earthrealm:


Gt bank is now 20usd limit as from today

chai, nah wao , derisgod oooh! no doubt all these banks dey one meeting.
anything that happens in one of them just be certain it's a matter of time
before others replicate it

ojeysky:


My GTB card worked on a 21usd purchase on AliExpress so I guess it's increased from 20usd

ok bro. tanx.
let's wait for more responses

guys,
pls who has used naira mastercard of either uba or gtb to make any online payment as recently as last 1 or 2months?
can you spend up to $100? my first bank and zenith cards are capped at $20 max down from $100.
this is as good as saying "don't use our cards to make any online payments". lolz.

earthrealm:


Lolz, sentiments aside, pls disprove scientifically all that i typed there, are the lies or truths?.

Now back to the posters question, it really has no answer, if you use the battery outside the limits i stated.

A leadacid battery can be dead in 8months to 1 yr, if owner goes against some of the rules i posted...same battery can do 5yrs..if owner obeys all the rules.....

I believe in showing people, life and death...so they can make informed choices

If someone comes to ask you, if a motorcycle can take him to London from Lagos...,instead of taking a 6hr flight...what would you answer him?.......i guess you would tell him Yes, end of story.....

Well, the way am wired, i would educate him on the pros and cons of his plans.....so he can arrive at a decision by himself

We all know why your leadacid bank lasted 8yrs+....you have a big warchest, wch enables you to consciously or subconsciously keep to all the rules i posted.
The average user doesnt hv the resources to copy your style.other than telling people tour leadacid bank lasted 8yrs, have you cared to inform people, the secret to your batterys longevity?...which is what i exactly xrayed in my earlier post

Lastly, if u are truthful n engage installers or users of leadacid battery, the usual denominator is premature battery failure, usually under 2urs..or 3yrs max

bros,
again, objectivity is the key word here. i'm glad you admit you veered off in your attempt to highlight the advantages of lithium
over lead acid. curiously though, lithium has been known to suffer early death in not a few instances if users don't follow the
basics too. so, whatever battery chemistry you are deploying, you cannot expect to get any useful mileage if you don't follow
the basic rules that apply.

earthrealm:


Dont drain ur leadacid battery below 50% , dont leave it always partially discharged, it likes being charged full daily + dont load or charge it above 15 %, ie not more than 30amps or above 300 watts load for a single 12 volts 200 ah battery.then a good leadacid can give you 800 cycles..

Lithium battery doesnt care for any of the rules above and has 4000 cycles, before loosing 20 percent capacity.

From the above, u can see why leadacid will always disappoint, as its tough to give it what it likes

bros,
the op asked for the average lifespan of an agm battery but all you did was embark on a scaremongering litany of the
downsides of lead acid while hyping the virtues of lithium. i'm not sure that's a balanced way to advice anybody.
and for the records, lead-acid will not always disappoint provided you get the basics right.
some of us used our agm batts for over 8yrs before disposing them without issues.
please let's try and be objective when giving advice to these up and coming renewables enthusiasts so as not to
create the wrong impression.

kiekie1:


Likewise UBA

tanx for the info bro.
i guess it's really time to explore other banking options.

Jefferyzz:
I guess most people don't no that GTB card dey do 200. I don make purchases of $100 with my card this month. At times it won't work. Give it few days n try again. Infant try it now.

heya, this is music to my ears. i'm porting to gtb next week!
i put so many purchases on hold the moment first bank and zenith
crashed their monthly limit to $20

FEGEITOK:


What is the average lifespan of the AGM variety? Can it give up to 5 years? If one goes for a quality brand?

i used my former 260ah zenith agm batteries for 8yrs before selling them off. the guy who bought them
thanked me for selling him good, used batteries

microgiant:


Bros, Please how do you spend $200 on you GTBank Cards, share the secret.

i was going to ask same question. my first bank and zenith naira mastercards spend limits were
crashed to $20/month just two months ago or thereabouts, down from $100. i never knew some banks still
do up to $200/month. interesting, hey?

FEGEITOK:


My inverter has 2 modes ECO and UPS.

ECO Mains high cut 290V +/- 10V
ECO Mains high cut recovery 280V +/- 10V
ECO Mains low cut 100V +/- 10V
ECO Mains low cut recovery 110V +/- 10V

ECO takes longer to discharge but has a range that hits 290 Volts

UPS discharges faster but has a safer range of not more than 265 Volts

UPS Mains high cut 265V +/- 10V
UPS Mains high cut recovery 255V +/- 10V
UPS Mains low cut 180V +/- 10V
UPS Mains low cut recovery 190V +/- 10V

Says to use UPS mode to run computers/sensitive equipment.

