Julian's Electronics Postbag

[@IanSlothieRolfe]

While contactors are functionally similar to relays, they are specifically designed to switch high current loads while under load, and usually include design features to suppress arcing when switching high currents. This can be either large, fast separation of contacts or quenching gases or other methods.

[@sortofsmarter]

I completely agree, but that looks like it may be just a solenoid. Almost identical to the one on my 12HP riding lawn mower???? Maybe

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

Thanks for that Ian.

[@chrishartley1210]

I wouldn't trust that SSR for a continuous current more than 25% of its stated current. At that price it isn't likely to be a genuine Fotek SSR, it may well be a lower rated device with a fake label. I remember someone pulling one of these apart, possibly bigclive, and the MOSFET was only rated at 10A.

[@barcelosnaboa]

about the relays very careful I bought 2 and they burned with only 10A, I decided to open the relays and found that the transistors were only for 4A

[@sortofsmarter]

You will want to make sure that solenoid is a continuous duty cycle, most of the time there intermittent use and the coil will start to heat up and the 500A is a intermittent load for starting a motor and have a much lower continuous load, like 50A and this guy does a good job showing the capacity's of those type of cells " DIY Solar Power With Will Prowse "

[@james10739]

Ya that is often the case it's a shame that the continues is so much lower

[@davidf8749]

Fun with visual translators @1:21 - "Take a poop - Average food energy - With balanced power". :)

[@conjectural_technologies]

At 1:21 the translation of the BMS markings is to "take a poop". What, when it fails? I imagine I would.

[@atheron1776]

A good future project would be making up your own board and programming a micro to behave exactly the way you want for the solar charger. Replace all of the random ebay modules of questionable quality and reliability with one board you design for the task including all of the various features.

[@Robbedoes2]

Plus you know what you are making so less change of burning down the shed. I'm currently using lots of aliexpress modules to generate different voltages and charge things but I placed all the questionable components including my lipo in a metal box with some ventilation holes so that in case of fire it can't light anything on fire. Also an atmega 328p is using microamps when fed with 1.8v at 8mhz. It can increase the efficienty by a lot. Furthermore mosfets are a lot better in terms of reliability and efficienty.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

Cool, didn't know you were mining, how many watts does your miner use ?

[@jlucasound]

105 Ah!! OMG! That's 105,000 mAh!! They are huge, and gorgeous!!

[@frenchcreekvalley]

I have had very poor experiences with DD (DC to DC) SSR'S. So many of them have only tiny active devices. For those where I can find a part number, they are OFTEN rated well below the current stated on the SSR's label. Hard to tell how many of them are fakes; maybe price is a good clue. I hope to learn a lot more about them from you.

[@brandonmack111]

Hey Julian, I found some AA batteries on Amazon that charge through a USB-C port on the side, and wondered if that might be something you would want to check out on your channel.

[@Glider7303]

Curious if you have been able to test the DC-DC SSR and if so is there a voltage drop on the output voltage. Since there is heat being generated I am assuming there would be. Thanks

[@stevenc22]

Just remember LifePO4 shouldn't be charged below freezing. Might be good idea to use a BMS with low temp protection

[@piconano]

I prefer mechanical relays over solid state. They can take a beating and keep on kicking. Not so with fragile semiconductor junctions. there are also 2 state mechanical relays that require power only to change state.

[@james10739]

Ya I mean there are good uses for each

[@gedtoon6451]

What ever happened to your diesel heater? Maybe you could do an update video.

[@monkeymagic4555]

loving that translator app, have you got a link to it please and ty? :)

[@jameshunt2141]

so back in the day i used to import these fortek ssr's, id always advise using a heatsink with them. they will get very hot without a heatsink and a fan. we were using them to switch 3 kw immersion heating elements for biodiesel production using a cheap PID controller. the element would be on for several hours at a time so cooling was nessciary. the no spark advantage of the ssr was because of the highly flammable nature of methanol

[@EsotericArctos]

By the time you add up the cost of all the little things you have bought and everything, does it work out much different to a commercial solution that is already fully constructed and integrated into one nice looking unit? I ask myself that question on projects sometimes :).

[@jlucasound]

Hi, Julian!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You and Your Family and Friends! Thanks for all your awesome content!

