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morganplus8
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 10:34am
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I'm planning on adding a solar system to my existing 120V wiring at the cabin, what is the best way to accomplish this? I have the wiring design figured out to the invertor and planned on using a cable to the wall outlet (dedicated for this) but I read somewhere that this could be dangerous. The batteries are outside and I was going to be able to just plug the system in when I wanted to make the wiring go live. I also wanted to do the same thing with my generator. How do you connect to your cabin?
In the picture, I have two outlets on the side of this building, the left one is a standard outlet but the right one is a male plug so that I could use a heavy extension cord from the generator to the cabin. I want to do this with the solar system too. Any thoughts?
Thanks
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bobbotron
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 10:58am
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Well, if you had a big inverter for your solar system, you could plug it into the building the same way you do for the genny. You'll need batteries as well... This is the most primitive way to do it, also keeps things simple and cheap.
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morganplus8
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 11:50am
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I use two invertors, a 300 watt and a 1500 watt (to run power tools) etc.. The plan was to just plug in the power and tap it with all of the receptacles in the building, dock etc.. I did read that this could be a problem but I don't see how it can be one. All of the polarities are the same and the circuit is closed. I guess if I ran the generator and the solar at the same time there could be a problem!
Thanks
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bobbotron
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 12:31pm
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I imagine it's pretty much impossible to run both the generator and inverter into the same system, but I'm no electrician. Not sure why you couldn't wire up with an inverter, perhaps grounding issues? Again, I'm no electrician, please take my advice with a block of salt. :P
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bobbotron
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 12:39pm
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For what it's worth, at my cabin I'm planning something somewhat similar. We have a very small solar setup (100 watt panel I think?), a 70 amp marine/starter battery that is ok, and a 400 watt inverter. We're planning on having the place wired to the grid with a generator back up hook up. I'm planning on wiring up one separate plug in the place that is hooked up to the inverter, so if the power goes down we can flip on the inverter and use this one dedicated receptacle for free solar power. I couldn't see the setup doing any good powering the whole place, but one dedicated plug to run a light or laptop, definitely.
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sparky1
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 01:08pm
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1. I take it the solar will only charge the Battery.
& feed the inverters (manually)
2. make sure either inverter is NOT connected what so ever, if you are Feeding the circuits Via a Generator.120AC,, the generator will smoke the inverters.
3. do not power two invertors, a 300 watt and a 1500 watt,at the same time,in the same wiring circuits. Make it (1) at a time.
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morganplus8
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 02:09pm
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So far, it appears that my plan will work. I will switch between invertors depending on the load. For the most part, the load is very small, a light, radio or something with a weak draw. When I want to drill something I'll switch over to the larger invertor. As for the power entering the building, I have that male plug in the waterproof box that will feed the building circuitry.
The solar system is light weight so far, until I know what I need to power up more high drawing devices. There is only one plug to feed the building so I can't mix up the invertor with the generator! To be clear, the invertor is on the outfeed side of the solar panel and controller, batteries etc., to power up the building from the batteries to be used as a nice quiet way to enjoy the afternoon there.
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Dillio187
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 02:28pm - Edited by: Dillio187
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don't do the double-male cable. Once you plug it in, the other exposed end is hot and a bad shock hazard. Just wire it into your load center box using the appropriate breaker.
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