I've been off the grid for over 20 yrs now and what I've found was that the gel cells don't work at all in the summer time.They hate heat.The agm's work fine,and the golf cart 6 volts work fine.But if you really want a killer system that you cant hurt then go to the fork lift batteries.You can get 3000 or better amp hrs and you can hit them hard as you want and take them all they way down and not hurt them.They would be the last batteries you would have to buy.Well worth it.Also I found that using buss bars made from copper pipe or brass bars work better than cables.There is no loss in them and what I have found was that even if you keep the cables clean you can't get the corrosion out of the wires under the sheathing,and you will lose allot of amps and not figure out why.Once I started using buss bars I never lost a single amp.Great work by the way,I'm just glad that someone is teaching people how to be self sufficient.
Forklift batteries can last for along time, that is true if it is treated right. If you abuse them they will be killed in no time like any other lead acid battery. To note also is that a forklift battery will take up to 20% more power to recharge than any other lead acid battery of the same capacity.
Good show. Johnson Controls make an assortment of Batts for a variety of brand names. Their quality control is admirable. Any budget minded person can realize that's $$ well spent.
Great video. Im getting ready to do this on a very small scale with my camper. Eventually i plan some back up for my house. There are alot of people putting videos out that arent as informative as what they intended. Not the case here. Great facts.
Just found this video of yours in my search for any information on Solar Panel charging station setups. Wanted to say this was one of the most well make and very informative videos that I have come across. Thank you for the time and effort that you have put into making this. I subscribed to your channel and will be sure to check out your other videos. Cheers and God Bless!
Thanks a lot for that sir!! I have been trying to find info like this for days.. And this by far has definitely been the most informative.. Knowledge like yours is without a doubt a gift!!
Thanks for all the excellent info, I maintain a large fleet of 1 ton diesel busses in the snow belt. Winter cold and summer A/C amperage demands reduce he life of our batteries to between 1 and 2 years, so I do a lot of battery, starting, alternator and cable maintenance. You've given me a lot of your valuable learned experience for my future home battery energy storage needs. Thanks for your experience!
Another great information video Kevin. Like I said before, you are doing a great job passing on information to thoses who are looking for answers to solar projects and other things. I think the government should give you a grant for your service in helping people go green. They should at least keep you supplied in liquid pork chops. Carey
Thanks this was very helpful. I am a solar enthusiast with zero knowledge. So I am learning from scratch and I pretty much understood everything you said.
Golf cart batteries are great for a couple of reasons: one, they're readily available and affordable. Also, eventually every battery will need to be replaced. Larger "L-16" type batteries have more capacity and will last longer, but weigh well over a hundred pounds each. I'm glad you mentioned equalizing the battery bank. It was a good explanation, and answers Nathan's question to a degree. Over charging an AGM or get battery will ruin it. They're great in their own purpose (they're sealed, and don't gas as they're being charged, so they don't require the ventilation of a flooded battery), but to make them last longest, they have to be monitored often and kept near full charge, because you can't equalize. It's a different kind of maintenance, but it's still maintenance. A flooded battery will need to be topped off with distilled water every now and then. Some water will be lost in regular use. Running the high voltage during equalization insures long battery life in a flooded battery.
Great video. I am setting up a camper for retirement and want to use solar as I am going to be in BLM and National Forest so I have some questions. 1. If I can safely vent my batteries are trojans better than AGM batteries in the long run. dollar per amp/hr used lifetime. Meaning does a AGM = 2 tojans over time 2. If I use tojans how often do I need to check water - new and older 3. What is the recharge time difference between trojan and AGM batteries
I am planning on doing a battery charging video soon. Charging and discharging batterys was one of my biggest learning curves. I thought I knew it all.... I was wrong... Thanks for watching and will be trying to do that video soon...
Thanks very much. Just looking to start a system to run my 11 amp pool pump and trying to get info on how it all works and each video I watch I learn yhat much more.
Wow, I do love your setup. Thanks for sharing your inside. If possible, can you tell me how do I know how many batteries and how many solar panels do I need to run one fridge, one freezer, and some household lights. Thank you in advance. Dino
Really good job on the explanation of batteries. I'm making my own off grid system and will be using 24 VDC. 3 banks of 24VDC GC batteries/220 Ah. 6X130-12 volt panels. 2 panels series. 3000 watt pure sign wave inverter. Thanks again!
I got a system I built 5 years ago using a walmart deep cycle battery (the largest they sell). I originally built this for occasional use when the power went out (only 1 or 2 times in 5 years). I keep it on one solar panel (45 watt) (I have 2 more I don't connect), through a solar controller and feeding an 1800 watt inverter with digital readout for amp draw and voltage. I designed it to operate my refrigerator and chest freezer for indefinite periods as needed (if ever needed) whereby I'd connect the other 2 panels. I've checked the battery periodically and always has good volt readings and has worked when needed. I was able to build the entire system for around $700 back then (not sure what it would cost today). I've powered lights, fans, freezer and fridge for up to 14 hours during blackout without issues. I don't have to buy gasoline, worry whether the generator will start, etc. Maintenance is more or less making sure all components are working from time to time. I mounted the battery in a plastic battery box that is bolted to a $25 luggage dolly. On the front is my controller and junction box which has a voltage gauge and small service light so I can find the outlets during an outage. On top is the inverter which has the digital readout mentioned above. I can extend the dolly handle up for portability or down for storage (under a table). I estimate the entire works weighs about 100 lbs or so. Dimensions are the width of the battery box approx 20 inches by perhaps 16 inches height by about a foot deep. It has really been useful when needed. And I recommend this for a backup for emergency power. Don't want spoiled food.
