In-line Isolator is perfect for my need!

I just figured out lately that the 3Amps fuse of the power supply I used to charge my isolated 28AH battery is always being destroyed each time I use it. It took sometime for me to figure out what's causing this frequent breakdown.

What I found out is that at the beginning, the battery is very weak so it is only capable of sending out less than 3Amps. When its terminals are connected to a load(my 12V 3Amps power supply), the battery acts as a load instead to the power supply since the power supply can send 3Amps max. On certain occasions but lately, it is more frequent, that whenever I connect the battery to the power supply, the battery is adequately charged but not to its maximum level but it can be capable to send out more than 3Amps. That is the time when the 3Amps fuse which acts as a circuit protector gets busted.

So I have identified the problem, what I needed is an electronic device that will totally isolate my power supply from the battery and that even if the battery is adequately charged should not prevent my power supply from doing what I wanted it to do and that is to continiously charge the battery. So for now, I am searching the web for an in-line isolator, preferrablly should have the following features:

1. Prevent my 3Amps fuse from getting busted 
2. Should allow my 12V 3Amps power supply to continiously charge my battery.
3. Should be capable to handle at least 36Amps or more since my 28AH battery  is still somehow connected to my main battery bank which is at 72AH already
4. It should be a full product not in the form of electronic widgets.

I would really so be very happy if in the next few days I would be able to find a product like this locally. I know that such a gadget will be difficult to find.

LED Tv's should have built in batteries

Nowadays, LED Tv's have power ratings between 20Watts and 100Watts. At this power ratings, lithium ion batteries can easily power these devices. A 12AH Li-ion battery can easily run the 60W tv just like my ChangHong 29" LED Tv for at least 2 hours when fully charged but I would prefer the battery to be at least 20AH.. This would be a great power saving feature.

Just imagine, if your home is powered by solar energy, this would really be an excellent feature because I don't have to buy extra battery to power my tv. Another advantage of having an internal battery is power consumption and battery usage can be more efficient than using an external battery just like what I have observed in my power consumption using batteries to power my whole house.

So as a conclusion, a tv with a built-in battery is cool!

What can I do with 150W SOlar Power + 83AH Battery Bank?

So what can I really do with 150W SOlar Power source + 83AH Battery Bank with the sun shines normally without rain or typhoon? Or in other word in a normal and typical day? It has been 4 months and I had never really thought of this question because everyday, I have to spend sometime outside so I am not able to really measure or give accurate measurements of how much energy can be spent with this power source.

So today(Dec 21, the supposed end of the world in the Mayan calendar), I never really went out just to get the most accurate measurement. Here are the things I did  whole day:

1. 6:00AM to 6:30AM - The  sun begun to shine so I initially let my system charged up.
2. 6:30AM to 7:00AM - I begun to charge my 4.5ah and 5.7ah LI-ION Battery that I use to power up my 2 usb powered fans.
3. 7:00AM to 10:00AM - I turned on my 48W ChangHong 29" LED Tv with my 20W Solar Fan turned on
4. 10:00AM to 10:30AM - I charged my 45W MSI U270 Netbook and turned off the tv
5. 10:30AM to 11:30AM - I let the whole system store energy again by disconnecting power consuming loads such as my 20W electric fan and 5W LED Light Bulb and my power inverter.
6. 11:30AM to 3:00PM - I turned on again the tv with fan turned on as well.
7. 3:00PM to 5:00PM I charged my netbook
8. 5:00PM to 8:00PM I just watched tv with the solar fan turned on and my 3W, 1.5W and 6W(led Christmas light) LED Lights turned on
9. 8:00PM - 6AM - I just used the solar fan and the christmas light turn on the whole night and still running normally.

These things could not have possible if I went out at 3PM because some burglars are sabotaging my setup.

At least with this experiment, I am able to know the maximum usability of my current power source but still, this is not enough to power a small refridgerator probably a 48W can be adequately powered continously by a 400W Solar Panel plus 240AH battery bank.

Batteries are all over my place

Since 4 months ago when I started using solar panels as source of my electricity, I have bought a lot of batteries of different sizes and capacities. Batteries are very important because when you are not home during the day, you will need to store the energy captured by the solar panels so that you can watch tv and use your electric fan not to mention the power needed for your ligting needs. I also encountered several problems with these batteries because of their difference in s izes and capacities.

I noticed that when the 17ah battery is fully charged, I can use it to power my 29" Changhong LED tv for more than 2 hours but when I combine the larger batteries(26ah and 40ah) I still get 2 hours so I thought this is totally wrong. With 83ah, I should be able to use my tv 24hrs but I am not getting it. But that is what is happening and I think the basic explanation to this is that there are power losses maybe huge power losses when I connect the 3 batteries. The small ones acts as loads of the bigger ones and so while energy is consumed, the little ones competes with the actual loads(I am referring to the tv).

So to at least solve this problem and at least minimize the energy loss, I bought a 3amps ac-dc converter plus a mechanical timer to isolate my 28ah battery from the other 2 batteries so that when I come home at night, I can watch tv for at least 4 hours continiously and at the same time I can use my electric fan and lights without draining the batteries when I wake up in the morning and my theory has worked so far.

Utilizing the Power of the Sun

For 4 months now, I have been utilizing the energy coming from the sun to energize my gadgets. And within that 4 months, I have been doing several experiments and trying to solve everyday problems I encountered. Although it is quite expensive, I have enjoyed tingling with technology. It is as if I don't care about the money much as long as I really enjoy what I do and I really do enjoyed it.

First problem I encountered is I really can't leave my solar panels because in the place where I stay, a lot of strangers pass by and who knows, they may pick up some of my solar panels and easily run away. Second, I will have to check starting at 3 pm whether the solar panels still receive sunlight which they often do so I have to re-arrange them accordingly.

So I really need  to construct a small metal structure about 8ft high just to be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week because right now, I am only able to charge my battery bank twice a week and use this stored energy the whole week for my usb electric fans and led lights plus the Christmas lights.

So off I went to the hardware store and bought several flat angular bars and screws which cost over 2500 pesos and without much planning, I was able to finish the job in just 1 day.

So now, I will be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week and I just wonder how it would affect my energy needs. Currently, It could not adequately power my CHangHong 29" Led Tv and charge my 2 laptops.

The Peso in gaining temporary strength

When something keeps climbing and reaches the top, it will not go anywhere but down. This is mostly true in gold, currencies and stocks. Traders usually concentrates in determining the highest possible value and when this value is reached, that's the time that they start either selling or buying. This is another good way to earn money to buy new gadgets.

Lately, the peso is appreciating but this will be temporary and once it reaches its inflection point(a point where it starts to collapse), that is the best time to buy dollars. Just imagine if you have 1million dollars, and you bought this dollars at $1: Php35, and suddenly the peso loses its strength and value and reaches $1:Php50, then you will earn around Php15 million  with no sweat. And with Php15million, you can already buy a big house, a nice car, lots of expensive gadgets, etc, etc.

ChangHong 29" LED TV is really one of the best!

I just bought ChangHong 29" LED TV and watching movies with it is so much better than ordinary LCD TV. Although it is only 29", I could hardly notice how small it is as compared to my previous 32" LG LCD Tv this is because the ChangHong LED Full HD Tv almost occupies the whole plastic casing.

What I like about it even more is that it can directly play movies and music from any USB thumb drive which enables me to use my laptop without ever connecting to the tv just to watch my favorite music videos or listen to my favorite music although the sound quality is not that good, it is enough just to make noise in the house.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this tv considering that its price has become so affordable and is just like buying a boob-tube tv 6 years ago.