I truly am glad you are doing these more in depth videos. Please keep them coming as I truly appreciate the effort. I am going trough this process for my cabin now. Thanks brother.
none the less, thx for explaining the difference between pure sine wave and modified sine wave inverters and stressing battery cable gauge...that's good to know!
OBX Thanks ! I like your vids because it's like going over to a friend's house and talking it up with brew in hand - whether it be in the garage, the reloading room, or on the back deck grilling up some wings !.
@Hutzjohn The inverters I had on display live in my faraday cage. I am very tuned in to the possibility of an EMP and or a CME thats the nice thing about live and learn you will have spare componants. Thanks for the kind words...
@OBXSOLWIND ...because i was under the impression that part of the purpose of grid tie systems was to help in the event of a power failure. it just doesn't make any sense to me to invest in something if it's going to be useless when i need it the most. this is why i mention the battery bank because, well...that's power, is it not? charged by alternative means, correct? how is that useless? or is it the grid tie 'inverter' that makes it so and why?
I'm with mdhization, I'd like to see some info on how to do 12v DC through the house to run primarily lights at night off 12v batteries. Again, I appreciate the time it takes to lay all of this stuff out and video it. Doing a great job, and I'm learning alot from you guys who have done all of this already. When you have a very limited budget, your experience is very valueable to me so that I don't have to travel down those same roads of trial and error. Thanks Kevin. John Wright (jwright650)
Always informative! Thanks for the explanation, I am working on a solar dankoff pump right now. Small project, but it'll help get my feet wet. Take care brother
Nice Vid i went Through the invrter wars with about 5 diffrent 1,s ended up with my first orianal choice a GO Power 1500 watt Pure sine wave,it is Fantastic i hardly ever shut it off as it uses les than .07 watts@12volts .im powering my home and office with as i type. Took it apart its a samlex or more correcty a coltex when u take cover off .U can never be to prepared my system keeps growing .Keep the info coming.
Great video as usual. I would like to hear more about 12V vs 24V vs 48V Solar panels and decisions related to distance and cable size from the panels to the battery bank. Also what effect the Solar panel voltages have on the battery config and number of batteries required. Thanks!
@OBXSOLWIND i see what your saying about the different inverters and their pro's/cons - i get that it was just a demonstration after watching your video again...you'll have to forgive me for being a bit thick headed first thing in the morning. my question, really, is why are grid tie systems useless when the power goes out, as you say? this i don't understand and would appreciate some form of clarification...(cont...)
This is a very good-informative video. Obxsolwind have you attended an ELECTRONICS school?Everything you stated in this video is true.Modified Sine Wave inverters are a gamble though some things will run on MS but they will eventually burn-up with MS.You have a fortune tied up in your system that will become history if the Russians or Chinese give us a high altitude EMP burst, not trying to be negative here, just be aware. Really nice set-up, much research and work here, outstanding job friend.
Modified sine wave inverters work just fine on refridgerators. The compressors will run a little bit hotter and an old fridge may have trouble starting the compressor because they draw up to 10 times the energy of a newer energy star fridge.. Hope that helped..
Thats an old wives tale batteries actually like being on concrete. It keeps them cool during heavy discharging or charging. The same as a dog likes to lay on the cool garage floor. On the other hand concrete hates batteries if they are leaking or boil over. Hope that helped..
The difference is in the harmonic distortion of the output voltage. Pure sine inverters have almost no distortion at all. Most loads will function fine with a modified sine inverter but some sensitive load like motors need pure sine inverters.
hey OBX I gotta pick your brain one of these days, I got a camper with a basic solar set up in it, and I want to expand on it - but I don't know nuttin about nuttin about solar. good vid. -TEW
The best one I installed yet let's you set the phase angles for each phase on a 120/208 grid tie. It works even if the grid goes down so fast your lights don't even blink.
@lad18913290 I think you missed the point. The whole system is battery backup. I only brought up the stand alone grid tie systems to let it be known that they are useles in a power failure. If the lights go out I can run for years simply off of solar and wind...
I have no idea what you are talking about, but I am impressed! Just wanted to stop in and say hello. I was hoping you were grilling up some chicken wings, but guess not... I'll just have to take my Kraft BBQ sauce somewhere else :) Hope all is well with you OBX.
