Search found 78 matches

by andys
Mon, 10 Aug 2020, 13:48
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-5048MK inverter
Replies: 615
Views: 225899

Re: PIP-5048MK inverter

Thanks Coulomb and Andy's, hadn't found that one! It helps that you guys have been here for a while. I note the fan speed mod, my EC fan on the main supply is going to be varying it's speed proportional to cabinet temp all the time, so I may let the link stay put for now and see how it goes. Not th...
by andys
Mon, 10 Aug 2020, 13:23
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-5048MK inverter
Replies: 615
Views: 225899

Re: PIP-5048MK inverter

coulomb wrote: Mon, 10 Aug 2020, 13:02 From this post. @andys, are you still running yours like that, and have you noticed any problems?
I haven't noticed any problems. I am also running the fans at full speed (I removed the speed/timing wire)
by andys
Fri, 17 Jan 2020, 05:10
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters

Isn't going below 48V pretty bad for them anyway? It means either very low charge or low charge plus high discharge rate. Not something you want to do to your equipment!
by andys
Mon, 25 Mar 2019, 15:06
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP inverter repairs and hardware modifications
Replies: 1549
Views: 333440

Re: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters

The on/off switch has two electrical functions. One is to turn on the power supply via a capacitor; that part seems to be working. The other part is to provide a digital signal to the Digital Signals Processor (DSP) via opto-coupler U8 on the main board. It's acting as if this part isn't working, s...
by andys
Mon, 25 Mar 2019, 06:07
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP inverter repairs and hardware modifications
Replies: 1549
Views: 333440

Re: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters

Went to use my classic PIP-4048MS yesterday and the AC output was no longer working. It is still charging fine off solar. The on/off switch on the bottom makes it power up and I can hear the odd relay click, but there's no AC output and it turns off again after a minute. There's no error displayed, ...
by andys
Wed, 28 Nov 2018, 07:27
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: AGM battery problems
Replies: 13
Views: 3680

Re: AGM battery problems

Its always been really bizarre to me that the manufacturer of PIP-4048MS does not want to recognise that their product works way better with LiFePO4, and can easily explode when used with AGM. IMO, they don't adequately explain that the PV input must be sized according to the AGM battery bank. (If y...
by andys
Wed, 28 Nov 2018, 07:16
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: AGM battery problems
Replies: 13
Views: 3680

Re: AGM battery problems

Just adding my 2 cents. One reason I hated AGM batteries was how much power they waste when being topped up. After bulk charging is complete, the resistance and temperature rises, while you need to keep pouring energy in to soak them and complete the charge. So you are generating power from PV and b...
by andys
Wed, 12 Sep 2018, 06:02
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

In case it helps anyone, I have my own C program I use to talk to the PIP over USB from Linux.

Its just a binary you run and you can pipe data to it (STDIN) and it replies over STDOUT. So you can treat it like a terminal.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/andys ... ster/pip.c
by andys
Sun, 09 Sep 2018, 13:39
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Thanks coulomb! I am pondering buying an Elcon PFC charger to charge off generator, though it is alot of $$$, and I read they are not necessarily that reliable! offgridQLD: You should consider what I did, the full fan speed mod. Just disconnected the 4th wire to the fans and they run at 100% all the...
by andys
Sat, 08 Sep 2018, 08:54
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Somehow I missed this until now. The newest range of PIPs is advertised as "PF1" models: > “PF1” inverter standards for Power Factor 1.0 version of the PIP-HS and PIP-MS inverter family. All features on the PF1 series are nearly identical to the original PF0.8 This exactly matches the issu...
by andys
Mon, 27 Aug 2018, 12:33
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

I'm back, on my pet topic of the PIP's (apparently) terrible AC charger. While charging off mains yesterday I noticed an appliance on the same household circuit buzzing loudly. It went away when I disconnected the PIP. It seems the PIP's charging circuit was sending lots of noise back up the AC line...
by andys
Mon, 16 Jul 2018, 13:39
Forum: General EV Discussion
Topic: Converting petrol quad bike to EV
Replies: 11
Views: 5501

