Bitcoin Forum

[DIY] AllCoinMiner's Power Supply Sizing Guide (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=732106.msg8275329#msg8275329)

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[DIY] AllCoinMiner's Solar Energy Setup for Mining (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=655325) DIY Research going on

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[DIY] AllCoinMiner's Antminer S1/S3 Blade on Raspberry Pi or on a Single ControlBoard (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671128.0)Bounty Offered

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[GUIDE] Mining Profitablility Discussions (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=827480)

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GUIDE SETTING UP A SOLAR POWER SYSTEM FOR MINING
This is a project plan to setup a complete solar powered system for running below device.
I'm looking for guidance and support from all of you to materialise it.

PSUs Available:
1x 1600W 90% Efficient PSU
1x 600W 90% Efficient PSU

Out Put Requirement:
Multiple of 12V 400Watts DCe

Existing Inverters:
1x 1500VA 24V SineWave Inverter
1x 850VA 12V SineWave Inverter

Batteries:
2x 100Ah 12V Tubular
1x 150Ah 12V Tubular

Solar Panel:
6x 250Watts/12V PV

Converter:
50A/24V

better you get solar inverter then a regular inverter (su-kam solar inverter with inbuilt converter works on both solar panels and electricity)

My inverter is solar compatible. Not sure whether it is inbuilt with controller.

As per my calculations running it during non solar time in battery require a large battery bank of around 15+. It should not be viable to use solar during night. So limiting it to day time. Now no of panel and its specifications matter.

200/100W * 12V or 200/100W * 24W

I would take a 12v battery solar charge controller like http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-24V-5-10-15-20-30A-PWM-Solar-Panel-Battery-Regulator-Charge-Controller-/351004581852?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item51b980dfdc
and then hook up the panels to the input, batteries to smooth the voltage, and the miners to the output.  This would be much more efficient than making DC to AC and then back to DC and would save 30% ON EFFICIENCY and be much cheaper.  Then, during the night you could hook the output of the DC charger to something like a 12v dpdt relay, and hook up the computer PSU 12v to the relay and switch between solar and wall power when there isn't any solar power.

That idea is good but practically need to check the implication problems.
Do you know how the voltage will be in b/w terminals when solar is connected to battery? I think it will be varying and the input to Ants will be an issue.
What you think of it?

Also I was actually looking for how many panels and their W ratings.

How about a diesel generator running on used Veg oil from a restaurant(s)
 http://www.dieselveg.com/generators.htm

I believe the charge controller will let it go up to 12.5 and down to 11.5 volts and then shut off.  I have ants, and don't quote me on this, but I think the voltage regulators will be okay on the antminers.  The antminer chips are running on 1.5 volts I think.  You could also use the charge controller in 24v mode and then step it down to 12v with a step down converter and it'll be a more steady 12v.

Depending on where you live, I would get probably 800 watts of solar panels, the rated wattage are only on the full sun. PVC pipe Wind  turbine might be better because its 24/7?  Definitely interested if anyone tries this idea  ;D   

I will experiment it when my Antminer S1 is near EOL. Or need to get an old miner for testing. Requesting if anyone having a solar miner to do the test if you are a DIY person.

Ah!!! How much is your 800Watts panel cost in $?

wahhhhh
i want to do this experiment too
in my country (indonesia), electricity always down once a day with duration of 2-4hours, so i had to buy inverter 1500w with auto charge + 2x100ah only to backup my S2 around 2hours, often miss another 2hours...
but nvm, got no cash T_T

Waiting for your updates.

Check the antminers for their input requirements. If they take 12VDC +/- 2 VDC, then scrap the  DC>AC>DC arrangement and hook them straight up to a battery. I do this with my Jally.

Solar panel (200W) + wind turbine (200W) > hybrid combiner/controller > batt (nominal 12VDC) > Jally + R-box

Input the same as above > batt (nominal 12VDC) > UPS (400W) > Laptop (signals startup & shut down based on battery condition)

Yes Cranky4u.  That's what I was thinking too, but adding a 12v output from a computer power supply.  You would connect the computer power and the power from the battery charge controller up to the dpdt relay and it would switch between the pc power supply and solar power depending on if the solar is available or not.