Hahaha! Some people only have golf clubs sitting in their garage. They will be the first ones whining after the grid goes down and their candle burns down. You have some real eye candy there....
Thanks for the video, liked it. Being from MN I noticed the Gordon Lightfoot playing in the background. After studying some inverters, watching this video, and some debate with myself Ive decided on purchasing a Pure Sine Wave inverter no less than 1000 watts. Any thoughts on best place to purchase or a brand?
great vid...have you ever worked out how many years before payback on your system based upon current electricity price? energy costs are always going up so that can only get better. energy up 20% this year in the UK. Thanks
@theeastwatch Any time Brother.. I will try to help out any way I can. Maybe when I get the battery video together that may be the most helpfull video. The problem I have is trying to explain it.
(cont...) why even purchase batteries that will last 10-20 hrs (depending on demand) without a recharge if they're just going to be useless when the main grid dies? seems a bit paradoxical to me...
i'm sad to say solar is one of my short comings i know just enough to get me in trouble. when i was trucking i had a 1500 watt inverter i had to keep that 500 detroit running or that inverter would suck my 4 batteries dry in less than 2 hours. george forman grill 8 qt. crock pot 20 inch flat screen and my dvd player all got a work out i was pretty much maxed out i could run the all at the same time. GOD BLESS
@TheMunkmeister Less than ten years butt I may be nearing the time to relace one of the battery banks. I have friends who would not put a price on a system like this after a hurricane..
I wonder if a grid tie system that goes down with grid could be brought back to life by back feeding it with a pure sign wave inverter? Just a thought Thanks.
GOOD INFO // There 8 main types // But can have mixed feature's or voltages 1 # Stranded inverter // Not very clean power wave 2 # Modified / Cleaner power wave fit's most application expect High end electronics 3 # Grid Tie / Only ties to grid 4 # Pass Threw / as Described 5 # Pure wave / Very clean runs everything 6 # Stack-able / Can stack to increase Wattage as needed 7 # Invert & Charger / Transfers / as needed 8 # Marian //Can be anything depending on feature's / But Built Heavy
I just was given a Prowatt 1000 like the one you show here. How well has yours worked? I find mine to be tricky to get going when I first switch it on. Sometimes, it won't start the first time I switch it on, but if I cycle it one time, it will fire right up.
When I am saying putting it back in the grid I am simply reducing my power bill. The pay off on the system is about 7 more years. The cool thing is Im not running my batteries up and down. The way I see it you can have a backup generator doing nothing or have one paying for it self over time and ready to go with out gas or diesel. Dont get me wrong a backup generator is a must when running off grid. But chances are you wont see me standing in line for hours for a couple of gallons of fuel..
why do you use so many different inverters? why not use just one that's rated for %30 more than what you need? and what's the point in even having any of this if it isn't useful when the power goes out as you stated at the end of your video? sorry, this doesn't make any sense to me. i would have thought that the batteries would compensate for a short period if the power goes out? what happens in the case of off-grid set ups when there's no sun or wind? (cont...)
Greetings. I have a remote cabin and recently purchased a solar system that consists of 3 240W panels 2 100 Amp/hr batts (12V) a charge controller and a small inverter. How would you connect them? I will be running everything in AC, basically a fan, tv, cable box , laptop and a couple of ac lights. Thanks.
for the inverter that you ran the heater off of, what size breaker would you put in your service panel for the max amps for that inverter???? how do you the max amps the inverter can provide continuous ???
Hello, i was hoping for any tips and thoughts on my recently purchased grid tie inverter. its a small one and claims to only need 24-52 vts to get past its fault but it seems to flash red past couple days when its in direct light and should be working(at least i think, because its not working). i tried cleaning it off again bc thats helped before since where mine are they get dirty quick. anyway any thoughts on it would be appriciated. thanks, Cody
Hi I had purchased a samlex ssw-2000-12a a while back for a solar backup system. I didn't really know much about the quality when I was shopping around. What's your thoughts on what I got. Be honest....I can handle it haha. Thanks
You seem like a guy who's done it all. I just want a solar back up that I can plug in to a grid tie in between charges. But here's the thing I only want to spend the 2K or so that I would for a Goal Zero Yeti, and I want it expandable for when I can afford more. Any parts suggestions? Also 12v, 24v 0r 48v?