[@1981dasimpson]

i would love to get 8 of the lifepo4 for my ups to gain longer run times and be safer then flooded lead acid leasure batteries

[@TheSpotify95]

Even 4 of these LiFePO4 batteries would be great for 12V powered appliances!

[@ziongite]

I live in Australia, I couldn't deal with the sky being like you have it in England, constant clouds and rain just really pi** me off. Moisture in the air really aides corrosion, which isn't cool, and the miserable cold is just annoying. At least with global warming you guys might eventually get some ok weather up there in maybe the year 2200, lol.

[@Mark1024MAK]

Climate change does not necessarily mean everywhere will become warmer. If the wind patterns change, the U.K. may get colder in winter. It is cloudy but it’s not rain clouds at the moment. Up until this week, the temperatures have been significantly above average for December, on some days going above 12°C. But currently day time temperatures are around 6°C. Some places in Australia seem to have similar temperatures to parts of the U.K., like Ballarat. Which part of Australia are you in?

[@bgmail4207]

Be very careful with those ebay SSR's. I was very interested in them but I saw *many* videos about their dangerous failure mode and too many close calls. I would like the shed to still be around in the future! If using for more than just testing, leave a hefty safety margin, have a back up in circuit (as they fail closed), and leave combustibles far away. What I've seen mentioned on some imported DC-DC SSR's is the 100A variety actually uses 25A max circuitry internally but do your own research on what you have. I would expect the 40A to not even support 20A reliably. Secondly, if you intend to use higher voltages on that contactor (>30V) beware of arc flash and pre-charge considerations (for contactor inrush causing contact weld).

[@dino6627]

These SSRs are notorious for having underrated semiconductors. A good quality SSR is nearly 10 times the price from RS or Farnell, but worth it for reliability and safety approvals.

[@Sprengi86]

I was wondering when you'd make the jump to larger Prismatic cells! So much more convenient to work with than faffing about with dozens of smaller cylindrical cells.

[@MobiusHorizons]

I believe solid state relays for AC use triacs where DC ones would use mosfets. I know that triacs tend to not dissipate as much heat for the same current as mosfets, but I don't actually know why.

[@OffGridAussiePrepper]

Whats the difference between the XH-M604 AND THE XH-M609????

[@mattbunce2509]

You don't need the second board. If battery voltage is too high the DALY BMS won't "Cut off" the battery, it will just disable the charge MOSFETs and continue to allow the discharge MOSFETs to all the ant miner to draw power from the battery

[@peppiino]

Merry Christmas ☃️ Greetings from Finland 🌌

[@TheDefpom]

That reminds me, I need to reply to the email IC station sent me last week ! It’s been a while since I did a review for them.

[@StubbyPhillips]

You can use an AC switching SSR to dim incandescent lights (yeah, "ewww") if you use the type that doesn't wait for zero crossing to switch on and off. You'll want your controller to turn the load ON at zero then off elsewhere in the cycle. I imagine there are some similar implementations for power supplies and what-not.

[@jamess1787]

You're my favourite kind of Phillips. 😂

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

I miss heard you at the start! I thought how Julian was going to get “British Home Stores” (BHS) through the letter box. Good luck with getting any sun for the next few months. Merry Christmas and a BMS new year.

[@markburton3306]

Merry Christmas to you too

[@crazinessisme]

I guess you got me who is the seller so that I may check them out too. I have about 12kw of lifepo4 on my array that powers my heat pump for my house. You can never have to much storage.

[@jlucasound]

@15:45 I literally went, "Oh..OO, Oh, Ya..." (You get the idea). Those batteries got pretty terminals! I'll bet you could cook spare ribs with them Babies! ;-)

[@pev_]

Ooo those big batteries look very nice! You could have mentioned the price though.

[@TKomoski]

It all depends on where you live because the shipping can be as much as the battery's themselves

[@pev_]

@@TKomoski Shipping is always shipping! Mentioning the price of the item would just be nice. What's wrong with you?!

[@JulianIlett]

The 4 cells cost $220 USD with no additional customs charges. The second 4 cells cost $230, but no idea yet if there'll be additional charges when they're delivered.

