raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 10, 2019 15:34:37 GMT
I noticed Renogy has this thing on sale. Does anybody have one? Just wondering what can you really do with it. So far this year we have had a couple of power outages, and it is a real hassle to position the gas generator in the garage and then start positioning the extension cables to the basement to connect to the things I need to run. Would the Lycan be a good replacement for the gas generator?
In the specs for the Lycan, it shows that it has a 24Ah lithium battery. That does not seem that could handle a lot of items for a longer period of time. The last power outage we had, at night, lasted about 7 hours. In the summer we did not have to run the furnace, only the sump pump. And because it was after a good thunder storm, the sump pump needed to be run every 20 minutes or so.
So, can anybody share their usage stories with their Lycan?
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Post by Admin on Sept 10, 2019 16:14:36 GMT
I noticed Renogy has this thing on sale. Does anybody have one? Just wondering what can you really do with it. So far this year we have had a couple of power outages, and it is a real hassle to position the gas generator in the garage and then start positioning the extension cables to the basement to connect to the things I need to run. Would the Lycon be a good replacement for the gas generator? In the specs for the Lycon, it shows that it has a 24Ah lithium battery. That does not seem that could handle a lot of items for a longer period of time. The last power outage we had, at night, lasted about 7 hours. In the summer we did not have to run the furnace, only the sump pump. And because it was after a good thunder storm, the sump pump needed to be run every 20 minutes or so. So, can anybody share their usage stories with their Lycon? The lycan is a good replacement for a gas generator especially in emergency situations. Granted if you're trying to run a whole house, then this will not be a suitable unit. While it is 24Ah battery size, it is 48V, so you're getting something closer to 1100Wh.A phone might be something like 5Wh to charge to put it into perspective. -Renogy Team |
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 10, 2019 17:35:44 GMT
Sorry, I made the mistake of thinking that Renogy had responded to my post with the same title in another thread. My info is posted there. I wish the Renogy Team would have paid attention to my weeks old posts. It is obvious that they are ignoring my posts, but I don't know why. I have spent thousands of dollars on Renogy products. |
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Post by Admin on Sept 10, 2019 18:39:51 GMT
Sorry, I made the mistake of thinking that Renogy had responded to my post with the same title in another thread. My info is posted there. I wish the Renogy Team would have paid attention to my weeks old posts. It is obvious that they are ignoring my posts, but I don't know why. I have spent thousands of dollars on Renogy products. We apologize in advanced for any ignoring of posts. That was never the intention. If this is in regards to products suggestions we do take those and data that into consideration for the product teams. -Renogy Team |
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raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 10, 2019 20:52:42 GMT
I just deleted a comment, because I just noticed that Renogy did respond to the mediadogg thread in the other sub-forum.
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raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 11, 2019 10:09:50 GMT
"...While it is 24Ah battery size, it is 48V...". Interesting, what is the configuration of the battery? Does the box have 4 x 12V batteries in series? Also, for battery maintenance, does the battery have easy access. And if the battery happens to go bad, or has reached its charge cycle, do you throw the whole thing out, or is their a way to refurbish the unit. One more item, cost of having the battery replaced.
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 11, 2019 19:48:58 GMT
"...While it is 24Ah battery size, it is 48V...". Interesting, what is the configuration of the battery? Does the box have 4 x 12V batteries in series? Also, for battery maintenance, does the battery have easy access. And if the battery happens to go bad, or has reached its charge cycle, do you throw the whole thing out, or is their a way to refurbish the unit. One more item, cost of having the battery replaced. Well, all of that is answered on the product web page, specifications and documentation tabs, if you want details, but I can summarize: - The battery is a proprietary Li-iron with two connectors to the internal electronics, one being RJ-45 and the other XT30. The battery appears monolithic, but of course it must be composed of multiple Li-iron cells internally. - The unit can be disassembled in about 10 minutes and the battery lifted out and replaced - A spare battery can be connected to the back of the unit and the two batteries can be selected by a front-panel switch - Sort of off-topic, but a very convenient feature is that the Lycan can simultaneously charge a 12/24V SLA using a simple power pole connection in the back Hope that helps get you get started. Complete details are in the product manuals. |
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raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 11, 2019 20:02:38 GMT
"- The battery is a proprietary Li-iron..."