OBX, I was wondering, ! You keep referring to excess solar goes into the grid. ? Do you get paid for putting power into the grid, and if you do, may I ask how much, and is it profitable.
love the video. if you dont mind, im trying to setup an off grid system for my house using solar and wind. i live in the caribbean so we always have wind and sun. can you recommend a durable inverter for my purpose.
I have been out of it for a while now. My system is still up and running well. My best guess would be the Outback inverter and charge controllers. Mine has been great and the customer support I had with them was a pleasure to say the least.
I'm just looking for verification on your recommendation. You prefer a transformer type inverter and they are modified sine wave, Is that right? And you would buy an expensive pure sine wave if you didn't like transformer types, which only come in modified some wave??? 😲
Sir, I like your video but if you are using less then 4 guage then you are losing voltage as you place a load on your system. I know working with 1 gauge is hard but it worth it in the end.
You may like my videos and thanks for that. I discussed the #4 wire in this video. My setup uses very large wire including mostly 2/O ,3/O and 4/O. I have allways pushed for very large wire sizes..
Kevin: In one of your videos you mentioned a guy by handle of hilo? You said he had a good setup. 80% of videos here pertaining to solar, wind, off-grid are rinky-dink. Mixed batteries, under-sized wires, no organization and no good info. It's a waist of time searching for anything. I'll have to finish reading the comments on your vids. Keep those video coming.
I truly am glad you are doing these more in depth videos. Please keep them coming as I truly appreciate the effort. I am going trough this process for my cabin now. Thanks brother.
No BS... No frills.. Just good ole American ingenuity. Thanks.
none the less, thx for explaining the difference between pure sine wave and modified sine wave inverters and stressing battery cable gauge...that's good to know!
OBX Thanks ! I like your vids because it's like going over to a friend's house and talking it up with brew in hand - whether it be in the garage, the reloading room, or on the back deck grilling up some wings !.
@Hutzjohn The inverters I had on display live in my faraday cage. I am very tuned in to the possibility of an EMP and or a CME thats the nice thing about live and learn you will have spare componants. Thanks for the kind words...
Thanks for the great information looking forward to the one on batteries. Keep them coming please
@OBXSOLWIND ...because i was under the impression that part of the purpose of grid tie systems was to help in the event of a power failure. it just doesn't make any sense to me to invest in something if it's going to be useless when i need it the most. this is why i mention the battery bank because, well...that's power, is it not? charged by alternative means, correct? how is that useless? or is it the grid tie 'inverter' that makes it so and why?
I'm with mdhization, I'd like to see some info on how to do 12v DC through the house to run primarily lights at night off 12v batteries.
Again, I appreciate the time it takes to lay all of this stuff out and video it. Doing a great job, and I'm learning alot from you guys who have done all of this already. When you have a very limited budget, your experience is very valueable to me so that I don't have to travel down those same roads of trial and error. Thanks Kevin.
John Wright (jwright650)
Always a pleasure to watch your vids.
Always informative! Thanks for the explanation, I am working on a solar dankoff pump right now. Small project, but it'll help get my feet wet. Take care brother
Nice Vid i went Through the invrter wars with about 5 diffrent 1,s ended up with my first orianal choice a GO Power 1500 watt Pure sine wave,it is Fantastic i hardly ever shut it off as it uses les than .07 watts@12volts .im powering my home and office with as i type. Took it apart its a samlex or more correcty a coltex when u take cover off .U can never be to prepared my system keeps growing .Keep the info coming.
good stuff man, thanks for all the info, may have to go back and watch it again. lookin forward to more info on this topic.
Great vid! You are always full of good Info! Keep them coming!
Great video as usual. I would like to hear more about 12V vs 24V vs 48V Solar panels and decisions related to distance and cable size from the panels to the battery bank. Also what effect the Solar panel voltages have on the battery config and number of batteries required. Thanks!
@theeastwatch I will do my best to help you out.. There is definatly a learning curve when it comes to solar. Thanks for watching...
@OBXSOLWIND i see what your saying about the different inverters and their pro's/cons - i get that it was just a demonstration after watching your video again...you'll have to forgive me for being a bit thick headed first thing in the morning. my question, really, is why are grid tie systems useless when the power goes out, as you say? this i don't understand and would appreciate some form of clarification...(cont...)