So you have 212 watt draw on the batteries when the video was shot - 1.69A draw @ 12.vdc = 212 watts. Good explanation in general for most people to use as guidance so they don't buy cranking batteries. You might know this but OutBack inverters and charge controllers have built in circuitry to equalize your batteries automatically. Great videos as always Kevin.
Thank you so much for this video. I was so frustrated with my current small system to run my aquaponics garden. Dual deep cycle marine batteries bought at Walmart only last me for 4 hours for 7 months and now its last about 2 hours max.
Wanted to mention that i liked your video and your indoor power panel is very elaborate. I would like to know more about the design and what it would take to set up one just like that??? Im in the beginning stage, right now im purchasing the solar cells and aluminum angle frames to build approx six solar panels that consists of 72 3x6 solar cells each. Right now im interested in learning about after the panels are completely built and tied together! After that im still lost! hahaha
When I bought my RV 3 years ago I took out the starting and auxiliary batteries and replaced them with golf cart batteries. I was worried that they wouldn't have enough cranking amps to start the 454 but they've never failed to start the engine even when discharged below 11.7 volts.
Ive been a heating and plumbing contractor for 12 years. I have installed many solar systems on homes for radient heat. The systems I installed would heat a 2 to 3000 square foot home and its snow melt system at 10,000 ft in the Colorado mountains on just 2 panels. I just dont know much on the electric solar systems. I look forward to my next home and creating a complete solar system for heat and electricity.
Good info. I'm planning to set up an off grid system this Spring at my cabin. One question that I have that I don't seem to get from these vids is what is the gauge wire used in connecting the batteries together? Thanks.
I been running 8D batteries with a reserve of over 430 hrs @ 25 amps for over 30 years on multiple yachts. They will run almost anything. They take charge discharge cycles in the high hundreds if not more. My batteries run what is a self contained livable environment on my boats.I do less than 50% discharge before recharging, this increases charge cycles by almost double. I run 2 3000 watt inverts both @ 50% , they draw about 25+ amps together while in this mode with a reserve of 3000 watts. This gives me around 200+ hrs between charges. I have 2 of these 8D batteries and both are over 3 years old and show no signs of dying.Cost under $ 200.00 ea. Sam's club. These batteries have been the marine industry standard for decades. It's one thing to have your outhouse light go out, it's another to be in the middle of the ocean when your power craps out. I'll go with the millions of sailors with a combined use life of MILLIONS of use hours using this proven battery over all this hypothetical stuff any day. i'M PREPPED TO SAIL MY ASS OUTA HERE
Pretty good info, I usually like to run through and correct there videos when directed to watch. Pretty much spot on! A couple things, the amps out and amps in is misleading. In terms of wattage, you will use about 20% more watts in than out of lead acid batteries, Most of this loss is in the voltage, you would charge a 12.6 volt (12 volt nominal) battery at 14.5 volts. The amps in is pretty close to the amps out. The other interesting thing about flooded lead acid batteries is they reduce the amount of amperage they take in as they approach 100% full!
thanks it has help me to decide what battery to use. How about electric fork lift that may use in warehouses? I want to build a off grid system with 220 volt power not tied to grid at all. to get power to my place would cost $13000 to 16000 for the cable in the ground from the power company. I want some ideas on inverter, solar panels, controls, how Many?
Excellent advice! Regular batteries go to poop when discharged and charged back up. Deep cycle marine batteries are Excellent for solar use because they can take a beating on discharging.
Very nice video! I'm putting a system together, all I want for emergency purposes is to run a small 1.7 cf dorm style refrigerator that has a small freezer compartment. Will my battery bank be very big? How large a solar panel system would I be looking at? Thanks for any information you have
Only thing I haven't heard youu mention is the temperatures to keep batteries at. A lot of these guys have them out in there shops where they are at 90 and up in the summer and near freezing in the winter. How critical is the temp and is heat or cold worse? Thanx again Kevin and keep up the good work.-Nate
Yes. Generally speaking (I don't know your exact set-up) this will work. We have a battery bank, with a 40amp charger and a smaller 1200watt Inverter. I can run the inverter at the same time the charger is running. However, why run the Inverter if you have 120V AC to operate the charger?
Have you ever tried using 2v fork lift cells? They are like 3' tall and 4"x4" square. They build them into big 48v battery packs for tow motors but if you want 12v or 24v for solar that is easy to do. Just need the right charger. Check with a battery warehouse like interstate.
Do you have a video up on wire size? Specifically, is #12 wire safe to wire an off-grid cabin with? I am planning a 24v system and using LED lighting. The longest run would be around 30ft. Any info you could share would be greatly appreciated. Also your videos are some of the best I've seen keep it up.
What's more important for deep cycle batteries is the reserve capacity rating and not the amp hour rating. The reserve capacity tells how many minutes you can expect the fully charged battery to drain at 25 amps. This will give you a much better view of the battery capacity in a solar system. You'll also find that AGM batteries are really lacking in reserve capacity versus good ole wet cells. I like your setup! Mine is smaller and set up for AHBL Day running 2 chest freezers as fridges.
I really enjoyed your video. Is it possible you can post or PM me a list of all the converters or inverters you have. I really like your setup and looking to do the same at home. Thank you in advance. J
It has been live and learn for me. I did get rid of the junk components. I figure why burn your house down to save a buck. Flex solar panels are cool and coming way down in price. My best advice is large wire ,fusing and good components. Thanks for the kind words..
these are great videos. As a request is there a way to do a video on the statistics of your system. I only ask about your system because it is a working example, and you seem to keep real close track of what you use and take in. So as an example. What your panels can bring in on ave, what your usage is. what is your break even point ect. The statistics interest me if your able.
