What would you do if this was your option?

General Discussions
1

So, I need to move the system again. Why? Moved houses, the inverter, my prized Mona-Victron work of art on the wall, is annoying the dinges out of the older people now living there.

Not everyone’s cup of tea. I get that.

What are my options?

Plan a, b, c … Plan a, involves the wife, so I rather steer clear for now …

Plan b:
This space, has a door, upgrade the lock and one can get insurance cover if one can prove “forceful and violent entry”, as it is outside the house, in a courtyard, behind a locked gate.

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Ignore what is in there, all comes out, concrete all round:

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18 cell battery bank will fit.
Victron inverter will fit.
2 x MPPT’s, mounted on the sides, will fit.
AC from main DB, easily accessible.

And in the door, for temp control, fit this bathroom extractor fan, to force air in, that can escape over the top of the door, as there is a gap.
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What am I missing?
Will the equipment run at higher temps maybe?
Is this a good idea?

2

Will it have space for a second battery bank, a second inverter, a third MPPT? You never know, think future.

What roof / ceiling does it have, can you get a form of insulation in there?

Access to your main DB being close is a major bonus.

Maybe mounting the MPPT’s on metal sheets will help with the heat, acting sort of as a heat sync.

Maybe fans blowing directly on to the inverter and MPPT’s, then the extractor fan pulling warm air out of the room through the door? I don’t know, airflow and pressure is sort of a dark art for me.

3

Future expansion, that will be a Solis mounted outside that cupboard.

More batteries, one day I will upgrade the 280ah with 400ah or 600ah when they are out tried and tested. Should be space for that yes.

Roof ceiling there, concrete stairs above it.
Area, being Cpt, ambient temp can get hot, hence the fan idea I have. Inside it is cool, being all concrete.

Today, I have this fan underneath the setup, blowing up. Keeps the MPPT’s cool, inverter can run happy as there is some assistance. Runs on a timer.
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This area, it won’t fit. So need new smaller fans if I want to do that … problem I envisage, if I pout fans underneath equipment, there won’t be enough space underneath for clear airfllow.

But I suspect, the inside being angled an all that, concrete all round, I HOPE the fan in the door will do the job. At least it will ensure no heat buildup. Dark art this, will be trial and error.

Unless someone makes that one comment and it is like … Aaaa, I did not think of that!!! … and the project is stopped dead.

4

Bite the bullet and use the garage - best think I did.
Pulled big AC cable to and from the garage (new Sub DB) from the main DB (expensive yes) but now I have a spacious area and batteries, etc are sperate from the house.

5

Issue 1:
In the garage, there are three communities of button spiders living there.
We have an agreement. They leave me alone, I leave them alone, in return I have a insect free garage.

Ps. Wife tired a few times to fumigate the garage, did not work. Live and let live say I.
Pss. If you have ants/spiders living in your house, you know for a fact it is a healthy home for humans and kids. Just don’t play with the “neighbors” in the garage.

Issue 2:
Also, the garage is dug in. It is really cool in summer but a little bit clammy in winter.
Having heat generating electronics there, can be a challenge for drawing ants or some such. Epic catastrophic electronic failure a potential result.

Lastly:
No gate in front of the garage doors, direct street access.

So what?
Doorbell has been rung a few times (broad daylight and very late at night) by the security companies / neighborhood watch patrolling the area: Your garage door is open Sir.

Appropriate accusations has been levelled at the suspects, no permanent success to date.

6

There is always…just ditch the solar option :crazy_face:

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7

And there that “Aaaa, I did not think of that!!!” hits …

:rofl:

8

Soooo… do you still live on the premises, or? Because if you don’t live there, and the tenants don’t like the inverter, then I’d just remove it. Or are these old people that you actually care about? :slight_smile:

2 Likes
9

You know me by now, there are always Titbits everywhere.

Being a double story (full house on top), there are stairs involved. About 1.5 levels of stairs.

So there I’m sitting, contemplating the worlds problems for the 3rd time, “Strike 3”, sitting at the Hospital Emergency Intake, all because of some people not listening to themselves, them telling everyone else: “Be careful, people fall on stairs”, I decided: Enough already. We are swapping houses.

Went like this, no joke.
After all was said and done, everyone recovered and up and about, I asked the Monday morning:
When shall we swap house?

Answers varied from:
Next week, next month?
When would I like to move? Today.
Laughter followed. Yeah yeah.

