08-28-2015, 02:48 AM
My thoughts...
I guess what this device does... is... take something that is ran in the daytime time only like say an attic fan. Or maybe a cell phone charger, cordless phone. etc... When the sun is shining it will run the device full load, and when it is cloudy, and say it could only juice up half the load, would it adjust itself on the fly to maintain half solar and half grid power? So if you plugged this into a fridge it's obvious that this would never have the capacity to run a fridge, but, it could maybe run one at 1/3 power savings when the sun is out and the mains picking up the slack of the 2/3's.
Is that pretty much what this device does? Kinda like a charge controller and an inverter and a power monitor all in one? Seems like a lot is going on in this unit for 100 bucks. I suppose if you had a 1000 watt unit you could be saving some cash, that is as long as the sun was out shining and you used all your devices in the daytime, as obviously without batteries this thing will do nothing for you at night.
Next... it could be chinese crap. It's getting better but still iffy. I dunno, I suppose when it faults out, you could come home to a fridge without power. or if you had a computer or tv connected to it, how well is the "pure sign wave" ?? For 100 bucks can you really trust it? Or do you just put this on a bunch of box fans around the house to keep it cool when the sun shines? Then if it burns up and takes a few fans with it, you won't be out much money.
Then again, you could always buy an outback inverter and a midnight charge controller, hook em up to the batteries, panels you got, run the fridge and add more later. Spend some money now, that is upgradable, on reliable quality equipment, or spend less money on something that is questionable reliable and non upgradable. I guess that is your question?
I guess if you have a 100 bucks to burn, some time on your hands, try it out! Let us know how it works out for you!
Me personally? I kept my eye open on C/L and timed it just right, got 8 L16 batteries, 2500 watt pure sign wave 24V Outback inverter and a midnite classic charge controller + boxes, switches, fuses, shutoff breakers, All the heavy battery cables and wiring etc...etc... for 3K cash and less than 6 months old. All I need now is another 2K in panels and I'm pretty much set.
I know deals like that don't appear that often, but I did it! I've always thought about getting off the grid, and pondered chinese inverters, and have heard all the stories... I want to lessen my risk of waking up one day to a dead inverter or charge controller and having to start the generator to keep the food in the fridge cold. I am a bit excited about it, and with real professional equipment the dream is turning into reality.
Tho, I have friends that are running colman cheap inverters etc...etc... and that seems to be working for them. Maybe the quality is getting better on the cheaper made in China units. Still it's a personal decision. To each his/her own!
I guess what this device does... is... take something that is ran in the daytime time only like say an attic fan. Or maybe a cell phone charger, cordless phone. etc... When the sun is shining it will run the device full load, and when it is cloudy, and say it could only juice up half the load, would it adjust itself on the fly to maintain half solar and half grid power? So if you plugged this into a fridge it's obvious that this would never have the capacity to run a fridge, but, it could maybe run one at 1/3 power savings when the sun is out and the mains picking up the slack of the 2/3's.
Is that pretty much what this device does? Kinda like a charge controller and an inverter and a power monitor all in one? Seems like a lot is going on in this unit for 100 bucks. I suppose if you had a 1000 watt unit you could be saving some cash, that is as long as the sun was out shining and you used all your devices in the daytime, as obviously without batteries this thing will do nothing for you at night.
Next... it could be chinese crap. It's getting better but still iffy. I dunno, I suppose when it faults out, you could come home to a fridge without power. or if you had a computer or tv connected to it, how well is the "pure sign wave" ?? For 100 bucks can you really trust it? Or do you just put this on a bunch of box fans around the house to keep it cool when the sun shines? Then if it burns up and takes a few fans with it, you won't be out much money.
Then again, you could always buy an outback inverter and a midnight charge controller, hook em up to the batteries, panels you got, run the fridge and add more later. Spend some money now, that is upgradable, on reliable quality equipment, or spend less money on something that is questionable reliable and non upgradable. I guess that is your question?
I guess if you have a 100 bucks to burn, some time on your hands, try it out! Let us know how it works out for you!
Me personally? I kept my eye open on C/L and timed it just right, got 8 L16 batteries, 2500 watt pure sign wave 24V Outback inverter and a midnite classic charge controller + boxes, switches, fuses, shutoff breakers, All the heavy battery cables and wiring etc...etc... for 3K cash and less than 6 months old. All I need now is another 2K in panels and I'm pretty much set.
I know deals like that don't appear that often, but I did it! I've always thought about getting off the grid, and pondered chinese inverters, and have heard all the stories... I want to lessen my risk of waking up one day to a dead inverter or charge controller and having to start the generator to keep the food in the fridge cold. I am a bit excited about it, and with real professional equipment the dream is turning into reality.
Tho, I have friends that are running colman cheap inverters etc...etc... and that seems to be working for them. Maybe the quality is getting better on the cheaper made in China units. Still it's a personal decision. To each his/her own!