Very good video and set up.I would like to know what DC voltage you have hooked up the battery bank to? 12,24,36,48..?Great advice on 6V batteries.Trojan is the best and not that expensive compare to special solar batteries...
I like your neat and organized setup! We've got a grid-tied system with 12.5kw capacity, but max I've ever seen is just over 10kW, since the panels are at various angles relative to sun. The bummer is, the most efficient for grid-tied is the new micro-inverters, which crank out 240VAC right behind each solar panel. Makes the wiring much cheaper too and a bad cell doesn't pull down the others. Problem is, if you want to also have power when the grid goes down (dugh!?), then you need to add some very fancy hardware. Basically a charge controller, which can also output a clean, stable, 60Hz, 240AC to trick the micro inverters into coming on. Now all that power has to go somewhere, so you better have some big batteries and even a heater/hotwater load to take the rest when the batteries are full. I'll be back... to see more of what you've got going there...
Very nice video and setup. I'd like to see you go through each item and what role each one plays and why they are important/needed with math models, etc.
If your wanting portable power, I use 2 235 watt panels, xantrex 1800 hf inverter with both 12 volt or 120 volt shore power input/output, 30 amp charge controller, and 2 12 volt northstar batteries agm deep cycle. It has 195 amps hour or 2400 watts charging over a 5 hour sunlight/cloudy day period. Its all mounted on the top of van and can track the suns path. You can do the same with a truck or suv.
It looks like a red grease, I'm sure it would be used to help prevent corrosion on the terminals, and help conductivity. I've used a spray on paint type product that was blue for this purpose. Vasoline works well too.
@TorchwoodElectrics Depends on what you are planning to draw off your batteries for amps. Typically you would still go a size up or two from what your maximum draw would be just to be safe. Generally you wouldn't have cables smaller than #8 (40 amps) for even the smallest systems. #4 cables (75 amps are very typical for smaller to medium systems. For larger systems have #2 or even larger gauge wire. Also important to keep the battery cables as short as possible,
Would this be a decent solar battery for a home system? Just found a 12V Duracell AGM battery (31DTMAGM) at Sam's Club for $169. Seems to have good specs for a Marine/RV battery. Most of the Solar AGM batteries I've looked at are $300. •100 amp hour rate:110 •20 amp hour rate:105 •3 amp hour rate:85 •5 amp hour rate:86 •6 amp hour rate:87.4 I know you want to stay away from car batteries with lot's of cold cranking amps because they are not built for solar applications.
this is required to make a 12V system. two 6V in parallel creates a 12V (thus the + to - connection.) then the 12V "units" are connected in series to provide the longer life necessary for running services. Hope that helps.
Wow! im a Licensed Electrician and you have enlightened me today. I plan to take a class on Photovoltaic soon. Did you install your set up yourself? Approximately how much did it cost? Plus or minus your friend hooking you up. Ballpark figure?
Hey thanks for the great video. I am looking into buying 6v Trojans for my rv which I'll be living in for two years with my partner. We are saving money for land and will be using solar and deep cycle batteries for our electricity. I'm not sure how many batteries and of what amp hours I will need. Is it just too much to ask to run the AC without damaging our batteries? We aren't picky but it would be great to have AC when extra people are packed in on hot days. Thanks for any help!
This has to be the best info I've found on battery banks for solar panel system. I'm sure this set up would ring true with any alternate energy system?
That is a great question.. Discharging to deeply and very light discharges can be bad. I recomend never going past 60% state of discharge and runnind a bank down about 20% frome time to time.. Thanks for watching...
I have been corrected on my math over and over. When I say 30% more that is not a science but it is the truth. I am only trying to share some simple facts. Loosing a large battery bank due to undercharging is a hard hit... You are right my math was off but my intensions are good...Cheers..
Thanks for the video! I have a question, if you've already covered this, please direct me to the video. If I'm running grid power with battery backup, charging system of some sort assumed, would it be worth it to run a low voltage circuit through the house, for lighting or other low voltage devices? I'm thinking this would save the losses in the inverter. One person I asked about this said just use the new LED lights in your fixtures, but that is just another place for loss.
Good stuff....I am about to build a "green" farm so that I can sustain on true renewable energy....I just never want to pay my electric company AGAIN.....I am going to go solar / wind for power and thanks for your videos...good stuff !!
I wish I could help you but there are to many variables such as solar array size, where you live, shading and your loads. Before I had solar I just had a couple of batteries and an inverter to off set running the generator as much. Hope that helped...
Craig Arndt The Earth4Energy kit is the best system for people who are looking to save money on their home energy bill and want to build a energy generator at home. Check out ==> earth4energy-new.blogspot.com/
Very good video. You have a very clean setup. I'm thinking about trying this in the UK. Our electricity bills are like daylight robbery so I'm thinking of putting together a solar system. I want to buy a couple of 120W panels ( Peak Output 7.93A @ 17.2V) to start with but looking for a decent set of batteries. What rating of solar cells do you use and how many panels do you have? I saw you also have a wind turbine in your system which is really cool.
OBX you are among the best, good info! What is your opinion on Desulfators? Do they really work ? I've heard they can triple the life-span of batterys.
