Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

Started by Oljarhead, September 21, 2009, 02:53:09 PM

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OlJarhead

Did a little check and actually I should be able to run 550 feet of 10awg wire to a spot I can get signal and direct bury it and stay under a 5% voltage drop.

Quote1 conductors per phase utilizing a #10 Copper conductor will limit the voltage drop to 4.81% or less when supplying 5.0 amps for 550 feet on a 120 volt system.
So in theory, I could run 120v out to a short antenna where I know I can get signal.  Of course, the problem is that my research so far tells me it would run close to $500 to get wire out to the cell booster and then I'm not sure how I get that signal back the 500 feet to the cabin but I'll keep looking.

I'm very hopeful I will find a solution as I'm tired of paying the $120 a month I now pay for phone and internet that is rarely used.  it's just a big waste of money but I need it for my job.

JavaMan

have you looked into long distance WiFi providers in the area.  I know Okanogan County has a few that will put up a link.  I've looked into them and they tell me they don't have service out my way, but I want to get a "war driving" app and see if I can receive and of them out my way.  The down side is they may not publish the SSID.  For me it's not a huge rush because I get cell service (and it seems to improve every year since I've bought the place), but I do want something a bit faster than 4g/LTE at some point.

I don't recall if you're still in Okanogan county, but if you are, you can check this page out for providers in the area that do wireless.  Also someplace on that site (or one of the providers site), I seem to recall seeing a map of where the various access points were located

https://www.okanoganpud.org/content/retail-service-providers-rsp


OlJarhead

#2902
I know folks that get NCI datacom but I am in a hole a d dont want to pay more for phone or internet.  If u can get a cell booster to work I would be good. ;)  and yes still in the Okanagan

OlJarhead

First test was a bust :(  No cell coverage even where I normally have it.  Wonder if the forest fire smoke has anything to do with it  ???

On the otherhand the Outback was putting out 5amps when I arrived and the Morningstar was too.  Outback said "charged" not long after and stopped putting out anything to the batts while the Morningstar picked up the amps to 8amps.  I found that interesting and will need to look further into the outback programming.

OlJarhead

Quote from: OlJarhead on July 24, 2018, 10:23:07 PM
Weird thing though, with the solar array offline I was getting voltage at the PV ports on the controller.  Not sure how that's possible frankly since they were wired to the PV combiner box and the breaker was off and the panels were NOT wired to the terminals ???


and the answer is...."The PV voltage will slowly rise to the battery voltage level even when the PV breaker is off – this is normal as the PV capacitors charge up. "


OlJarhead

Quote from: OlJarhead on August 01, 2018, 08:11:08 AM
First test was a bust :(  No cell coverage even where I normally have it.  Wonder if the forest fire smoke has anything to do with it  ???

On the otherhand the Outback was putting out 5amps when I arrived and the Morningstar was too.  Outback said "charged" not long after and stopped putting out anything to the batts while the Morningstar picked up the amps to 8amps.  I found that interesting and will need to look further into the outback programming.

and the answer here is:  "Charged   
There is an external DC source other than PV keeping the battery above the Float voltage set point (see page 26).  The FLEXmax will stop charging because it is not needed.  The display may also appear when the cycle is transitioning from Absorbing (upper target voltage) to Floating (lower voltage). "

That other DC power source is the Morningstar MPPT controller doing it's thing and since the panels are in different places and the Morningstar doesn't know better it will just maintain float but clearly the Outback will 'wake up' if the Morningstar stops getting enough light to maintain float.

I can say at this point my setup appears to be charging up the batteries in record time! :D and I still have 3 panels to go!  Only thing I might add some day is a 3rd controller (another outback) and then convert the morningstar for diversion loading.  After all, if I have enough power to maintain the batteries in the winter why not divert power to a heater in the porch or cabin?

OlJarhead

Got up there today to check on the power and meet the gen guy but got the date wrong and need to go back tomorrow.  Good thing I showed up though as power was in alarm and the inverter was off so the generator battery was dead  ??? d* >:(  I think this may have happened when the generator tech came out to replace a part and something must have gone wrong (over volt maybe?) and kicked the inverter into alarm.  I reset it and all seemed fine but the gen batt was at 10.5v so I left the cabin hoping it would be fully charged tomorrow when the gen guy arrives and we take a look to see what's going on.

I'm not liking this aspect frankly, as there should be nothing wrong since they changed out the main processing/controlling unit but who knows.

OlJarhead

Sheesh.  They sent the wrong controller so I have to wait another week.

Meanwhile the outback combined with the Morningstar are charging the batteries at record rates despite the smoke :)  Saw 25amps at noon and it was climbing....and 3 panels aren't up yet :D  I did see the batts at 29.6vdc though for much longer than I thought they should be so I need to check that and map what's going on.

Checked cell and in the smoke got -103dbm about 80 feet above the ground at the cabin so roughly 60 feet above the cabin.  Not what I was hoping for but more checking to do.


