Solar Stuff...

[Grant H.]

@ Grant H,

any recommendations of DC/AC Inverters? I need a good pure sine wave one. Difficult to find anything that seems decent yet reasonable in cost.

800 watts minimum, yet I don't need much over that. (startup requirement is 800 watts of a device, run time is much less than that I believe)

I've been doing a lot of poking around and reading about reasonable chinese inverters, and it seems like a lot of them are decent machines, but they are less efficient than high end gear (Outback Power for instance).

I don't know if you want the hassle of creating 220V then using a breaker panel to drop to 110, but the EPEVER inverters actually seem to be pretty decent from the reviews that I have been seeing/reading.

I know that the EPEVER MPPT solar controller is actually a good value if it supports the battery voltage you are running.

Samlex and Aims are also relatively decent as per the reviews I have been finding, and they have a lot of different models that should fill what you need.

[gnihcraes]

I've been doing a lot of poking around and reading about reasonable chinese inverters, and it seems like a lot of them are decent machines, but they are less efficient than high end gear (Outback Power for instance).

I don't know if you want the hassle of creating 220V then using a breaker panel to drop to 110, but the EPEVER inverters actually seem to be pretty decent from the reviews that I have been seeing/reading.

I know that the EPEVER MPPT solar controller is actually a good value if it supports the battery voltage you are running.

Samlex and Aims are also relatively decent as per the reviews I have been finding, and they have a lot of different models that should fill what you need.

Thanks. Not looking for a panel, just a portable inverter large enough to run the wood pellet stove and a 12 volt deep cycle shown in my previous build^. More of an experiment to see how long it will last. Might build up a battery bank to support it for a longer duration.

[Grant H.]

Thanks. Not looking for a panel, just a portable inverter large enough to run the wood pellet stove and a 12 volt deep cycle shown in my previous build^. More of an experiment to see how long it will last. Might build up a battery bank to support it for a longer duration.

Makes sense. I would go browse through Samlex and Aims offerings and shop the part number you want around for the best price.

Side note, do you actually need pure sine?

What, I suppose the pellet stove needs pure sine wave for timing purposes?

[gnihcraes]

Makes sense. I would go browse through Samlex and Aims offerings and shop the part number you want around for the best price.

Side note, do you actually need pure sine?

What, I suppose the pellet stove needs pure sine wave for timing purposes?

Not sure it needs pure sine, but it does have some control boards that I'd rather not fry. Auger motor and blower motor can't take much power, it's the igniter that chews up the initial load. thus why it says 800 watts required.

Looks like there might be some Aims on amazon used for reasonable price.

[Irving]

Very helpful, thank you. I'll expand on where I get confused later when I have time.

[Erni]

If you make it portable I would suggest 2 panels so that when you fold them the glass is protected. You may need to add another cover on the back of the out facing panel to protect whatever is back there. (Diodes, wiring, whatnot)

Very nice.

[Irving]

Saw some solar shingles for the first time today. Snapped some pictures for you guys. This is over in the new Midtown development over at 60th-ish and Pecos-ish. Special note: That is about 1" hail spatter you see. Totally destroyed the roof (mostly) but the solar shingles looked perfectly intact.

[ray1970]

You'll need to be Spider-Man to walk on those roofs. Looks slicker than owl poop on a wet rock.

[Irving]

Yeah those were installed on a 10/12, so you'd need some sort of safety restraint. I didn't even try to walk on them though, no idea if those are even load bearing at all.

[gnihcraes]

interesting setup. thanks for the photos of them.