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  • Emergency bright lights

    Hello,all;
    I am gathering up specs on the system I have started.
    . Dc power and using the meter and making test is new to me.
    . First off, I was interested in a forum dealing with the harbor freight controllers and the lighting that is shipped with it. ( details later)
    I have 2@ VMAX6 VOLTS IN series with 3@ marine deep cycle 12 v batteries in overall.
    roughly 800 ah.
    . 300 watts of panels.
    the system this far runs 2@ Colman dc coolers all night and the batteries maintain 14.4 volts during the day. And hovers at 10.8 volts at night.
    . Running the system without refrigeration allows the controller to stay good and I can utilize the bright light dc bulbs in an emergency situation.
    . However, as of yet I can not turn the lights on in emergency if the controller is below 10.8 volts.
    . Additionally I have 2 @ battery chargers I use if need be.
    I have set up taillights hard wired in each if the 5 rooms that run day and night for low light usage.
    Finally, I have 5@ dc light bulbs ,one in each room that have rca plugs tied into the controller.
    . Basically I want to dice these light and hard wire them so as to have periodic usage of bright lights during any night time power outages.
    . Question, can I splice these 3rd connection and hard wire the?
    . Any advice in compromising this connection would help.
    thanks
    steve

  • #2
    Hello cisumma and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

    I see a few issues with your system.

    First using a mixture of 6V and 12V batteries wired in parallel will result in uneven charging and discharging which will kill off one or more of them.

    Next with only 300watts of panels it will be hard to maintain an 800Ah battery system.

    And finally using any HF type equipment usually ends up in early failure. They just don's make the panels or charger very well except for maybe the DC lights.

    Comment


    • #3
      The best thing about HF solar gear, is the nice cardboard boxes.

      i would look into and RV supply house and get LED lights instead of incandescent bulbs, a lot less power consumed
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks,guys
        Thank you for the lists of supplies and system recommendations.
        Ofcourse, I am using LED bulbs.
        My question was the best way to splice the wire or better yet was it possible to get a rca type of connector.
        For a little over $400 the 12 @100 watt panels , 3 controllers , 6 bright led lights and all wires to build a basic emergency dc power system that has been running beautifully for the last 3 years to run basic lights and refrigeration is a very good start.
        In fact, with addition of a fan it has made living the entire summer with no grid power relatively comfortable.
        Endubadally, the "cardboard box" analogy is quite moronic! considering you recommending a $1000 just for a single controller.
        Clearly, I have come to the wrong web site for basic information.
        Go figure.




        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by cisumma View Post
          Thanks,guys
          Thank you for the lists of supplies and system recommendations.
          Ofcourse, I am using LED bulbs.
          My question was the best way to splice the wire or better yet was it possible to get a rca type of connector.
          For a little over $400 the 12 @100 watt panels , 3 controllers , 6 bright led lights and all wires to build a basic emergency dc power system that has been running beautifully for the last 3 years to run basic lights and refrigeration is a very good start.
          In fact, with addition of a fan it has made living the entire summer with no grid power relatively comfortable.
          Endubadally, the "cardboard box" analogy is quite moronic! considering you recommending a $1000 just for a single controller.
          Clearly, I have come to the wrong web site for basic information.
          Go figure.



          I am glad your system is working out for you. Based on a number of people that have used HF equipment most agree that it is junk and does not last.

          I am not sure what you want when your refer to splicing wires. When connecting low voltage wires I have always used some type of terminal block.

          So exactly what are you trying to do?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by cisumma View Post
            Hello,all;
            I am gathering up specs on the system I have started.
            Basically I want to dice these light and hard wire them so as to have periodic usage of bright lights during any night time power outages.
            . Question, can I splice these 3rd connection and hard wire the?
            . Any advice in compromising this connection would help.steve
            I m having trouble just figuring out exactly what you are asking. Is this a translation of another language?

            Comment


            • #7
              Anderson Connectors are the gold standard for DC power connections that need frequent connect/dsconnect. Avaib in many amp ratings
              https://smile.amazon.com/Anderson-Po...ies*=0&ie=UTF8

              Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
              || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
              || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

              solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
              gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

              Comment


              • #8
                I like the Anderson Connectors. I’m not sure how water resistant they are. The MC4 connectors are IP67 which is a bit more than simply water resistant. Also, with the ANderson connectors, at least the ones I got, the positive and the negative cables do not connect together, which at least in my case, where I had them right next to each other difficult to connect. It looks as if you install these in a flame retardant sleeve, they will now connect and disconnect easy, I just have not installed mine yet.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by chrisski View Post
                  I like the Anderson Connectors. I’m not sure how water resistant they are...........
                  The connectors have no sealing, so for 12V, they are pretty much OK. Much above that and when wet, you will start getting some amps flowing and electroplating one terminal to the other and eventually damaging the contacts. They are rugged little beasts, on the front grill of most tow trucks and police vehicles as a external connector for fancy jumper cables you don't have to open the hood for. the 10A are much smaller than the 300A sets on the front of emergency vehicles
                  Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
                  || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
                  || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

                  solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
                  gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I’m still relatively new to outdoor wiring. I was shocked at how the buried DC cable for outdoor house lighting looks simply like an extension cord that you push metal contacts into for adding a new light, and if you don’t like where its at, simply move it to another place. I guess I can see how those Anderson Cables can be more rigged for some applications than I first thought.

                    For my RV 12 Volt system, If I change it to 24 volts, I am thinking I will add the extra panels by ground mounting the two strings of panels with 50 amp Anderson Connectors for quick disconnect when I travel. I’ll be out of usable space on the roof to go from 600 watts to 1200 watts.

                    Comment

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