Solar panels and deep cycle batteries

[Vaquero]

Those should be excellent for your application. Curious: what is size and weight, if you don't mind?

 

[Vaquero]

6v batteries are the most cost/effective solution IMHO.

Thick plates, and they’re built for deep discharges in applications like golf carts.

I ran (4) 6v batteries in my Toy Hauler. They can take a lot of abuse. Bought cheap ones at Costco, but know lots of folks who swore by Trojans.

Vaq, consider these battery caps. They capture and re-introduce water that would otherwise evaporate out.

Water Miser Battery Vent Caps

Stored our RV in the high desert...indoors but not climate controlled. I checked, but never had to add water, for the two years I had them before I sold everything.

That company has a lot of cool things that make maintaining batteries easy, just poke around their website if you’re interested


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Those caps are nice. Thanks for the info!

 

[MacZC7]

A buddy has a bank of 6 batteries daisy chained together on a similar setup. His runs regular house lights for a few hours.

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

I’ll find out what kind of batteries, but I’m pretty sure they are deep cycle batteries.

Keeping batteries off the ground or concrete to reduce or eliminate parasitic drain is a myth.

 

[Axxe55]

Keeping batteries off the ground or concrete to reduce or eliminate parasitic drain is a myth.

Not a myth. And still applies to many lead acid batteries. Yes it can drain them over enough time.

 

[SA_Steve]

Easy to research about modern battery performance on concrete.
What irks me is the cost and weaknesses of the new AGM car batteries. There's one in my car. That's not progress for the car owner.

 

[Axxe55]

Easy to research about modern battery performance on concrete.
What irks me is the cost and weaknesses of the new AGM car batteries. There's one in my car. That's not progress for the car owner.

There has been a lot of research into this. Newer batteries are made of different materials than the older batteries, but with some types of batteries, it still exists to some degree.

Go into any auto shop or retailer that sells batteries. They are either on racks, or on pallets off the floor.

There are still a lot of lead acid batteries on the market. Reason? They are currently the best value for most applications requiring a battery. The newer AGM and "gel" type batteries are vastly superior to lead acid batteries, but can cost two to three times as much as the comparable sized lead acid battery.

 

[pronstar]

Easy to research about modern battery performance on concrete.
What irks me is the cost and weaknesses of the new AGM car batteries. There's one in my car. That's not progress for the car owner.

I think they’re over-hyped.

They’re great for things like off-roading where there’s tons of vibration, or if it needs to be mounted sideways or even upside-down.

But there’s nothing like a thick lead plates in a conventional battery to provide long term power and the ability to survive deeper cycling.


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[Axxe55]

I think they’re over-hyped.

They’re great for things like off-roading where there’s tons of vibration, or if it needs to be mounted sideways or even upside-down.

But there’s nothing like a thick lead plates in a conventional battery to provide long term power and the ability to survive deeper cycling.


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Battery technology has come a long way in the last ten years or so, but cost is still a big factor in replacement batteries.

 

[Wolfwood]

Genuine Lithium Batteries for DIY Projects

Battery Hookup

batteryhookup.com

check these guys out for good batteries for making banks. sometimes you can find banks from electric vehicles or medical equipment already assembled. i purchased some high output high capacity 3.7v cells that can dump 250 amps safely and routinely. got about 5 of those for less than 200 bucks. setup for 13/14 volts in a bank would be great for solar applications.

i am currently using 5 agm 12 volt Universal Battery brand. i think UB123 but am not 100% but with the few solar panels keep my tools charged and my fan ready to go and lights operating. for lights i found someone on ebay who had a bunch of 12 volt LED light bars for cheap because they had the black and read leads switched the wrong way around. light up the whole place pretty well, with extras around the work bench for super illumination. used a standard light switch for the main lights and have some vehicle style switches mounted to the bench.

on a sunny day they can even run a window unit AC, for about 15 minutes on a full charge. if they are below 85% though i have to jumpstart it with the mains, then switch to the inverter once it gets the compressor started.

eventually i will get around to fixing up a nice bank with the lithium cells i mentioned.

my goal is to have a cool shed 24/7 365 without using the mains. it isnt a realistic goal really, but keeps me tweaking the system

 

[Sam7sf]

Genuine Lithium Batteries for DIY Projects

Battery Hookup

batteryhookup.com

check these guys out for good batteries for making banks. sometimes you can find banks from electric vehicles or medical equipment already assembled. i purchased some high output high capacity 3.7v cells that can dump 250 amps safely and routinely. got about 5 of those for less than 200 bucks. setup for 13/14 volts in a bank would be great for solar applications.

i am currently using 5 agm 12 volt Universal Battery brand. i think UB123 but am not 100% but with the few solar panels keep my tools charged and my fan ready to go and lights operating. for lights i found someone on ebay who had a bunch of 12 volt LED light bars for cheap because they had the black and read leads switched the wrong way around. light up the whole place pretty well, with extras around the work bench for super illumination. used a standard light switch for the main lights and have some vehicle style switches mounted to the bench.

on a sunny day they can even run a window unit AC, for about 15 minutes on a full charge. if they are below 85% though i have to jumpstart it with the mains, then switch to the inverter once it gets the compressor started.

eventually i will get around to fixing up a nice bank with the lithium cells i mentioned.

my goal is to have a cool shed 24/7 365 without using the mains. it isnt a realistic goal really, but keeps me tweaking the system

Im looking to keep my shed cool also. What’s your thoughts on a solar powered exhaust fan/attic fan as a solution?

