Edit: The battery switch I used in this video is only rated for 48 Volts. So for 24 Volt batteries like in my case that's fine. If you are using it to disconnect solar panels however, the solar panels also cannot have more than 48 Volts!! A better choice to disconnect a solar panel from your solar system is if you use a DC breaker that disconnects both positive and negative wires. Get one that is rated 250Volts. Amperage depends on the size solar panels. But watch out with those DC breakers. If you wire them with the wrong polarity they will start burning. So always consult an electrician if you have doubts that you use the right components. Shoutout to Will Prowse: ua-cam.com/users/WillProwse Will's Book: amzn.to/3ujFCip Yes this is a reupload with a minor change to the first version. Parts list: USA: Recommended Batteries 2 x 12 Volt and 100Ah connected in series: amzn.to/3ark6BB 40A MPPT Solar Charge Controller: amzn.to/3NS8Iw7 MT 50 Monitor for MPPT: amzn.to/3ajeQQB 2000 Watt Inverter 24 Volts: amzn.to/3uVyo4D 50A Tocas Breaker: amzn.to/3AFoFTH (buy the yellow one, not the red one) Copper Lugs: amzn.to/3nKTlLx Hammer Crimper: amzn.to/3AwKc0J Fuse Box: amzn.to/3IkCA3f Buck Converter: amzn.to/3P8Ad5K Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3alIx3c Car Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3NW6jAC 100A Fuse: amzn.to/3OWs2Ke Car Fuse Assortiment: amzn.to/3ymyfYN 4 Gauge pure Copper Wire by Windy Nation: amzn.to/3OUorvY Hose pipe clamps: amzn.to/3Pbz4KB Battery & Solar Panel Switch (rated 12-48 Volt and 275 Ampere): amzn.to/3bUuZMC Negative Bus Bar: amzn.to/3NLcLKM
Hi, I'm a bit irritated about the electrical wiring and the protection. Maybe I got a bit confused. Isn't it that the MPPT takes up to 50A in from the panels but will only put 21A out at max with 24V? And the inverter got a 40A Fuse and your system is protected by a 100A fuse. Considering that a home circuit is only protected by a 16A fuse there seems to be a logical error here, or I got it wrong.
when there is no sun, some suoer inverter is better because it can be plugged to grid power and charge batteries. This way you have an uninterruptible power supply.
@@alfredkaserekasivanzire9488 ..If you're not already aware, may I caution you to make sure NOT to overcharge your batteries? Terms like "Trickle Charge" and "Float Charge" should be explored, as well as what's the minimum your batteries can tolerate discharge. (is it 11.5 volts per 12-volt battery?) Also, how to wire your positive lead to one end of your bank of batteries and your negative lead to the other end, so the 'charge' & 'discharge' cycles aren't from a single battery, alone... I wish you all the best! A solar system is quite the investment in Money & Time, learning how to nurse & care for it...🇺🇸 😎👍☕
Outstanding job Lilly, you did a better job than some electricians I use to know, I'm a disabled maintenance electrician in USA and I think you did a great job, you really did your homework, would like to know how well it works, but looks like it will do fine.
Hey Lilly! Just wanted to pop in and tell you how much I've loved your videos. I rarely comment on videos but got to tell you that you're such an amazing, very intelligent, strong, inspirational, and talented woman who I admire! Sending you MUCH LOVE FROM TEXAS! ❤️ And God Bless you
You did a great job there, Lily. I would just like to add something that I didn't notice you touch on in the video. It has to do with the hardware, the nuts, bolts, and washers. #1 Regular steel hardware Has carbon in it. Carbon makes a high quality resistor. Never, ever use regular steel hardware. Be sure to always use stainless steel or brass hardware only. #2 Never put washers between wire or component terminals, eg., between two wires or a cable and a fuseholder. #3 Every connection has a volt drop or a little resistance. Reduce the number of connections to a minimum. Soldering wires to terminals reduces volt drop also. I have seen components melted that came from the factory with improperly placed hardware. It did not take very long either. Attention to detail is very important, especially with high currents.. Beware of schysters that are copper plating aluminum for cheap cables and terminals.
Last week I learned a good lesson in Florida during Hurricane Ian. Always keep your solar charge system and battery at lest 4 feet off the floor. Also, make sure your solar charge system board has a shield that protects the electronic components from roof leaks.
Good advice! I keep mine at eye level (4-5 ft) so i can see my charge controller and monitor everything while sitting. Batteries are sealed lead/acid and only 6 inches from the ground. Greetings from Jamaica.
You were initially correct. You did not need the thicker wire going from the inverter to the charge controller breaker. There will only be 40 amps, not 100 amps flowing through it. Being connected effectively to the battery doesn't mean all of the current is flowing through every wire connected to the battery.
I would suggest going from the solar charger to the inverter connection is a bit strange, it works, but going from the charger to the battery makes more sense I think. But yeah, there won't be going any 100A from inverter to the breaker that goes to the solar charger, that's for sure.
Exactly, at 22 minutes the wire size is right, as soon as that wire exceeds 50 amps the breaker will open, current will stop flowing and both wires on each side of the breaker are safe.
Beautiful job Lilly. I just finished Will Prowse's book too. Awesome book. I have pulled together items for a 400W 12V 4.8K portable system for hurricane preparedness, to supplement my generators. If you can't get gas because no one has power you have to have a backup plan. Take this with a grain of salt as I am by no means that knowledgeable but the wire you ran from the controller to the inverter was probably fine as the controller is only using whatever amps it is rated for....no more. Also, tying the controller in above the fuse will had the controllers current to the overall current flowing toward the inverter and through the fuse. Maybe place it on the other end. I am sure folks will chime in and say I am FOS. I am glad I watched your video because you have a nice and neat layout to copy.