Says not to use ECO mode to run computers.

I am running computers on the inverter, but I don't wish to fry them.

ECO mode is the default mode.

I want to take advantage of the ECO mode but limit the risk to my equipment.

brother,
this inverter specs is totally at variance with the norm and its a disaster waiting to happen.
i will advice you discontinue any further use until you have the funds to purchase a replacement.
what you're toying with right now is a potential multiple damage to your electronics as well as a
fire hazard. i think the engineers who designed such a derelict product need to have their heads
examined. a word is enough...

Raregem9000:
Why is it that FTA channels pictures are not as clean as the one on DSTV, Gotv and other paid channels?

Raregem,
There are many 'clean' FTA channels out there. I guess by clean, you mean HD quality (720p half or 1080p full).
And believe it or not, we have a couple of 4K video quality FTA channels springing up now. You only have to know
where to find them. As for DSTV, they have never been known as pacesetters for video quality since inception.
If anything, they are always lagging behind while other competitors take the lead.

Bluecharger:
You're very right sir, Coming from about 3 years of no job, getting the little I got took me some time. Sir you know what an 80w panel can put out, especially at this time, even with tracking the sun with it. Most androids these days require 20w and above to charge, plus losses. The pain of having to return phones uncharged brought me here, knowing what effect that would have later apart from losing money now. I'm sorry I shouldn't be saying this, I did some hard jobs, the type I didn't do in my 30s or 40s, to raise money for the little I have. I was forced to start now because I developed back pain. I could've easily bought 'I pass my neighbour' with change left with what I had, but I choose this path. Thank you for your response sir.

brother,
i really sympathize with you. believe me, i've been there too. years back i had to do menial jobs just to survive.
me sef i been do 'lebra' work for ajao estate and surrounding areas that year. real, hard jobs with concrete mixing.
so, i know how it feels and i can relate.
that said, the internet is an anonymous place and sometimes it can be very challenging knowing everyone's personal stories.
i can only hope and pray for you that fortune will smile on you once again and your story will change for good.
keep shinning and best of luck!

Bluecharger:
PLEASE HELP!.

I just set up a phone and other devices charging shop using solar energy, thanks to this group for opening my eyes to renewable energy. I new nothing about this but now I'm able to set mine up myself.

I was only able to buy a 80w panel with a 40ah battery. I just found out those are not enough especially in this raining season. So I'm soliciting for help from any of our ogas here who may have 1 or 2 panels around that are not in use. I thank you all for this wonderful classroom.

brother,
its great news that you have been able to learn a couple of things from this thread. i'm sure there are many others
too who have benefited a thing or two like you. the solar thread is a great place to be even for those of us who have
been in the renewables journey for years now.
as for 'ogas here who may have 1 or 2 panels around that are not in use' the possibility of finding one is difficult if not
remote. reason being that solar panels are not like spare tires that you remove and keep in store waiting for when you
will need them. chances are that anyone with such panels here have either found other uses for them or sold them off.
so, i will rather advise you to save some money and buy more panels now that you have tasted the goodness.
abi, no be business u wan take am do? or are u charging the phones for free?

zeestone99:


The name Canadian is sweet in the mouth I guess.

it's not only about the sweetness bro. canadian solar has proven its named over time and many
savvy hobbyists and installers have come to rely on it for quality. in yesteryears jinko was not really known
for great quality but i guess over time they might have upped their game - as most oems have done in recent
time. as for internet product comparisons, i would take such writeups with a pinch of salt because anybody
write can anything and cook up figures to promote an agenda.

earthrealm:



and even if you analyse it thoroughly, solar/renewable energy is far cheaper than running gens and even grid. most solar setups pay for itself after 2 to 3 yrs maximum.. if you use 1 OR 2 ACs in your home and you run same for up to 12 hours daily @ 52naira per kwh, and you didn't bypass the phcn prepaid meter, your monthly bill will be over 50k monthly...and up to 100k if you run it 247. meanwhile a renewable energy setup with 3m to 4m naira will give you same comfort, and if you do the maths well, after 2 to 3 yrs......it cancels out and you start enjoying free power.