Re: Converting petrol quad bike to EV

I have a project on the backburner to convert a quad bike. I don't really need much speed, would be happy with walking speed, It is a 4WD model used for towing things around the farm. Being 4WD the engine has two drive shafts. I'd love to get a direct drive dual shaft motor, but that seems unrealist...
by andys
Mon, 09 Apr 2018, 12:44
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Quick tip re power up with battery: There are cheap 48V switch mode PSUs available on ebay, I have used one successfully on the battery terminals to fire up a PIP-4048 for quick testing etc.
by andys
Sun, 25 Feb 2018, 04:48
Forum: Batteries, charging, management and monitoring
Topic: Arvio 3.5kWh drop-in-battery-replacement supercapacitor on sale
Replies: 385
Views: 110802

Arvio 3.5kWh drop-in-battery-replacement supercapacitor on sale

I thought this was an interesting development. Arvio is now locally reselling KiloWattLabs (USA-based) supercapacitor which comes with its own electronics needed to simulate a 48VDC battery. https://arvioshop.com.au/supercapacitor Being capacitor based, it supports 1 million cycles, 100% depth of di...
by andys
Sat, 16 Dec 2017, 07:49
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-5048GE/GK/MG/MGX/MAX inverters (with unsafe SCC)
Replies: 821
Views: 305533

Re: PIP-5048GE, PIP-5048GK and PIP-5048MG inverters (with unsafe SCC)

The PIP-4048GE obviously has a very different DC side design as it allows a solar input voltage of 150 to 450VDC. You didn't say if you live in Australia. One of the advantages of the old PIP is the DC voltages stay under 120V DC and thus it is legal for non-electricians to configure the DC wiring ...
by andys
Sat, 16 Dec 2017, 07:48
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

jds686868 wrote: Wed, 13 Dec 2017, 13:41So what's my question..... Should I put 3 or 4 panels in series??
Three panels is optimal. with 250W panels I see (roughly) voltages of 70 to 90 under load.
by andys
Sun, 12 Nov 2017, 11:53
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Thanks for the hard work. I am looking forward to trying it out.

My usage is likely to be to default the current to zero (for safety / full battery), and have the BMS set maximum possible charge current when the battery is not full, and not really anything in between.
by andys
Wed, 18 Oct 2017, 13:34
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Computer control easy I can do that already , you only need a relay with 4 poles less than $5. Do you want control with a web page so any device can be used eg smart phone? No, I've got a little embedded computer which will power up extra units depending on time of day, load, and battery %soc .. do...
by andys
Wed, 18 Oct 2017, 12:08
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Sure - but I actually wanted it to be computer controlled and 4-way or 4x relays is overkill unless absolutely necessary :)
by andys
Wed, 18 Oct 2017, 08:47
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Does anyone know if the remote on/off inputs can be "daisy chained" ? Can I switch on/off two or more inverters at the same time by connecting their NC/NO contacts in parallel or series and a single switch?
by andys
Sun, 15 Oct 2017, 05:46
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Zero would be great. I always thought it was a serious deficiency that they don't allow you to simply stop charging completely (except by swizzling voltages).

(There really should be a physical input terminal that disables all charging)
by andys
Sat, 14 Oct 2017, 15:20
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Thanks for the explanation weber. I can still work with that, but if it stops receiving commands (something broken or an emergency), could it default to 0A instead of 2A?
by andys
Sat, 14 Oct 2017, 14:12
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

So if you get it working, we'll be dynamically setting the voltage, right? Not the current.

Which makes sense: when we want to stop charging, we want the current to be 0A (at float voltage), not 2A (the minimum current you are able to specify).
by andys
Sat, 07 Oct 2017, 06:06
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

By the way weber/coulomb, I've been meaning to ask: Did you ever come across code that governs AC charging? Specifically resetting charge back to zero for another "sweep" all the time. It really seems like a bug, since it happens even when charging off mains and not a generator.
by andys
Sat, 07 Oct 2017, 06:03
Forum: Renewable Energy and Storage (Non-EV)
Topic: PIP-4048MS and PIP-5048MS inverters
Replies: 3265
Views: 1277139

Re: PIP-4048MS inverter

Coulomb and I spent the day investigating the feasibility of a dynamic maximum charge current command. This sounds good! I have been reluctant to flash mine thus far, since I don't ever let the PIP reach bulk charge termination. I've never tried the MNCHGC command. I am setting up a new (parallel) ...