You have a wonderful system there. I have a total of 170 watt solar panels and 3 marine/rv batteries and 1 mat glass battery someone gave me. You mentioned to charge your batteries once a month to full capacities. I never heard that before. My batteries show on an average 13.8 volts during the day and 12.8 at night time. I only use my system as a back up in case I lose power during an earthquake. Should I charge my batteries once a month to excite the electrolyte as you mentioned?. Any help would be appreciated. Again, you have a great system there.
I heard you say you're on the Outer Banks. I am 6 hours away, but getting ready to build myself a solar backup system for the essentials (refrigerator, freezer, some lighting). Any thoughts before I go shopping for parts?
I am starting with 4 Trojan 6volt golf cart batteries. I have a small 60 watt, 12volt solar array and a charge controller. My solar panels are not charging my batteries up enough during the day to run a couple of lights. How many panels and what size would be necessary to charge them up during the day. All I want to run is a 90watt LED, and a 4 tube, 4' Florescent light fixture for 18 hours a day in my greenhouse.
They are. I like the AGMs that are made for solar use or off grid. Batteries are getting better but flooded lead acid batterys seam to rule in the truly off grid setups mostly Rolls Surettes. They are not cheap by no means but the large off grid systems use them and were talking world wide. Im shure the new batteries will be coming but for now they are crazy expencive and offer very little when it comes to long term track record.
Hey nice setup you got there! I am curious of how many batteries you have in your bank or in other words, what is you max Ah capacity? I have 1200Ah solar batteries and would like to contrast your setup. You said you had just the refrigerator, a freezer and a sound system running at the moment, right? Thanks!
Looking at a 15 kW system myself for a cabin up north but this looks too expensive and time consuming for an occasional user. I'm going to just tie to the grid for now to offset the $50/month hookup charge then work into storage gradually. Maybe there will be an alternative in another 10 years.
today 2/29/12 i watched your video on batteries n thanks for the info, i almost made that mistake n bought a mobile home large battey, so i should go with 6 volt batteries?
Capacitors are good for a one shot discharge. They are used for starting heavy loads and or smoothing AC current. A capacitor can not store useful power. I hope that was helpfull..
Great video brother. I have one of those UBER hyped Optima Yellow top batteries that are now made in Mexico for the same price(mine is one of the last ones made in Aurora Colorado) and it actually turned out to be an incredible battery for my mid-sized suv. So your saying that you only discharge your *Gold cart battery bank* down to 30% of total capacity? I knew some folks would correct your off math..haha. God bless brother.
Hello! Thank you for the info. I am in Pakistan and here power breakdowns are on daily basis. Additionally, price of electric power is going through the roof. I also recently acquired a Banana Farm and facing the same problem there. Came across your video while searching for high capacity deep well pump which can run on Solar Power. In your video can you tell me with all the gadgets on the wall how much a system like that can cost?
Great video, thanks. It looks like you have the option of charging with a wind turbine - can you have multiple inputs (solar panels, wind turbine) feeding into your charge controller simultaneously or do you have to select power source?
I just purchased a used RV with four new Interstate 6 volt batteries that are hooked up in both series and parallel with ending results of 12 volts. They are connected and being charged by four solar panels on the roof. The RV is stored under covered parking at the storage facility and don't get the full sun unless out on the road or camping. Being that the panels provide a small charge / take a long time to bring the battery bank to full charge. I was wanting to take my 12 volt auto battery charger and connect the gator clips from the charger to the batteries where the 12 volts from the batteries connect onto the coach. Can this be done and do I need to disconnect the solar panels leads. This is all new to me so trying to obtain good information and limiting my mistakes. Thanks for information that you can provide. Thanks, Lee
Good video, personally I like the AGM batteries, although they are more expensive. For a lot of people they are the better choice because many of us aren't that good at taking care of our systems. One other point you didn't mention is that lead-acid batteries do not have a memory. You don't need to work them out. As long as you periodically get them fully charged up they will last a long time.
If cost is not an issue I would go Rolls Surettes with auto fillers. If you are running a hybrid system with batterie back up The high end AGMs cant be beat. I have seen your set up.. Very nice.. Cheers..
I've been off the grid for over 20 yrs now and what I've found was that the gel cells don't work at all in the summer time.They hate heat.The agm's work fine,and the golf cart 6 volts work fine.But if you really want a killer system that you cant hurt then go to the fork lift batteries.You can get 3000 or better amp hrs and you can hit them hard as you want and take them all they way down and not hurt them.They would be the last batteries you would have to buy.Well worth it.Also I found that using buss bars made from copper pipe or brass bars work better than cables.There is no loss in them and what I have found was that even if you keep the cables clean you can't get the corrosion out of the wires under the sheathing,and you will lose allot of amps and not figure out why.Once I started using buss bars I never lost a single amp.Great work by the way,I'm just glad that someone is teaching people how to be self sufficient.
Forklift batteries can last for along time, that is true if it is treated right. If you abuse them they will be killed in no time like any other lead acid battery.
To note also is that a forklift battery will take up to 20% more power to recharge than any other lead acid battery of the same capacity.
Good show.
Johnson Controls make an assortment of Batts for a variety of brand names.
Their quality control is admirable.
Any budget minded person can realize that's $$ well spent.
You should have your own channel. Most folks don't have that experience.
Great video. Im getting ready to do this on a very small scale with my camper. Eventually i plan some back up for my house. There are alot of people putting videos out that arent as informative as what they intended. Not the case here. Great facts.
Just found this video of yours in my search for any information on Solar Panel charging station setups. Wanted to say this was one of the most well make and very informative videos that I have come across. Thank you for the time and effort that you have put into making this. I subscribed to your channel and will be sure to check out your other videos. Cheers and God Bless!