OlJarhead

It's difficult to get good pictures of the flooring in the shop but I'm finally working on it :D


It will be a mix of ponderosa pine (seen here) and doug fir stained with 2 coats of dark tung oil and 5 or 6 of the clear (which is kind of honey colored actually). 


This is two coats of dark and 1 clear.  It's actually a little darker with more honey in it to the naked eye but the lights were pretty bright in the shop


After using the mill to remove any crown in the boards and trimming them all to the same size I took all those trimmings and made some kindling for the cabin :)  Best kindling ever!


MountainDon

Good kindling!!  You can almost never have too much.  ;D   Though I use less than I used to since I started using pine needles instead of paper as the starter.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

OlJarhead

Sure is nice to use.  Haven't tried the pine needles yet (I actually forgot about your doing that) and need to.

Still no work from Generac/Energy Systems on when I will get my new controller  ??? sorta makes me worried.  I need to get up there this week to check on the place and my wife and I will be up this weekend to split wood and work on the porch.  Might be able to bring up some flooring too.

Nate R

Quote from: OlJarhead on August 27, 2018, 07:43:24 AM
Sure is nice to use.  Haven't tried the pine needles yet (I actually forgot about your doing that) and need to.

Still no work from Generac/Energy Systems on when I will get my new controller  ??? sorta makes me worried.  I need to get up there this week to check on the place and my wife and I will be up this weekend to split wood and work on the porch.  Might be able to bring up some flooring too.

The way it's going, you won't need the generator anymore with all those panels!  ;) ;D

OlJarhead

That is the hope! :D  Though winter is always a time of low solar production regardless but I'm hoping to see massive improvement :D

OlJarhead

and this time the generator is fixed!  4th time's a charm I guess ;)  d*

Seems they did indeed bring the wrong controller and after the first 3 attempts to get it working it was realized (one letter difference on the part number and an owner -- me -- insisting there was nothing wrong but the control board).  Now things are back to normal and I can get back to it!


OlJarhead

So the outback controller goes into in 'charged' and stops trying push electrons into the batteries but the Morningstar says "not so!" and keeps pushing into the string.  I can adjust the Morningstar to not add 30m of absorption but am not sure.  Maybe I should looks closer at the Outback programming.  What I see is both controllers ramp up to 29.6v on the bank and then run for about two hours before the Outback backs off and heads to float and the Morningstart continues to push into the bank for up to 3hrs.

Have to do some thinking here about how to make two controllers work together perhaps

MountainDon

I've never used a Morningstar but I have used Outback FM's and Midnite charge controllers. They can be set to do absorb by time or by end amps.  Does the Morningstar allow the absorb time to be programmed?  If they both can be set for absorb time then they should go to float within a minute or so of each other, assuming the bulk voltage is set the same on both and they are both charging the same battery bank.

???
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

OlJarhead

Quote from: MountainDon on September 02, 2018, 06:23:41 PM
I've never used a Morningstar but I have used Outback FM's and Midnite charge controllers. They can be set to do absorb by time or by end amps.  Does the Morningstar allow the absorb time to be programmed?  If they both can be set for absorb time then they should go to float within a minute or so of each other, assuming the bulk voltage is set the same on both and they are both charging the same battery bank.

???

Yes.  I figured out the issue, i think.  The MS controller allows 30m longer in absorb if the bank drops to 25v or below.  So, while the Outback stops absorb the MS continues for 30m longer (assuming the absorb on the OB is 150m)

OlJarhead

Working on the flooring now :D  Can't wait to get it ready to install and took 10 days off in October to either hunt or get the darn floor in (or both).

Gary O

Quote from: OlJarhead on September 11, 2018, 06:53:11 PM
Working on the flooring now :D  Can't wait to get it ready to install and took 10 days off in October to either hunt or get the darn floor in (or both).

Tough choice

The floor looks gorgeous!!
I'm enjoying all that I own, the moment.

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." Emerson

OlJarhead

Arrived on Friday after work in hopes of completing the floor this past weekend and maybe getting a few more things done.  Got all the flooring warmed up in the cabin and then installed it.  I know it's best to let it sit for a couple weeks to acclimate to the cabin but I didn't have time.  So I laid down some 15lb tar paper to provide a barrier between the floor and the OSB subfloor and went to town.  Took me a large part of the day but I got it done.

Now just need to make another 25-30 boards more so I can finish the floor.

Next up was the solar heater which I wanted to reposition.  I was able to do it by myself with the tractor forks and it is now secure and plumbed a little better.  Only issue is that it literally vaporized some of the insulation which I pulled out (what was left of it) but it still works.  I also fixed the fan setup which I may show later.


Final task for the weekend was to get the last three solar panels up and wired in!  It's done!  After long last I know how a LOT more power going to the batteries :D  I saw 35amps at 1pm after the batteries had been charging already for a few hours so I'll have to see what I get there in the early part of the day when they really need it.  Still, I've NEVER had that much power and these panels should all more.    I'm running 3 strings of two panels each at 305wx36vx8amps (72v -- actually I was seeing open voltage of 80v -- and 8amps).

