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Building an inverter trolley
- Thread starter LandyMan
- Start date
soulie
Expert Member
that is compliant as its a inlet socket ie the cable contacts will be shielded .any live part that can be touched by a finger while energised isnt compliant
LandyMan
Honorary Master
soulie
Expert Member
if not an earth cable connection point fault ,then the aircons are putting more than 50v back onto earth from neutral .isolate the aircons earth fully then test between the aircon earth and the earth line while running you should have zero volts ,dont touch the casing while testing and dont wear crocs they dont insulate well .or megger the compressor, insulation resistance must be higher than 1megohm .lots of things inverter casing bonding may be bonded to earth leakage some way ,earthing is a problem area with some inverters
wingnut771
Honorary Master
where is it?
wingnut771
Honorary Master
Yes it is.
Buy my battery, 2000+ cycles (still have about 80% capacity) 3 years warranty, 10 year design life.
LiFePOWER LifePo4 (LFP) LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY 12V (12.8V) | 100Ah | 1280Wh | bobshop.co.za
Buy LiFePOWER LifePo4 (LFP) LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY 12V (12.8V) | 100Ah | 1280Wh for R6,300.00
soulie
Expert Member
no idea who sells them.i think victron does an auto test ,but i would be very heditant to just install any contactor or relay if the coil goes and power is restored i dont know what will trip first
if you had 200ah i would think about it, wanna upgrade my batteries to higher AHYes it is.
Buy my battery, 2000+ cycles (still have about 80% capacity) 3 years warranty, 10 year design life.
LiFePOWER LifePo4 (LFP) LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY 12V (12.8V) | 100Ah | 1280Wh | bobshop.co.za
Buy LiFePOWER LifePo4 (LFP) LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY 12V (12.8V) | 100Ah | 1280Wh for R6,300.00www.bidorbuy.co.za
wingnut771
Honorary Master
100Ah LFP is = to 200Ah LA though, if not more due to Peukert's Law that LA suffer from and higher voltage of LFP meaning more Wh. You can always add another 100Ah later if you need to.
wingnut771
Honorary Master
Install busbars then link batteries to that. Add 100Ah at a time?
Finhobbyist
Well-Known Member
Late comment: Is this not why in many USA installations you see them installing two seperated copper earth rods, 2.5m long straight down into the ground? This way your inverter has its own dedicated earth?
Finhobbyist
Well-Known Member
Nice trolley!
Is that orange unit in the DB for surge protection from Eskom power?
LandyMan
Honorary Master
I believe so ... my dad did the wiring, but AFAIR, Yes
Finhobbyist
Well-Known Member
Hi Landyman; nice pics.Not going to go into too many details, and a lot was already shared in other threads, but thought I would create this thread, should someone want to get some inspiration or ideas when it comes to building your own "Inverter Trolley".
History
During the December holidays, my dad and I were discussing options to combat loadshedding, having a little 555W portable unit (which worked remarkable well to keep the TV and DSTV on) as well as a 1440W Ellies trolley with 2 X 105Ah LA batteries (standard pre-assembled). Obviously these two were not enough, so we started toying with the idea of building our own trolleys ... and thus the project started
Design
Building off of the trolley concept, with a couple of changes:
1. 3KW inverter needed - to keep at least the fridge going, and to be able to fire up additional appliances, like coffee machinewhile running the entertainment area.
2. Definitely Lithium batteries, no contest there
3. Increased battery capacity, so we opted for 2 X 200Ah batteries
4. Battery equaliser to make sure everything stays nicely aligned
The Kit (Note: I am in no way associated with Energy Tech Store, or posting this for financial gains/compensation)
The easiest way to get what we wanted, was to go for a "DIY Kit" option from Energy Tech Store (https://energytechstore.co.za/3kw-24v-must-backup-kit-with-5-12kwh-revov-2life-12v-200ah-batteries/)
I initially looked at getting a trolley from the likes of Geewiz, but their trolleys are not big enough for the batteries, so this will be a full-on DIY job
REVOV did not have batteries in stock, so we ended up with RAYSTECH 2560S Pro 200Ah batteries (https://energytechstore.co.za/raystech-2-56kwh-lifepo4-battery-12-8v-200ah/)
The Build
Not wanting the inverter to be mounted flat, the trolley would need a "chair style" design.
The trolleys were built using what my dad had in his workshop, including the panels and back that were cut from old Computer/storage boxes
The original design was modified slightly, as when you have the parts on the same panel, things are different to what you expected
For the rest I am not going to explain, as it is quite self explanatory how things progressed
Last pic shows comparison to the Ellies Trolley
I can see your green earth/ground on your AC-in connection, but no earth on AC-out. How do you handle earthing for your trolley?
LandyMan
Honorary Master
Onto the frame. (my dad did the electrical wiring, so only assuming here this is the answer you are looking for). In the picture it is not bolted yet
Finhobbyist
Well-Known Member
Interesting.
Wonder if he also connected it to the house earth inside the DB? I know that on caravans they connect the earth to the chassis as it is a big piece of metal.
LandyMan
Honorary Master
It is not wired into the DB. this is a "portable" solution
aleksandar
Expert Member
I'm not electrician but even being portable it should be earther somehow.