This is a very good-informative video. Obxsolwind have you attended an ELECTRONICS school?Everything you stated in this video is true.Modified Sine Wave inverters are a gamble though some things will run on MS but they will eventually burn-up with MS.You have a fortune tied up in your system that will become history if the Russians or Chinese give us a high altitude EMP burst, not trying to be negative here, just be aware. Really nice set-up, much research and work here, outstanding job friend.
Thanks for another informative video!
Gotta go find my old Blackfoot albums/CDs. I know I have Highway Song on one of them :)
Excellent information, sir.
Modified sine wave inverters work just fine on refridgerators. The compressors will run a little bit hotter and an old fridge may have trouble starting the compressor because they draw up to 10 times the energy of a newer energy star fridge.. Hope that helped..
Thats an old wives tale batteries actually like being on concrete. It keeps them cool during heavy discharging or charging. The same as a dog likes to lay on the cool garage floor. On the other hand concrete hates batteries if they are leaking or boil over. Hope that helped..
The difference is in the harmonic distortion of the output voltage. Pure sine inverters have almost no distortion at all. Most loads will function fine with a modified sine inverter but some sensitive load like motors need pure sine inverters.
hey OBX I gotta pick your brain one of these days, I got a camper with a basic solar set up in it, and I want to expand on it - but I don't know nuttin about nuttin about solar.
good vid.
-TEW
The best one I installed yet let's you set the phase angles for each phase on a 120/208 grid tie. It works even if the grid goes down so fast your lights don't even blink.
@bubbaducks Your welcome. Would love to see a video when you get your system together..
@lad18913290 I think you missed the point. The whole system is battery backup. I only brought up the stand alone grid tie systems to let it be known that they are useles in a power failure. If the lights go out I can run for years simply off of solar and wind...
I have no idea what you are talking about, but I am impressed! Just wanted to stop in and say hello. I was hoping you were grilling up some chicken wings, but guess not... I'll just have to take my Kraft BBQ sauce somewhere else :) Hope all is well with you OBX.
Hahaha! Some people only have golf clubs sitting in their garage. They will be the first ones whining after the grid goes down and their candle burns down. You have some real eye candy there....
Thanks for the video, liked it. Being from MN I noticed the Gordon Lightfoot playing in the background. After studying some inverters, watching this video, and some debate with myself Ive decided on purchasing a Pure Sine Wave inverter no less than 1000 watts. Any thoughts on best place to purchase or a brand?
great vid...have you ever worked out how many years before payback on your system based upon current electricity price? energy costs are always going up so that can only get better. energy up 20% this year in the UK. Thanks
@theeastwatch Any time Brother.. I will try to help out any way I can. Maybe when I get the battery video together that may be the most helpfull video. The problem I have is trying to explain it.
(cont...) why even purchase batteries that will last 10-20 hrs (depending on demand) without a recharge if they're just going to be useless when the main grid dies? seems a bit paradoxical to me...
@awomansworld123 Your welcome Girl.. I hope things are going well for you....
i'm sad to say solar is one of my short comings i know just enough to get me in trouble. when i was trucking i had a 1500 watt inverter i had to keep that 500 detroit running or that inverter would suck my 4 batteries dry in less than 2 hours. george forman grill 8 qt. crock pot 20 inch flat screen and my dvd player all got a work out i was pretty much maxed out i could run the all at the same time. GOD BLESS
@TheMunkmeister Less than ten years butt I may be nearing the time to relace one of the battery banks. I have friends who would not put a price on a system like this after a hurricane..
I wonder if a grid tie system that goes down with grid could be brought back to life by back feeding it with a pure sign wave inverter? Just a thought Thanks.
GOOD INFO // There 8 main types // But can have mixed feature's or voltages
1 # Stranded inverter // Not very clean power wave
2 # Modified / Cleaner power wave fit's most application expect High end electronics
3 # Grid Tie / Only ties to grid
4 # Pass Threw / as Described
5 # Pure wave / Very clean runs everything
6 # Stack-able / Can stack to increase Wattage as needed
7 # Invert & Charger / Transfers / as needed
8 # Marian //Can be anything depending on feature's / But Built Heavy
I just was given a Prowatt 1000 like the one you show here. How well has yours worked? I find mine to be tricky to get going when I first switch it on. Sometimes, it won't start the first time I switch it on, but if I cycle it one time, it will fire right up.