Hmm, "proprietary", I wonder how much that would cost, if you needed to replace it.
@ mediadogg, since you have a couple of these units, have you ever had the load maxed out just see how long it would take for the battery to drain down.
I am thinking about this unit as a temp replacement for a gas generator, but I have to do a lot more research before I even consider making that investment.
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 11, 2019 21:08:01 GMT
"- The battery is a proprietary Li-iron..." Hmm, "proprietary", I wonder how much that would cost, if you needed to replace it. @ mediadogg, since you have a couple of these units, have you ever had the load maxed out just see how long it would take for the battery to drain down. I am thinking about this unit as a temp replacement for a gas generator, but I have to do a lot more research before I even consider making that investment. I use the first one every day. I have yet to put the second one into operation. I charge it simultaneously from a dedicated string of (3x100W) Renogy panels, the max rated spec, and from its AC charger, which is powered by a separate mini-system of (2x100W) Renogy panels, Renogy CC and 300W Samlex inverter. The AC charger provides another 100W of imput charging to whatever is coming in from solar. So, starting at daylight, my big system starts charging, and by using a MOES switch, it starts powering my computer servers, using a similar setup to that diagram I posted in the other thread. All three servers are connected to dedicated UPS's through a Pro-Watt ATS to help buffer the computers from all the switching. Usually, by noon, all the computers are running off solar. Meanwhile the Lycan is juicing up, and usually at 100% when a timer switch pops and makes the Lycan available to the the MOES. At that point, the Lycan serves as the "grid", and then the MOES switches back and forth between my Samlex inverter and the Lycan, depending on the sun / load / etc. This goes on well into the evening until the sun can no longer keep the Samlex going, and the Lycan drains down. Day after day, month after month. So far, no issues. I am able to roughly predict how long the Lycan will run by simply dividing the load watts into the percentage indicator x 1000 WH for the Lycan capacity, just to get a rough estimate, and it generally is pretty close. The Lycan AC shuts off at around 2 - 3%. That's the real advantage of the Li-iron. You can use it all! (almost). It would take almost a 200AH 12V SLA to get the same amount of usable power in a day (without damaging the battery). I think the Lycan is a bargain at the sale price. I use the AC ports, 12V ports, the USB ports, the SLA charger, the external Li-iron and even the cigarette lighter port. I plugged in one of those 60 Watt Type C adapters in, and that upgrades the Lycan to have available every connector for AC or DC charging in wide use today. With the ability to drive up to 1000W of load for up to an hour in a 60 pound package on wheels, nothing out there comes close. If you or anybody else out there has a specific test that I can run for you (without burning my house down  ), I will try to do it. Sorry, I got carried away and forgot to answer the two questions: Cost - get the batteries off eBay (sold by Renogy there) for about $500. "Maxed out" = no. I might not be willing to intentionally stress it at 1000 watts. But I run several hundred watts of computers all the time. The fan does get loud. And the voltage is only 109-110, but other than that, it has been all good. |
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raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 11, 2019 21:38:31 GMT
Thanks mediadogg, you are at system setup that I eventually want to get too. My approach, nickle and diming, would probably become a very expensive venture. So, yes this Lycan Powerbox is sounding more reasonable by the minute. And thanks for your detailed explanation.
I basically have a Dell T30, using it as a server, and a WD MyCloud with 4 x 10TB drives, that are running 24x7 off of AC power, would like to get those running off of sunlight.
Can you have the Lycan plugged into the AC and the solar panels, at the same time, and have the Lycan figure out which one to use as a charging source. The reason for something like that, days are getting shorter, and here, having more cloudy and heavy overcast, with snow days arriving soon, it would be nice to have the AC as backup source, for when there is not enough sunlight.