@AgentOffice It's always a struggle when you work in the field between neat and fast. You always try to do the best work you can in the time frame you have allocated. Just beautiful to watch.
As a tradesman from Australia who specialises in commercial kitchen fitouts and in-house manufacture, I'm humbled by your skills , your smarter than me , your tools are better than mine, I'm a long term sub of yours, and I own one of your first APO 1,s Thankyou
I have the very sam charge controller and it is AWESOME. You will love it. Just make sure you ALWAYS remove the solar 1st before turning of power. You can ruin that charge controller as I did. If you always do that I said you should never have any problems. I build my solar setup for my RV just the way Will Prowse says to. It has been working perfectly for 2 years now. You were So Smart to get Will's book. I did that same thing because I knew nothing about solar. Smart Woman. :)
Super job. I’ve built several similar basic systems. From the size of your board, I assume you will mount it vertically. You may want to check the inverter and charge controller manuals to see if vertical orientation is ok. The thrust bearings in the cooling fans in both devices are generally not designed for vertical orientation. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.
Good point on fan orientation. I'm more familiar with larger equipment which is almost always designed for vertical orientation, as it aids in dissipating heat, esp from fans which will be oriented to blow up by manufacturer.
@@SurvivalLilly I don't know who will prowse is, but regardless, that wire is only carrying current between the charger and the inverter/battery. There will never be more than The 40A the charger can produce along that cable.
@@SurvivalLilly possibly codes require it. But if you have calcualted the length of the wire, and how much current the gauge used can take for the length, then its all good. Ive got all my buck converters in house ready to make my peli case power pack / ham radio system......... son I will also be heading towards running refrigeration and hot water from solar :))
I have some experience with batteries and such last 20 years making and fixing my Ebikes, but I learned a few additional things here, thank you for sharing your knowledge!
@@SurvivalLilly Hi Lilly. What a wonderful work of art you have designed here. It is especially interesting to me, as I am building a system that is very similar to yours for my motorhome. The only difference is that at this point I am not using an inverter, so the breaker for that is also omitted. I am using a pair of 200AH LifePo4 batteries in series. The problem I'm having involves programming the Epever 40A controller with the proper values and settings in User mode. These are not well specified in the manual. I tried to access the video you link to in your response to another admirer in the comments. I am also very anxious to view a part 2 to this video and hope you will include your programming of the Epever in that video. Again, I'm very impressed with your talents. You Rock!
Huge amounts of off-grid solar power go to waste once batteries are charged. Water heating also stores that energy and can be direct DC. Lilly needs to design a diversion system, manual or automatic. I love her work in all fields.
@@Playingwith3D USA too with varying service charges and fees. Extra equipment costs plus price and rules changes justify caution when you're goal is survivability. You don't need to pay for power you don't buy. Do the math for your application.
@Teutonic Nordwind All true and worth doing. You will get a better return on your investment as most solar panels and batteries have a service life, age, and cycles. In your case, you probably adjust to conditions and power needs to get the most out of it. Charging all the new electric vehicles, lawn tractors, and such will increase your opportunities.
@Teutonic Nordwind You have the best kind of system, it meets your needs. The surplus solar power is easily converted directly to heat which you may have a use for, like hot water or heating soil or a concrete slab, things that have an inherent energy storage capacity. Just brainstorming here. Electric vehicles may soon take advantage of the surplus power.
Absolutely loved watching this!! I’m currently building an off grid solar system to run everything in my house using lithium battery storage!! Thanks for the video
This is what I have been thinking of doing for the winter time when there's no food about, if you can run a freezer that's full of your foraged and homegrown chopped up and prepared goodies then you can get through the winter time a lot easier, hopefully...
Wow Lilly that was impressive. I've been off grid for 30 years in a northern climate. I really never thought much about refrigeration. People would always ask me well what you do for frigeration! And it was 40 below 0 outside! I'd just answer duh😮. But this is really good demonstration here because it's probably the most complicated part of setting up off grid. I like to keep things as simple as possible. AND I like your demo thanks❤
#4 GA wire may still be a bit small for 24V and 2000 Watts. I have a 2000 Watt inverter with 48VDC input and have 1/0 welding cable inter-connects. Sie sind eine sehr talentierte Person, Lilly! It is also most important that your components are sided/rated for DC! Feel those cables when this is operating to make sure they are not running hot on your intended load. I have 3 freezers, 1 fridge, 2 computers and a pellet heater running of my system 24hrs/day on the freezers and Pellet heater & fridge and probably 12hrs/day for the computers.
Really nice job Lilly and it's smart to run your devices in the off-grid mode or as a battery backup. I would suggest one change. Connect your DC system supply to the downside of battery 50 amp breaker coming from you charge controller. That way, you do not have to run your AC inverter just to run the 12v equipment. Just a suggestion.
I have built the similar setup as well. Specially, I used the similar DC transformer to transform upcoming DC voltage from the solar panels to 12V DC. I used 30A DC transformer. The only downside of this transformer is that you may lose some power between solar panels and inverter. Great Job.
Just last night I put two spare Morningstar Sun Saver charge controllers into a double layered Faraday cage. These are lower cost, yet high quality and very reliable 12vdc charge controllers for smaller 400 watt systems that can charge two separate and different lead acid batteries at the same time. This way I have redundant systems, and several solar system designs that can adapt to different situations.