Thanks a lot for that sir!! I have been trying to find info like this for days.. And this by far has definitely been the most informative.. Knowledge like yours is without a doubt a gift!!
Thanks for all the excellent info, I maintain a large fleet of 1 ton diesel busses in the snow belt. Winter cold and summer A/C amperage demands reduce he life of our batteries to between 1 and 2 years, so I do a lot of battery, starting, alternator and cable maintenance. You've given me a lot of your valuable learned experience for my future home battery energy storage needs. Thanks for your experience!
Another great information video Kevin. Like I said before, you are doing a great job passing on information to thoses who are looking for answers to solar projects and other things. I think the government should give you a grant for your service in helping people go green. They should at least keep you supplied in liquid pork chops.
Carey
Love your overall organization and immaculate wiring job!
Thanks this was very helpful. I am a solar enthusiast with zero knowledge. So I am learning from scratch and I pretty much understood everything you said.
That was 7 years ago, so are you an expert now? I'm just starting.
Golf cart batteries are great for a couple of reasons: one, they're readily available and affordable. Also, eventually every battery will need to be replaced. Larger "L-16" type batteries have more capacity and will last longer, but weigh well over a hundred pounds each. I'm glad you mentioned equalizing the battery bank. It was a good explanation, and answers Nathan's question to a degree. Over charging an AGM or get battery will ruin it. They're great in their own purpose (they're sealed, and don't gas as they're being charged, so they don't require the ventilation of a flooded battery), but to make them last longest, they have to be monitored often and kept near full charge, because you can't equalize. It's a different kind of maintenance, but it's still maintenance. A flooded battery will need to be topped off with distilled water every now and then. Some water will be lost in regular use. Running the high voltage during equalization insures long battery life in a flooded battery.
Very informative, especially about the 6v batteries!
Thanks for sharing!
very good information. I learned a lot about the different battery type and capacity they hold. Good job!
Great video. I am setting up a camper for retirement and want to use solar as I am going to be in BLM and National Forest so I have some questions.
1. If I can safely vent my batteries are trojans better than AGM batteries in the long run. dollar per amp/hr used lifetime. Meaning does a AGM = 2 tojans over time
2. If I use tojans how often do I need to check water - new and older
3. What is the recharge time difference between trojan and AGM batteries
I am planning on doing a battery charging video soon. Charging and discharging batterys was one of my biggest learning curves. I thought I knew it all.... I was wrong... Thanks for watching and will be trying to do that video soon...
Great and very informative video. Doing some research on Solar power w/ battery back up and this answered a some questions I had.
Best video I've seen on explaining batteries. Good job!
Thanks very much. Just looking to start a system to run my 11 amp pool pump and trying to get info on how it all works and each video I watch I learn yhat much more.
Wow, I do love your setup. Thanks for sharing your inside. If possible, can you tell me how do I know how many batteries and how many solar panels do I need to run one fridge, one freezer, and some household lights. Thank you in advance. Dino
Really good job on the explanation of batteries. I'm making my own off grid system and will be using 24 VDC. 3 banks of 24VDC GC batteries/220 Ah. 6X130-12 volt panels. 2 panels series. 3000 watt pure sign wave inverter. Thanks again!
Good video for helping people to decide on what type of battery is best for a solar battery backup.
I got a system I built 5 years ago using a walmart deep cycle battery (the largest they sell). I originally built this for occasional use when the power went out (only 1 or 2 times in 5 years). I keep it on one solar panel (45 watt) (I have 2 more I don't connect), through a solar controller and feeding an 1800 watt inverter with digital readout for amp draw and voltage. I designed it to operate my refrigerator and chest freezer for indefinite periods as needed (if ever needed) whereby I'd connect the other 2 panels. I've checked the battery periodically and always has good volt readings and has worked when needed. I was able to build the entire system for around $700 back then (not sure what it would cost today). I've powered lights, fans, freezer and fridge for up to 14 hours during blackout without issues. I don't have to buy gasoline, worry whether the generator will start, etc. Maintenance is more or less making sure all components are working from time to time. I mounted the battery in a plastic battery box that is bolted to a $25 luggage dolly. On the front is my controller and junction box which has a voltage gauge and small service light so I can find the outlets during an outage. On top is the inverter which has the digital readout mentioned above. I can extend the dolly handle up for portability or down for storage (under a table). I estimate the entire works weighs about 100 lbs or so. Dimensions are the width of the battery box approx 20 inches by perhaps 16 inches height by about a foot deep. It has really been useful when needed. And I recommend this for a backup for emergency power. Don't want spoiled food.
So you have 212 watt draw on the batteries when the video was shot - 1.69A draw @ 12.vdc = 212 watts. Good explanation in general for most people to use as guidance so they don't buy cranking batteries. You might know this but OutBack inverters and charge controllers have built in circuitry to equalize your batteries automatically. Great videos as always Kevin.
That is a great setup you have on that video I wish you could explain more in detail about how you came about wiring up your system. Mike
60 amps out requires 90 amps back in.
Now that clears up a bit of confusion for me.
Thanks.
Thank you so much for this video. I was so frustrated with my current small system to run my aquaponics garden. Dual deep cycle marine batteries bought at Walmart only last me for 4 hours for 7 months and now its last about 2 hours max.
