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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 10:50:19 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 10:51:17 GMT
That's an interesting idea
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Post by smileypete on Mar 10, 2017 10:53:15 GMT
I did wonder about connecting in another little tank "somewhere" say 20-30 litres ...not necessarily a true (expensive) calorifier as such but something I could "fit" the little 12v heater in to.[br ! What about a beer barrel with hot water cylinder lagging on it? Aluminium so easy to cut and adapt. I was thinking of strapping power resistors to the existing cylinder.. cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh50-4r7-ji/resistor-ww-50w-5-4r7/dp/RE03489but wanted to explore the less hassle options first. If there's 100V+ of solar coming from the panels then you could connect that straight to the 1kW 240V element for 200W to 250W of heating. As the element will be isolated from 12V (and 240V of course!!!) the MPPT could be left in circuit. Just put a 240V socket on the input terminals of the MPPT. Probably £3 from Screwfix
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 10:59:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 11:06:40 GMT
I saw them, homebrew stuff, not sure of the quality and I lost the will to live reading the rambling description. I was talking about off the shelf stuff from plumbers merchants etc.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 11:08:43 GMT
What about a beer barrel with hot water cylinder lagging on it? Aluminium so easy to cut and adapt. I was thinking of strapping power resistors to the existing cylinder.. cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh50-4r7-ji/resistor-ww-50w-5-4r7/dp/RE03489but wanted to explore the less hassle options first. If there's 100V+ of solar coming from the panels then you could connect that straight to the 1kW 240V element for 200W to 250W of heating. As the element will be isolated from 12V (and 240V of course!!!) the MPPT could be left in circuit. Just put a 240V socket on the input terminals of the MPPT. Probably £3 from Screwfix Your idea about using the speed controller - do you think it would work to allow a 2.5kw heating element to run from a 700w generator?
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Post by JohnV on Mar 10, 2017 11:10:43 GMT
Beer barrels should only ever be used for beer !!!
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Post by JohnV on Mar 10, 2017 11:14:53 GMT
problem with that, is without chopping off the insulation and adding a flange the only option is to use the 2.25 immersion flange with an adaptor and then you lose the existing immersion ................... good theory but either a hell of a lot of work or loss of a useful facility
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 11:17:18 GMT
I found a pub aluminium beer barrel in the River Wey last year and kept it intending to use as a fuel tank. Using it as a secondary hot water tank is interesting (to me). from a personal point of view my preferred beer barrels are about 2 inches across and 8 inches high
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2017 11:30:38 GMT
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Post by JohnV on Mar 10, 2017 11:36:19 GMT
What about a beer barrel with hot water cylinder lagging on it? Aluminium so easy to cut and adapt. I was thinking of strapping power resistors to the existing cylinder.. cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh50-4r7-ji/resistor-ww-50w-5-4r7/dp/RE03489but wanted to explore the less hassle options first. If there's 100V+ of solar coming from the panels then you could connect that straight to the 1kW 240V element for 200W to 250W of heating. As the element will be isolated from 12V (and 240V of course!!!) the MPPT could be left in circuit. Just put a 240V socket on the input terminals of the MPPT. Probably £3 from Screwfix that sounds a neat out of the box idea ....... my panels are about 72v raw voltage the immersion is 3Kw so about 19.2 ohms so at 72v that's 270w at about 3.25A ........ Thinking about it, I don't see why I couldn't leave the solar controller connected. If I connect the immersion direct to the panels via a c/o relay operated by the dump power setting I could still use the immersion when on shore power/generator edit to add ..... you already said that ..... must learn to read properly !!
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Post by JohnV on Mar 10, 2017 13:38:07 GMT
Right ................. I've been busy
pulled the immersion heater tails out of fuseboard and connected them to the panels via a relay operated by the dump load output of the MPPT.
It's a bit of a cloudy day here at the moment but getting 58v applied to immersion so what ....... 125 ish watts. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days before I decide if I'm going to wire it in permanently ................ looks like it could be very useful in the summer !!!
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Post by smileypete on Mar 10, 2017 15:23:12 GMT
TBH 300W into a 70L calorifier probably won't go far, but it should at least keep a well lagged calorifier hot or top it up some.
If using the water for showering, having tepid water standing around is Frowned Upon due to legionella. There's 2kW or 3kW under sink heaters around, these would be ideal for hot water for the kitchen or washing machine.
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Post by smileypete on Mar 10, 2017 15:36:19 GMT
I was thinking of strapping power resistors to the existing cylinder.. cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh50-4r7-ji/resistor-ww-50w-5-4r7/dp/RE03489but wanted to explore the less hassle options first. If there's 100V+ of solar coming from the panels then you could connect that straight to the 1kW 240V element for 200W to 250W of heating. As the element will be isolated from 12V (and 240V of course!!!) the MPPT could be left in circuit. Just put a 240V socket on the input terminals of the MPPT. Probably £3 from Screwfix Your idea about using the speed controller - do you think it would work to allow a 2.5kw heating element to run from a 700w generator? Would almost certainly kill an inverter genny! A low frequency inverter will have a gurt big transformer which protects the delicate and pricy mosfets. Do you have a Morco water heater or gas hob something like that? Gotta be cheaper than petrol for a genny....
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Post by smileypete on Mar 10, 2017 15:45:08 GMT
I was thinking of strapping power resistors to the existing cylinder.. cpc.farnell.com/welwyn/wh50-4r7-ji/resistor-ww-50w-5-4r7/dp/RE03489but wanted to explore the less hassle options first. If there's 100V+ of solar coming from the panels then you could connect that straight to the 1kW 240V element for 200W to 250W of heating. As the element will be isolated from 12V (and 240V of course!!!) the MPPT could be left in circuit. Just put a 240V socket on the input terminals of the MPPT. Probably £3 from Screwfix that sounds a neat out of the box idea ....... my panels are about 72v raw voltage the immersion is 3Kw so about 19.2 ohms so at 72v that's 270w at about 3.25A ........ Thinking about it, I don't see why I couldn't leave the solar controller connected. If I connect the immersion direct to the panels via a c/o relay operated by the dump power setting I could still use the immersion when on shore power/generator edit to add ..... you already said that ..... must learn to read properly !! I'd prefer a plug and socket arrangement, more straightforward (fule proof? than a relay with many terminals. How many watts of solar do you have btw?
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