very good job and very

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

david canter, thanks!

Great video. I had to laugh when the charge controller display would not work. I had every confidence that you would eventually connect the battery and fix the problem. Cheers.

@DIYJeff

4 жыл бұрын

yhird, yes, I was a solar virgin. But, I was persistent and a little bit of electrical knowledge helps with diagnosis.

Okay waiting on the next video of the solar panels

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

Thomas Duck, I'm hoping to have the next video out in 2-3 weeks. I have a lot of information and I'm currently working on a way to organize and present it.

Ty Jeff, we'll done sir!

I was one of the guys yelling at the screen" YOU NEED A BATTERY!!" Lol

Nice Job, Jeff.... Thank you, Sir.. :)

@DIYJeff

4 жыл бұрын

Tom Young, you're welcome. Thanks for the positive comment!

Thanks for posting. I would have done the same thing.

I would of done the same diagnose with out the batter too. Glade everything works.

Thanks for these videos. We know nothing about solar either and are in the research phase - made no purchases yet, but looking into the Harbor Freight solar panels. It's good to see it presented from the point of somebody else who is just learning. Looking forward to video number three!

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

Kathy D, The next video I make will hopefully be Episode 3. What I'm doing with the panels is more complicated than just hooking them up to a battery and using an inverter. If all goes as planned I hope to have the video out in the next few weeks.

Yeah! He’s still alive to do another video! 🎉

Where is part 3? I'm in the middle of my setup and I can't continue without part 3! Lol.

@DIYJeff

6 жыл бұрын

Lilly Lee, I had to put the project on the backburner for some other things that came up. I've done a ton of research since Part 2 was filmed and will be sharing everything I learned in Part 3 which will hopefully be sometime this fall. Stay tuned!

Part 3 ?

@DIYJeff

3 жыл бұрын

@jack raintree, there is a Part 3. Link is in the video description.

I'm interested to see how you set up 24 panels. Roof mount? Maybe a ground rack assembly? Looking forward to seeing your progression! Good luck and be sure to fuse between each part of the system and don't skimp on the wire gauge at the battery bank and inverter connections.

@DIYJeff

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your comment! I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but after doing A BUNCH of research, my plans have changed a few times. In the next episode I'll give a hint as to which application I'm leaning towards using them. Thanks for the tip on the fuses.

I will have my new video out tomorrow about my Harbor Freight I just put in today

I was like you needed a battery!!

Yeah it says on the back 100 watt kit solar charge controller so 100 watts=5amps. so im assuming it's 5 amp i have three of these kits on my trailer rv 364 watts, eddies solar project powered by thunderbolt magnum solar from harbor freight my videos are not the best im working on it I'll have an update after the first of the month i have a new charge controller on order and a few other things I'll try to do a review "Read instructions'!

Keep the videos coming!

You have to plug the battery in first.

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

Pete Monfort, thanks, since making this video I've learned a ton about solar. Check out my 2 subsequent videos that were linked in the description.

You'll be lucky if you get 50 usable watts from these 4 panels combined in full sun. There are so many losses with solar that the actual usable wattage is usually around half of what they are rated at. It is kinda like when you size a battery bank. You might have 100Ah batteries but you count them as only 50Ah when sizing your bank. That is cuz batteries (AGM, FLA...) normally are only discharged to 50% SoC (State of Charge). So for example, if my usable bank size needed to be 1000Ah, I would need twenty 100Ah batteries, not just 10.

LOL you needed a battery. I was yelling at you and you couldn't hear me. Was hollering YOU NEED A BATTERY!!

@DIYJeff

6 жыл бұрын

philipx2, and I was hollering inside, you idiot you needed a battery after I read the instructions, LOL. I guess that's part of the learning process. Stay tuned for Episode 3 in the next couple of weeks. I am studying like a madman about solar and all it's applications. I'll be sharing in the next episode how I plan to use the system and the beginning stages of planning. Stay tuned!

@philipx2

6 жыл бұрын

Honest Jeff Reviews & DIY Jeff Been into solar for years. All charge controllers require battery first. Now you know. Good luck.

@DIYJeff

6 жыл бұрын

One lesson down, a hundred to go, lol. I'm actually making great strides in my electrical and solar knowledge since this video.

@gravelydon7072

6 жыл бұрын

Sorry Phiipx2, but they don't all require a battery. If you buy the 500 watt HF unit, it will power up just on the panels.

@solarprepper1offgrid.753

6 жыл бұрын

It's not a 30 amp CHARGE. CONTROLLER maybe ten probably five

You have an error on the rating of the charge controller @ 3:03. The one in the kits is a 10 amp unit. The 30 amp/500 watt unit ( 68738 ) has no quick connect sockets or USB ports. It is strictly a hardwire unit. The buttons on it are below the meter. Mine also powers up even without a battery which the 10 amp unit will not.