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 11, 2019 22:01:08 GMT
Thanks mediadogg, you are at system setup that I eventually want to get too. My approach, nickle and diming, would probably become a very expensive venture. So, yes this Lycan Powerbox is sounding more reasonable by the minute. And thanks for your detailed explanation. I basically have a Dell T30, using it as a server, and a WD MyCloud with 4 x 10TB drives, that are running 24x7 off of AC power, would like to get those running off of sunlight. Can you have the Lycan plugged into the AC and the solar panels, at the same time, and have the Lycan figure out which one to use as a charging source. The reason for something like that, days are getting shorter, and here, having more cloudy and heavy overcast, with snow days arriving soon, it would be nice to have the AC as backup source, for when there is not enough sunlight. Yes, as I stated above, I have the Lycan plugged into AC and solar all the time. Its just that my AC happens to come from another small solar setup. But that doesn't matter. Both are always charging. The only way to cause it to stop using the AC is either with a timer switch or something like the MOES, or even the CC load port which has a timer function. Just set it up to turn on a relay to power the AC charger a couple of hours before the sun goes down. The Lycan does have to be manually reset if it ever shuts off due to low battery. Now, I couldn't resist. I went and got my wife's 1000W hair dryer and an old window AC, crossed my fingers and cranked them up thru a Kill-A-Watt. The hair dryer maxed out at 825 watts and the Lycan did not blink. The AC, on max cool / max fan was running 425 watts. I was careful to bring the AC up to speed in stages. No huge surge on high power. What would be the point of trashing my Lycan for a test. So then, I went ahead and turned on the hair dryer. 1287 watts total, and the Lycan never blinked. I only let it go for a few minutes, but there is part of your answer. The box started at 100%, and was down to 95% when I stopped. It was only for less than 10 minutes total. I did leave it running with the AC while I went upstairs to fetch the dryer. So, lets say 5 min at 425 watts and 2 min at 1287 watts = about 4500 watt-minutes = 75WH. If 75WH is 5%, then 100% = 20 x 75 = 1500WH. Very unscientific, but remarkably close to specs. I promise you I did the calculations off the top of my head in real time as I was typing this. Take it for what it's worth. |
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Post by tattoo on Sept 11, 2019 22:14:37 GMT
Now, I couldn't resist. I went and got my wife's 1000W hair dryer and an old window AC, crossed my fingers and cranked them up thru a Kill-A-Watt. The hair dryer maxed out at 825 watts and the Lycan did not blink. The AC, on max cool / max fan was running 425 watts. I was careful to bring the AC up to speed in stages. No huge surge on high power. What would be the point of trashing my Lycan for a test. Was your Lycan still hooked up to your house AC power when you did the test? |
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 11, 2019 22:16:45 GMT
Now, I couldn't resist. I went and got my wife's 1000W hair dryer and an old window AC, crossed my fingers and cranked them up thru a Kill-A-Watt. The hair dryer maxed out at 825 watts and the Lycan did not blink. The AC, on max cool / max fan was running 425 watts. I was careful to bring the AC up to speed in stages. No huge surge on high power. What would be the point of trashing my Lycan for a test. Was your Lycan still hooked up to your house AC power when you did the test? No. It was totally off-grid and running on its internal battery. This was the new box, so I didn't have to disturb my setup. I just wheeled into the room with the AC and ran the test. |
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raydas
Solar Devotee
Posts: 166
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Post by raydas on Sept 11, 2019 22:55:06 GMT
I just did a quick read of the manual, and I noticed it mentioning an RJ45 Port, and they have a cable that goes with it. But I did not see any write up for it. Any idea for what or how that would be used. I guess plug into an eithernet switch and see if it comes up as an accessible unit.
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Post by mediadogg on Sept 12, 2019 0:00:34 GMT
I just did a quick read of the manual, and I noticed it mentioning an RJ45 Port, and they have a cable that goes with it. But I did not see any write up for it. Any idea for what or how that would be used. I guess plug into an eithernet switch and see if it comes up as an accessible unit. I suggest a more careful read. And I even mentioned it just a couple of posts ago. You mean you would actually risk plugging it into something before simply reading the manual? By the way, I tried a second air conditioner,, with almost the same steady state wattage requirement, about 450 watts, however the initial surge current was vastly higher than the first AC I tried, and it tripped the overload protection of the Lycan, which reset itself after a few seconds. It was too fast to be noticed on the Kill-A-Watt, but heavy enough so that the room lights blinked when on grid power. Guess I got lucky on the first one. The second unit has a much higher BTU rating, but it is also ECO, so I would surmise that a more powerful compressor would take more initial current, but due to efficient "ECO" design, its running wattage is no more than an older unit with less cooling power. Just my theory. |
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), I will try to do it.
