Good morning!!!!

[dragoneggs]

68F and partly cloudy @ 23:30, expecting a low of 62F overnight.

Contacted the Kubota dealer about exchanging the extra seal kits, parts guy said "can do" ... but it would probably take a while to get seal kits for the lift cylinders as Kubota recently opened up a new parts DC in (I think) Kansas and the kits would be coming out of there. Difference in price was like $4 a side more expensive. He said the timing was bad (summer, lots of demand) + coupled with the pandemic and just normal logistics of getting a new facility up and running.

Also found out that the "extra" o-ring that was supplied in the kit goes on the rod in front of the gland nut ... just to prevent getting paint on the portion of the rod that actually retracts into the cylinder body. I know the lift cylinders had those before they eventually deteriorated and fell off.

The cylinder piston/urethane seal combo is wrapped in some foam which is being compressed by a hose clamp ... hopefully it will be compressed enough to insert into the cylinder by tomorrow morning.

The boiled linseed oil won out ... got all the wood parts coated, but not all sides ... so a little more to do there. Also one side still to stain on the plywood bottom. Have to see what we have in inventory.

Made a run out, got rid of more paper at the recycle bins down at Lockwood UMC, then to Harbor Freight for a couple of cheap paint brushes, Subway for dinner, and finally Home Depot for returns and pick up F-channel and concrete crack sealer. Skipped Menards for the time being ...

Hey it's not morning yet! I'm a big fan of linseed oil for wood finishing!

 

[rswyan]

Drew,

Glad to see you got some decent bagels ... hang in there ... :thumbsup:

 

[sodamo]

With the solar systems that David and now, RNG have, why am I paying for electric? Between the two of them, the entire Western half of the US should be powered up..... :thumbsup:

Guess we could just beam you some, Ted

 

[rswyan]

Hey it's not morning yet!

True ...

I'm a big fan of linseed oil for wood finishing!

Tell us more ... :thumbsup:

 

[rswyan]

Here are a few photos of the finished system.

Very impressive ... :thumbsup:

The battery bank voltage is displayed in the upper right corner. I was told it would be a 48V bank, but this one turns out to operate in the 54-55V range for some reason. ...

Has to do with the voltage required to actually charge a 48 volt bank I'd suspect.

See if this sheds any light on things:

48 Volt Charger Tutorial | ChargingChargers.com

 

[sodamo]

Additionally...
I think RNG has Outback FM100 charge controllers

http://www.outbackpower.com/downloads/documents/charge_controllers/flexmax_100/flexmax100_manual.pdf

Also needs to find pertinent battery specific info. I think he got SimpliPhi lithium which will have its own profile.

My SimpliPhi 3.8 lithiums are set to live between 49.2-60.0 vdc but are usually in the 52-54 range.

 

[rswyan]

Additionally...
I think RNG has Outback FM100 charge controllers

http://www.outbackpower.com/downloads/documents/charge_controllers/flexmax_100/flexmax100_manual.pdf

Also needs to find pertinent battery specific info. I think he got SimpliPhi lithium which will have its own profile.

My SimpliPhi 3.8 lithiums are set to live between 49.2-60.0 vdc but are usually in the 52-54 range.

:thumbsup:

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm a big fan of linseed oil for wood finishing!

Tell us more ... :thumbsup:

I probably cannot summarize it as well as Wikipedia so I post the link here.

Linseed oil - Wikipedia

I especially like that it is natural and very flexible using with different chemicals and processes. Also works on concrete and is present in soaps, inks, etc. A very cool natural oil.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm a big fan of linseed oil for wood finishing!

Tell us more ... :thumbsup:

I probably cannot summarize it as well as Wikipedia so I post the link here.

Linseed oil - Wikipedia

I especially like that it is natural and very flexible using with different chemicals and processes. Also works on concrete and is present in soaps, inks, etc. A very cool natural oil.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Additionally...
I think RNG has Outback FM100 charge controllers

http://www.outbackpower.com/downloads/documents/charge_controllers/flexmax_100/flexmax100_manual.pdf

Also needs to find pertinent battery specific info. I think he got SimpliPhi lithium which will have its own profile.

My SimpliPhi 3.8 lithiums are set to live between 49.2-60.0 vdc but are usually in the 52-54 range.

Yes to the FM100 charge controllers, David. I'm waiting on a revised Single Line Drawing for the electrical system, and when I get it, I'll post a copy here. It lists all the components by name and model number, and shows, roughly, how they are connected.

The battery bank is a bit of a mystery. This contractor strives to source made in USA components, and in some cases, the closest they've been able to get is more like assembled in USA from Chinese parts. That's the deal with both the solar panels and the battery. The battery company name is API, and the unit is called a Lipo4 Energy Storage Systems Battery Bank. Their web presence leaves much to be desired, but I'm promised tech specs and manuals for the unit I purchased. I'm particularly interested in battery voltage level vs. state of discharge, since the controllers rely on voltage levels to trigger switching between the various sources of recharge energy. Since it's so new, there seems to be a kind of mystic about what charge/discharge levels lead to the most longevity, and I'd be surprised of there is a cut and dried recipe for the best approach. I've repeatedly stressed the need to keep the batteries fully charged to be held in reserve for dire needs, and so far they appear to be listening. But until we get past the final building inspection and are fully incorporated into the utility grid, we can't really implement what will be the final configuration.

But I'm liking what I see so far. After breakfast this morning, I disconnected the system from the grid and left it that way until about 8PM. I got all my 3 phase shop tools back on line, used some of them while puttering, and the solar panels were still able to keep the battery voltage at what seems to be a 54V target. I'm getting more light dimming than when grid powered when I start up the pony motor for the phase converter, or the big air compressor, but no tripped breakers or lack of power. The surge currents from those motors were a big unknown, but it seems like a non-issue. By the time I switched back to grid power, battery voltage was fifty-two point something, but I didn't see a big surge from the charge controllers to bring them back up in a big hurry. Don't have much of a feeling for what any of this means yet, but I am trying to pay attention and learn by doing.

Like every other solar contractor out here, these guys run around all day with their hair on fire trying to keep up with demand. So far they've delivered on their promises, but it requires patience on the part of the promisee (apparently I just made that word up). I look at the whole lithium battery situation as a big crap shoot. The technology is moving at such a rapid rate, there's absolutely no long term test data available, and one supplier's info seems as legitimate as the shysters out there. Anybody can put together a pretty web site, right? So it boils down to reputation and credibility, using the BBB and Yelp! and whatever other rating services you pick, but most of all performance and execution on commitments. So far so good with this contractor.