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KeepIS

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Joined: 13/10/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1469

Posted: 10:23pm 15 Jun 2024

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Hi Klaus, yes I'm in two minds about stripping it for parts and using the case and heatsink for the backup inverter, or keeping for when the 14 year old GTI passes away.

Now it looks like the corporations are colluding to remove feed-in benefits for the unwashed masses, and even charging us for daring to feed solar back to the grid.

Those 2.6kw of panels on the old feed-in, will get reconfigured and wired across into another solar controller, and connected into my large off grid system.

It's all too hard.
Mike.

KeepIS

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Joined: 13/10/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1469

Posted: 08:31am 16 Jun 2024

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Finally got the LCD mounted in the main Inverter. The only spot available did not have any space behind the panel to allow mounting the LCD from behind.

I used the small LCD backpack Nano carrier board designed by wiseguy, and fitted a ribbon cable from that PCB to the LCD module.

This allowed the LCD to mount flat on the front panel, with 4 tiny spacers to just clear the LCD metal work on the back of the LCD module. A small slot behind the LCD allows a ribbon cable to lay flat with no signs of any connections, it plugs into the small Nano carrier board mounted 100mm away.

The only problem I encountered was - the LCD displayed garbage - some unnamed dumb arse forgot that he had written the LCD code for a quick and dirty veroboard Nano carrier to mount the test LCD on a few months back. After wasting an hour, I'm getting old, the penny finally dropped, a quick change to the code for pin assignments and it worked perfectly.

I need to make a small black cover with an LCD display cutout, it should look better then.

It's all too hard.
Mike.

Murphy's friend

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Joined: 04/10/2019
Location: Australia
Posts: 612

Posted: 08:58am 16 Jun 2024

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KeepIS said

Those 2.6kw of panels on the old feed-in, will get reconfigured and wired across into another solar controller, and connected into my large off grid system.

What I meant is to establish an isolated mini grid with your inverter and a GTI.

*Make absolutely sure your GTI is no longer connected to the street grid*

No need to re configure your 2.6KW of panels and it gives you an alternative way of battery charging from the solar controller.

All you need to control that GTI charging is a voltage sensing relay that switches two 30A relays to break the *AC* connection of that mini grid.

You set the sensing voltage and a hysteresis for it so that the GTI helps with the early bulk charging and the solar controller keeps the battery up full for the rest of the day.

I have used this arrangement for a few years now, it works wonderfully well.

KeepIS

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Joined: 13/10/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1469

Posted: 09:51am 16 Jun 2024

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Hi Klaus, yes I understand and should have mentioned the following to you:

I have so much solar that I'm already switching half the panels off (two of the 4 solar chargers) and still running everything off solar power only, the batteries are sitting there charged, even in cold rainy overcast days, with all panels switched in, I run the workshop and house and batteries are charged by the end of the day.

As I only charge them with a lower voltage to 90%, it's slow rate of charge.

I've have never needed extra charging. One battery bank can run the home all night and, I have four battery banks, so they usually sit around 80% in the mornings.

I'm even thinking of lowering that SOC charge, just means I might need to top balance them twice a year instead of once.

BTW That big transformers inductance is 420uh 1:1, it's a 4kw inverter, dam it's a nice case and heatsink combo.

It's all too hard.
Mike.

KeepIS

Guru

Joined: 13/10/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 1469

Posted: 09:51am 16 Jun 2024

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To follow on from the my previous posts for Nano modification to remove the onboard USB controllers ability to interfere with power and reset of the Nano micro, the USB is part of the Nano module, so here is another Nano module that I found in my parts bin.

This one is a 328PB and reports a different ID number even with the PB setting, so AVRdudess reports it as unidentified and won't burn it. You only need select the "Force(-F)" tick box to upload the Code, set fuses etc. This one came with no boot loader. So you would need the little programmer board anyway.

It's all too hard.
Mike.

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