If you make your own panels...probably still a good $400 dollars.  After the use on the 12v antminers, you could definitely use the 12v supply onto 750ti's or even a 280x.  This could have a good roi over a few years.  If you only run on solar, you wouldn't have to install more 12v relays into your breaker box.  The 12v relay and wiring is a good $100 or $250 if you get it installed.

Thanks to all.
1. What kind of a Relay you advice here?
2. If the power from solar is low during low Sun will this relay switches to PSU?
3. Also what kind of a cable you are using to connect your devices to battery. Normally inverters use cables of very higher guage to connect to battery, so do I need to use such a kind of cable?
It will be more better if you can add an image of what you have done or others done such things.

1.  I assume by replay you mean relay, and you would need a 12v dpdt relay, with whatever amperage you need, which is wattage/voltage.  So for a antminer you would need something like  http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-JQX-30F-2Z-DC-12V-Coil-30A-250V-AC-Power-Relay-8-Pin-DPDT-/300715926685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460410e49d
2.  If the power is low, first the battery will drain off, and when that turns off, then the relay will switch to the PSU's 12v power supply.
3.  Definitely use a higher gauge wire between battery and the charge controller. 12v has high amperage.  You can solder connectors up to the wire and screw into the battery terminals.

Will definitely make a guide if I ever get time to finish this project  ;D

Here the issue is "when the battery will drain off and when that turns off":
We need a stopping point to switch to psu power before the battery drains very low and the devices get low power and malfunction, right?
Further that's bad to the battery too. How we will achieve that?

I think we will require some kind of a circuit to sense that low voltage or power point(like inverters/ups shut-off) and cut-off the supply from solar.
Then it the repay will have no power flow on one channel and it switches to the other one, to psu output.
Then in the morning when Solar provides enough power the relay switches off psu and lie in solar.
And the battery will be just used during night if PSU input Supply fails.

Regarding soldering battery wires to PCI-E connectors are also a problem. What you think about that?

The charge controller between the battery and solar panel will stop the battery when it goes below 11.5 and the relay will switch to the computer power supply.

Liking this thread.  It never ceases to amaze me just how many different types of peoples from so many diverse backgrounds and strengths can be brought together via this thing we call bitcoin!  Would love to one day have access to some serious natural energy to run a huge farm and support the network :)

But for that we need the PV to be configured in 12V right?

Take the below case and how you will add a Solar Panel & Controller in this already existing setup with or without relay?

Battery 12V/100AH x 2 in Series to get 24V 100AH
Inverter 24V 1500VA
ASIC Device 12V/400W

Since the inverter need 24V the battery need to be setup in series.
So the PV modules and Charge controllers need to be setup in 24V configuration.
Then how we can obtain 12V to the ASIC? Assume the above existing setup cannot be changed except solar panels and Charge Controller
I'm not at all familiar with PV and Charge Controller so, I assume the CC never converts 24V to 12V.

Take a look at an image. http://s29.postimg.org/qri7f8ht3/Solar.png
I'm not sure the Replay connect is like that. Hope an experienced one can redesign the wiring and post an image.
http://s29.postimg.org/qri7f8ht3/Solar.png

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdvrwk1x7x5phse/140627_185044.png
Unfortunately I'm on a road trip, but I edited the photo.  I was thinking of using one battery on a charge controller like this in 12v mode  http://m.ebay.com/itm/351004581852?nav=SEARCH another possibility is you could use the charge controller in 24v mode and then force it into 12v with yet another converter.  That converter will however make the 12v output more steady than the direct 12v through the charge controller and battery which might be better for the miner.

Definitely cool.  I like green energy and am the electronics/programming leader for my New Jerswy award winnng high school robotics team.  I'm interested in the tech part of bitcoins  :D. I know some others like the finances, anonimity, and the trading of bitcoins too!

