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jaybone | 06-19-2008 09:46 AM
I have to apologize for the kensolar link I had no idea at the time that he was not legit, now I know otherwise. Here's the deal: I heard a radio ad for him on wtprn, so I checked out the site. I liked the idea of the solar generator, but I thought I could do better on the price. I put together a similar system cheaper, and it works beautifully. I kind of felt bad about taking his configuration and not ordering from him, so I ordered a 110W panel from him and put up that regrettable post. quite luckily, I sent the MO via certified mail and he did not have the cajones to sign his name to get it. The MO was returned to me just yesterday. I'll do better due diligence in the future and I very much hope that nobody here was taken advantage of because of my post. FYI: 1 - the battery pack is a Xantrex XPower Powerpack 1500, I got a refurb unit from http://www.jthelectronics.com/ for about $215, the sticker on the box from xantrex listed the return reason as "cracked cover" which I guess is quite common in these units, fine with me as long as the battery and inverter is OK. 2 - I got a 12V 140W used panel on ebay, I try to pay less than $4.80/watt for used stuff. 3 - I picked up a cheap-o charge controller from overstock.com : http://www.overstock.com/Electronics.../product.html? 4 - I just used 10awg wire for all the wiring from the depot. total cost about $800 I'm thinking of getting a better charge controller like this one: http://renewableenergyengineering.co...12-16-AES.html

SilverSalmon | 06-19-2008 11:06 AM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybone (Post 1153383) I had no idea at the time that he was not legit, now I know otherwise. Here's the deal: I heard a radio ad for him on wtprn, so I checked out the site. I liked the idea of the solar generator, but I thought I could do better on the price. I put together a similar system cheaper, and it works beautifully. I kind of felt bad about taking his configuration and not ordering from him, so I ordered a 110W panel from him and put up that regrettable post. quite luckily, I sent the MO via certified mail and he did not have the cajones to sign his name to get it. The MO was returned to me just yesterday. I'll do better due diligence in the future and I very much hope that nobody here was taken advantage of because of my post. FYI: 1 - the battery pack is a Xantrex XPower Powerpack 1500, I got a refurb unit from http://www.jthelectronics.com/ for about $215, the sticker on the box from xantrex listed the return reason as "cracked cover" which I guess is quite common in these units, fine with me as long as the battery and inverter is OK. 2 - I got a 12V 140W used panel on ebay, I try to pay less than $4.80/watt for used stuff. 3 - I picked up a cheap-o charge controller from overstock.com : http://www.overstock.com/Electronics.../product.html? 4 - I just used 10awg wire for all the wiring from the depot. total cost about $800 I'm thinking of getting a better charge controller like this one: http://renewableenergyengineering.co...12-16-AES.html
I have to apologize for over reacting and I'm sorry. It get worked up some time, but I mean no harm. I was so mad at Ken Solar, what an a$$hole! I can't believe he would do something like that? At any rate, my apologies to you.

Sclorch | 06-19-2008 11:15 AM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link I'm glad you two have made up :wink: Part of the problem is those shitty ads that are always on all those patriot radio stations. Like the Rife machines, and the weird "imagine a firefly one" thats all new-agey. Also that 'another untold story.com' one is embarrassingly bad. Alex Jones needs to find new advertisers before they scare everyone away with their scams and crazy infomercials, I thought about buying some of that 'coa-coa mojo' but I don't think I will anymore. If GCN or WTPRN let one scammer advertise then they've already lost all credibility with me and I will assume all the others are scams until proven otherwise. Patriot radio needs to get its shit together.

