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What did you do today?


Sakura

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The parts for a solar power setup (charge controller, battery, some cables & connectors, etc) have all finally been delivered so yesterday and today I put it all together.  I have to reroof the house and I'll have to dismantle the old solar setup that's up on the roof now to to get that accomplished.  That system was designed and built 25 years ago so I'm planning on upgrading it at the same time but I need to familiarize myself with all the new tech developed since then.  That's what this new stuff is for.  It's smaller and temporary compared to what's on the roof but it gives me some opportunity for hands-on experience with modern equipment so I know what to tell the solar guys to put back up once the roofing is done. 

Did a lot of reading of spec sheets and a bit of system design before ordering.  Pretty sure I've got a working design and everything wired correctly.  No blood or smoke or flames appeared during construction either.  So far so good.  📿  Still a slight opportunity for mischance and pandemonium when the sun comes up and the electricity starts flowing through the system tomorrow morning though.  Place your bets now.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  :D  

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Checking out the new solar project.  No smoke or fire when the sun came up.  Always a good sign.  Looks like everything is working as expected.  Plenty of sun this morning.  At this rate the battery should be charged by noon.

I’ve got my 2 refrigerators and my coffeemaker plugged in to the inverter.  (You can tell I’m all-in with this project.  Both the beer and the morning coffee are on the line here.   :) )  With the battery fully charged it looks like I’ll get about 40 hrs of run time.  More or less as expected.

(Tech details hidden below.)
 

Spoiler

The charge controller started pulling useful power off the panels starting at about 6am.  Currently it is pulling over 600W at ~10am with the panels still cool but in full sun.

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 The battery shows it is charging at almost 400W.  The difference between the two is what is being used by the refrigerators.  The coffeemaker requires about 1,400W(!), but only for about a minute as it heats the water.  The inverter says it can provide 1,800W continuous and surge to 3,600W.  Not a lot of margin there on the continuous spec but it is well within the surge rating so it should be fine.    

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Edited by efaardvark
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Cleaned out the hall closet and found all our old Wii stuff.  Included were both generations of consoles, a WiiU portable, and a Wii-fit balance board.  A box full of games too.  Too bad none of it is likely to work anymore with the Nintendo servers shut down.  :(

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Just got home from the grocery store and found this lady in the way when I went to transfer the goods from the car to the house.

(hidden out of consideration for the spider-squeamish)

Spoiler

Ah, the joys of living in the desert southwest…  100F heat, single-digit humidity, and deadly patio guests.

 

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Edited by efaardvark
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Got the carpet in the living room, dining room, and hall professionally cleaned.  Something I do every few decades whether it needs it or not.  :D 

For the record, it needed it.  Desperately.  Fortunately my brother took the animals with him when he moved to Kansas so this time it should stay this way for a while.

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okay as someone who doesnt even leave the bed i just woke up and than i looked to steam if my games were ready to play and guess what they were i played baldurs gate 3 and final fantasy 7 and than i got bored of them both and just watched code geass ill finish the full series soon im at the last movie of it the animes are over so uh and than i ate some cereal and just rn its like midnight so i guess ill sleep if i cant find anything to do

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I went up on the roof to reconfigure some of my PV panels.  Why did I do this on a day like today with the temperature hitting triple digits, you might ask?  When you figure it out please tell me because I'd like to know as well 🤣  I might need to have my head examined.

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