I was thinking about a solar set-up a few days ago.  I'm glad someone else is also looking into this. 

I was wondering about what happens after the sun goes down.  My idea was to lay the solar panels on my back patio.  I have flood lights that turn on/off at dusk & dawn.  I was wondering if I put the panels in a place where they'd be lit up by the flood lights, if that would allow enough power to flow into the battery overnight to keep it from running dry.  And the flood lights are 15 watt LEDs.  I guess it sounds too good to be true... using a 15 watt LED, solar panel, inverter, etc., to power an 850 watt PSU & Antminers.

Sector7G that will not work that way much. Conservation or energy is still valid.
These solar panel are very less in efficiency for convert photons to electrical energy.
Normally a solar panels efficiency is at 20%, means it will convert 20% of what you give.
Now, with 15 Watts LED you will get less than 3Watts from Solar panel. (15*.2=0.30Watts).
Even if we consider getting 3 watts you need 284 such LED lights in practical case you need more.
Do you think its viable to run such a system?

The possible two options and the best among it is to running on grid power during non solar time.
The second option is to have a lot of batteries to backup for 12 to 15 hours to run 850Watts load during the night.
That will be a mess and need a big investment and not worth the money for mining.

Adding a converter is not an option for me. Also battery backup for the psu is necessary due to the possibility of power cut during night time.
I already have an 24V/1500VA Inverter and 2x 100AH battery. Which willl give a backup of atleast 2 hours for me during power cuts.
I'm trying to add solar to this setup without adding any more battery.
Hope keeping that in consideration you can advice further.

Okay.  I didn't realize the battery was going to be used as a backup when the power goes out.  My power goes out very rarely so I never thought about that.  So your inverter goes from ac power to 24v DC?  And what charger are you using for the 2x 100a monster batteries?  The best option for this might be to charge up the battery by solar when the sun is up and then by inverter for when the sun is down.   Since you have a 24v inverter, I can't think of an easy way to make the batteries 12v without a complex switch which would disconnect and reconnect the batteries from each other to create 12v.  How are you making 12v from the batteries for backup right now? 

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Check this out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Z8gXaHozg

or this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5c98bJDP3w

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers? 

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60. 

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme. 

Yes we both realize this.  We want to use wall power when it is available and solar and batteries as backup

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.
http://s30.postimg.org/u0fy99bot/untitled.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/u0fy99bot/)

Actually, the 15 watts is the amount of power the LED flood light uses.  But the output is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent flood light.  It's over 1,000 lumens.  So I was just wondering if that might be enough to power the system.  I'm not sure if the wattage of the bulb is the best way to measure.  The amount of light reaching the panel is what matters. 

This is sort of irrelevant to mining but no way.   You can't get more energy out than what you put in.  The panels efficiency is 20% so there is no way this could happen.  Look on YouTube.

I'm going to ask some professional electrical engineers today and see what's the best for this system.  I feel like diesel generators are costly and inneficient.

I did some research in using fossil fuel ac generator sets. They are no where near to afford as a system for running 24hrs.
Their cost to output ratio is very high and dropped that fossil fuel plan.
Will look more into Solar + Grid Setup. As per my calculations when we combine the solar+grid ROI is 15 months and its very great.
Solar alone is expensive for this purpose due to the need for a large battery bank to get power when Sun is down.
If we are setting up a full solar setup minimum 35 12V 100AH batteries for continues 24hr 1KW/H delivery.

At robotics in my high school I'll talk to them about it, is having a battery bank for backup when there is no power still a viable option?

Overhead cost for 35 12V 100AH batteries is huge. So its not a viable option in my opinion.
One 100Ah 12V battery will cost around 100 to 130 USD. So USD 3500 for the battery bank alone.
And the no of solar panels need to be almost doubled to charge this big battery bank.
So need atleast 15 no of 12V 250W PV Panels. $190 to $200 per PV panel cost another $2850 for 15 panels.
Adding all minimum 8000 to 1000 USD and which is very high for running such a small 1KW miner.