Next up is to get some hardware cloth under the cabin that I had not completed in the past and the rodents have discovered, and the finish the insulation in the porch.  Then who knows, maybe I'll see about hunting a little :D


Toyotaboy

Flooring looks great! There is always something to do!

I finally finished up my window woodwork and hung the ceiling fan that had been sitting there for a year!

My wife did an awesome job on the curtains too!

Hoping to do outside stuff next year and do a little hunting too!l

Your panels look great! That will be my next project.

OlJarhead

It's been a day of cleanup.  Tell the truth I'm not really into this trip -- that doesn't usually happen but for whatever reason I'm not inspired right now LOL.... ???

Could be all the rat crap etc that I had to work around and all the trash I put in the back of the truck.  The rats are really getting to me and I noticed the old shed is pretty much in need of a rebuild or a fire at this point and the fire idea is sounding better.

I pulled out 95% of all the tools and put them in my truck with the plan to take it all home and clean and organize them as well as all the screws, nails, nuts and bolts etc etc.

I did however, make some changes to the Morningstar MPPT controller which I saw was set to go into Abosrbtion Extension for 3 hrs if the batteries dropped below 25vdc.  This was contradicting the Outback MPPT controller's 1hr absorb time and I realized it was the reason I was seeing 3hrs or more at 29.6vdc in the past.  So I have set the Morningstar to 1hr absorb and 2hrs extension at 25vdc -- I still think that's wrong but need to do some research.

Here is what I saw happening today since it's the first time I've seen both systems in action with full sun and all 9 panels running:

At 10:46am the Morningstar (MS) was at 15.8amps and bulk charging, the Outback (OB) was at 33.4amps and in bulk also.  The Tri-Metric Meter was showing +44.3amps which indicates ~5amps is being used by the inverter, fans, controllers etc.   So, by 10:45am we were getting 44amps of charging and the system had dropped to 90% overnight from my usage.  That means I used ~66AH and the system would need about 1.5hrs to replace that into the bank.

So, if I understand the math right and in 1.5hrs I would have put back in 66AH the system should be in float by then right?  That's my thought anyway.

So, I checked again at 1050am and was seeing 45.2amps going into the batts and the sun was not fully on the main panels yet.

By 11AM the OB controller was in Absorb and pushing 28.5amps while the MS was at 16.5amps and the meter showing 40amps going to the batts.

At 2:15pm, the next time I checked the system the OB controller was at 0amps and showing charged while the MS controller was floating at 3.9amps -- the meter showed -1.7amps due to what was running.

I was thinking that the OB could float longer or float if needed but need to research that.

SO, with this imformation I'm thinking the Absorb time for both could be 1.25hrs with no extension.  That would give me 62.5AH going into the bank before going into float and I suppose I could make that 1.5hrs to make sure it's enough as I should see 75AH going in for that period.  Then float for longer -- maybe 3-5hrs (why not?).

Wonder if MD is around to read this?  THoughts?

OlJarhead

Oh and the meter was at 100%

an the porch was 90F at 2:00pm with the new solar heater position.  I need to do more insulation as that will help keep things warm but meanwhile I am going to try this:

Absorb for 1.5hrs and float for 3hrs.  I should be able to bulk and absorb from 10:30am to 2:30PM without issue this time of year and float until 5pm really.  I will also start to trickle charge the system from 9am to 10:30am but I haven't sat and worked out the exact charging curve there yet.  I say 'trickle' though because there isn't enough sun to crank the amps up but the system is pushing some amperage into the batteries -- maybe just enough to run the appliances etc but not enough to bring volts up to much until closer to 10:#0

OlJarhead

Howdy all,

Haven't been milling for some time now (months it seems) in part due to my arthritis and GWI but also in part because I decided to take a break and do some other things (while I could enjoy them LOL)....all is reasonably well though and I have used the mill a few times as an oversized table saw :D 

What was I using it to rip down?  Well funny you should ask:

Flooring of course :)

I'd been planning this for some time and finally broke out the tools and after hauling a bunch of 1" pine and fir home I made the flooring for the cabin.

It's all T&G which I though would be best and once the weather warms I'll give it a light sanding and cleaning and then will be treating it with Tung Oil.

Having completed the flooring (1st half done above, 2nd half coming) I ordered some 1" split conduit for the mill and after cleaning it and oiling it up I applied the duct to protect the rail.  I plan to get some 3/4" for the chain and a motorcycle cover for the head.  I think that might be better than a tarp which inevitably blows in the wind etc etc.

Then after a couple weeks I got the 2nd half done :)


 



 

 

 

 


 
Finished!

For those interested I made all of the flooring T&G with a router and used a biscuit joiner at the ends (except that last 3 rows because I forgot it at home).

We love the floor and can't wait to put the finish on it (when it gets warmer).



Adam Roby