When I am saying putting it back in the grid I am simply reducing my power bill. The pay off on the system is about 7 more years. The cool thing is Im not running my batteries up and down. The way I see it you can have a backup generator doing nothing or have one paying for it self over time and ready to go with out gas or diesel. Dont get me wrong a backup generator is a must when running off grid. But chances are you wont see me standing in line for hours for a couple of gallons of fuel..
why do you use so many different inverters? why not use just one that's rated for %30 more than what you need? and what's the point in even having any of this if it isn't useful when the power goes out as you stated at the end of your video? sorry, this doesn't make any sense to me. i would have thought that the batteries would compensate for a short period if the power goes out? what happens in the case of off-grid set ups when there's no sun or wind? (cont...)
very informative.
Greetings. I have a remote cabin and recently purchased a solar system that consists of 3 240W panels 2 100 Amp/hr batts (12V) a charge controller and a small inverter. How would you connect them? I will be running everything in AC, basically a fan, tv, cable box , laptop and a couple of ac lights. Thanks.
for the inverter that you ran the heater off of, what size breaker would you put in your service panel for the max amps for that inverter???? how do you the max amps the inverter can provide continuous ???
great vid, like always
thanks
also how would you wire a dual service panel home for wind and solar??
Hello, i was hoping for any tips and thoughts on my recently purchased grid tie inverter. its a small one and claims to only need 24-52 vts to get past its fault but it seems to flash red past couple days when its in direct light and should be working(at least i think, because its not working). i tried cleaning it off again bc thats helped before since where mine are they get dirty quick. anyway any thoughts on it would be appriciated. thanks, Cody
Hi I had purchased a samlex ssw-2000-12a a while back for a solar backup system. I didn't really know much about the quality when I was shopping around. What's your thoughts on what I got. Be honest....I can handle it haha. Thanks
You seem like a guy who's done it all. I just want a solar back up that I can plug in to a grid tie in between charges. But here's the thing I only want to spend the 2K or so that I would for a Goal Zero Yeti, and I want it expandable for when I can afford more. Any parts suggestions? Also 12v, 24v 0r 48v?
can I use a regular sine wave inverter to power a fridge steady?
What have you done to protect your inverters against EMP?
Can we assist a DC off-grid system with a grid-tie inverter?
YAY!!!!!!! More videos!!!!! :)
You lost me there. You recommend Pure sine wave or modified one to use in a solar project? Whats the difference ?
OBX, I was wondering, ! You keep referring to excess solar goes into the grid. ? Do you get paid for putting power into the grid, and if you do, may I ask how much, and is it profitable.
love the video. if you dont mind, im trying to setup an off grid system for my house using solar and wind. i live in the caribbean so we always have wind and sun. can you recommend a durable inverter for my purpose.
I have been out of it for a while now. My system is still up and running well. My best guess would be the Outback inverter and charge controllers. Mine has been great and the customer support I had with them was a pleasure to say the least.
I'm just looking for verification on your recommendation. You prefer a transformer type inverter and they are modified sine wave, Is that right? And you would buy an expensive pure sine wave if you didn't like transformer types, which only come in modified some wave??? 😲
@CitySurvivalist Thanks Brother.. I wish I could do more and be a better youtuber..
Sir, I like your video but if you are using less then 4 guage then you are losing voltage as you place a load on your system. I know working with 1 gauge is hard but it worth it in the end.
You may like my videos and thanks for that. I discussed the #4 wire in this video. My setup uses very large wire including mostly 2/O ,3/O and 4/O. I have allways pushed for very large wire sizes..
You can save a lot money by using an UPS as an inverter.
pure sine is like wather from a mountain spring and modified is coke :D
My laptop won't run on a MSW inverter.
Thanks for the vid. yup you must have a good electrical wires size according to the rated amps.
xtronic.org/tips/table-awg/
Kevin: In one of your videos you mentioned a guy by handle of hilo? You said he had a good setup. 80% of videos here pertaining to solar, wind, off-grid are rinky-dink. Mixed batteries, under-sized wires, no organization and no good info. It's a waist of time searching for anything. I'll have to finish reading the comments on your vids. Keep those video coming.