If you have metered, grid-tied solar power you can receive free GreenCoins (http://www.grcoin.com/). You can mine whatever coin or what have you; there is no use-of-power requirements. As long as you have solar-powered rigs you might as well be getting your free coins (http://www.grcoin.com/news). We've given out over 29 million to date and hand out another ~1,400,000 everyday, so come claims yours now!!! (PM me)

Alright. So I learned a few things.

1.  The efficiency of DC to AC on an inverter is around 70% and if you have a computer psu that's around 80% then your efficiency is really really bad, especially since the whole point of this is to save electricity.
2. The batteries you have cannot be used for backup and solar regulation for the miners.  That would need complex voltage sensing and still wouldn't be perfect.
3.  The diagram above that I edited would work fine.  The best way would be to buy an 24v-12v step down because that would be the steadiest 12v power available. 
4.  If you get 12v solar panels and run that through the solar charge controller with the batteries in parrelel you would be ok.
5. Apparently solar panels only get max output around 4 hours a day.

This is an interesting thread, however you may consider a more 'conventional' approach:  Instead of having a system dedicated to mining, why not simply use a standard grid-tie PV system. This offsets or covers your mining electricity cost during sunny hours and allows you to mine using the grid during dark hours.  Standard grid-tie systems are common place, relatively low cost and accepted by neighbors/planning authorities/electricity providers.  These may be eligible for some 'green' subsidies in many countries.  Another factor is the WAF (or SAF=Spouse Approval Factor), where it is easier to convince of the merits of such an investment on wider financial/ethical grounds.
I have a PV system of about 2 KW peak capacity that provides partial offset of my mining electricity costs.  The electricity provider pays very little for energy that I feed into the grid, but charges 'like a raging bull' for the KW/h that they provide, so it makes a lot of sense to use internally all that the sun provides.  This of course doesn't help at night, but I don't need to buy and maintain large battery banks.  If some day I stop Crypto-coin mining, the PV system will still provide a useful function in reducing household electricity costs.

Cheers

Have you check the electricity rate at Iceland? 0.04 USD per kilo watt if I am not mistaken.

Unless solar can beat this rate without subsidy, all huge mining operation and data center will head that way.

That's a more conventional and easy approach to the problem.
As you said, building a battery bank is expensive.
How many panels you are using to get the said 2KW? Also let's know the watt ratings of panels.
If possible you are invited to post some images or drawings of the connections if its not conventional.

In my state, NJ, the power company said that small grid tie inverters are illegal.  You'd have to check in your state.  I would have to get the grid ties professionally installed.  Grid tie inverters are not very efficient and power companies pay pennies on the dollar for that electricity.  Also, this would mean you need an input outlet of electricity into the miners and an output outlet to the power company, and there might not be enough power outlets in your house.  I still think running the solar panels with a small battery to even out the voltage and then switching to wall power the rest of the night would work cheaper. 

Using 12 panels of 190W each with a 3KW inverter (originally wanted to have a 3KW system, but on installation we found that it wouldn't fit on the roof). All professionally installed and legally connected to the electricity utility through their meter.  The feed-in tariff is fairly small, so using it to offset the electricity provider's cost makes a lot of sense.  I'm getting 6 AU c/KWh as a feed-in tariff, while my provider charges about 54 AU c/KWh during peak time (there is a time-of-use formula, which I won't go into right now). This system produces more than 7 KWh/day during winter time (now, down under), and about 13 KWh/day during sunnier seasons.  It is a completely conventional installation, so I won't post any photos.  The miners are just connected to standard residential electricity outlets, and do not care if the electrons come from the roof or the utility.  There used to be a subsidized generous feed-in tariff here, which made PV systems very attractive, but the politicians decided that they can't afford the subsidy, so it was terminated.  It doesn't fully supply all the bitcoin mining needs, but helps put a slight dent in the energy bill.