@@bigdaadio.K2WW A Faraday Cage protects electronic devices from Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). EMP can be a result of the detination of a nuclear bomb, or CME (Coronal Mass Ejection). CME is a fairly regular occurrence that fortunately misses the earth more often than not.
Nice! Also there a whole group of DC low voltage standard products that will run with 24V dc directly. With some research one can find everything from ceiling fans to refrigerators that run directly from 24V batteries (less efficiency losses). Cheers!
Nice nice nice! This video you should keep doing over and over. This will be the hugest life saver and it’s probably the easiest start to properly prepping. At minimal it allows you to store an expensive amount of meats without risking it going bad on a power outage.
Those wires on both sides of the 50a circuit breaker are both protected by the breaker. They are in series. They will also have the same current flowing in them, on both sides of the breaker.
I have a Victron smart shunt and a Renogy 500 amp battery monitor in my shop on 2 different units. The bluetooth module on the Victron will not display data 6 meters into my house away due to loss of signal. I wanted to watch the state of charge and monitor it as it came close to 100%. The best improvement to both systems was to install a pair of $40 USD Pet Video Camera on the inverters to watch the state of charge meter similar to yours. What a help! Each camera has pan tilt zoom, night vision, and 2 way speaker. I can hear the MPPT and inverter fans running. The iPhone app connects immediately to monitor the battery anywhere my iPhone has service. The Pet Cam also has a laser toy attached and I can turn it on and off with my phone app to determine if the video is saved or is in real time.
on my early morning shift today (Sunday) randomly found your video... and literally bright my day !!! Thanks Lilly (Lilian?) .. Salute from London (a Chilean viewer )
Vielen Dank, du machst das wirklich sehr gut und auch gut nachvollziehbar da kann eigentlich nichts mehr schief gehen.Ich wünsche dir allzeit genug Strom, und einen schönen Tag 😉👍
I like your content! I just found you. I know it’s been a while since you posted this, and I’m sure someone has already told you, but, just in case you don’t know, your fuse is supposed to blow before anything else. Meaning, if you have 25mm wire, your fuse has to be < or = to your wire, or your wire will melt before your fuse blows (breaks). I hope I’m explaining properly.
Gutes Tuttorial! Ich schalte bei kalter Aussentemperatur und Schnee den Kühlschrank ab .Es spart Strom.Die Lebensmittel in eine Kühlbox mit Deckel und Henkel.Raus auf den Balkon in den Schnee gestellt.👍⛄❄️❄️🐧💟
some people do this and run the fridge from solar without actually using battery energy. They only run them during the day, on full power so it cools down big time. If it is filled up completely it can stand 12-16 hours without warming up inside no problem.
In this video your making it clear in my mind to understand hows to wiring from zero to working so i bookmarked this to my chrome to watched again and again everytime i open my pc, thank Lilly first time i see girls doing this interesting solar system
Hi Lily, this is fantastic, am so impressed with your knowledge, enthusiasm and simplicity. I wish I could learn about solar connections but an totally a blockhead in terms of calculations and science. Too bad. Great work, love you dear and God bless you. Princess
Hi from England, UK. I could solder those copper tube terminals on without melting the insulation, and I've done it plenty of times, it's a bit like soldering copper pipes when doing plumbing.
It is important to get efficient appliances. I have a microwave and induction hot plate. My 7 L mini fridge has soft start and variable compressor speed. It was a scratch and dent deal. It briefly has a Max power draw of 100W on powerup. It uses about 60W when cooling.
I also run a 24 volt system. 4000watt Samlex inverter Outback Flex max 80 8 six volt lead acid Trojan batteries 6 310watt Peimer solar panels 2000 watt Yamaha generator During sunny weather I easily run the largest refrigerator, upright freezer and small chest freezer in addition to this 1/2 horse sump pump, air compressor, saw or just about anything. At night nothing, not enough batteries generator only.
Liy, I don't believe that you needed to replace that wire, as that wire should only need to carry the current that can be drawn from the solar controller and you have already protected that circuit. I agree that Will is a great resource and I watch all of his UA-cam channels uploads.
You should add in a couple of capcitors to help with the spike in draw of power when fridges and freezers start up the compressor, that way its not putting a strain on the inverter.
Hi I'm a year late watching on TV had to go to the phone. YOUR THE MAN . Awesome job you should be very proud of the fine work . Folks electric bills aren't going down. Free up life produce your own power.
Thanks for the video. I'm in no way an electrical expert but if using high frequency inverter for inductive loads, like a fridge, it's recommended compensating with much higher wattage inverter. Since HF inverters are more sensitive to high "rushing loads", like from fridges, it's likely it doesen't last long or even worse breaks. If possible a low frequency inverter would be a better option.
super Job! Many greetings from Germany 🙂 ..am Ende des Videos habe ich gesehen das ich auch auf deutsch hätte danke sagen können 😁. Sauberer Aufbau. DANKE
I had notice you had used some of the wiring included in some of your kits. Aluminum clad copper (acc) is a strict no-no, ask Will P. As an added, I've watch you when you were starting out on this journey, so much improvement in all your skill sets. Cudos
You don't need a breaker between the inverter and charge controller, both have safety built in and this part of circuit here is converted/controlled power, the solar input and the mains output are more random, its better to have protection around these 2 devices rather then between them. This is how I have it in my system, looks cleaner with 2 pole din rail breakers.