Twisted Avatar | 06-19-2008 11:40 AM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Anybody can get duped.....it happens all the time. But when you find out that person is lying to your audience. YOU TAKE RESPONSIBLITY AND YOU FLAME THE GUY SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT HE IS ABOUT. To just sweep it under the rug......IT MAKES YOU COMPLICIT IF NOT IN ON THE CON. I dont do shyt like that. EVERYBODY IS SUPSPECT AND SHOULD BE ENGAGED AT ARMS LEGNTH T

Twisted Avatar | 06-19-2008 11:42 AM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link It is good when people can fess up to when they made a bad play. It is the height of maturity and respect for other people. You are both to be commeded. T

jaybone | 06-19-2008 12:40 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link WTPRN blames Alex Jones Alex Jones blames GCN GCN does not even reply to emails. I do not even listen to AJ, I heard the ad on Mike Badnarik's show. I have emailed him Mike about it, and he is not going to be very happy about it. Mike already flames one of wtprn's advertisers; survivemartiallaw.com because they advocate giving up guns before martial law, he strongly disagrees with that and pulls no punches saying so. I hope he flames ken good. There is a special place in hell for people who take advantage of the good honor of others. I ordered from this scumbag because I felt a duty to support people within the movement, I still feel that duty, just with a greater dose of skepticism.

mshen11 | 06-19-2008 02:00 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link also want a similiar setup and came to the same conclusion. just had my xpowe1500 delivered today at $388. be careful about refurbished - the chargers have limited lifetime (the rep says 1000 charges), and of course you know about batteries. bringing up ken was a good thing. it helped at least one person (me). even though i was suspicious my uncle kept asking/prompting me to buy and test out. ps: you cannot charge additional battery w/ the xpower1500... you can but after 100 charges, the unit will be damaged (according to customer service).

jaybone | 06-19-2008 02:45 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by mshen11 (Post 1153750) also want a similiar setup and came to the same conclusion. just had my xpowe1500 delivered today at $388. be careful about refurbished - the chargers have limited lifetime (the rep says 1000 charges), and of course you know about batteries. bringing up ken was a good thing. it helped at least one person (me). even though i was suspicious my uncle kept asking/prompting me to buy and test out. ps: you cannot charge additional battery w/ the xpower1500... you can but after 100 charges, the unit will be damaged (according to customer service).
huh, that is interesting since the charger is not in the xpower unit. The panels are run through a charge controller that is separate from the xpower (ken used a morningstar sunsaver), then is connected right into the DC charging socket that goes right to the battery posts. What they may have been referring to is the AC charger cable that comes with the xpower. That is a transformer that converts 115V household AC into 12V DC. I bet that an additional battery hooked up to the xpower would draw excessive amps from the AC charger and fry it rather quickly. BUT if you stick to DC from the panels and charge controller, there should be no problem running as many batteries in parallel as you'd like. So my take is that if you use it only as a backup battery, charged from a wall outlet, then yes, an additional battery would probably fry the AC charger. But if you are never going to use the AC charger, and use it as energy storage for a DC solar array, then the more batteries the better, just be sure to use FAT wire to handle the amps.

mshen11 | 06-19-2008 02:59 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybone (Post 1153821) huh, that is interesting since the charger is not in the xpower unit. The panels are run through a charge controller that is separate from the xpower (ken used a morningstar sunsaver), then is connected right into the DC charging socket that goes right to the battery posts. What they may have been referring to is the AC charger cable that comes with the xpower. That is a transformer that converts 115V household AC into 12V DC. I bet that an additional battery hooked up to the xpower would draw excessive amps from the AC charger and fry it rather quickly. BUT if you stick to DC from the panels and charge controller, there should be no problem running as many batteries in parallel as you'd like. So my take is that if you use it only as a backup battery, charged from a wall outlet, then yes, an additional battery would probably fry the AC charger. But if you are never going to use the AC charger, and use it as energy storage for a DC solar array, then the more batteries the better, just be sure to use FAT wire to handle the amps.
let me clarify... charging via AC in the wall socket is not recommended w/ multiple batteries linked together. are there gadgets out there that wont fry the AC? also, i read somewhere there is a device that can be placed on the system that detects power failure and it switches over to the xpower. anyone know what it is a where to get it? i was told you cant use the xpower socket and charge at the same time. is there a way around this?

