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kale franklin
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Joined: 24/01/2014
Location: United States
Posts: 3

Posted: 04:19am 25 Jan 2014

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i also posted this in electronics

my name is kale. i have an associates in industrial electricity and i have been a maintenance man for the last 10 years. i work on everything from 12 vdc systems to 480vac systems. part of my job is to build and program "smart fixtures" that are controlled with a PLC and touch screen HMI's.

one of my hobbies is building my own solar power system as a back up for when the power go's out, and i also use my batteries for when i am working in my garage. i can run my radio, charge my phone, and operate small power tools. my panels put out a peak of 45 watts to charge my 2 battery bank with a PWM charge controller. you can see my projects on http://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/?sort=none&q=kalefr anklin

now all that introduction being said.....

to improve on my system i am looking for 2 items. i am cheap so i dont want to pay what i think are high prices for something i can build.

1. dump load control. i have seen some on this site and i am wanting to know more. in my job i just connect electronic parts and follow the instructions. when it comes to understanding more about the exact operation of each electronic component on a board i am not the best. i want a very simple control that at 100% battery charge it turns on the relay and a 90% it turns off. what i want to know is how using a PWM charge control, and latter a MPPT controller, going to affect the dump load circuit?
currently i am using this kind of controller, this . i have seen others that connect there relay into this some how. it is an option, but i would prefer a separate dump load control. right now when the batteries are full the charge controller just disconnects the batteries from the charge. with a dump load controller i want to add a grid tied inverter to make use of that extra power.

2. sun tracker. i have some old 12vdc motors that i am going to use. the circuit board only needs to be powerful enough to power the forward and reverse relays, the relay will take the motor load. a night time reset would be nice, but not necessary.

if there is a reasonably priced units out there that i have not found online please let me know. otherwise i am all ears for what i need to build these 2 projects.

Madness

Guru

Joined: 08/10/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 2498

Posted: 10:31am 25 Jan 2014

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You could build controllers to do what you want with an Arduino. They are not too hard to program and there is every chance someone has built what you want and posted it on the net some where. Also Arduino's are cheap, you can get one on Ebay for under $10.

Just goggled it and here is a Solar tracker instructable and Dump Load controller

There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

kale franklin
Newbie

Joined: 24/01/2014
Location: United States
Posts: 3

Posted: 12:01pm 25 Jan 2014

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i dont want to get into the Arduino. i just want to build a little board that does what i want. i have found some plans out there, but i want to be able to talk to some one on this board that can help me with a working diagram and list of parts. i can do hard wiring of buildings, homes, and PLC's, but when it comes to electronic components i get lost in the what and why some components are needed for the circuit to work, but i can follow a diagram. if some one gives me a PC board layout it makes it easier.

Madness

Guru

Joined: 08/10/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 2498

Posted: 12:27pm 25 Jan 2014

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kale franklin said i just want to build a little board that does what i want.

Not sure what you have against Arduino but I have found it makes what could otherwise be very complicated very simple. For me it is a little board that does do what I want.

There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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