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Thread: Need help wiring up a small solar set-up.

  1. #11
    Sweet.....thank you Mr Rod. I will let you know how she goes. And of course I will have breakers in between panels to CC and one to batts.

    i am thinking about ditching the Xantrax (aka Xanax, lol) inverter. and just getting a small 1000w 200-300 dollar one. But I'll see how she goes first. My concern is that the Xan may suck up to much of my power.

  2. #12
    Question for Rod :

    Once I wire my batteries for 24v will my Xantrex 1800 Powerhub be able to handle the 24 volts coming into it. The way it is wired up now is that my battery cables plug directly into the side of the Powerhub. I know my FM 80 can handle 12 24,48 and 72v but I'm not sure if the incoming 24v coming directly from those batt cables bypasses the voltage to the CC first ( which then adjusts it adjusts it) and then sends it back to the inverter. I've read the manual and found nothing helpful in those regards. My inverter is also wired into my AC fuse panel. I'm guessing the inverter is most likely fused and if it's too much juice the fuse will blow but I' just want to make sure. Thoughts ?

  3. #13
    LHBA Member rreidnauer's Avatar
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    I'm not familiar with the Power hub, but looking at the manual, I found this:

    As long as the battery voltage is between 11.0 Vdc to 15.0 Vdc, the inverter will continue to deliver AC power to the loads connected to it. When the battery voltage falls below 11.0 Vdc or rises above 15.0 Vdc, the PowerHub 1800 High or Low Battery Protection will engage and shut the inverter off, stopping all output voltage to the loads.
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  4. #14
    so it will work as long as my cc keeps things bewtween 11 and 15v ?

  5. #15
    LHBA Member rreidnauer's Avatar
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    That's what the manual says it needs. I don't see how you are going to do that with a 24v battery bank though.
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    Rod Reidnauer
    Class of Apr. 9-10, 2005
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  6. #16
    Can you recommend me a good reliable brand of inverter in the 300 dollar range or will I have to spend more to keep my 24v battery set up?

  7. #17
    LHBA Member rreidnauer's Avatar
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    I have no idea. I've not done any research on small inverters. The only stuff I've been looking into, is the big multi-thousand dollar stuff.

    If you have that 12v power hub inverter, why do you want to have a 24v battery bank?
    All my bad forum habits I learned from LHN

    Rod Reidnauer
    Class of Apr. 9-10, 2005
    Thinking outside the vinyl sided box

  8. #18
    From what I've read, it appears 24v is much better than 12v ........but I didn't know if the inverter could work with 24. Sorry, I'm just trying to DIY and learning the ropes. Thanks for your help.

  9. #19
    LHBA Member rreidnauer's Avatar
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    No big. I'm just asking questions and trying to help out too. Personally, if you have that inverter, I would build you battery bank 12v. You can still use the same number of batteries, just configured differently. Nice thing is, if you later upgraded to a 24 or 48v inverter, you can always rearrange the battery connections to accommodate it. (You said you CC is selectable, so you are golden there)

    The down side to lower voltage battery banks is, higher amperage, which means limits on CC capacity, and larger current carrying conductors (> $) are required. But if you system remains small enough that it doesn't exceed your CC's amp limit, by all means go 12v and save yourself the expense. Tons and tons of 12v devices and lighting out there too, to take advantage of.
    All my bad forum habits I learned from LHN

    Rod Reidnauer
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  10. #20
    LHBA Member Little Eagle's Avatar
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    OK so i have a random question for you Rod, first are inverter's pretty much the same? Second, would a inverter from a truck stop work? You can get up to a 2000 watt inverter at some truck stops and i use a 1500 watt on my truck to run my tv, crock pot and tv with xbox.
    Jason - LHBA Class of May/2015

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