?

Just seems like it would be a nifty kit. I don't have a lot of interest in learning about programming chips, but I'd love to solder one of these together and see how it works on one of my arrays.

[Simen]

The PicAxe chips are pretty easy to program. The language are a simple Basic language, the programming editor are free to download, and the chip are programmed directly via com/usb port with a simple cable; no dedicated programmer required. You can even have the chip permanently connected to a pc for monitoring etc...

[wilfor03]

RossW - Looks really simple and smooth......I'm like Volvo Farmer....don't understand Picaxe stuff but willing to go with it......I be ready, too!!! So now you've got guinea pigs, throw us the slop. You've got out appetittes wet now. Your electronics look really good. Do you have your stuff in your basement or garage? That area looks good....where you located???  Bill

[Seth7]

RossW, how goes the project?? Was it time based?

[Seth7]

Life is good.