Wanted to mention that i liked your video and your indoor power panel is very elaborate. I would like to know more about the design and what it would take to set up one just like that??? Im in the beginning stage, right now im purchasing the solar cells and aluminum angle frames to build approx six solar panels that consists of 72 3x6 solar cells each. Right now im interested in learning about after the panels are completely built and tied together! After that im still lost! hahaha
When I bought my RV 3 years ago I took out the starting and auxiliary batteries and replaced them with golf cart batteries. I was worried that they wouldn't have enough cranking amps to start the 454 but they've never failed to start the engine even when discharged below 11.7 volts.
Ive been a heating and plumbing contractor for 12 years. I have installed many solar systems on homes for radient heat. The systems I installed would heat a 2 to 3000 square foot home and its snow melt system at 10,000 ft in the Colorado mountains on just 2 panels. I just dont know much on the electric solar systems. I look forward to my next home and creating a complete solar system for heat and electricity.
Good info. I'm planning to set up an off grid system this Spring at my cabin. One question that I have that I don't seem to get from these vids is what is the gauge wire used in connecting the batteries together? Thanks.
What about fork lift battery packs? Just learning and planning on a cabin solar setup and could use the help, thanks for the videos.
I been running 8D batteries with a reserve of over 430 hrs @ 25 amps for over 30
years on multiple yachts. They will run almost anything. They take charge discharge cycles in the high hundreds if not more. My batteries run what is a self contained livable environment on my boats.I do less than 50% discharge before recharging, this increases charge cycles by almost double. I run 2 3000 watt inverts both @ 50% , they draw about 25+ amps together while in this mode with a reserve of 3000 watts. This gives me around 200+ hrs between charges. I have 2 of these 8D batteries and both are over 3 years old and show no signs of dying.Cost under $ 200.00 ea. Sam's club. These batteries have been the marine industry standard for decades. It's one thing to have your outhouse light go out, it's another to be in the middle of the ocean when your power craps out. I'll go with the millions of sailors with a combined use life of MILLIONS of use hours using this proven battery over all this hypothetical stuff any day. i'M PREPPED TO SAIL MY ASS OUTA HERE
It was helpful Kevin.... Thanks for putting inputting the time, and outputting the good info.
Excellent video - straight to the point, very eloquent. Great for beginners
Excellent video. Very informative. Thank You for taking the time putting it together and posting.
Pretty good info, I usually like to run through and correct there videos when directed to watch. Pretty much spot on!
A couple things, the amps out and amps in is misleading. In terms of wattage, you will use about 20% more watts in than out of lead acid batteries, Most of this loss is in the voltage, you would charge a 12.6 volt (12 volt nominal) battery at 14.5 volts. The amps in is pretty close to the amps out. The other interesting thing about flooded lead acid batteries is they reduce the amount of amperage they take in as they approach 100% full!
thanks it has help me to decide what battery to use. How about electric fork lift that may use in warehouses? I want to build a off grid system with 220 volt power not tied to grid at all. to get power to my place would cost $13000 to 16000 for the cable in the ground from the power company. I want some ideas on inverter, solar panels, controls, how Many?
Excellent advice! Regular batteries go to poop when discharged and charged back up. Deep cycle marine batteries are Excellent for solar use because they can take a beating on discharging.
Very nice video! I'm putting a system together, all I want for emergency purposes is to run a small 1.7 cf dorm style refrigerator that has a small freezer compartment. Will my battery bank be very big? How large a solar panel system would I be looking at?
Thanks for any information you have
Good sharing , thanks . question,did you make any fan hole for this wooden battery cabinet ? it should be better for battery performance i guess.
Very informative ... what types of inverters do you use? Or they modified sine or true sine? How much has your set-up cost you -- so far?
Only thing I haven't heard youu mention is the temperatures to keep batteries at. A lot of these guys have them out in there shops where they are at 90 and up in the summer and near freezing in the winter. How critical is the temp and is heat or cold worse? Thanx again Kevin and keep up the good work.-Nate
Yes. Generally speaking (I don't know your exact set-up) this will work. We have a battery bank, with a 40amp charger and a smaller 1200watt Inverter. I can run the inverter at the same time the charger is running.
However, why run the Inverter if you have 120V AC to operate the charger?
Have you ever tried using 2v fork lift cells? They are like 3' tall and 4"x4" square. They build them into big 48v battery packs for tow motors but if you want 12v or 24v for solar that is easy to do. Just need the right charger. Check with a battery warehouse like interstate.
I just like the way your setup looks
Do you have a video up on wire size? Specifically, is #12 wire safe to wire an off-grid cabin with? I am planning a 24v system and using LED lighting. The longest run would be around 30ft. Any info you could share would be greatly appreciated. Also your videos are some of the best I've seen keep it up.
What's more important for deep cycle batteries is the reserve capacity rating and not the amp hour rating. The reserve capacity tells how many minutes you can expect the fully charged battery to drain at 25 amps. This will give you a much better view of the battery capacity in a solar system. You'll also find that AGM batteries are really lacking in reserve capacity versus good ole wet cells. I like your setup! Mine is smaller and set up for AHBL Day running 2 chest freezers as fridges.
I really enjoyed your video. Is it possible you can post or PM me a list of all the converters or inverters you have. I really like your setup and looking to do the same at home. Thank you in advance.
J
It has been live and learn for me. I did get rid of the junk components. I figure why burn your house down to save a buck. Flex solar panels are cool and coming way down in price. My best advice is large wire ,fusing and good components. Thanks for the kind words..
these are great videos. As a request is there a way to do a video on the statistics of your system. I only ask about your system because it is a working example, and you seem to keep real close track of what you use and take in. So as an example. What your panels can bring in on ave, what your usage is. what is your break even point ect. The statistics interest me if your able.