two yrs ago (2020), one of my colleagues was lamenting bitterly how his average monthly phcn bill was close to 50k monthly.
he was forced to do some sharp practice in reducing the count rate of the meter and in the process unwittingly turned himself
into a milking cow to the nepa guy who did the job for him. when he saw that the amount he was being extorted was becoming
almost if not more than what he thought he was saving by altering the meter, he was forced to ask phcn to revert the meter
back to normal!
anyway, imagine paying 50k monthly for 5yrs (with the myto tarriff structure the rate keeps increasing year on year)
so, in 5yrs even if you live in an area where you enjoy steady power supply, you would have paid phcn an equivalent amount of
money which you could have used in setting up a complete, functional solar system.
and, it gets even crazier for the 'big man' with a diesel 'plant' in your analogy. with diesel prices hitting btw 900 and 1000 naira
per liter, a solar set up would cover the cost of running such a plant in less than a year!

sethtsadopp:
So I was just thinking randomly about what exactly is the ultimate aim of what we are all trying to achieve with Solar?
Is it uninterrupted power supply?
Is it cheaper electricity?
Is it about the environment?
Or other things?
And which among these is the most important for most of us here?

Because for example, if it's about saving money, from some rough calculations I have done, it appears off-grid solar is simply the most expensive way to make electricity, No?
So does off grid even make any sense? Or is it best to combine grid and solar to create that uninterrupted supply (and cheaper bacause of grid?).

What are your thoughts on these?

NiyiOmoIyunade Ojeysky olopan valto earthrealm GeorgeD1 Bigrovar

hello bro,
i started this journey into energy freedom over 10yrs ago primarily because i was frustrated with then epileptic
power situation in the country. i ran electricity generators for a while and kept asking myself "is there no better way
of providing power than this?" then, i started making some research and discovered there was actually a sustainable
alternative to what i was struggling to achieve: solar power.
so, long answer cut short: its about energy freedom (that feeling of being in control of your energy supply is something
out of this world also, being able to quietly harness the power of the sun on a bright sunny day while others are
lamenting and complaining about the heat could be hilarious to say the least
lastly, its about economics. believe it or not, its cheaper to go solar in the long run compared to running fuel guzzling
generators. i did a cost calculation years ago (when fuel was still 65 naira per liter) and realized that i was able to recover
everything i spent in setting up my solar system within 2yrs if i were to run my generator 3hrs everyday excluding oil
changes and regular maintenance.
with fuel now at 165 naira per liter and likelihood of increment of pump price in the near future, your guess is as good
as mine how long it would take to recoup my investment if i had set it up at this present time.
to cap it up, there's no better time to go off-grid than now. my solar set up keeps making more sense on a daily basis
when i hear of frequent national grid collapse and fuel scarcity with vehicle queues everywhere. the sun has never
collapsed as far back as modern man started keeping records and never have my solar modules run out of juice.
with solar, i tell you there's no scarcity!

gadgetplanetng:
Who sells original panels?

@Valto suggested Auxano and they say no stock

& and attached image is the type I'm seeing which I won't buy.

you can try gennex bro. those chaps are legit.
the canadian solar panels i bought from them are still spewing juice like brand new over 4yrs later.

Kokomo:


Hi i have not received a chat from you yet, how can I get the MPPt I am interested

sorry my bad. i have been a little busy. pls check now. i dropped u chat already

Kokomo:
Hi all, I am in need of a used 30a MPTT charge controller, anyone that have can chat me, 0803428879eight, I am in Lagos

i have a tristar mppt 45a. check your chat in case interested.

Enrythesis:
zero eight zero 27038104

ok bro

Enrythesis:
yes Available

check your email or drop your contacts let's connect.

Enrythesis:
magnum inverter for sale

hello bro, is your magnum inverter still available?

saint2ace:
Good afternoon all, please who has dealt with solar depot before, are they really a biz or individuals with an "I don't care attitude to customers"?

How can I make an order and not get a notification from the seller, not even an email; I called over the weekend and no one took calls nor bothered to return calls on resumption of duty, I still continued to call only to be told item is out of stock and they will issue a refund.
3days later their chat to ask for location that's already in the order form and when asked for update, a supposed "customer service representative" replies that am I asking questions cos she buzzed to ask for location? All these cos I brought biz to an entity?

Please is this their modus operandi or this is just a freak occurrence from the blues.

