Ordering panels

[Durandal]

I'm starting out with a 2.6kWh battery pack that is supposed to be delivered today. I somewhat altered my initial plans, I'm going to first engage in the building of a solar powered trailer "generator." So panels, plus battery, charge controller, and inverter, installed on a trailer that can then provide clean power for lighting large areas at night, and/or providing power for tools, etc during the day.

So the battery pack is built from old Leaf cells, I purchased it from http://evbatterycenter.com/ and I intend on using that as my launching point for making my own cells from salvaged Nissan Leaf vehicles. I plan on testing out the components prior to the purchase of the trailer, and I'll post an update once I've got that next stage complete. I anticipate some time in June or July I'll be making progress on the solar power trailer.

[Durandal]

2.6kWh battery came in yesterday, I only had a little time to play around with it, but I was able to get into the BMS with its built-in wifi, and test charging the pack with a 120v to 54.6v charger. (I didn't bring it up to full capacity, I'll let it stay in the 60-70% range until I have everything hooked up and I'm ready to use it.)
Battery on the front passenger floorboard:


Screenshot from the BMS:


My Midnite Solar Kid charge controller http://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=531&productCatName=Software&productCat_ID=43&sortOrder=2&act=pcame in at the beginning of this week, so the next step is me ordering all of the appropriate connectors/cables for the panels to the charge controller, then from there to the battery pack. Once I've got all that done, I will get things connected to my Xantrex inverter, and go about configuring it. I want to have the batteries charged up to at max 90%, discharge to 20%, and after that use grid power to maintain power for whatever circuits I have running on the inverter.

I will continue to post updates as I make progress.

[Durandal]

(Hopefully) all necessary connectors have been ordered, along with a smaller 48v 2500w pure sine wave inverter. (I have a 5500w inverter, but it's HUGE, so I'm wanting a smaller one for my first setup as it will be mobile. If I'm fortunate, I should have everything hooked up by the end of the month for at least one test circuit. As a side-note, we had an 18 hour power outage this weekend that made me wish I had ordered all of that month ago. I ended up hooking up a 1500w inverter up to my Leaf in order to power the refrigerator during that time.

[Durandal]

So, does anyone know how to overcome the blinking green "ready" light on the Nissan Leaf trickle EVSE when plugging it into an inverter?

[silverone]

There are threads on bonding ground-neutral with a resistor on some of the inverter-generator threads. I'd assume you'll need to do this.

[Durandal]

There are threads on bonding ground-neutral with a resistor on some of the inverter-generator threads. I'd assume you'll need to do this.

Thanks, after further research, I believe I found the info I need, and ordered the appropriate resistors for the purpose.

[Durandal]

I used a 1/2 watt, 100kohm resistor to bridge between the neutral and the ground, which allowed me to charge my Leaf using my 48v inverter and battery pack. The final connectors have arrived, so my project next month is to get everything hooked up for a trial solar production run!

[Durandal]

I've been struggling with the connectors used for the battery pack, as the anderson connectors used for it are huge, and I don't have any tools strong enough to crimp these things. So, I think I've found the appropriate tool. I'm cringing at the cost to buy something that I'll likely only use a few times...
https://powerwerx.com/hex-crimping-tool ... -powerpole

As a side note, Sierra Club sent me a link to Arcadia Power, where you can have them buy Renewable Energy Credits based on your utility usage. If you want 100%, it's $0.015/kWh which would end up being under $15/mo for me to do. They also have a no-cost option, where 50% of your energy usage is covered by the RECs.. No cost! Amazing. Anyhow for anyone interested in that:
https://www.arcadiapower.com/durandal8882

I've powered a few different things with my battery pack and inverter so far, using grid power to recharge it for the moment until I get the previously mentioned crimpers. I can charge my Leaf successfully, power my refrigerator, entertainment center, etc without issue. The inverter fan is loud, however. So another week or so for the crimper to come in, then hopefully I can proceed with my tests on the Midnite Solar mppt charger. My main concern on it is programming so that it only charges my battery pack to 80% SOC in order to maximize the life of the battery cells.

[Durandal]

New crimp tool for the Anderson connectors was a total bear to use on the largest connectors, but after some struggle and literally putting my whole weight into it, I made some firm and secure connectors. After that, I went and connected up two panels to my Midnite Solar MPPT charger, and I'm in business. The inverter I currently am using is a smaller "2500W" (probably more like 1500W) "pure" sine wave inverter. All of the quotation marks because cheap unbranded stuff from China is not the most reliable in the world on being true to spec. My next step is to hook up my huge Xantrex inverter up to the system, as I'm sure it will be much more efficient.

[Durandal]

Oh yeah, just a note, from those "C" grade panels, currently I'm getting about 500w of power from the two 300w panels. I'm sure this will be improved once I have the panels oriented correctly, etc.