Newbie
Joined: 17/07/2024
Location: AustraliaPosts: 6
| Posted: 06:20pm 20 Jul 2024 |
Thank you for the welcomes,
I’m a slow two finger typing dyslexic semi old fart compared to some on here. Sorry compiling a response is a very slow process. For background I was a 1973 PMG intake. I reside on the Sturt River, a 10 acre Do Little farm in the Sturt Gorge. The only service is a 3ph power pole. Owning a section of river I could have 100kw hydro operating in winter when the sun does not shine. Unfortunately already need to live till 150yrs to complete all the projects started.
The house is 20m above the river with the hill rising a further 70m behind the house.
Its on a DIY hill side cutting, hand drilled holes blasting 11m of rock. I found a retired licensed powder monkey in Mt Barker, great guy, charged by the day. I had around 8 blasting days, varied from 50kg, 100kg and 200kg blasts. Just another learning curve rattling the valley.
Talk about being motivated. The hillside rock was exposed, each hole charged with 8 sticks of reogel and a lightning storm formed of the Brighton coast heading our way. It was a race to complete connecting all detonators forming a giant aerial and set it off before the lightning did. True Russian roulette that day. I must have a top ranked avatar driver.
2009 purchased my first 24 x 175w Suntecs (AU$600 each) and 11kw $6000 SMA with its 15yr warranty. Less than 12 months old, with only 12 panels installed and lightning turned the SMA off for good. 12 x Suntecs are still in their original Pallet.
Had another 2kw of panels and 4.2kw Growatt installed. Learning I purchased a spare Growatt. Well lightning got that too but had the spare.
The next strike left me with earth leakage when drizzly wet.
The first 5kw Fronius was connected 2021. Lightning got it that first night. It still works but self consumption readings doubled and it does some funny things it should not be capable of when master in a string.
Nill strikes 1992 till 2010. Big mistake extending the earth on to the roof. Everything now gets unplugged when storms approach.
I had to stop at 20kw on the roof for now and fit scaffolding supports under the ridge, truss gang nails are coming out. Another 20+kw is still on pallets scattered around the block. I had a stroke and sometimes forget where bits were left. The family looked puzzled at me one time. I had bogged the bulldozer, then the backhoe and asked for suggestions re hiring a tandem tipper to toe them out. I forgot having one parked only 30m from the bogged plant. Everything is still in there, have just lost the indexing. Just have to be patient till found.
I have 2 x 10kw 3Ph Frinous, 5 or 6 +1 spare x 5kw’s Primo, same for 6kw’s Primo. Each purchased new with a smart meter and a couple of spares meters. There’s lots of forgotten bits in boxes to deck them all out. Collecting (hording) since the 90’s to go off grid once batteries were cost effective.
I am truly impressed with the Fronius zero export and its power management ability. I have been adding a zero export GTI with each new load.
I found the Inverter :GTI 1:1 rule can be exceeded with GTI’s configured zero export with smart meters in series and some simple trickery. For another time.
Theres a 6 cylinder ford turbo diesel 60 or 120kw (forgotten) big enough to drive William Creek Pub (where it came from) and everything I have.
A 4 cylinder diesel trailer lightning plant with 20kw 3ph alternator. (+ two spare 20kw 3Ph alternators)
4.2kw and 5kw single petrol gensets. Two lister twin diesels, couple of single lister’s and the Rolls Royce, my retirement hobby a 7HP Blackstone oil engine.
I manage to find something that starts each power failure.
Slab heating, 3km of poly water pipes installed in slab 1992 and 3 years ago started connecting it. Last year I was dumping solar into 6kw of 3ph elements + 6 x 2meter water panels. The slab always wants more.
I did get the slab up to 36 degrees in August 23. Saved lots of wood. I have started using VFD’s on 3PH elements to protect the Chinees 220v elements. They did not like or last long at 250v. I was working at controlling the VFD to track available solar. Now wondering if this Viarac inverter board could track and dump available solar in one step.
I nearly purchased Lifepo4 cells November 23. Then realized I should have the charging in place first.
I need more advice here as lots still use lead acid? I maintained Telstra batteries for nearly 4 decades. Have also collected everything to build lead acid cells in 200 and 250mm Poly pipe. There is still no change from $10k but no BMS needed.
Regards
Mick
PS Wiseguy, response and number coming, need to consider those options first.