I await responses........

i see solardepot has already responded above. i've been doing business with that outfit for several years now.
my second magnum e-panel was bought from them along with my first set of solar roof mounts, tristar mppt-60
charge controller, etc. they're quite friendly and business minded folks overall. i'm sure yours is a one-off
case or maybe the lady at the reception was just having a bad day...

samir101ng:
I hail fellow house members in the Solar Ministry

As a new convert to the LifeP04 battery geng, i have been doing a lot of research on the different brands and capacities available. Of course, using LifeP04 also means you have to learn about the BMS (Battery Management System) and how it is included in your entire inverter system. Now one of the initial drawbacks of the move to LifeP04 was its high cost and availability. Buying from big name brands will seriously dent your wallet and a lot of people preferred the DIY approach by busing cells directly from China and attaching a BMS to the installation. This greatly reduced costs but now added complexity of installation and needed some technical knowledge. While most users will have preferred the first option many were driven to the latter due to costs and therefore led to a surge in demand for battery cells and installers. There are some new products out now that appears to have a middle ground option.

Server Rack LifeP04 batteries

SOK Battery | 100Ah 48v | Server Rack Battery
https://www.currentconnected.com/product/sk48v100/

EG4 48V 100AH LiFePower4 Battery
https://shop.signaturesolar.us/products/48v-100ah-lifepower4-battery-by-eg4

Now, most LifeP04 cells bought from China from Manufacturers like EVE, CATL, LISHEN are 3.2V. So, if you need to build a 12V, 24V or 48V battery bank, you will need to buy multiples of these cells to build a bank. You will also need to buy a BMS and other necessary accessories to build the battery bank. This entails a lot of research and technical expertise for which many may not have the time nor energy for. With these pre-built LifeP04 Server Racks, its just plug and play. Though right now they are limited to 48V 100ah capacities, i think for the ease of mind and integration they offer at their price points its a good deal. What do you all think ?

we live in quite interesting times indeed. this is what some of us predicted some time ago with lithium technology.
finally it's beginning to go mainstream. soon, we will have more oems coming out with these sort of plug and play
models that require nothing but rudimentary knowledge of positive and negative battery connections and by
then lithium would be a household name.
i think it's the way to go provided price point is reasonable and quality of cells can be guaranteed.

bigrovar:
[Quote author=olopan post=110434089] As a contribution to the ongoing solar panel energy production debate, which many with monitoring system can attest to is.

For us a rule of thumb,

1. Tier 2 panels are calculated with 0.55% of nameplate or total PV capacity for period of 4 Hours.

2. Tier 1 panels are calculated with 0.65% of nameplate pr total PV capacity for period of 4 Hours


If the system is loaded I.e. energy storage and loads then it is expected to see energy production in line with above.

This proven true by remote monitoring.

Conditions based on a normal sunny day



I have been taking logs of my solar installation since 2017 over 80% of those logs collects real time to information every 10sec of panel generation including peak power and total generated energy for the day.

What I have come to understand is, a lot goes into your solar panel harvest than just being tier 1 or tier 2.

The most important thing is how the panels were installed. What is the angle of inclination and the direction the panel is facing.

What is th installation design. Does it flush with the roof or is it installed on a roof rack. Lastly Location location. A solar panel installed in jos would have a different average yield compared to one installed in calaba.

A well optimized panel installation beats a tier 1 panel installed "wrongly"

Here are key pointers.

Ensure your panels are installed as flat as possible. Nigeria is just above the equator so your panels so the flater your get your panel the better.

7°horizontal tilt facing through true south. Send down the rain type of roof you see in many "mansion" in Nigeria are not ideal for solar.

As much as possible avoid your panel facing the north of you have no choice then make it as flat as possible using the roof rack to offset the non ideal roof angle.

Best to avoid mounting your panel directly on the roof. The roof is the hottest part of the house and heat is the enemy of solar generation. In fact panels derate the hotter it gets and you can lose close to 10 to 20% of your generation due to heat. Mounting on a rack that elevates the panel above the roof allows for it to be air cooled and reduces heat transfer from the roof.

If you have a large compound consider ground mount but ensure they are no partial shading. Ground mounts are best. Your panels can be tilted optimally, can be easily cleaned during the dusty period and easy to earth them.

Wiring is also very important. Lots of losses can happen between the panel and charge controller. As much as possible strive for higher voltage configuration to avoid pushing too much amps down the wire. This is one of the beauty of MPPT. It allows your to string your panel into higher voltage strings thus reducing the need for large wiring and associated cost between panel and controller.

Note that the thiner the wiring conductor surface area the higher the resistance and losses. There are lots of site that that help calculate how to size your wiring relative to amps/voltage and distance.

If your panels are far from your cc, you need thicker longer cables or you might want to consider a controller that can table high voltage panel Strings like 250v and use that to reduce loses and wiring cost.

