Yesterday, after playing hooky all week at the Southeast Alaska State Fair (more on that soon) I got back to the business of the homestead. In a hot, frustrating, day-long whirlwind of activity, I completed our electrical system revamp by successfully installing a new inverter.
It started with a new solar array (see Power Shift: Increasing Our Energy Independence). As part of that project, we invested in a new Nickel Iron (NiFe) battery. The array “healed” our old battery bank, which we used for several more years, but this summer I installed the new bank (see Racing to the Summer Solstice). The higher charging levels of the new battery defeated our venerable old inverter, a Trace Engineering Model 812, so I purchased and installed one that operates at higher charging levels.
The Trace cut off power at 15.5 volts (VDC) as a safety feature. The NiFe battery charges full at 16.5-17+ VDC. Since installing the new battery, we’ve had to cut power from the solar panels and let the battery charge drop to about 14.5 VDC before we could use the Trace. The new inverter cuts power at 16.5 VDC, the highest I could find.
The new inverter is a Samlex PST 1500-12 (paid link). The 1500 nearly doubles the output of the Trace. It’s a bit of overkill, but we’ll endure, surely.
The new inverter on the wall, the newly arranged “gap tooth” breaker box (left) and the empty cubby where the old inverter sat (above). (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger.)
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