New consulting relationship with GreenTecAuto begins
What actually goes wrong with the batteries????
A look at todays Hybrid and EV battery packs
Battery packs exposed
Keeping Warm In New England
Plugging into the SUN
50A 600VAC transfer relay
AC source transfer relay is finished
Adding some new batteries
All weather dish movers
Almost ready to wire things up
Assembling the parts for the load manager
Beating on the system/ use it or loose it
Better solar absorber plate
Better Specific gravity instrument
bringing in the batteries
Burgers are better
California or bust! Solar modified mobility scooter
Canning pot
canning season is here again
Concentrate the heat test #4
Connecting battery bank #2
Cooking some hotdogs
Crappy luck with the weather
Designing a simpler and lower cost solar tracking amplifier
Equilizing the batteries
Everything is working again.
Finally installed
Finally nearing completion of the battery enclosure
multytracker 1
First test
Getting a BIG solar plug
Getting some experience with DC
Getting started on the final wiring
Getting too old to be slinging 120 lb batterys into the rack
Giving the batteries a workout
Hot water tank as energy storage component test 1
Hot water test 2
Identifing the wires, and mounting the Inverter panel
Insulated hibachi reaches baking temperatures
keeping the head cool
keeping warm.
Sue Dabrowski (my better half) makes some solar eggs
Lightning the super fast EV minibike
Looking the data
Main structure of battery rack is finished
Making some stewed tomatoes
making the connection to the existing wiring
making the DC pos buss bars
More improvements to the dish
Multy purpose tracker 1
New tracking amplifier
No more throw away batteries please
Not very encouraging test # 3
Old Rear projection TV lens makes solar furnace
power distribution box fabrication
preparing to connect the big loads
Reading Specific Gravity accurately
running off grid all day
Running on batteries
Second test
Snow melt prep for test 2
Snow melt test one A close look at the process
solar cell adhesion test #1
Solar cells on my Insight ????
Solar cooker gets some wheels
Solar cookout in 20 degree weather
Solarfest 2013
Solarfest is next weekend so it is time to tweak the tools
Solar powered wood burner X-Y stage
Solar powered wood burner focus and lens assembly
Solar teaching toys
Solar tracking with no electronics" Solar Puppet"
Starting the rewiring
The 7 foot circle of sunlight moves to rear deck.
the final high current connections
the finished load center and charge controller connections
the heavy lifters arrive
The new batteries are finally installed and working
The snow is returning???
The snow keeps on coming, need to figure out a good way to keep the panels clear
The sun is dropping 1KW/SQ meter
The transfer relay is wired in and working.
Tracking the sun Big Time
Mikey's solar panel snow sweeper
Vertical and horizontal trackers installed, drive wheel controls
Very interesting heating element
Who pulled the plug?
Wood burning art ?
Yuck, more snow
Making a small solar concentrator
Building MIMA and the plug in adapters
Converting a telephone truck to electric
DIY dual pulse Capacitor Discharge Spotwelder
Chevy Bolt EV joins the family
Getting in shape while making electricity
Retirement
Replacing gasoline with solar electric lawn equipment
What is Genesis One?
How to stop the aging process DIY
MIMA Install Day 2005 a Big Success!
Building a hybrid car grid charger
Tapping into the Wind
Expanding MIMA with the Distribution board ( users projects )

Beating on the system/ use it or loose it

Beating on the system/ use it or loose it
making it all work harder

Today was a nice day, and the batteries made it all night for the first time, so I decided to test the system by pushing it a bit. I set up a 1.5KW electric heater, and let it heat the solar/battery room all day. Unfortunately I forgot to turn off the heater and the batteries started discharging before I turned the heater off, the batteries were not fully charged, so I will not make it all night tonight.
The room and equipment got up to over 90F
The fans were running, but the internal temps all stayed in a comfortable zone.
The inverter is 8KW, and we were only at 2.5, so things better be ok.
The more precise hydrometer readings have confirmed that the batteries are in fact looking sulphated, so I got a High frequency pulse desulphater rated for 48V, and connected it.Should begin to see the capacity and specific gravity's improving if the thing really works.
It runs on the 48V, so it does not need a power cord.
Will have to put a scope on the batteries to see what the pulsing looks like.

The final task of connecting the big loads is next.
The issue here is that while the inverter can easily handle any of the big loads alone, it would have issues if two or more turned on at the same time. It is also important to only use the big loads when the sun is out, and the panels can supply most of the energy, as my rather small battery bank at this time of year can not even make it all night.
As the days get longer, and the nights get shorter,and I reduce my night time loads. I will reach a point where the batteries and solar get me 24 hours of off grid.
I am thinking that powering the big loads each with a big solid state relay, would let me design a big load management computer.

The energy sinks for the excess production would be the Air compressor, Hot water heater, electric heat pump, and finally the electric hot air furnace.
The on demand loads would be the electric range,machine shop , welding equipment which should be able to run whenever it is turned on, which means I will need to make sure to use the shop equipment one load at a time.

The load management system would need to know when an appliance is turned on, and then the actual application of power would be processed by the management computer, which would turn on the solid state relay and the load.
Each load would be assigned a priority. and when none of the on demand loads are on, the excess energy would make hot water, compressed air, or electric heat.
At night, the big loads would be turned off, and the energy stored as compressed air, hot water, or energy stored in the house as heat would carry until the next day, so the batteries will last all night. The highest priority will be to recharge the batteries, then when the charge controller goes into float, and turns on the Aux relay to divert the excess energy where it does the most good.
The fun is just beginning.