Cheers

Yeah that's pretty cool.  If I make my own solar panels I can save money and not vet it nicely installed and hook them up toy minersx but this is probably the better long term strategy.
T

hi.

how much amps it need to power on a normal antminer s1 ?

and for the s2 ?

can someone tell more about current needed to mining...

**Two panels with 250W and 8.5A each one will power a S1 and keep it cool with a corsair cx500m ???
or
**Five panels to power a S2 with the internal psu?? The amps and watts are right????

thanks.

For our purposes amps it watts/volts.  Example: 350 watts/12 volts = 29 1/6 amps. 
The panels will depend if its 24v or 12v.  If its 24v it has twice the wattage and also means you need half the amps.  So 250watts and 8.5 amps means its 29 1/6 volts???????
An S1 could get away with probably 400 watts of panels $200 if you make it yourself.  The quoted specs on solar panels only run for about 4 hours a day, so a little more would be necessary to get through more of the day.  A cx500  (what I"m using now)  would work as it has about 500 watts on the 12v rail for the miners. 
Five panels?  We need the ratings.  The 12v from the panels would probably need to get around the internal PSU, I'm not familiar with how that works.
If you're using a grid tie system then I guess it doesn't matter how many panels you have.

For an S1 to run with 360W the amp requirement is 360/12= 30A.
But from single 250W/24V PV Panel we will only get 8.5Amp maximum. So need 4 such panels to run one S1
That is 4*8.5 = 34Amps, when losses are calculated may need more.
Lucky7Gaming, what you think of my assumptions? I'm not clear in that point you above said.

So the most complex part is the battery charge ?

Why not using the miner day-only ?

GO SOLAR WITH BTCITCOIN

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=671778.msg7607842#msg7607842

we are taking orders

Then you will be the best one to answer here.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=655325.msg7713937#msg7713937

it looks like you would need at most 2 of our panels per s1 to run it for 5 hrs a day (depending on where you are located ) plus an inverter and any battery storage u might want. now factor in that it runs 24 hrs you would need 10-12 panels per s1 to run it 24/7  plus battery backup to be "OFF GRID"  if you want to be grid tied (recommended)  you could forego the battery backup and a bunch of headache our 7.5 kwh system could run 3-5 of these miners 24/7 (depending on time of year and location)  for $13,555  COMPLETE

How many panels(???W/24V) and the ChargeController(ratings including charge current) required to charge a battery bank of 200AH/24V in 7hrs from solar.

just to be clear the entire bank = 200ah/24v ?

if this is so you would need at max 4 305 watt panels running 5 hrs a day  this would give you 4.8 kwh per day the charge controller i would use is Morningstar’s TriStar MPPT TS-45 solar controller  which allows for peak of 3 kwh  this would run a little less than 1800 usd

this is just an example and your mileage may vary

You above post is not clear to me.
I will show you an image below to get a clear picture. Click on the image to get make it bigger.
The invertors and controllers connected there are for sample only and are free to change.
Also alternate configurations are welcome from all.
If you know a good configuration than this for "Working 400W for 7hr backup" and "400W for 8hrs during daytime. Assume the remaining 9hrs the miner is switched off.
http://s11.postimg.org/9v4ui8jcf/MPPT_CONNECTIONS.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/9v4ui8jcf/)

im having our electrician look at this i will get back to you within 48 hrs

Hope this will be a more helpful, a more simplified image than the above.
See below image.
http://s28.postimg.org/945lcnsi1/MPPT_CONNECTIONS_2.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/945lcnsi1/)

What do you guys think about watercooling cells ?
I heard it increase about 15% the efficiency.

Well according to DIY tutorials and scientific experiments, the power from the pump system is really negligible.
It only need to be activated few minutes per day when the sun is high.

If I had time and workspace I would totally try.

I'm setting up a small solar powered off-grid system.
Will experiment on this cooling technique on it to check how much efficiency gain its giving.
Will update here. Before that I need to finalise my solar configuration.
I already have an inverter of 1500VA/24V and six 250W/24V Solar Panels.
With this I'm looking to make a 400W device run continuously off-grid for 16hrs a day then, on to grid for 8hrs.