@DIYJeff

6 жыл бұрын

gravelydon, thanks for pointing this out. You are correct. I'm not sure why I thought it was the 30 amp unit. I don't have my system up and running yet. I've had some other projects and work get in the way. But I've been in the design phase to try something with the system that will stretch what it was designed for. But before I post a video, I want to be sure I have accurate and correct specs/diagrams. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as I'll hopefully be posting an update soon. Thanks for your comments.

@gravelydon7072

6 жыл бұрын

I understand how things get in the way. So far, mine has been up and running for a few weeks. But still is a work in progress. Have to wait on getting a new shed roof on ( Thanks Irma :-( ) before doing the final install of the control panel. But in the meantime it has been keeping the batteries charged ( two Exide Marine/RV deep cycle 27MDP ) and pulled about 3 KWH this week out of the sun running the fridge. Had to drop the panels again today as there was a hail warning. Shed is also getting wired so that the bulbs in the kits are used in regular flood lamp holders. Three of them do a good job of lighting the inside of a 20X16 shed at night and with the inverter, I can also power up some LED shop lights too over the work bench area.

I wonder why in the HF manual it says NOT to connect these panels in series. I hate when they tell you things NOT to do but don't give any reason why. What would prevent someone from connecting 2 panels together in series for 24V and running that into a 24V capable charge controller? If it works, then in theory, you could use the unused 2 wires from the series connection to either lengthen your 8 feet or so of wire from each panel, or, if you only need about 8 feet, you could double up the wires for less resistance.

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

David James, the manual doesn't say you can't do it, it just says it needs to be done by a licensed electrician. This is of course for safety concerns and legal reasons, that not everyone is capable of performing this work to NEC code standards. I am planning on doing this very thing. I should have a video out in 3-4 weeks discussing this topic and showing how it can be done.

@davidjames1684

5 жыл бұрын

My Harbor Freight manual (from the 100W solar kit) states the following (on the bottom left of page 2): Do not wire multiple panels in series. If you need to connect two or more solar panels together, this work must be done by a qualified electrician unless they are connected through a regulator. I am not sure what this means exactly. What is the harm of using a 4 panels system and creating a pair of 24V downfeeds, either paralleled, going into a single 24V controller, or each wired pair going into their own 24V controller?

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

David, keep in mind that the panels are not 12 volt. They actually produce around 18 volts under load. They are made to be hooked into a 12 volt (really closer to 13.6v) battery and in order to charge the battery the voltage has to be higher than the battery voltage, thus the reason for 18 volt panels. Putting 2 in series would then be 36 volts so keep that in mind when looking at a charge controller. Unless you're hooking them into a battery bank that is just under 36 volts, having the extra voltage going into a 13.6 volt battery is just wasted voltage. Also, I'm not sure what the charge controller is rated for that comes with the kit, but I wouldn't use it if you're wiring in series. You would need to get a seperate charge controller that could handle the increased voltage.

@davidjames1684

5 жыл бұрын

18V under load would depend on what the load is. Short circuit for example would NOT be 18V. If you connect a solar panel directly to a battery, again it will NOT be 18V (there will be a big voltage drop due to the heavy load). Your statement is not accurate. Your other statement about the battery voltage required is also not accurate. The charge controller can handle a battery as low as 10.5V as this is the minimum voltage setting on the controller. My idea is to make this 4 panel kit a 24V kit since then you have other (and better) options for wiring them. Of course a 24V charger controller would be needed but the PWM ones are cheap. You will have less voltage drop this way due to the lower amperage of the series parallel setup (vs keeping it as a paralleled 12V system). So for example, let's suppose on a semi-sunny day you are getting 1A per panel. Wiring them all in parallel should give you about 4A (for a 12V system). Wiring them in series parallel should give you 2A (for a 24V system). That 2A of current will be "happier" flowing thru those wires, meaning less power will be wasted in the wires.

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

David James , sounds like you have a plan. I’m working on a different type of system that doesn’t use batteries or a charge controller. I’ll be putting another video out in 3-4 weeks.

Jeff - Pls provide a link to these Solar Panels, or where they can be purchased.

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

Marc Betts, I've updated the description to included a link to where the solar panels can be found.

@johnsnow2347

5 жыл бұрын

@@DIYJeff Thanks Jeff

would love one of these kits but cant find any on ebay that will ship too Australia!...can anyone help me please>...thanks.

@DIYJeff

5 жыл бұрын

Shane Kellett, I think you're out of luck on finding anyone to ship them. You'd be better off finding a different supplier locally.

@davidjames1684

5 жыл бұрын

How many panels do you need Shane? If you only need 2 panels and are willing to pay the shipping, I might be able to help you out.

Obviously did not read manual first.

I think he uses the solar energy to power his secret dungeon where he keeps his “ trophies “ jk lol