Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 11 replies
  • Subscribers 32 subscribers
  • Views 1005 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Garage Wiring, Coffee Roasting, Voltage Drop and Solar

Fultonius
Hi Folks,


I do a little coffee roasting. It's a 1300w machine, with a 230v heater element (40 Ohm - upgraded from a 240 / 44 ohm version). When running, it's drawing 5 amps and the voltage is dropping to 221v (around 229v before connecting).


Annoyingly, this means long roasting times in summer, and very long in winter! (not ideal)


So, here's my dilemma. I'm trying to consider the effects of voltage rise if I have batteries and an inverter. Obviously, I could get a variable output 1.5kw pure sine inverter and run it islanded. I have 7 x 16 ah 12v batteries redirected from going to the scrappies, which would have plenty juice to run this. I've been thinking for a while about putting a few solar panels on the roof and that's where it gets complicated.


Obviously the wiring from the house to the garage (at the bottom of the garden, so maybe 30m of wire) is a bit underspecced for what I need. Upgrading this would give me more chance of getting the correct voltage, and would probably make sense if I plan to put any "unused" power back to the grid. If the panels/inverter were grid-tied, what voltage would I end up with in the garage while running the roaster? My assumption is the amps will flow from the inverter to the roaster, and the grid will not have any effect? However, that's where my concern is - if my local voltage is higher, will that then default to pushing back to the grid and pull my voltage down?
  • 0
    It sounds to me as though some people are complicating what should be a simple matter.

    The voltage drop to the outbuilding is excessive, suggesting an undersized cable. Replace with at least 4mm.


    Or relocate the coffee roaster to the house. And perhaps purchase a better qaulity roaster, or accept that the present machine may be a bit slow.

    A reasonable qaulity coffee roaster or indeed any other domestic appliance should give acceptable results on a supply voltage of 220 volts or even a bit lower. Remember that a standard UK mains supply can be as low as 217 volts at the point of supply, and perhaps as low as 210 volts at the point of use.

Community Rules & Guidelines