Charge controllers must accurately read battery voltage and may include a temperature sensor. Direct connection to the battery terminals as instructed by the manufacturer is required. All the fuses, switches, and loads vary the voltage drop and may even open the circuit as wired.
Once I setup the system I will measure the voltage at the battery terminal and then again at where I connected the wire for the MPPT. Then we will see if this really makes such a difference at this short distance.
@@SurvivalLilly lead acid batteries in particular benefit from precise control of charging and will charge below zero C. Separate the charging system from the direct battery loads. Test the voltage drop at the inverter under full load as you plan.
@@SurvivalLilly Verify the consequences of a fuze blowing or battery switch opening on the battery side of the charge controller while solar power is on. The invertor may run until solar subsidies. On the restart, with no battery, it may revert to 12 volts or burn out?
@@sagecoach I believe my expensive mppt has a build in fuse to protect the device from this incident. Some cheaper solar charge controllers will definetly get fried.
Well done, One suggestion.. do your work on a work bench aka a work surface that does not require you bend over.. and work in a really uncomfortable as well as really bad for your back.. kinda position ! Seriously... It's always best to work in a way that you do not need to bend over and or work in a way that you can not see or easy reach your project components.. Just saying.. save your back, neck and posture.. You'll be glad one day trust me ! I'm 65 and I have no as in zero problems with my body. back is great.. because my dad taught me how to save them.. and I have.. so good luck.. stay safe say healthy !
Another option is just do everything in 12v, thus no inverter needed - solar panels, MPPT controller, batteries, then wire the output to 12v fridge/freezer and other 12v equipment. There’s heaps of 12v equipment now. Yachties have been living on 12v for decades.
As everyone agrees the wiring methods are great. The only confusing thing is using different wire on either side of the 50A breaker. With the breaker closed the same amps with be on both wires. Im guessing it will be under 50a because the 100a from the battery should not be used by the charge controller.
Good job. I did the same thing 10 years ago, the big difference now is the batterys.. I started with lead acid, now I have lithium iron phosphate.. I used to have to run a generator all the time with the lead/acid, now with LIPH I never run it..
Edit: The battery switch I used in this video is only rated for 48 Volts. So for 24 Volt batteries like in my case that's fine. If you are using it to disconnect solar panels however, the solar panels also cannot have more than 48 Volts!! A better choice to disconnect a solar panel from your solar system is if you use a DC breaker that disconnects both positive and negative wires. Get one that is rated 250Volts. Amperage depends on the size solar panels. But watch out with those DC breakers. If you wire them with the wrong polarity they will start burning. So always consult an electrician if you have doubts that you use the right components.
Shoutout to Will Prowse: ua-cam.com/users/WillProwse
Will's Book: amzn.to/3ujFCip
Yes this is a reupload with a minor change to the first version.
Parts list:
USA:
Recommended Batteries 2 x 12 Volt and 100Ah connected in series: amzn.to/3ark6BB
40A MPPT Solar Charge Controller: amzn.to/3NS8Iw7
MT 50 Monitor for MPPT: amzn.to/3ajeQQB
2000 Watt Inverter 24 Volts: amzn.to/3uVyo4D
50A Tocas Breaker: amzn.to/3AFoFTH (buy the yellow one, not the red one)
Copper Lugs: amzn.to/3nKTlLx
Hammer Crimper: amzn.to/3AwKc0J
Fuse Box: amzn.to/3IkCA3f
Buck Converter: amzn.to/3P8Ad5K
Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3alIx3c
Car Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3NW6jAC
100A Fuse: amzn.to/3OWs2Ke
Car Fuse Assortiment: amzn.to/3ymyfYN
4 Gauge pure Copper Wire by Windy Nation: amzn.to/3OUorvY
Hose pipe clamps: amzn.to/3Pbz4KB
Battery & Solar Panel Switch (rated 12-48 Volt and 275 Ampere): amzn.to/3bUuZMC
Negative Bus Bar: amzn.to/3NLcLKM
Thanks 🙏👍
Hi, I'm a bit irritated about the electrical wiring and the protection. Maybe I got a bit confused. Isn't it that the MPPT takes up to 50A in from the panels but will only put 21A out at max with 24V? And the inverter got a 40A Fuse and your system is protected by a 100A fuse. Considering that a home circuit is only protected by a 16A fuse there seems to be a logical error here, or I got it wrong.
when there is no sun, some suoer inverter is better because it can be plugged to grid power and charge batteries. This way you have an uninterruptible power supply.
@@alfredkaserekasivanzire9488 ..If you're not already aware, may I caution you to make sure NOT to overcharge your batteries? Terms like "Trickle Charge" and "Float Charge" should be explored, as well as what's the minimum your batteries can tolerate discharge. (is it 11.5 volts per 12-volt battery?) Also, how to wire your positive lead to one end of your bank of batteries and your negative lead to the other end, so the 'charge' & 'discharge' cycles aren't from a single battery, alone...
I wish you all the best! A solar system is quite the investment in Money & Time, learning how to nurse & care for it...🇺🇸 😎👍☕
Put
How can I buy andi stall my own solar pannells?
This lady did an impressive job!
Hats off! Her professionalism puts many other UA-camrs to SHAME.
VERY WELL DONE!
I am doing a similar project to keep all of my freezers running during a power outage. You are a clever girl.
Outstanding job Lilly, you did a better job than some electricians I use to know, I'm a disabled maintenance electrician in USA and I think you did a great job, you really did your homework, would like to know how well it works, but looks like it will do fine.