[@pev_]

@@JulianIlett Thank you. Quite pricey, but they are big :)

[@pyromaniaman]

@@JulianIlett I think I bought the same set from the same seller. Is it the one ending 117? I couldn't leave feedback for the purchase because as you say, they took a couple of months to arrive. I already have six more on the way! Mine arrived recently too - would you be interested in a capacity test?

[@andymouse]

Happy Solstice !.....cheers.

[@Mark1024MAK]

The official Winter Solstice for 2021 was at 15:58 on Tuesday, 21 December, (U.K. date and time), so at sunrise today (22nd) will be when the event is celebrated at Stonehenge.

[@UpLateGeek]

And a happy Festivus to you too!

[@jwm1020]

you will need to consider your bms on your new batteries be very careful to not charge them when cold look at a bms with low temperatures cut off or you will kill them for sure great vid thanks kid keep smiling 👍

[@amrishhirani6096]

Nice 👍 Happy christmas

[@Cavalier_Steve]

It would be interesting what current the coil of the relay/contractor versus the solid state relay, every little helps in solar 😉

[@fredjones7307]

Okay, who is the seller of the batteries..

[@uK8cvPAq]

Have you broken even yet with this mining stuff and the cost of hardware?

[@jasonmonk7336]

Yay! Postbag!

[@ncot_tech]

I'm totally going to wish people a happy "winter apocalypse" now :)

[@jamess1787]

Julian, don't be silly, the sun always shines!!!! Just buy some of those 24V truck radiator fans and blow the clouds away! Tada! 😂

[@definty]

You should build wind powered generator aswell

[@CollinBaillie]

Julian has already gone down the wind generator route. Check out some of his previous videos.

[@definty]

​@@CollinBaillie will do , thanks Collin

[@CollinBaillie]

@@definty Think it was just the two videos. Will link them below.

[@CollinBaillie]

@@definty kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4DMpIlmrdmai5o Followed by kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnvTqHd8qbeSadU

[@solventtrapdotcom6676]

Meh, I'd prefer the "flying capacitors." This one tries to do too much of the thinking for me, and it gets it wrong. I'll decide my own charge and discharge cutoffs, thanks. I'll decide when balancing occurs, thanks.

[@mr.makeit4037]

Nice prismatic batteries

[@Whigu]

More "flying/glide fish" aka Liitokala stuff

[@cheeseschrist2303]

Try holding your phone in landscape mode.

[@dav1dsm1th]

Genuinely curious why my comment about the fake Fotek SSR in this video keeps getting deleted.

[@jaro6985]

Did you include a link maybe?

[@dav1dsm1th]

@@jaro6985 I don't think so - but I'm getting a bit senile... If you google "fotek ssr copy" there are details on how to recognise the copies - Fotek clip the bottom right corner of both the label AND the recess it sits in. The copies sometimes clip the label - but haven't, so far, corrected the mistake they made in the injection moulding tool used to make the case for the copies. Just be a little cautious when pumping the full rated current through them - unfortunately, they tend to have components that are only rated at half what the label claims.

[@guywhoknows]

Those batteries have a lot of fakes and problems... Sorry...there a good price, but generally not eBay. I was looking at getting some, but didn't as there are some others and offers which may work better. I have a similar issue to the battery and charge control. I just ended up building one using a aurdino, a few resistors, a bung of bjts and Mosfets. Took a little while and half hour debug, but my issue is balancing. I've two batteries, one, the voltage goes high while the other is not, it keeps climbing and goes over a limit, but the charge controller is below the total limit. Today was nice! I was up at 6 and it was really nice and sunny, I got 3.59amps...for a while..

[@monkeymagic4555]

Take me to your dealer?

[@OffGridAussiePrepper]

come to QLD and u can have all the sun u want, maybe too much.

[@rickyreynolds17]

DD 😆

[@juncusbufonius]

You do know that phones can be rotated? Pherhaps not, there's a lot out there that don't. Keep making life hard only use in portrait.

[@Evangeline-Katherine]

I don't know why,,, but at least 0.05% of the KZbinr love to point using their middle finger,,,, especially men,,, 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 don't at me,,, I'm just curious,,,, 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@mikeb4367]

Hi Julian trying to contact you please can advise thanks mike

[@adambaxter5617]

Good on you for using solar, but cryptocurrency? Yuck.