Transformer Size

[See_Mos]

Waste not, want not.
Heatsink the diodes to your hot water heater. 

That's a good idea

[Fanie]

The transformer got some wheels.



It will get a pull handle, the wife insisted.
On the horizontal bar I drilled a hole for the bolt to fit through, but which is smaller than the 12mm bearings.  Center to the hole gets welded two large washers top and bottom where the bearings fit into, one top and one bottom.  The steering bolt is secured on the wheel frame with a nut, then again a nut on the top bearing.  The steering wheel's frame angle is about 65deg.

The two wires from the transformer is the primary's winding.  I doubt anything residential can damage that.

[Fanie]

I decided to get proper diodes for a bridge, and 1200V 300A sounds proper to me.  I made this decision since I can get them in Anode to stud and Cathode to stud which will make the connections a lot simpler, only two heatsinks required.  And it will be a once off.  A-hand I only have to pay by the end of the month which gives me time to adjust psychologically to the price damage.

IR's data sheet indicates a Vf of 1,3V at 785A and a Vf of 1,4V at 942A peak @ 25oC.
I hope I don't make any shorts ever to reach those currents.

The device housing is around 39mm diameter and the leads are around 11mm diameter.

[Fanie]

Waste not, want not.
Heatsink the diodes to your hot water heater. 

Someone has already done this, and I have no doubt that it will work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1pFP2a4xqg
I built a PV DC Semiconductor Immersion Water Heating Element! diode chain application

However

Solar panels are only about 20% efficient at best.  Maybe in future it will improve.  I estimate when panels get to 30 - 40% efficient, solar powered vehicles could become a reality.

For heating water you cannot beat the vacuum solar tubes, they are 85% or more efficient.  The standard tube holds about 1,5L of water, and if you place it in the sun it will boil the water away in a day.
Considering the surface area they equate to about 75W each - we get about 1000W of sun energy per square meter.

These vacuum solar tubes will work well for cooking food in them too, already done that a few times, but have a few tricks.  One advantage is the tubes inside doesn't exceed 140oC or there abouts if I remember right so unlike a heating element nothing gets scorched. The only problem is to get the Chinese to make large enough vacuum solar tubes (for me).

We've had abnormal clouded days for months now.  Yesterday we had some sun and on and off today too.
It's a bit like being sanctioned (the thing they force on you if you don't want to comply to their demands), which is a good thing, it forces you to seek solutions.

This transformer is one such a solution, it offers a much more efficient way to charge the batteries than what the inverter does with it's built-in charger.  We get fed all kinds of technological terms like MPPT which their equipment use, but is not always the best, especially under adverse conditions.

Hence, if you look at switch mode power supplies which claims near 100% efficiency it seems impressive, however in the case of a cellphone charger and the same with your PC's switch mode power supply,  from mains power they are actually power sucking devices.  The phone draws nearing 1A from mains to charge (the charging current must come from somewhere), and the 750W power supply for the PC draws up to 3,7A.  My old PC drawed a constant 2,7A measured off the mains power.

Since I have 12V solar, I use a buck converter to step the 12V up to 15V where it already works stable and draws less current than stepping up to 19V.  My current PC when idle draws less than 1 amp if idle, and when the CPU works it goes to around 2,7A.

Calculating the wats for 220 and 12V makes for a massive difference.  The 12V only supplies less than 35W where the mains switch mode power supply consumption is just below 600W.
Even if you have only mains power and you use a step down transformer, it will reduce the power consumption a lot.  Makes you wonder why the obsession with low power devices if power is actually abused.

Of course you cannot beat the sun, no wonder religions are based on sun (Sunday) worshipping, it reliably comes up every day without fail. That is why they say the sun of god is the light of the world, the giver of life, the savior of man, because if the sun doesn't come up we will die.
Using the sun for energy is like looking at the brighter side of things, you just have to look at it in a different light 

China is even creating their own sun...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wTaxzBxo6E
China's 'Artificial Sun' Breakthrough Brings Unlimited Energy Closer to Reality | World News | WION

[Fanie]

I received the diodes and discovered some heatsink I forgot that I had.
I pre-drilled the holes and as you can see it is only the thread that is in the way of them screwing in.



The thread is a weird one, 3/4" - 16 UNF, or M19 x 1,6m thread.
Who think these sizes up ? !