Asked same the exact same question the Wednesday. Same answers, same reactions.

Friday comes, ±10am, I asked all parties involved, one last time the exact same question.
People now looking at me funny, “Whenever you want …” the answer I was waiting for.

That joke, “Here, hold my beer” became real for everyone onsite …

The movers arrived that Friday afternoon at 3pm.
5pm and R1000 later the houses where swopped bar the small stuff inside cupboards.
Dang, the wife sat in important Zoom meetings as they carried stuff past her desk. Should have seen her face! :rofl:

5:05pm, me like drop mike asking around "Where did they put my beer … "

As always, the caveats:
Me and my mother, so we are moving, ok, bleh, whatever. No joke. Ducks to water.

The two “problem children”, I discovered, was my wife and Father.
Yeah, they don’t “swim” so good.

In the weeks that followed, they got their knickers into real tight knots, them being “over achievers”, “everything must be done today”.

Yeah, moving 2 houses, you better have some wine on tap … for “those” types of people.

10

So that is why the solar system must move … again.

Two main reasons:
The fact that the Mona Victron is not seen as art. Philistines, I tell you.
The new regulations, I’m told, around batteries inside houses.

… and I need to update the solar registration in any event.
… and the fact that I learnt that we don’t have a initial electrical CoC, another factor.

11

… whilst you were there? :crazy_face:

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12

that I presume was, in legalese ‘for the record’s sake’ :rofl:

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13

What are these??

14

Ok, I remember conversations in pictures.

Picture I have in mind:
When a newer generation sparkie told me that for the new CoC, which will include the solar system, the system has to be outside, I asked @rautenk, I trust him, what the latest on the regulations are, as they where changing at one time, even once retracted, today?

He confirmed what I was told, the batteries must be:

  1. Outside the house OR
  2. Inside in a suitably fit for purpose well ventilated fire resistant room - if I colored in correctly.

Reason:
To not affect peoples health when they good pppfffffftttt booom!

Now this comment was also made:
Inverter inside the house, it is as dangerous as your oven.
Batteries inside the house, no, cause allegedly they are deadly when you look at them skew.

Although I agree with those sentiments, I rather err on the side of anal regulations, than not. My “Masters Degree in WT"Truck” Not To Do" will not come back and tell me "We told you … ".

The cable car fiasco made me think about it also.

As safe as Lifepo4 is, a bank smack in my old open space office (it moved since Rautenk was here), IF ever there is drama, it is going to be dramatic.

I don’t like dramatic.
… and @Village_Idiot makes a very good case for why my “water submersion safety net” is pie in the sky … not to forget seriously shortsighted if I attempt to DIY it.

So I’m moving this thing one last time, outside the house, where if it becomes dramatic, it be like Whatever …

EDIT:
The system is totally moveable.
This round, I’m making the 2 x AC connections as easy, that I don’t need a electrician for that in the future.
Plug and Play comes to mind.

15

I like this idea, if space is enough. I suspect its going to get interesting with laying cables and conduit in there to keep all neat and still accessible. Where will the dc breakers, surge protection, fuses etc be? Also in there?

The concrete enclosure should keep it relatively cool and that extractor fan should take care of anything else on a hot day. You could even open that door in extreme circumstances and possibly add a small security gate inside.

1 Like
16

Thank you.

Combiner box will be outside in its IP65 enclosure.

But you made me think!!! (I plan for drama … )
Maybe I should put the Keto fuses inside a IP65 rated enclosure too …
Dang, IP65 enclosure for the AC too …

So all can be switched off, batteries, panels, AC, WITHOUT having to run for a key to open the locked door, after opening the small security gate in front.

Let me think some more on this good idea … thanks @Swartkat.

17

Also pondering, because I have this fan, it needs space to work from underneath, I came across this:
https://communityarchive.victronenergy.com/questions/119403/multiplus-ii-horizontal-mount.html

This pic speaks books to me … trick though, the fan must always be on, not come on when the temp is rising: (like the idea of a USB fan in the Cerbo’s USB port … )

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The extractor fan will still be installed in the door …

18

If you are going IP65 then go for your garage… more space, etc! :wink:

19

Yes, idea has surfaced again … with security ideas.

Key issue left, cannot trust the 2 x doors being properly “managed” with no gate in front, them being a “car length driveway” from the street.

20

You management them plus build a “offgridgarage” battery/inverter room in the garage… Locked as well. Long term for me that is better.

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