Very good video and set up.I would like to know what DC voltage you have hooked up the battery bank to? 12,24,36,48..?Great advice on 6V batteries.Trojan is the best and not that expensive compare to special solar batteries...
No problem, I understand. Think I've watched them all but it's what I AM missing not you. Really enjoy your work.
I like your neat and organized setup! We've got a grid-tied system with 12.5kw capacity, but max I've ever seen is just over 10kW, since the panels are at various angles relative to sun. The bummer is, the most efficient for grid-tied is the new micro-inverters, which crank out 240VAC right behind each solar panel. Makes the wiring much cheaper too and a bad cell doesn't pull down the others. Problem is, if you want to also have power when the grid goes down (dugh!?), then you need to add some very fancy hardware. Basically a charge controller, which can also output a clean, stable, 60Hz, 240AC to trick the micro inverters into coming on. Now all that power has to go somewhere, so you better have some big batteries and even a heater/hotwater load to take the rest when the batteries are full. I'll be back... to see more of what you've got going there...
trumpetmaris won't work!! you can"t trick them.... any grid tied sys. needs grid pwr to work..
Awesome video buddy heaps of info.. you. Seem like you know what your doing.. any tips. Or maybe help and advice on a diy solar setup for van please?.
Very nice video and setup. I'd like to see you go through each item and what role each one plays and why they are important/needed with math models, etc.
If your wanting portable power, I use 2 235 watt panels, xantrex 1800 hf inverter with both 12 volt or 120 volt shore power input/output, 30 amp charge controller, and 2 12 volt northstar batteries agm deep cycle. It has 195 amps hour or 2400 watts charging over a 5 hour sunlight/cloudy day period. Its all mounted on the top of van and can track the suns path. You can do the same with a truck or suv.
It looks like a red grease, I'm sure it would be used to help prevent corrosion on the terminals, and help conductivity. I've used a spray on paint type product that was blue for this purpose.
Vasoline works well too.
@TorchwoodElectrics Depends on what you are planning to draw off your batteries for amps. Typically you would still go a size up or two from what your maximum draw would be just to be safe. Generally you wouldn't have cables smaller than #8 (40 amps) for even the smallest systems. #4 cables (75 amps are very typical for smaller to medium systems. For larger systems have #2 or even larger gauge wire. Also important to keep the battery cables as short as possible,
Nice set up! Do you have a drawn out diagram I could look at?
Excellent and thanks!
When you say discharge to 20% do you mean you used 80% of the charge and there is only 20% left?
Would this be a decent solar battery for a home system? Just found a 12V Duracell AGM battery (31DTMAGM) at Sam's Club for $169. Seems to have good specs for a Marine/RV battery. Most of the Solar AGM batteries I've looked at are $300.
•100 amp hour rate:110
•20 amp hour rate:105
•3 amp hour rate:85
•5 amp hour rate:86
•6 amp hour rate:87.4
I know you want to stay away from car batteries with lot's of cold cranking amps because they are not built for solar applications.
this is required to make a 12V system. two 6V in parallel creates a 12V (thus the + to - connection.) then the 12V "units" are connected in series to provide the longer life necessary for running services. Hope that helps.
Wow! im a Licensed Electrician and you have enlightened me today. I plan to take a class on Photovoltaic soon. Did you install your set up yourself? Approximately how much did it cost? Plus or minus your friend hooking you up. Ballpark figure?
What device is recording the amps being drawn by your loads? Thanks. Nice clean set up.
Hi OBX, I second brychevy's question, Do you need a desulfator on the bank if our charge controller has an equalise function?
Keep up the good work.
Hey thanks for the great video. I am looking into buying 6v Trojans for my rv which I'll be living in for two years with my partner. We are saving money for land and will be using solar and deep cycle batteries for our electricity. I'm not sure how many batteries and of what amp hours I will need. Is it just too much to ask to run the AC without damaging our batteries? We aren't picky but it would be great to have AC when extra people are packed in on hot days. Thanks for any help!
This has to be the best info I've found on battery banks for solar panel system. I'm sure this set up would ring true with any alternate energy system?
Great Post! Have you seen the powerrouter solar inverter as a battery management system.
That is a great question.. Discharging to deeply and very light discharges can be bad. I recomend never going past 60% state of discharge and runnind a bank down about 20% frome time to time.. Thanks for watching...
I have been corrected on my math over and over. When I say 30% more that is not a science but it is the truth. I am only trying to share some simple facts. Loosing a large battery bank due to undercharging is a hard hit... You are right my math was off but my intensions are good...Cheers..
Thanks for the video! I have a question, if you've already covered this, please direct me to the video. If I'm running grid power with battery backup, charging system of some sort assumed, would it be worth it to run a low voltage circuit through the house, for lighting or other low voltage devices? I'm thinking this would save the losses in the inverter. One person I asked about this said just use the new LED lights in your fixtures, but that is just another place for loss.
Thanks for the info. I started looking into this technology after I read ur comment and it looks very interesting.
Good stuff....I am about to build a "green" farm so that I can sustain on true renewable energy....I just never want to pay my electric company AGAIN.....I am going to go solar / wind for power and thanks for your videos...good stuff !!
I wish I could help you but there are to many variables such as solar array size, where you live, shading and your loads. Before I had solar I just had a couple of batteries and an inverter to off set running the generator as much. Hope that helped...
This was very helpful. I am going with a solar setup for my shed, thanks for the great video. I'm subbing.
Craig Arndt The Earth4Energy kit is the best system for people who are looking to save money on their home energy bill and want to build a energy generator at home.