Could you update the OP with price details? I'm curious to how this solar panel project will fare price-wise. Doesn't seem like it would do well but I don't know much about solar panel prices so I could be wrong.

It can be anywhere from $.50 to $2.00 depending on if you make your own panels or buy premade ones.

I'm designing my own system and ordered some products.
Soon I will have my setup. I will update before that about the plan.
Solar Power Systems are expensive and if we are doing it in DIY mode then a lot of costs can be saved.
But I'm not recommending DIY solar panel due to many practical reasons.
For a small system it may be worth for the setup I'm doing(1.5 to 2 KWh) I can't go for DIY panels.

Hope you can give the update.

Now I decided to connect the dc devices directly from DC out.
My battery setup is 24V and Solar MPPT charge controller out put is 24V DC.
Any one know the Antminer S3 input voltage tolerance?
I will be converting this 24V to 12V via a convertor which can provide and an output power of 400W.

Sorry, I've been busy but that's cool allcoinminer.  Thats exactly what he told me on how to do it, use a charge controller from the panels to a battery and then takes the battery voltage into the antminer through the charge controller.  Don't rely on me but I believe the antminers have a higher tolerances because the actual chips run at a lower voltage through their mofsets and don't directly use the 12v.  The mofsets probably have a higher tolerance.

how much is the cost of something like that?

My charge controller does not have a DC out other than to battery.
Also, these DC output in Charge controller are normally of 10A where as Ants need 35A.

So I'm confused?  How are you doing it right now?  If the antminers are connected directly to the batteries, you can destroy the battery by totally discharging the batteries.  Also, the charging of the batteries must be slower than the output it can handle with the charge controller.  The charge controller would bypass the battery if it had enough 12v and directly power the antminer.

I'm too confused and stuck here for a solution.

Oh, OK.  What parts were available again?

All except a solution to connect the antminer to the setup.

What is the setup parts?  I'm assuming a 24v panel with 24v (hopefully 15a charge controller)?  24v lead acid batteries, and a 24v relay?

When I get time I'll make a full blown guide for solar panels because there seems to be enough interest in it....

Panels: 6x 24V/250W.
Charge controller: 1x PCM60X ( www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/PCM60X.pdf )
Battery: 4x 150Ah/12V RE battery
No replays

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=730304.new#new

If you need anymore help let me know :)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vehicle-DC-Voltage-Converter-Step-down-24V-to-12V-30A-Car-Inverter-vol-reducer-/170890062762?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item27c9d76baa&vxp=mtr
Are there a lot of issues with these?

Are you buying these solar panels wholesale or retail cause to me right new solar energy is costly and take like 10 years to make back your savings which they should be cut down to 5 years would be nice.     

I was looking at more like 5 years, and if you make your own panels 3.  I'm not sure this makes sense but it doesn't break any laws in nj.....so that's why I think powering the miners directly might be interesting.

Don't know where I read someone with similar cfg, but for those who are interested, here is my experimental cfg.
Solar panel 12V 40W ( more than 10 years old, not optimal orientation = real only 30W ).
Jally, undervolted from 1,02V to 0,95, stock clock & software, hashing @ 5 Gh/s (0,2% error rate 8)) (sometimes, cause the low voltage, it stasts @ 4,2 / 4,3, expecially when powered by stock PSU when there is not sun. In this case power cycling is useful to regain 5 Gh/s ). It draws little more than 2A @ 12V, efficiency little better than 5W/Ghs.
No battery and power regulator. Panel and original psu are coupled by a series of shottky diodes (I loose near a watt here). When the sun shines, voltages from panel is higher so it has the priority ( in this case voltage in main power line of the jally goes near 14V ) , when there is no sun, PSU kicks in keeping voltage near 12,5V.

PRO. All solar production in adsorbed by the system so no battery is required (mainenatance free). Good battery has 90% efficiency so all this is a another good gain. Jally runs smoother when panel is active, probably cause higher input voltage and infinite better voltage stability ( stock PSU is really really bad..........ssshhh, I should not tell this cause it is not exploded yet  ;D ;D).

