Solar panels and deep cycle batteries

[Wolfwood]

Yeah I go for the Japanese cells most of the time. Especially when buying new.

 

[oohrah]

Make sure your controller has a maximum power point tracker.

 

[Wolfwood]

or at least fire insurance on your shed lol

 

[Dougw1515]

or at least fire insurance on your shed lol

Now that's funny!!! Perfect timing!!!

 

[vmax]

The batteries are in a closet on a metal bread rack to keep them off the concrete.

I’m not sure the reason your friend keeps them off of the concrete, but if its the old excuse about keep them from discharging, that has not been the case for a very long time.. like decades..
Since batteries have been in plastic cases, storing them on concrete is not an issue.

Why Does Storing a Car Battery on a Concrete Floor Drain It?

James M. asks: Why does putting a car battery on cement cause it to drain when the casing is made of plastic? Shouldn’t that insulate it? Contrary to very popular belief (even touted by many a mechanic), today’s car batteries with their hard plastic shells will not discharge or otherwise be...

www.todayifoundout.com

 

[Time On Target]

Thinking about this right now I have a 20KVA NG fired generator which after going through Ike NG never gave out while water and power did. As a note this generator will also run on propane and I do have a lot of propane storage capacity as well.

Best long term solar and what does it cost if we wanted to add that layer of fall back to our current plan? Everything I have seen on solar they are trying to sell me on some plan with them and when I read the fine print I am not happy.

 

[jracca]

If it is for an unattended cabin it would be best to consider AGM batteries. FLA batteries require watering and lithium batteries are better to be stored half charged or cycled but do not like to be kept full.

I have a 600 AH lithium battery bank in my RV, but that is used regularly, or I keep it stored at 50%. I imagine if you want to power a cabin you will be keeping the battery primarily full on standby.

 

[reddog]

Been living off grid for over 10 years, got 16KW of panels, over 2000 Ah of batteries. As others have suggested I would go with an agm style battery, no maintenance like flooded cell and for your use a lot cheaper than lithium. Series six volt batteries to get your operating voltage. I think you will find you are a bit short with only one 200W panel, but that may depend more upon electrical usage during the day besides charging.

 

[Law_Abiding_Citizen]

Been living off grid for over 10 years, got 16KW of panels, over 2000 Ah of batteries. As others have suggested I would go with an agm style battery, no maintenance like flooded cell and for your use a lot cheaper than lithium. Series six volt batteries to get your operating voltage. I think you will find you are a bit short with only one 200W panel, but that may depend more upon electrical usage during the day besides charging.

Are you using AGM batteries for your off grid setup? Every agm battery I tried is typically dead by end of year 3. I’m seeing that good quality Lithium Iron Phosphate (LifeP04) batteries have more capacity and can be a decent deal if bought in bulk (and the cell quality is good).

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

Reincarnation...

 

[IXLR8]

Lithium ion have a great energy density compared to other chemistries. But they have to be handled with special care. Buying the inexpensive ones greatly increases your risk of a fire. They are very unforgiving in many respects. Like many have found out, a Litium ion battery fire essentially cannot be extinguished. Buyer beware.

 

[reddog]

Are you using AGM batteries for your off grid setup? Every agm battery I tried is typically dead by end of year 3. I’m seeing that good quality Lithium Iron Phosphate (LifeP04) batteries have more capacity and can be a decent deal if bought in bulk (and the cell quality is good).

No I am using flooded forklift batteries. Currently I am using 4 - 24v 1200 AH batteries in a series parallel configuration for a 48V system. Like you agm batteries seem rather short lived but this here is a very harsh environment for batteries with the high temperatures, SW Texas. Lithium batteries are becoming more common here and with them come stories of fires, bulging cases, and very early failure. I don't have first hand knowledge except in one instance so I don't know if it's because of improper installation/settings or the nature of the beast. A friend who swore by them has had an early failure and is now switching to forklift batteries.

 

[RedneckHillbilly]

Im kind of neutral on the solar panel stuff, but it does interest me. Mainly I don’t want to waste a bunch of money on something that half works as expected. With that said, what is a marginal amount to spend in order to run something in the home and see any payback on it? Even if its just the hot water heater and a couple lights and ceiling fans? Is it better to buy several small inverters or one big single expensive one. Controller as well? Does the panels/batts go bad any faster or slower not being used, or is it a deterioration on a curve as the panels/batts being used and amount of load, or no difference? I know batteries just sitting will go bad, too.

 

[deemus]

I know shockingly little about this subject, but have been interested for a long time. Just not interested enough to educate myself on it.

That said, I know a guy in a northern state who lives in the boonies. He has a huge panel setup, like more than $10K of dollars spent. He is in an area that I suppose would be called off-grid. He has a large area of panels setup, and a big bank of batteries to capture it. Also, he had a contractor install all of that stuff. He told me his batteries never ran out of juice last winter in spite of significant snow.

He did mention that he had propane for heat, and electric fans to circulate that heat. But also has wireless internet of some sort.

 

[no2gates]

Im kind of neutral on the solar panel stuff, but it does interest me. Mainly I don’t want to waste a bunch of money on something that half works as expected. With that said, what is a marginal amount to spend in order to run something in the home and see any payback on it? Even if its just the hot water heater and a couple lights and ceiling fans? Is it better to buy several small inverters or one big single expensive one. Controller as well? Does the panels/batts go bad any faster or slower not being used, or is it a deterioration on a curve as the panels/batts being used and amount of load, or no difference? I know batteries just sitting will go bad, too.

if you're looking for guaranteed payback in Texas, I doubt you'll find it. Our rates are better than I think most other states.
In california, you'll have a ROI in maybe 8 to 10 years.

I got a 44 panel system with a 13.5kw battery backup, knowing that IF it ever pays for itself, it would be more than 20 years.
I got the system because I don't ever want to go 5 days below freezing with no power ever again.

 

[Vaquero]

Im kind of neutral on the solar panel stuff, but it does interest me. Mainly I don’t want to waste a bunch of money on something that half works as expected. With that said, what is a marginal amount to spend in order to run something in the home and see any payback on it? Even if its just the hot water heater and a couple lights and ceiling fans? Is it better to buy several small inverters or one big single expensive one. Controller as well? Does the panels/batts go bad any faster or slower not being used, or is it a deterioration on a curve as the panels/batts being used and amount of load, or no difference? I know batteries just sitting will go bad, too.

I don't think you'll find any savings in running an electric water heater off solar.
That's a big draw item when it's heating. It would take a large system to keep a 40 gallon heater going.

 

[Byrd666]

tagging along

 

[Axxe55]

personally i think the solar panel game is a big scam for the most partthe big selling point is for the homeowner to get off the gridand have no cost energythey also entice with the bigkickbacks if you go solar power imo a lot of lies and ceative advertising is being used to sell solar panels

 

[Vaquero]

I'm still running the same 200 watt system at the farm. Off grid.
Lights and fans are no problem. Two golf cart batteries and a 1500 watt inverter.

If you want to run a fan, or anything with a motor, stay DC or get a true sine wave inverter. I got a modified sine wave. Ac motors are noisy on a modified wave.
Really annoying.

 

[RedneckHillbilly]

I don't think you'll find any savings in running an electric water heater off solar.
That's a big draw item when it's heating. It would take a large system to keep a 40 gallon heater going.

Im more along the lines of having options, in the event the power goes down or needing heating besides on grid. Just an extra layer of protection or some sorts. I get it, it’s why I haven’t even attempted it, because the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Figure a fireplace is better option, since it simpler and just requires hard work.