Hello jhon
Your system looks much more professional compared to the one I just watched Mr. Prowse construct. Good Job!
I love how you laid it out on a board, showing an easy schematic to follow, thanks!
very useful video. no cuts. no editing. no bullshit. and she is really doing it. not showing only the results. congrats.
Hey Lilly! Just wanted to pop in and tell you how much I've loved your videos. I rarely comment on videos but got to tell you that you're such an amazing, very intelligent, strong, inspirational, and talented woman who I admire! Sending you MUCH LOVE FROM TEXAS! ❤️ And God Bless you
You did a great job there, Lily.
I would just like to add something that I didn't notice you touch on in the video. It has to do with the hardware, the nuts, bolts, and washers.
#1 Regular steel hardware Has carbon in it. Carbon makes a high quality resistor. Never, ever use regular steel hardware. Be sure to always use stainless steel or brass hardware only.
#2 Never put washers between wire or component terminals, eg., between two wires or a cable and a fuseholder.
#3 Every connection has a volt drop or a little resistance. Reduce the number of connections to a minimum. Soldering wires to terminals reduces volt drop also.
I have seen components melted that came from the factory with improperly placed hardware. It did not take very long either. Attention to detail is very important, especially with high currents..
Beware of schysters that are copper plating aluminum for cheap cables and terminals.
Last week I learned a good lesson in Florida during Hurricane Ian. Always keep your solar charge system and battery at lest 4 feet off the floor. Also, make sure your solar charge system board has a shield that protects the electronic components from roof leaks.
Good advice! I keep mine at eye level (4-5 ft) so i can see my charge controller and monitor everything while sitting. Batteries are sealed lead/acid and only 6 inches from the ground. Greetings from Jamaica.
With Hurricane Milton happening now that advice is still gold!
You were initially correct.
You did not need the thicker wire going from the inverter to the charge controller breaker.
There will only be 40 amps, not 100 amps flowing through it.
Being connected effectively to the battery doesn't mean all of the current is flowing through every wire connected to the battery.
Yes, I agree!
I would suggest going from the solar charger to the inverter connection is a bit strange, it works, but going from the charger to the battery makes more sense I think.
But yeah, there won't be going any 100A from inverter to the breaker that goes to the solar charger, that's for sure.
Exactly what I thought wire right the first time.
Exactly, at 22 minutes the wire size is right, as soon as that wire exceeds 50 amps the breaker will open, current will stop flowing and both wires on each side of the breaker are safe.
Beautiful job Lilly. I just finished Will Prowse's book too. Awesome book. I have pulled together items for a 400W 12V 4.8K portable system for hurricane preparedness, to supplement my generators. If you can't get gas because no one has power you have to have a backup plan. Take this with a grain of salt as I am by no means that knowledgeable but the wire you ran from the controller to the inverter was probably fine as the controller is only using whatever amps it is rated for....no more. Also, tying the controller in above the fuse will had the controllers current to the overall current flowing toward the inverter and through the fuse. Maybe place it on the other end. I am sure folks will chime in and say I am FOS. I am glad I watched your video because you have a nice and neat layout to copy.
I worked at Best Buy as a MECP first class intaller and I am so impressed with your skills and attention to detail.
I was Sargeant general electrician at Walmart
@AgentOffice It's always a struggle when you work in the field between neat and fast. You always try to do the best work you can in the time frame you have allocated. Just beautiful to watch.
As a tradesman from Australia who specialises in commercial kitchen fitouts and in-house manufacture, I'm humbled by your skills , your smarter than me , your tools are better than mine, I'm a long term sub of yours, and I own one of your first APO 1,s Thankyou
Thats because the project is planed and scripted, with all new tools with every new job.
@@rawdio.docdar5715Correct youtubers spend a lot of money to produce videos.
I have the very sam charge controller and it is AWESOME. You will love it. Just make sure you ALWAYS remove the solar 1st before turning of power. You can ruin that charge controller as I did. If you always do that I said you should never have any problems. I build my solar setup for my RV just the way Will Prowse says to. It has been working perfectly for 2 years now. You were So Smart to get Will's book. I did that same thing because I knew nothing about solar. Smart Woman. :)
I don’t know when it happened but congratulations on 1 million
Super job. I’ve built several similar basic systems. From the size of your board, I assume you will mount it vertically. You may want to check the inverter and charge controller manuals to see if vertical orientation is ok. The thrust bearings in the cooling fans in both devices are generally not designed for vertical orientation. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.
Wow , wow nice work you do,TO BAD YOU DON'T LIVE IN CODY WYO. I WOULD HIRE YOU TO HELP ME 👍🤠
Good point on fan orientation. I'm more familiar with larger equipment which is almost always designed for vertical orientation, as it aids in dissipating heat, esp from fans which will be oriented to blow up by manufacturer.
This is my project for late spring 2023, so I am all over your video's, they are superb!
Please watch this video ua-cam.com/video/ZjATv33FwKk/v-deo.html
Wow, looks like you're planning ahead and writing about it.
P.E.A.C.E
@@SurvivalLilly If this video is named "(Part 1)", is the link you provided here considered (Part 2)???
Hi, Lilly. I'm from Puerto Rico Island. Thanks for your videos. God bless you!
Wow Lilly, your work is so precise and AMAZING! What a great example you set!
She is great
I am jealous of all those tools you have!!! working with the right tools makes the job much easier!!!!!!!!! Great Job!!!!!!!!!!
