Xantrex

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
999
12
0
The Xantrex website makes it sound so simple and practical to have a solar charged inverter. I get completely confused when I start reading about watts, volts and amps, but I did have a Xantrex/Trace inverter in my last apartment and it was perfect.

I will be building a house this year, and would love to have a 12 or 16 battery setup with solar panels and possibly a small generator to charge the batteries or as backup chargers. If anyone would like to check the Xantrex website and comment on the feasability, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks - D
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
2,586
100
0
52
www.azconatechnologies.com
The problems are going to be twofold:

1) The cost of solar panels
2) The fact that they are easy to steal (since they are useless if not out in the open)

Remember that car you bought for your sweetheart? Your solar setup could easily run twice that amount of money.
 

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
999
12
0
MrMike said:
The problems are going to be twofold:

1) The cost of solar panels
2) The fact that they are easy to steal (since they are useless if not out in the open)

Remember that car you bought for your sweetheart? Your solar setup could easily run twice that amount of money.

Mike - Seems that you are saying that solar charging of batteries is still a long way off from being practical. Keeping it simple, what would you recommend as a generator used strictly as a backup battery charger, and what would you recommend as a generator that would run an energy efficient house and one or two small air conditioners during blackouts? - Thanks - Danny
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
2,586
100
0
52
www.azconatechnologies.com
Get as big a generator as you can afford

Not only in terms of purchase price, but in terms of running cost, would be my recommendation.

Minimum capacity should be the capacity of your inverter times 3.

Let's say you have a 3.6 kilo inverter, get around a 10KW generator. That gives you 3.6 kilos to charge you batteries on, 3.6 to run the house on, and some left over overhead since you don't want to run your generator at full capacity anymore than you want to drive your car at full speed (as Rocky pointed out in another thread)

I know from experience that a 3.6 kilowatt inverter will charge 16 batteries to about 80% capacity in 8-10 hours, and you could conceiveably live a comfortable life (without air conditioning, but go ahead and use your refrigerator and even your microwave within reason, computer, fans, coupla tv's and a stereo) for the other 14-16 hours daily on the battery power.
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
191
0
38
yahoomail.com
First and Foremost,The Generator Should Be "Diesel"!

I have a 20 kilo Detroit Diesel Generator.It is "probably" more than I need,but better than "undersized",except for the fuel consumption.I have 8 batteries that it charges when needed.
Someone smarter than both of us put together,can actually calculate the proper size generator,but you have to be really specific in your "LOAD"! Saying "Small" airconditioners is not enough! You need to actually read the data on the airconditioner to do a proper calculation.You also need to calculate the size of the airconditioner to the room.Same goes for the "Fridge",water pump,everything!
You don't plan on running your "Air" off your invertor/batteries do you? "DON'T"!

Some generators are for Emergency/Backup" use only.Some,like mine,are made for more or less constsnt use!Weeks at a time!There is a lot of "Chinese Crap" on the market in the 4 to 8 kilo range.They are diesel,but not made for continuos running! (Forget gas!)Take your time,and get an electrical engineer to do your calculations!
cccccccc
PS.Some "THINGS" you won't want to run on your invertor.Iron,Electric hot plate,toaster,water heater,in short,anything that GETS HOT" to use!!and maybe,your water pump????????
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
2,586
100
0
52
www.azconatechnologies.com
I second that about the air conditioner, even if you have a setup that should be able to do it, just don't.

Or fine, try it for a little while and you'll decide to stop on your own. Air conditioners of any size will drain your batteries faster than anything I've seen, and that's the good part. The bad part is they will find any weakness in your setup and turn it into a critical failure. Running an AC on an inverter setup is a good stress test, but not something you want to do all the time.

I've never tried a hot water heater, it just seemed like a bad idea and unnecesary in such a hot climate (especially if you're not using air conditioning) so I didn't even go there.

I run my water pump on my inverter though, and it seems to work OK, though I have one of those pressure tanks on the ground floor instead of the tinaca on the roof setup. This is fine most of the time but if the water is left running, this will run out my 16 batteries very quickly as well. In fact the only time I have been left in the dark (I have no generator) was when one of my toilets got stuck in "permaflush" mode and I didn't notice until too late.
 

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
999
12
0
Like I said, I'm easy to confuse. But if I have an inverter with 16 batteries, can I use a generator to charge the batteries in the case of a long blackout and also to use if it's just swelteringly hot and I need to use an air conditioner or 2 for a few hours? What you you recommend for that, and what is the best brand diesel generator available in the DR? Obviously it's a vague question, but I really appreciate the info. Thanks - Danny
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
2,586
100
0
52
www.azconatechnologies.com
Let's assume you're talking about a diesel generator designed for regular use and not just emergency stand-by.

Well of course, if you are willing to pay for the fuel you can run the generator all you want. As long as yo give it regular scheduled maintenance you should get reasonably good results.

Just keep in mind that the more you run your AC the more you are going to want to, heh, those things are addictive.
 

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
999
12
0
I just spent 2 weeks in my apartment in Sosua with the "wife" and 3 kids. She has 2 and we have taken in her 11 year old nephew who has just been orpaned. I'm 61, they are 22, 11, 5 and 20 months. Occasionaly (like an hour or 2 every other day), I just had to close my bedroom door, set the AC to 78 degrees, and read. Also, when I arrive from the airport and I'm used to NY temperatures, I like a little AC to help with the first day's transition. That's about it. I also hate it when we can't flush the toilet because the pump isn't working. So please - ballpark KW figure for a diesel generator to backup an inverter, and what's the best brand? I won't hold you to it. Thanks - D
 

MrMike

Silver
Mar 2, 2003
2,586
100
0
52
www.azconatechnologies.com
I am not an expert on generators, Chris Colon says 20KW, I already said at least 10, I think your lifestyle (in terms of electrical needs) might be closer to Chris' than mine.

Seems people have generally had good luck with Kubota generators, and bad luck with Coleman, Honda seems about middle of the road, that's all I can really say about name brands.
 

Danny W

Bronze
Mar 1, 2003
999
12
0
MrMike said:
I am not an expert on generators, Chris Colon says 20KW, I already said at least 10, I think your lifestyle (in terms of electrical needs) might be closer to Chris' than mine.

Seems people have generally had good luck with Kubota generators, and bad luck with Coleman, Honda seems about middle of the road, that's all I can really say about name brands.

Thanks Mike. That gives me a ballpark to investigate. - D
 

Rocky

Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Apr 4, 2002
13,993
208
0
111
www.rockysbar.com
Danny,
An energy efficient home, simply does NOT include AC units.
As the inverter is 110/120 volt, you would have to have a 110/120 AC as well and the amperage it draws to start up would really tax the system, if not overload it, depending on the size & efficiency of the AC.
Do you want to be off the grid?
If so, I do have some ideas & suggestions, as to how it can be done without spending your life's savings.
 

gmiller261

New member
Dec 29, 2002
448
18
0
Danny_W

If you are on the north coast (Sosua), young Freddy of Freddy Multi-service can explain to you what you need and how it works.

He has a Xantrex certified person on staff.

He does a very professional installation job and his service is top notch.