first solar set up

[birdhouse]

hello all-
i finally got my solar up and running.  two 195 watt evergreen panels wired for 24 volt.  morningstar ts-60 controller.  and eight free batteries from the school district.   i wrote about these under the storage section   http://fieldlines.com/board/index.php/topic,144027.0.html

they ended up being 6 volt VRLA batteries.  out of the thirty, i found eight with a resting voltage between 6.17 and 6.23 after being removed from the charger for a month.  they are also ten years old.  they work, i think.  well they will run a few 30 watt 24 volt bulbs all evening without the voltage droping below 24.6.  i have a feeling they are pretty tired. 

the panel mount is welded to make the panels theft resistant, and tiltable to gain more power through different seasons.   

i bought the tristar ts-60 because i also have a mill i want to get running and use the controller in divert mode, but right now i'm running it in solar mode.  can i have the solar and wind connected directly to the battery and use the ts-60 to divert to a dump load?  so long as the combined current of the panels and turbine are less that 60amps?

how do i load pictures onto this server? 

it was really exciting to turn on a light for the first time!  i could not have done it without the help from folks on this site, so thank you!

adam

[ghurd]

Congratulations!

"can i have the solar and wind connected directly to the battery and use the ts-60 to divert to a dump load? "
Sure.

"  so long as the combined current of the panels and turbine are less that 60amps?"
Not exactly correct.
The combined Dump Load must be less than 60A.

Best to size the dump load somewhat larger than the total combined charging current, but below 60A.
Chose the resistors very carefully.
G-

[birdhouse]

links to photos:

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af78/birdhouseadam/solar/backsolarmountsmall.jpg

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af78/birdhouseadam/solar/frontpanelssmall.jpg

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af78/birdhouseadam/solar/DSCN1122.jpg

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af78/birdhouseadam/solar/batterybanksmall.jpg

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af78/birdhouseadam/solar/porchlightsmall.jpg

==
photobucket supplies a functional link under img code,
or can use the insert pic link during the post.
G-
==

[birdhouse]

thanks ghurd!

i've been building a nichrome wire based dump load in a steel box with a fan.  was going to shoot for around 50 or 55 amps @ 28 volts.    this would give me around 1400 watts worth of dump.  400 for the panels and 1000 for the turbine.  it is only 8.5' hawt with a standard furling tail, so i doubt it will ever hit 1000 watts.  the turbine isn't even up yet, but was hoping to use the ts-60 for both wind and sun until i can afford a mppt unit for the solar. 

adam

[ghurd]

Is the panel mount made of steel?
That's usually not a great idea with the AL frames.

Might consider SS nuts and bolts, with SS washers between the frame and steel.
G-

[birdhouse]

yea, they're steel.  there's a lot of theft near my ranch, so the panels are welded into the frame.  one would have to either break the panels, or spend a lot of time with an angle grinder to steal them.  so,  nuts or bolts touching the panels.  i used strips of comp roofing to isolate the aluminum from the steel.   

[defed]

i was pondering ways to make my panels theft resistant, and the easiest way i can think of is the tamper proof hardware.  could still be removed w/ a grinder but i didn't want to permanently attach them to the frame.

[defed]

i bought the tristar ts-60 because i also have a mill i want to get running and use the controller in divert mode, but right now i'm running it in solar mode.  can i have the solar and wind connected directly to the battery and use the ts-60 to divert to a dump load?  so long as the combined current of the panels and turbine are less that 60amps?

i bought a xantrex mppt controller for my panels.  the manual says that you can use it for a hybrid system and it can also divert.  it doesn't do the actual diversion tho.  there is an auxilary output that can be set to various parameters, one being high battery voltage.  when the state is reached, it can signal a relay to open the dump load.  i believe once it starts dump mode (28v for example) it must reach another set voltage (ex. 26v) for some amount of time (30 seconds i think?) before it stops dumping.  i think this is to prevent the relay from cycling constantly.

i haven't gotten it set up yet, but i plan to try it w/ the turbine hooked direct to the batteries and the solar panels thru the controller...with the controller dumping both from the batts.  with this method of diverting, i don't think the amp limit is based on the controller, as it only signals the voltage is high...the limiting factor would be the relay or contacts or whatever is actually seeing the dump amperage.

[birdhouse]

defed-
your controller is far more sophisticated than mine for sure!  that sounds fishy though, dumping from 28 all the way down to 26 volts.  that could be a ton of juice for a larger bank of batteries!  most quality dump controllers use solid state circuitry, not relays.  this allows them to dump more regularly and dump less without the worry of "chattering out" a relay.  at least that is how i understand it. 

if you are interested, here is a pic of my theft resistant mount.  this was taken before i welded on the angle stock to keep the panels from being lifted out.  you can also see my lower pivot point for angle adjustment.  all steel was "padded" to eliminate contact with the aluminum frames with roofing shingle scraps. 



cheers!
adam

[defed]

i don't recall what the voltages can be set to, those were just example figures.  the aux output can control a variety of things to do what you want.  i have used SSR's in a large oven i built.  the PID receives temp input from thermocouples and signals the relays to supply power to the elements or not.  once up to temp, the PID is pretty accurate and maintains the temps by cycling the SSR's pretty quickly.  i would think that this would work ok for the dump situation.

i'm guessing that you put the angle iron on the corner (panel inside the angle) and welded it to the unistrut at the bottom?  that's not a bad idea, except for the galvanic action of unlike metals contacting each other.  not sure how bad it is between steel and aluminum.

[birdhouse]

defed-
i have not idea what you're talking about with ssr's n such.  probably because i don't know about many things   

i used composition roofing shingle to seperate the steel from the aluminum.  it's about 1/8" thick.  don't know if this will cancel all reactions from unlike materials, but it has to help.  i wonder if even a droplet of water spanning between the two materials would create a bad reaction (eating away at the aluminum)? 

any goals on when your system is going to rolling?

[defed]

SSR = solid state relay

i'm not sure when i'll have my stuff up and running.  working on a temporary setup, as i'm not quite ready for the full install.  going to make a mobile rack, as i have a small issue w/ jan/dec sun.  i have done a 'site survey' w/ an inclinometer, but if i can move it a bit, might help me find the best permanent spot.  granted, i probably won't be able to move it in december anyway!

i checked my book on the aux function.  looks like i can set the high batt voltage to kick on/off anywhere between 24v-32v (for 24v system).  most other settings can be set to ".1" resolution...it doesn't say you can here, but i expect that you can.  you can also change the reaction time of when it comes on/off at "x" voltage from 00:00 to 09:59 (min:sec).

so some example #'s, it could start dumping when voltage reaches 28.5v for 45 secs, and stop dumping when it hits 28v for 10 secs.  from my understanding, if you hit 28.5v and suddenly stop charging (no wind/sun) and the voltage drops to 28.4v in less than 45secs, the dump won't come on.  if the dump is on, and you reach 28v, but you get a sudden boost in charge before 10secs has passed, the dump won't shut off.  i presume this is to prevent the relay from cycling rapidly...which is a good thing even for solid state.