The thinner wire on the circuit breaker is fine. It won't be supplying any more to the battery than the charge controller can output.
I thought so as well but Will Prowse is using a thicker wire too.
@@SurvivalLilly I don't know who will prowse is, but regardless, that wire is only carrying current between the charger and the inverter/battery. There will never be more than The 40A the charger can produce along that cable.
@@spr00sem00se i think you are right but maybe some codes require a thicker wire?
@@SurvivalLilly possibly codes require it. But if you have calcualted the length of the wire, and how much current the gauge used can take for the length, then its all good.
Ive got all my buck converters in house ready to make my peli case power pack / ham radio system......... son I will also be heading towards running refrigeration and hot water from solar :))
I have some experience with batteries and such last 20 years making and fixing my Ebikes, but I learned a few additional things here, thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Informative as always! I noticed how your skin is perfectly tanned, nice to see you in warm weather clothing. The summer will pass all to quickly!
This is heaven. Yes i need to watch it a few times, but, i simply love the way you explained the details. Thku thku thku
Martina from South Africa
You are an electrician judging by the diversity of tools you have. Thanks for your well presented video 👏
From South Africa 👍
Is there a Part 2 Lily? Thank you for sharing your knowledge and ALL the videos you have made over the years. Amazing woman you are. Cheers
Please watch this video ua-cam.com/video/ZjATv33FwKk/v-deo.html
@@SurvivalLilly Hi Lilly. What a wonderful work of art you have designed here. It is especially interesting to me, as I am building a system that is very similar to yours for my motorhome. The only difference is that at this point I am not using an inverter, so the breaker for that is also omitted. I am using a pair of 200AH LifePo4 batteries in series. The problem I'm having involves programming the Epever 40A controller with the proper values and settings in User mode. These are not well specified in the manual. I tried to access the video you link to in your response to another admirer in the comments. I am also very anxious to view a part 2 to this video and hope you will include your programming of the Epever in that video. Again, I'm very impressed with your talents. You Rock!
Looks like you did an awesome job. It looks super safe to me.
Huge amounts of off-grid solar power go to waste once batteries are charged. Water heating also stores that energy and can be direct DC. Lilly needs to design a diversion system, manual or automatic. I love her work in all fields.
In Canada you can hook up to the grid and sell the excess to the power companies.
@@Playingwith3D USA too with varying service charges and fees. Extra equipment costs plus price and rules changes justify caution when you're goal is survivability. You don't need to pay for power you don't buy. Do the math for your application.
I hooked ice maker to mine 🤓
@Teutonic Nordwind All true and worth doing. You will get a better return on your investment as most solar panels and batteries have a service life, age, and cycles. In your case, you probably adjust to conditions and power needs to get the most out of it. Charging all the new electric vehicles, lawn tractors, and such will increase your opportunities.
@Teutonic Nordwind You have the best kind of system, it meets your needs. The surplus solar power is easily converted directly to heat which you may have a use for, like hot water or heating soil or a concrete slab, things that have an inherent energy storage capacity. Just brainstorming here. Electric vehicles may soon take advantage of the surplus power.
Absolutely loved watching this!! I’m currently building an off grid solar system to run everything in my house using lithium battery storage!! Thanks for the video
How many planets 🪐 will be there in your solar system?
@@ajarivas72 one- Uranus
@@ajarivas72😂
This is what I have been thinking of doing for the winter time when there's no food about, if you can run a freezer that's full of your foraged and homegrown chopped up and prepared goodies then you can get through the winter time a lot easier, hopefully...
Wow Lilly that was impressive. I've been off grid for 30 years in a northern climate. I really never thought much about refrigeration. People would always ask me well what you do for frigeration! And it was 40 below 0 outside! I'd just answer duh😮. But this is really good demonstration here because it's probably the most complicated part of setting up off grid. I like to keep things as simple as possible. AND I like your demo thanks❤
#4 GA wire may still be a bit small for 24V and 2000 Watts. I have a 2000 Watt inverter with 48VDC input and have 1/0 welding cable inter-connects. Sie sind eine sehr talentierte Person, Lilly! It is also most important that your components are sided/rated for DC! Feel those cables when this is operating to make sure they are not running hot on your intended load. I have 3 freezers, 1 fridge, 2 computers and a pellet heater running of my system 24hrs/day on the freezers and Pellet heater & fridge and probably 12hrs/day for the computers.
I love it how you have every tool for every job
That looks great! The round metal terminals are called ferrules.
Really nice job Lilly and it's smart to run your devices in the off-grid mode or as a battery backup. I would suggest one change. Connect your DC system supply to the downside of battery 50 amp breaker coming from you charge controller. That way, you do not have to run your AC inverter just to run the 12v equipment. Just a suggestion.
The inverter has seperate switch were you can turn it off.
I have built the similar setup as well. Specially, I used the similar DC transformer to transform upcoming DC voltage from the solar panels to 12V DC. I used 30A DC transformer. The only downside of this transformer is that you may lose some power between solar panels and inverter. Great Job.
Just last night I put two spare Morningstar Sun Saver charge controllers into a double layered Faraday cage. These are lower cost, yet high quality and very reliable 12vdc charge controllers for smaller 400 watt systems that can charge two separate and different lead acid batteries at the same time. This way I have redundant systems, and several solar system designs that can adapt to different situations.
May I ask what the faraday cage is for? RFI protection?
@@bigdaadio.K2WW A Faraday Cage protects electronic devices from Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). EMP can be a result of the detination of a nuclear bomb, or CME (Coronal Mass Ejection). CME is a fairly regular occurrence that fortunately misses the earth more often than not.