CON. When Jally is in idle (current drops from 2A to near 1A), there are no voltage regulation, so voltages soar to 16V, wich is not really good because if I remember well caps are 12V rated. All other electronics should run fine.
When there is no sun, I loose near a watt on the diodes, and when there is sun the PSU loose near 2 watt in idle.

Coming soon a more powerful hashing system with similar philosophy. I'm looking at something like this  http://www.mini-box.com/DCDC-USB-200?sc=8&category=981 cause the voltage programmable capability and ultra wide input voltage ( every little watt from solar will be saved  ;D ;D )

On the solar end of things, as long as you are making metered energy (kWh) you can get free GreenCoins. Any and all interest please message me. I'll pay a 0.01 BTC for the next 10 producers to sign up. I am trying to find more producers for the GreenCoin network. There is nothing to mine. You get coins FREE coins daily for solar production regardless of the end use (internally used or pushed to the grid).

More about it GreenCoin (http://www.grcoin.com/about)
Easy to understand 1-page flyer (http://www.grcoin.com/GreenCoin-flyer.pdf)

If nothing else, maybe after your operation is all set up and you're earning GreenCoins it adds a secondary revenue stream you hadn't previously considered, which is simply a bonus.

thanks! BDC

My system setup is complete. Its a 3000Watts system.
Next week I will update the system features with images in this thread.
Is waiting for the DC-DC converter.

Can't wait for images. Very interesting stuff.

amazing instructions, thank you

You're already going to be wiring the batteries in a 2-series-2-parallel configuration to get the 12V batteries to play with your 24V system, yes?

Why don't you just connect Ant blade #1 across one parallel set of 12V batteries, and Ant blade #2 across the other?

(Just check first to make sure the blades aren't tied together electrically, and install fuses anyway to be safe.)

I'm not doing that because the output voltage from solar charge controller goes too high from 12V or 24V which the ant cannot handle.
So now I put DC-DC converters in between.
On one of the DC-DC controller its fuse is blown every morning when the sun shines bright.

on a side note: sorry for not putting the setup images, I was a bit busy and too lazy, but I can update it soon.

Goodluck with you Build,I hope good things come to you

Yes everything is properly organised for me.
Thank you, SUN!

Do you have picture and components of part and panel ?

Please share with us :)

As I talked to some agent at solar saleman he told me I need at least 6000Watts of solar panel to run 1000Watts PSU for 24 hours.

My question is if I get more batteries say like 4, so I can reduce the panel watts ( from 6000 to 4000 or 3000watts )

Help please.

Really want to setup for 2 ant S3 or 1 Ant S4 (1400w)

May be invest for farm of them soon.

The solar calculator online I used states I need about 6,600watts to run 2 S3's for 24hours a day.  I'm interested in setting one up.

Pardon me for delaying the update with images and so.
I will do it soon, lazy me.
But you can ask me anything related to solar panel setup and I can guide you.
If you are taking support from agents or companies you will never ROI.
Do it yourselves by the support of forum people. I did it myself.
If you are using any good solar panels, you will get 1500W from a 2000W system during the solar time.
If you are running it 24/7 then you need a lot of battery AH and you need to charge these batteries during the day time everyday.
Batteries will never last more than 5yrs if you are discharging it to the maximum.
Else you need to buy a lot of batteries to make the discharge percentage lower.

For your need, 1400W is required 24/7 from this solar battery setup.
So around 2000W panel is required to run the miner during sun time.
Then for charging the discharged batteries daily, additional panels required.
If we calculate solar time as 6hrs (Max and too optimistic) you have 6hrs to charge the battery bank.
And your total charge backup requirement(or total charging required) is approximately, [1400*(24-6)] = 25,200 Watts (25.2KW).

That means, you need 2100AH of 12V battery. If its 6V then need 4200AH. Practically you need 3000AH atleast for 12V battery.
That's equal to 15 no of 200AH/12V Solar Battery. It will cost approximately $3500.