In all, it is very reasonable to get 70% or even higher from your panel if the condition is right. My 3kw panel does 2500w standard as need demand and as weather permits.

It is however good practice to size your system in the design stage with conservative figures just ensure you thrive to beat those figures in the actual implementation.

very spot on. i couldn't agree more. tier 1, tier 2 or tier 3 means nothing if the basics are swept under the rug.

mrmachine:
Please I need advice or review on this brand. @Niyi, GeorgeD, Ojesky, and others; your input would be appreciated. Thanks

the 'xtrapower' brand doesn't seem to be among the regular brands we are familiar with.
it might be a new kid on the block trying to gain market share or might just be a white label.
either way, i'd be careful if i were you because given its obviously unknown history it would
be acting in blind faith to throw hard earned money at such product range.

samnaija:


Controllers cant guaranty constant voltage, cloud effects , bad wheather and so on. You can carry out a little experiment charge with nepa only and discharge, also charge with controller and discharge. You will notice a difference in run time. The rule is once a while charge with nepa

bro, you might want to check the veracity of your statement again. what the cc can't guarantee you is max
current output for a given voltage range all through the day. it can certainly guarantee you steady/constant
voltage for the greater part of the day while the sun is up except for an exceptionally cloudy/rainy day.
also, its not a rule of thumb to charge your battery bank with public power or nepa/phcn. some of us here
have been off-grid for years now, only using the sun to charge our banks and our systems are doing
extremely well. it depends on the size of your solar array and cc quality among other factors.

SuleimanKano:
Good morning House, am forced to bring to the members of these thread.

In brief,

I bought 10 units of 60W Yohako All In One Solar Street Lights around February from Justcallmenuel fast forward October 7 out of the 10 units no longer works, the client called again that an additional unit no longer works making a total of 8 units not working again.

I reach out to Justcallmenuel and usually that we would be needing additional units of the street light, he said they're available and comes with one year warranty. I told him unfortunately, the previous ones I bought no longer works, he said he'll inform the company about it, after couple of days, I reached out to him again regarding my complaint as the client is on my neck, Justcallmenuel reply was "The company said there is no warranty on it".

This is concerning as the client plans to install more of these products for his factory in Zaria, Kaduna.

sorry for your loss bro. unfortunately not everyone who comes to post here is really a solar enthusiast.
most are here just to make profit and that's it. they are not necessarily grounded in the products they're selling.
going forward, any seller who just comes to dump adverts on the thread and vanishes into thin air should be
avoided at all cost. they don't weigh in on discussions. they don't offer any suggestions on problem solving.
they are just business focused. chances are that they don't know much about what they are selling and will be
very unlikely to help you sort out your issues if you call them up on any product purchased from them.
a word is enough for the wise...

mustaphagreens:


My roof is very steep o, not easy to access. I had called the guys that did the installation to rectify the issue today but they couldn't make it. I don't have the devices to run these measurements right away but I should get the clamp multimeter by tomorrow, with the device I should be able to measure the current and voltage at the panels and cc.

I am looking to boost the current supplied by the panels, will a series connection not cause the current to drop instead?

the bolded may be part of your issues among other factors. if your roof is too steep and your panels were installed directly
on it without using adjustable brackets it means you won't be getting optimum charging current abinitio regardless how
efficient your cc is. to get maximum juice from your panels, aim at a maximum of between 15 to 25 degrees orientation.

mustaphagreens:


I never get a full charge. Is my charge controller fake?

while your charge controller may not really be the best for the job, i think you have to also look
at other factors like panel orientation, cable size and distance. all this can contribute to your issues.
besides, you didn't mention whether inverter is being used during the day simultaneously while
battery is being charged.

mustaphagreens:


Chai! I got two 350W panels some weeks ago. Both connected in parallel and are still unable to charge my 12v 200ah mopower battery full in a day.

your 12v 200ah will have a total of 1,920 watthours if you deplete your battery to 80% dod.
your solar panels have a combined output of 700w at 24v.
on a good sunny day with a well installed system, you should have a full battery under 4 hrs.

babaegun:


Very, very true.

I have been underutilizing my setup before but with node red, my ACs work even at night and only go off when the threshold is breached and keeps the battery healthy. Before, I will be checking and turning appliances off through the internet but now, its done automatically. Solar is sweet

well done bro. using solar energy should really be a pleasurable experience. that was the number one goal most of us
had years back when we embarked on this journey. after suffering endlessly from generator wahala, it makes no sense
to find oneself caught up in the hassles of solar. that would be double jeopardy.