144vdc charging [RE-wrenches]

Fri Jul 16 14:01:39 PDT 2004

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>Greetings Matt,

  Thanks for the reply about drag and all the 
energy that would go into designing this thing. 
Luckily, I'm not being asked to figure all those 
specs and variables. The group of people on the 
east coast have all the right folks to do that 
figuring. I believe it began with a contract for 
a research team and turned into a much larger 
scale project once some branch of the gov't found 
out what they were doing. They now plan on 
building three of them and they went to a 
tri-hull design for some reason (not my field of 
work or concern for that matter). Anyway, just 
picture a giant pontoon with the emphasis on how 
far it will go, not how fast.

  So, still looking for info pertaining to the 
specific questions I asked although I'm in no 
hurry for any brainstormers out there.

  They are making promises about taking me sailing 
but it's gonna take a while for a pontoon to make 
from the east to west coast. Thanks again for the 
reply Matt,
Nick A Lucchese

>Nick,
>
>First question: If there is no restriction on the number of modules you can
>use, this must be an aircraft carrier, right?
>
>Just kidding, but you also term this vessel a mini-ship. If it's actually
>mini, how will you find the room I'm sure you'll find necessary to mount all
>those panels without adding so much windage that it might as well be a mini
>sailing ship? Propelling a hull through the water requires a certain,
>unavoidable amount of energy to overcome drag and wind forces. I bet that
>you can convert this resistance/drag to Watts (through some formula I'm not
>familiar with) and size the array to provide that amount plus enough
>residual energy to keep the batteries charged, but you will need a very long
>waterline to beam ratio (narrow) to make the boat very easily driven. Fat
>boats are slow boats that take more energy to move at a similar speed.
>
>A 30', well designed sail hull requires about 25 HP to push it through flat
>water @ about 5.5 kts/hr (less if it also has a very narrow beam), so you're
>going to need a LOT of solar panels for a ship; small or not. Remember the
>displacement required to carry all those batteries!
>
>Happy sailing
>
>Matt T
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Nick Lucchese [mailto:nickl at sierrasolar.com]
>Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 12:14 PM
>To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
>Subject: 144vdc charging [RE-wrenches]
>
>
>
>
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>
>Greetings Fellow Wrenches,
>   Curious to see if anyone might have any suggestions for charging a
>144vdc battery bank with PV. I've thought of possible breaking the
>battery bank into 3 banks @ 48 volts but was not sure how well that
>would work or possible problems I'm not thinking of. Each 48v bank
>would be able to have an identical array on it with all the same
>modules on the same plane so the charge rate could be consistent
>throughout. There will not be a shortage of modules to make almost
>any configuration work.
>   The project is a solar powered boat or mini exploration ship
>designed for the range not to be bound by the amount of fuel it can
>carry on board. Each motor was originally to be 48v but somewhere in
>the design process they switched to a brush-less motor from Pontiac
>(supposedly both Ford and Honda are using the same motor). So, does
>anyone have any recommendations for a 144v charge controller? Bob at
>Outback says I may be able to put 3 MX-60's in series but I'd rather
>not be a guinea pig or use a product that's not intended for the
>application as well as burden them with yet another special project
>(sure would be nice though since the MX-60 is the first choice
>anyway). The MX-60's are one option, any others?
>
>   Another unrelated question regarding class-T fuses. From time to
>time (usually on temporary systems) I'll bolt the fuse directly to
>the battery and then run a bolt through the other side to hold the
>inverter cables. Also from time to time a customer does not want to
>fork out $50-$70 for the fuse with the block. So, is this method
>acceptable if it's in a battery box or must it be installed on the
>block with the protective sleeve? Are there issues with arching to
>the other side of a blown fuse with a 48v system. Where might the NEC
>stand on this?
>
>Sorry to hit the list with so many questions, always appreciate the
>collective intelligence,
>
>Nick A Lucchese
>
>
>>
>>
>>Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor:
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>>
>>Esteemed Wrenches,
>>
>>An off-grid client is looking to save a few $ by going with a Generac
>>Guardian (air-cooled 12kW model). Any horror stories he should know
>>about with these? Configurable for full-power at 120VAC? Typical
>>lifespan?
>>
>>Thanks in advance.
>>-Nik
>>
>>
>>--
>>Nicholas Ponzio
>>Vermont Solar Engineering
>>PO Box 697
>>Burlington, VT 05402
>>toll-free 800.286.1252
>>local     802.863.1202
>>fax       802.863.7908
>>www.vermontsolar.com
>>www.backeastsolar.com
>>
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>
>--
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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