Here is a little bit of an update. I have been quite busy using the space and catching up on things that I couldn't do when I didn't have a workshop.
The place has surely assumed a good state of chaos (organised and not so organised). At least I am enjoying it and it's a nice place to be.
Soldering area
Computer area.
General work and test area.
Attempted organisation that never really ends up being so.
There are always bits and pieces to do and I have finally got around to installing proper network outlets rather than having CAT6 cables draped all over the place.
I sold the mini lathe that I had because a fantastic deal came up for a Myford Super7. The Myford is a bit too big for the space where the mini lathe was, so I have set it up in the garage.
I replaced the original motor with a three phase one for better control of speed and revering. This is the cabinet which houses the VFD and safety gear.
I have performed some upgrades to the energy system too.
As well as finally erecting a back fence, I built a rack for the PV modules. Here are two of them in place.
I also had the opportunity to upgrade my DC bus voltage to 24V. I got myself a more up-to-date Victron Multiplus inverter/charger. This one is 3KVA. It is powerful and feature rich enough to, at some point, supply most of the house loads. That's a bigger project for the future, but this Multiplus is one of many steps in that direction.
For now the 3KVA Multiplus is installed in the place of my previous 12V 2KVA Multiplus.
As it is grid interactive, I have got a "smart" energy meter installed at the infeed to the workshop. The meter communicates with the Victron over RS-485. I have got loads (the observatory) placed between the energy meter and the Multiplus' AC-IN. These loads will then be supplied by energy coming out of the Multiplus' AC-IN. The Multiplus will supply enough energy (within programmable limits of course) out of it's AC-IN to ensure that the grid meter reads 0. No energy will go ahead of the meter or onto the actual grid unless you set it up to do so. I have no interest in this kind of behaviour.
Of course in the event of a grid failure, AC-IN will disconnect.
As expected, loads that are connected to AC-OUT will continue to be supplied by the battery even if AC-IN is disconnected. My workshop and the garage are connected to AC-OUT. I have an Enphase grid tied inverter which I might one day connect onto the AC-OUT side. Energy not used by the loads on AC-OUT can then go into AC-OUT and charge the battery. The Multiplus can frequency shift AC-OUT in order to control those type of "grid tied" inverters.
This new Multiplus is therefore quite an upgrade from my previous 15 year old one.
Santa got me a Victron MPPT charge controller which outperforms the Midnite Classic in terms of daily yield. Obviously, the Victron MPPT connects with the other Victron kit seamlessly and so the Classic is now redundant.
This is the new stuff all set up and working.
I have a Beaglebone Black which runs Victron's (mostly) open source "VenusGX" which gathers all of the information from the Multiplus, Battery Monitor and Charge Controller and uploads it to Victron's VRM site (which is a free service). Running VenusGX on a $40 Beaglebone is a lot cheaper than purchasing a Victron CCGX for $500+ to do much the same thing.