Check out ==> earth4energy-new.blogspot.com/
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wow that setup is awesome looking ....thanks for the video good info
Very good video. You have a very clean setup. I'm thinking about trying this in the UK. Our electricity bills are like daylight robbery so I'm thinking of putting together a solar system. I want to buy a couple of 120W panels ( Peak Output 7.93A @ 17.2V) to start with but looking for a decent set of batteries. What rating of solar cells do you use and how many panels do you have? I saw you also have a wind turbine in your system which is really cool.
OBX you are among the best, good info! What is your opinion on Desulfators? Do they really work ? I've heard they can triple the life-span of batterys.
You have a wonderful system there. I have a total of 170 watt solar panels and 3 marine/rv batteries and 1 mat glass battery someone gave me. You mentioned to charge your batteries once a month to full capacities. I never heard that before. My batteries show on an average 13.8 volts during the day and 12.8 at night time. I only use my system as a back up in case I lose power during an earthquake. Should I charge my batteries once a month to excite the electrolyte as you mentioned?. Any help would be appreciated. Again, you have a great system there.
I heard you say you're on the Outer Banks. I am 6 hours away, but getting ready to build myself a solar backup system for the essentials (refrigerator, freezer, some lighting). Any thoughts before I go shopping for parts?
I am starting with 4 Trojan 6volt golf cart batteries. I have a small 60 watt, 12volt solar array and a charge controller. My solar panels are not charging my batteries up enough during the day to run a couple of lights. How many panels and what size would be necessary to charge them up during the day. All I want to run is a 90watt LED, and a 4 tube, 4' Florescent light fixture for 18 hours a day in my greenhouse.
They are. I like the AGMs that are made for solar use or off grid. Batteries are getting better but flooded lead acid batterys seam to rule in the truly off grid setups mostly Rolls Surettes. They are not cheap by no means but the large off grid systems use them and were talking world wide. Im shure the new batteries will be coming but for now they are crazy expencive and offer very little when it comes to long term track record.
Hey nice setup you got there! I am curious of how many batteries you have in your bank or in other words, what is you max Ah capacity? I have 1200Ah solar batteries and would like to contrast your setup. You said you had just the refrigerator, a freezer and a sound system running at the moment, right? Thanks!
Looking at a 15 kW system myself for a cabin up north but this looks too expensive and time consuming for an occasional user. I'm going to just tie to the grid for now to offset the $50/month hookup charge then work into storage gradually. Maybe there will be an alternative in another 10 years.
You are not worried about battery explosions? All together there, ready for a chain reaction?
How many C135 golf cart batterys, and what would be a good converter to use to run a small refrigerator and freezer?
excellent video u gave me a ton of great info to get started will be looking at ur other video thank you much !!!!
today 2/29/12 i watched your video on batteries n thanks for the info, i almost made that mistake n bought a mobile home large battey, so i should go with 6 volt batteries?
Any chance you are near Corolla? My wife and I will be in Corolla from March 2nd through the 8th I think. Would love to see your setup :)
There are true deep cycle batteries that also list cranking amps. Lifeline AGM's for example.
Capacitors are good for a one shot discharge. They are used for starting heavy loads and or smoothing AC current. A capacitor can not store useful power. I hope that was helpfull..
Great video brother.
I have one of those UBER hyped Optima Yellow top batteries that are now made in Mexico for the same price(mine is one of the last ones made in Aurora Colorado) and it actually turned out to be an incredible battery for my mid-sized suv.
So your saying that you only discharge your *Gold cart battery bank* down to 30% of total capacity? I knew some folks would correct your off math..haha.
God bless brother.
Great videos! This has given me more inspiration to get my system set up.
Hello! Thank you for the info. I am in Pakistan and here power breakdowns are on daily basis. Additionally, price of electric power is going through the roof. I also recently acquired a Banana Farm and facing the same problem there. Came across your video while searching for high capacity deep well pump which can run on Solar Power. In your video can you tell me with all the gadgets on the wall how much a system like that can cost?
Do you also do a test discharge of your batteries to see how each cell hols up?
Great video, thanks. It looks like you have the option of charging with a wind turbine - can you have multiple inputs (solar panels, wind turbine) feeding into your charge controller simultaneously or do you have to select power source?
TH-cam should Only Let People Like You Post Video's... Damn.. That Was Informative..
I just purchased a used RV with four new Interstate 6 volt batteries that are hooked up in both series and parallel with ending results of 12 volts. They are connected and being charged by four solar panels on the roof. The RV is stored under covered parking at the storage facility and don't get the full sun unless out on the road or camping. Being that the panels provide a small charge / take a long time to bring the battery bank to full charge. I was wanting to take my 12 volt auto battery charger and connect the gator clips from the charger to the batteries where the 12 volts from the batteries connect onto the coach. Can this be done and do I need to disconnect the solar panels leads. This is all new to me so trying to obtain good information and limiting my mistakes. Thanks for information that you can provide. Thanks, Lee
Lee Gomez, I think you could disconnect the solar and charge with your other source without problems
Good video, personally I like the AGM batteries, although they are more expensive. For a lot of people they are the better choice because many of us aren't that good at taking care of our systems. One other point you didn't mention is that lead-acid batteries do not have a memory. You don't need to work them out. As long as you periodically get them fully charged up they will last a long time.
If cost is not an issue I would go Rolls Surettes with auto fillers. If you are running a hybrid system with batterie back up The high end AGMs cant be beat. I have seen your set up.. Very nice.. Cheers..
very impressive set up you have. thumbs up!
Mud glad to see your still in the game...