Nice! Also there a whole group of DC low voltage standard products that will run with 24V dc directly. With some research one can find everything from ceiling fans to refrigerators that run directly from 24V batteries (less efficiency losses). Cheers!
Great Job well done and thanks for taking the time to show us.
Lily please upload the part 2 of your solar setup, I really like your part 1 which was done nicely 😀
Please watch this video ua-cam.com/video/ZjATv33FwKk/v-deo.html
Nice nice nice! This video you should keep doing over and over. This will be the hugest life saver and it’s probably the easiest start to properly prepping. At minimal it allows you to store an expensive amount of meats without risking it going bad on a power outage.
You are so smart Lilly, I could listen to you all day🤓
Very good work Lilly, you are a good person to help your cousin. Your electrician will be pleased.
Those wires on both sides of the 50a circuit breaker are both protected by the breaker. They are in series. They will also have the same current flowing in them, on both sides of the breaker.
Kirchoff's law.
I have a Victron smart shunt and a Renogy 500 amp battery monitor in my shop on 2 different units. The bluetooth module on the Victron will not display data 6 meters into my house away due to loss of signal.
I wanted to watch the state of charge and monitor it as it came close to 100%. The best improvement to both systems was to install a pair of $40 USD Pet Video Camera on the inverters to watch the state of charge meter similar to yours. What a help! Each camera has pan tilt zoom, night vision, and 2 way speaker. I can hear the MPPT and inverter fans running. The iPhone app connects immediately to monitor the battery anywhere my iPhone has service. The Pet Cam also has a laser toy attached and I can turn it on and off with my phone app to determine if the video is saved or is in real time.
on my early morning shift today (Sunday) randomly found your video... and literally bright my day !!! Thanks Lilly (Lilian?) .. Salute from London (a Chilean viewer )
Vielen Dank, du machst das wirklich sehr gut und auch gut nachvollziehbar da kann eigentlich nichts mehr schief gehen.Ich wünsche dir allzeit genug Strom, und einen schönen Tag 😉👍
I like your content! I just found you. I know it’s been a while since you posted this, and I’m sure someone has already told you, but, just in case you don’t know, your fuse is supposed to blow before anything else. Meaning, if you have 25mm wire, your fuse has to be < or = to your wire, or your wire will melt before your fuse blows (breaks).
I hope I’m explaining properly.
In case of a zombie apocalypse...Lilly is on my team 😊
Best ive seen easy to follow.Clear explanation watching from NZ
Gutes Tuttorial!
Ich schalte bei kalter Aussentemperatur und Schnee den Kühlschrank ab .Es spart Strom.Die Lebensmittel in eine Kühlbox mit Deckel und Henkel.Raus auf den Balkon in den Schnee gestellt.👍⛄❄️❄️🐧💟
photovoltaic / solar thermal technician here: great shout out to Will Prowse and your video 👍
Tip: For blackouts, keep freezer full. I use 20 kg ice bottles for keep low temperature during high costs or blackouts.
some people do this and run the fridge from solar without actually using battery energy. They only run them during the day, on full power so it cools down big time. If it is filled up completely it can stand 12-16 hours without warming up inside no problem.
In this video your making it clear in my mind to understand hows to wiring from zero to working so i bookmarked this to my chrome to watched again and again everytime i open my pc, thank Lilly first time i see girls doing this interesting solar system
I was thinking that the wires looked too small even for a 24 volt system.
It looks like you chose good components.
Little silver coloured tubes at 35 minutes are called Ferules. Great video. Thank you.
Coming back to this now after being frustrated with the high cost of manufactured portable solar generators. 👍💯
Just gotta love the Welsh. Very hard language to try to understand and listern to..yours sincerely from the old qeer corrupt uk 🇬🇧
Awesome.. Way to go Lilly⚡👍
Hi Lily, this is fantastic, am so impressed with your knowledge, enthusiasm and simplicity. I wish I could learn about solar connections but an totally a blockhead in terms of calculations and science. Too bad. Great work, love you dear and God bless you. Princess
Hi from England, UK. I could solder those copper tube terminals on without melting the insulation, and I've done it plenty of times, it's a bit like soldering copper pipes when doing plumbing.
You did a better job than Will Prowse at explaining everything Lilly. Great job
This is a great video. It gave me some important things to consider before build my own solar system. Thank you
So good hearted to share this knowledge. I’m building one at the same time. Picked up some great safety ideas 💡 from watching this.
God bless
I need all new batteries for my set up. Can't afford it right now. Good work on your setup you did your homework well.
It’s fun to watch you mature. Really well done. A keeper.
It is important to get efficient appliances.
I have a microwave and induction hot plate.
My 7 L mini fridge has soft start and variable compressor speed. It was a scratch and dent deal.
It briefly has a Max power draw of 100W on powerup. It uses about 60W when cooling.
Hi Lilly thanks for being so detailed on your wire gauging. I love your videos.
Agree w all the positive comments! Very informative and great to see the well explained step by step process. Thank u
I also run a 24 volt system.
4000watt Samlex inverter
Outback Flex max 80
8 six volt lead acid Trojan batteries
6 310watt Peimer solar panels
2000 watt Yamaha generator
During sunny weather I easily run the largest refrigerator, upright freezer and small chest freezer in addition to this 1/2 horse sump pump, air compressor, saw or just about anything. At night nothing, not enough batteries generator only.
Wow, you're good. Enjoy the fruit of your labor
Very good works. I always avoid boards due to fire.
