The picture was taken after the storm had passed and it shows a rainbow going from the south end of 9 Points Mesa with Red Bluff inside it on the south end. Its hard to see, but there is a second rainbow and I marked it with a red arrow to help spot it. Looks like we have a pretty good chance of more rain for the next several days.
I got the new inverter in a Tuesday and it does a great job of running the AC in here during the heat of the day if its full sun. Problem is I can't run it for a long time, but I have extra solar panels to add and it should let me run it for several hours during the day. I got the generator going again and it seems to run about 12 hours on a tank of gas with the AC and fridge running. I sure can't gripe about that. Between the two I should be at least half way comfortable on the really sweltering days.
How many volts / amps would your system consist of when you add the extra panels? Be careful that you don't exceed the specs in your charge controller and thereby risk damaging it. RMan once cooked a CC doing just that.
ReplyDeleteRMan says your panels should be able / be manufactured to handle hail. Otherwise, can't you rig up a "cover" to pull over the panels if it hails?
Dani, I'm the charge controller. The system outgrew the lousy HF controller long ago and I removed it. I check the voltage several times after the sun has been up long enough to cause an over voltage problem. If its getting to high I disconnect the panels or start turning on everything to lower the voltage.
DeleteI guess I have a total of around 1500 watts with all panels connected. Maybe one of these days I'll get rich enough to buy a controller that would handle that much wattage/amps, but in the mean time I've got to do it like this.
Nice rainbows. I could see both of them. Glad you all got at least a little rain. I know rain showers are few and far between.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm just in the right place to catch rainbows DD. Looks like some fairly healthy chances of more rain in the next 6 days. I guess we can hope, but things change down here fast. Tomorrow it may show no chances and be hotter then hell every day like it has been. The humidity seems to bu up today.
DeleteDani's got the right idea Dave, and maybe you need more, or higher amp hr batteries to make your inverter preform up to full power. Your whole system needs to be matched properly so you have enough rechargable capacity (wind or solar) to feed the amount of batteries you have, so they will fully charge after draining them, and THEY need to have enough power to make your inverter preform to the maximum. it's not a hit and miss system, everything needs to be matched for proper preformance. A charge controller and fuse is definatelly neccesary as the first thing that will kill your battery life is overcharging, and then your inverter won't produce enough power. :-)
ReplyDeleteAl, when I win the lottery I'll get a perfectly matched system. Until then its do the best I can.
DeleteWhen you win the Lottery you can hook up to those wires out there along 118.
ReplyDeleteWhy Bkid? The grid is down more than my solar is.
DeleteYeah you're probably right,I never could afford to hook up.
ReplyDeleteLove those Terlingua double rainbows :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask why the grid was down so much there or were you just kidding with Budweiserkid?
MsB, actually the grid is down a lot. Usually because of storms, but then for other reasons so. Not sure what the other reasons are?
ReplyDeleteThat's not good because I plan to hook up to the grid. Guess living in the city I have come to rely on the service they furnish even though I have heard that in Terlingua it is at a premium.
DeleteWell MsB, that is something that has to be lives with in the area.
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