jaybone | 06-19-2008 03:33 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by mshen11 (Post 1153848) also, i read somewhere there is a device that can be placed on the system that detects power failure and it switches over to the xpower. anyone know what it is a where to get it?
I'd like a gadget to do the opposite; when the xpower gets drained down, it would switch back to grid power. That would let me run my freezer on the xpower, right now I can only run intermittent non-critical loads.

thrifty_bob | 06-19-2008 04:25 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link jay, I'm amazed you would send someone you have never bought from before a money order. I always use a credit card with fraud protection so in the event I'm defrauded, the charge is denied and I don't lose any money on it. Sending a money order, cash in advance, for merchandise unseen from an unknown source is just asking for trouble, and recommending them to "friends" just because you heard of them advertising on some radio show and felt sorry for not buying everything from them is just a big series of mistakes. I haven't followed the whole saga, but its good that you owned up to the goof, and I hope you learned a lesson from it, lest it happen again.

perl | 06-19-2008 05:36 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link What you are looking for is an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS). http://www.transferswitch4less.com/series165.htm Not recommending this company just used google and came up near top. Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybone (Post 1153908) I'd like a gadget to do the opposite; when the xpower gets drained down, it would switch back to grid power. That would let me run my freezer on the xpower, right now I can only run intermittent non-critical loads.

PatColo | 06-19-2008 06:37 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link I was going to pipe up at some point about solar in general, here's as good a place as any. house next door just installed 32 BP solar panels on their roof. I look at the thingamabobber on the side of the house that tells the current KW/h generation, and the total for the day. Noonish on a sunny day recently the panels were producing ~4.8 KW/h, or 4800 watts/hour, IE each panel producing 150 watts/hour. That's the highest I'd seen it, so prolly a decent benchmark. It's a hybrid system so it pushes excess energy back out to the grid, with the electric meter running both ways keeping track of the net usage. However, grid goes down, the system shuts off. It's not the more 'spensive battery storage system which is "off the grid", and you'd be SOL with everyone else on the block in a grid outage. It should more/less cancel out the electric portion of their energy bill though, with their electric potentially being a net credit. On Truth Radio commercials: long time pet peave. Jack Blood is particularly obnoxious with his enerfood (it's how he fights the NWO!), & AJ for a long time had this sponsor who had scary ads reminding of all the creepy crawlies on the internets, and how with their $40 switch, users could disconnect their internet connection reliably! Pfff! AJ was degrading himself by being the voice in the ads... And there's other ads I can't think of right now (oh yeah, "surviving martial law"... pfff!), but I seldom listen to anything but the mp3s anymore where I skip the breaks.

mshen11 | 06-19-2008 08:35 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by perl (Post 1154053) What you are looking for is an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS). http://www.transferswitch4less.com/series165.htm Not recommending this company just used google and came up near top.
the point of using xpower is when you have NO electricity (right?) so i assume you want the reverse... when no power, switch to xpower that leads to the problem of you should charge and use the xpower at the same time. also it is not recommended you use more than 50% of the battery because it will kill or at least decrease the lifespan of the battery is there a DIY one? the transfer switch listed probably requires an electrician and certification just got the xpower today. looks like its just an expensive toy and a good first step to explore battery and solar potential. the more i learn the more i feel a system w/ battery is not worth it because of the expense

Mill Man | 06-19-2008 09:18 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link I used to work for Xantrex. A bigger group of morons I have never met.

mshen11 | 06-19-2008 09:59 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link millman... can you elaborate? some of their inverters, charge controller are the best in the industry

mshen11 | 06-20-2008 10:41 AM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link another update on the AC charger... i called up and they said: dont charge a battery more than 60amp-hrs with the AC 5amp charger or it will overheat. why would it overheat for larger batteries?

Mill Man | 06-22-2008 09:22 PM
Re: I have to apologize for the kensolar link Quote:
Originally Posted by mshen11 (Post 1154380) millman... can you elaborate? some of their inverters, charge controller are the best in the industry
Sure, once the plant manager at the facility I worked at cut open and retaped boxes of, if I remember correctly, freedom 458's that needed to be retested for some reason or another. He did this so the head QA guy would believe they had been. Things such as that were the norm and the culture of the place.

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