Can I hook this setup to two 12v 200amphour lifepo4 deep cycle batteries
Great vid.
I do have issues with the 100amp fuse but i am sure you will figure it out along the way.
Super video Lilly. I listen to you and Canadian prepper Nate. Keep up the great work! Thank you for all that you have taught me. Pete from Minnesota.
Liy, I don't believe that you needed to replace that wire, as that wire should only need to carry the current that can be drawn from the solar controller and you have already protected that circuit. I agree that Will is a great resource and I watch all of his UA-cam channels uploads.
That's exactly right she absolutely DID NOT need to replace wire from Charge Controller Breaker to Inverter as it will not be carrying Battery Load.
That's exactly right she absolutely DID NOT need to replace wire from Charge Controller Breaker to Inverter as it will not be carrying Battery Load.
impressive. good point on the 24v and especially good point on checking the cables. dont assume they give you the right cables.
You should add in a couple of capcitors to help with the spike in draw of power when fridges and freezers start up the compressor, that way its not putting a strain on the inverter.
Very good illustration, and hands on explanation.
You are such an Awesome cousin! Your family is blessed to have you 💞
Hi I'm a year late watching on TV had to go to the phone. YOUR THE MAN . Awesome job you should be very proud of the fine work . Folks electric bills aren't going down. Free up life produce your own power.
Your electronical knowledge is just fascinating.
I like your videos Lilly because you are very smart. For me that makes you special, because not many people think the way you do.😊
Thanks for the video.
I'm in no way an electrical expert but if using high frequency inverter for inductive loads, like a fridge, it's recommended compensating with much higher wattage inverter. Since HF inverters are more sensitive to high "rushing loads", like from fridges, it's likely it doesen't last long or even worse breaks. If possible a low frequency inverter would be a better option.
super Job! Many greetings from Germany 🙂 ..am Ende des Videos habe ich gesehen das ich auch auf deutsch hätte danke sagen können 😁. Sauberer Aufbau. DANKE
I had notice you had used some of the wiring included in some of your kits. Aluminum clad copper (acc) is a strict no-no, ask Will P. As an added, I've watch you when you were starting out on this journey, so much improvement in all your skill sets. Cudos
ok i have watched soi many videos on setting up solar and you by far made it easy to understand lol. thank you!
Excellent!
Best I have seen for beginners!! Thank you!
You don't need a breaker between the inverter and charge controller, both have safety built in and this part of circuit here is converted/controlled power, the solar input and the mains output are more random, its better to have protection around these 2 devices rather then between them. This is how I have it in my system, looks cleaner with 2 pole din rail breakers.
Salut je visionne de plus en plus tes videos MERCI tu est tres forte en bricolage je me régale de toutes tes vidéos
Great video!, I love your thoroughness and very detailed information. Also, love your hotness.
Great video. BTW, @27:50 those are blocking diodes, you can see diode symbol and MC-diode printed on the sticker, not in-line fuse.
Charge controllers must accurately read battery voltage and may include a temperature sensor. Direct connection to the battery terminals as instructed by the manufacturer is required. All the fuses, switches, and loads vary the voltage drop and may even open the circuit as wired.
Once I setup the system I will measure the voltage at the battery terminal and then again at where I connected the wire for the MPPT. Then we will see if this really makes such a difference at this short distance.
@@SurvivalLilly lead acid batteries in particular benefit from precise control of charging and will charge below zero C.
Separate the charging system from the direct battery loads. Test the voltage drop at the inverter under full load as you plan.
@@SurvivalLilly Verify the consequences of a fuze blowing or battery switch opening on the battery side of the charge controller while solar power is on. The invertor may run until solar subsidies. On the restart, with no battery, it may revert to 12 volts or burn out?
@@sagecoach I believe when the 100 amps fuse blows the 50 amps breaker will trip first. But it depends on the circumstances.
@@sagecoach I believe my expensive mppt has a build in fuse to protect the device from this incident. Some cheaper solar charge controllers will definetly get fried.
Well done, One suggestion.. do your work on a work bench aka a work surface that does not require you bend over.. and work in a really uncomfortable as well as really bad for your back.. kinda position ! Seriously... It's always best to work in a way that you do not need to bend over and or work in a way that you can not see or easy reach your project components.. Just saying.. save your back, neck and posture.. You'll be glad one day trust me ! I'm 65 and I have no as in zero problems with my body. back is great.. because my dad taught me how to save them.. and I have.. so good luck.. stay safe say healthy !
Another option is just do everything in 12v, thus no inverter needed - solar panels, MPPT controller, batteries, then wire the output to 12v fridge/freezer and other 12v equipment. There’s heaps of 12v equipment now. Yachties have been living on 12v for decades.
My cousins fridges run with 230 volt. For those u need an inverter
@@SurvivalLilly I read your text with your accent in my mind because Schwarzenegger :) cheers Lilly.
@@thejuggernaut2898 :D Get to the chppaaa!!!
Al bee bacck@@buteos8632
As everyone agrees the wiring methods are great. The only confusing thing is using different wire on either side of the 50A breaker. With the breaker closed the same amps with be on both wires. Im guessing it will be under 50a because the 100a from the battery should not be used by the charge controller.
Would you be so kind to post a parts list used for this build?
Good job.
I did the same thing 10 years ago, the big difference now is the batterys.. I started with lead acid, now I have lithium iron phosphate..
I used to have to run a generator all the time with the lead/acid, now with LIPH I never run it..