And to charge this much battery power during the limited 6hrs you need atleast 6000W panel. Which will cost around $4500.

Consolidating:
Panels required is more than 6000+2000 Watts Cost: $6000.
Battery 3000AH costs $3500.
Cable and other Misc: $1000 for this setup.
MPPT Charge Controllers: < $1000.
Total: $11,500 Plus
Now think whether you want to setup this damp thing.

Inshort when you add more battery backup requirement you need more panels, more cables and other components.
So, if you are sure you want to go for solar just go for a Solar + Grid setup and use 400AH battery bank for emergency backup.
That will fit the budget and will ROI in 3 to 4 years if used fully. I only recommend that if you want to go for solar.

Disclaimer: All the above numbers are from rough calculations without considering losses and practical conditions.
In practical setup you may need more panels and battery so the cost will be more than what estimated here.

Again Solar is expensive as of now.

You need to consider that for most battery types you cannot take the Ah rating and assume you can use 100% of this, because, cycling most kinds of batteries that deeply will permanently damage them. Be sure to carefully review the manufacturers tech sheet and find the max discharge depth, THEN calculate the "real" Ah rating from there. You can use this to calculate watt-hours or joules stored, which is a more meaningful piece of information for sizing your solar setup.

Also the 6 hour charging time above is unrealistic for a full charge for most battery types. Again you need to see the manufacturers spec sheets.

Cycling batteries between deep discharge states and back to their full capacity on a daily basis will also reduce their lifespan a lot more than usual as this is not considered standard operation. Arbitrary example: Most lead acid car batteries are discharged only less than 3% of their total capacity when starting a car, this will get them 3-5 years. Now take the same battery and discharge it 25-50% every 24 hours (if it's even possible to recharge it within spec limits that quick). Suddenly it lasts 6 months to 12 months tops.

A lot of people "make" battery storage systems for solar without researching how much they can drain their batteries, and how low of a voltage they can be taken. There are newer types which can take more punishment but there are always limits. I know a handful of people who've purchased various setups on ebay and of their own design only to wipe out $5k of batteries in half a year.

Your points are very mush valid.
In my system I finally dropped using battery backups for the rest of the sun time and is using grid.
Battery back up will just act when in an emergency.

Normally in professionally installed battery systems they will only discharge upto 20% of the capacity.
So, the battery bank(s) will last for 10+ years even if they are not looking for breakeven.
They get ROI from their business by account these costs to customers.

Regarding Charging Time, atleast 10hrs is recommended for C10 batteries but we only get 6hrs.
So we are forced to charge in 2 days or in a single days with more current. The second one will shorten the battery more.

Here in the case of home miner or even home farms, the Solar + 24hrs Battery will never ROI.
But a Solar + Grid can breakeven in the long run, if and only if we can use the maximum power the panels generate.
Again, no mining device is available at this point in time to mine for ROI.

Inshort, just forget about "any" Solar setup for atleast this time.

Anyone have a link to a decent and relatively cheap solar panel distributor?

For which country you want the details of solar panel distributor?
You can also try google search.

hey allcoinminer,

do you think in your own opinion getting a solar generator set like a SSUVPR 5000W 96V Solar Inverter with Controller System (UPS Function) whole set to power one SP35 Yukon Power is a good idea?
what is your take on it? :) I'm all ears on your feedback.

-Rogelio

Hi Rogelio,
First we need to know the whole cost estimate of your system to do a profitability analysis.
Another thing is that 5000W power system may be ok if its in my area since I get a lot of Sun.
So that will depend on your region and the duration of Sunlight.
Before all, Mining is a bad idea for now and so Mining + Solar will end up as a bad combination for now.

Are you figuring GreenCoin into the revenue analysis?...  ;D

Yes, should factor "somewhat" in that element for now.

http://sunelec.com/

Great prices for the U.S and even better prices outside of the U.S. Long story but this was one crappy decision by Obama that screwed over the international solar industry.