From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "dolmen"  wrote in message   
   news:edf09afb-0b2c-4b76-a7db-236c2680a6c1@googlegroups.com...   
   On Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 3:04:56 AM UTC+1, ads wrote:   
   ...........   
   Thanks ads, yes that was the conclusion I'd arrived at. Interesting   
   that you went for a 12V system I was thinking of at least 24V perhaps   
   48V and being able to use lighter wire in the system, but like I say I   
   don't really have a clue. A similar setup to what you have built would   
   probably meet my needs too.   
   -----------------   
      
   Mine can be configured as 12V or 24V, determined by the loads and the   
   nonfunctional 24V pure sine UPS I acquired for free. The Alpi can run   
   on either. I brought the solar panel wiring into the house as   
   individual 12V pairs and patch them in series or parallel at the   
   thunderstorm disconnect with nongendered 45A Anderson Powerpole   
   connectors.   
      
   The circuit is conceptually very simple, basically wire it as the   
   label on the controller shows. However there are subtleties of fusing,   
   grounding, fault tolerance and battery care etc that I had to research   
   for myself and I doubt an electrician or electrical engineer would   
   know unless they had solar experience. I've discovered many times that   
   electricians don't know much if any theory and engineers rarely   
   understand the practice. As a tech I had to cover the overlap and know   
   which one to call and what to ask when I couldn't solve the problem.   
      
   For instance one of the input diodes on my 45W Harbor Freight   
   controller shorted, allowing battery voltage to flow back to the panel   
   where it could be a serious short circuit hazard. I had added cheap   
   analog volt and amp meters to the panel leads which showed the voltage   
   that shouldn't be there at night. A digital meter on the panel   
   downlead had failed, possibly from static voltage.   
      
   Another gotch is stray added resistance in the wiring, likely at loose   
   or corroded connections. One Ohm is hard to measure but is far too   
   much at 5A panel current. The Variac+welder power supply can force 10A   
   through the wiring which makes high resistances easy to find with a   
   voltmeter.   
      
   -jsw   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)