 

[Dougw1515]

Keeping batteries off the ground or concrete to reduce or eliminate parasitic drain is a myth.

Came from the day of asphalt cases - which we haven't seen in decades - many of them.

 

[IXLR8]

This a little off topic. I work with a guy that has been scavaging 18650 batteries out of all kinds of devices like drill battery packs, where when one cell goes bad you throw the other good cells away. Long story short, these are about the highest power density cells there are. Chinese devices like flashlights use them, as well as a majority of electric cars.

There are special rules associated with their use which is monitored by the charger. But the power density and ability to cycle a huge number of times make them desirable

It may be worth a look. Here is an example.

18650 battery for solar - Google Search

 

[Axxe55]

Came from the day of asphalt cases - which we haven't seen in decades - many of them.

Even the newer batteries will discharge if sat directly on concrete. The rate is way much less than the older batteries because the cases are made from better materials.

Batteries are always in constant state of discharge. Temperature also plays a huge factor in the discharge state.

One really good way to prolong battery life is to invest in a battery maintainer. They do work. I use them on my riding mower. Usually, one to two years is about the most that many people get from them. I can get four to five years now out of mine. This works on anything using a battery that isn't constantly used and might sit for several weeks or months not being used. Lawn equipment, motorcycles, ATV's, ect.....Plus they are not very expensive, and if you have several items to keep charged, you can buy maintainers that have multiple outlets. Check auto parts stores or Ebay.

 

[Dougw1515]

Even the newer batteries will discharge if sat directly on concrete. The rate is way much less than the older batteries because the cases are made from better materials.

Batteries are always in constant state of discharge. Temperature also plays a huge factor in the discharge state.

One really good way to prolong battery life is to invest in a battery maintainer. They do work. I use them on my riding mower. Usually, one to two years is about the most that many people get from them. I can get four to five years now out of mine. This works on anything using a battery that isn't constantly used and might sit for several weeks or months not being used. Lawn equipment, motorcycles, ATV's, ect.....Plus they are not very expensive, and if you have several items to keep charged, you can buy maintainers that have multiple outlets. Check auto parts stores or Ebay.

Keep a battery above 12.3v(when sulfation beings to occur) and you're good. Referring to flooded cells...

 

[Wolfwood]

Im looking to keep my shed cool also. What’s your thoughts on a solar powered exhaust fan/attic fan as a solution?

definitely would be easier to keep it running all the time, and wouldnt hurt at all. Personally, not cool enough for me - i got an old window unit for free and am going from that angle. when i need to air out the place i jsut turn on the big old shop fan point it out the door and open a back window.

 

[Wolfwood]

This a little off topic. I work with a guy that has been scavaging 18650 batteries out of all kinds of devices like drill battery packs, where when one cell goes bad you throw the other good cells away. Long story short, these are about the highest power density cells there are. Chinese devices like flashlights use them, as well as a majority of electric cars.

There are special rules associated with their use which is monitored by the charger. But the power density and ability to cycle a huge number of times make them desirable

It may be worth a look. Here is an example.

18650 battery for solar - Google Search

that is basically the whole idea of batteryhookup.com mentioned earlier, except they carry more than just single cells. they have factory overrun power packs for drills and stuff BMS systems, and occasionally fully functional packs.

i missed it by waiting for payday but i saw once they had full on power banks from chevy volts.

 

[Axxe55]

Try pricing replacement rechargeable battery packs for power tools! They can get quite expensive.

I decided to just upgrade to some new power tools with the Li-Ion batteries instead and it was even cheaper than buying replacement batteries.

 

[Wolfwood]

get those cells for cheap and DIY. thats the way to do it. good job.

if you have or know a guy with a 3d printer, you can make your own cases, and make a custom pack. i am thinking about doing this for my electric weedeater. but then again i wouldnt have an excuse to stop and grab a drink every 20 minutes.

 

[Axxe55]

get those cells for cheap and DIY. thats the way to do it. good job.

if you have or know a guy with a 3d printer, you can make your own cases, and make a custom pack. i am thinking about doing this for my electric weedeater. but then again i wouldnt have an excuse to stop and grab a drink every 20 minutes.

I have actually rebuilt a few battery packs in the past, but in this case for what I was doing, I needed my power tools to do some home repairs, and time was sort of the essence in this case.

It might be a job for me to take on this winter when things slow down a bit outside and the weather is nasty too.

 

[SA_Steve]

Need to be careful with 18650's
The most counterfeited item by the Chinese.
There's two or three good and honestly rated manufacturers (all in Korea or Japan)
Do your research before jumping into these and especially learn about the chargers and protected vs. unprotected cells.

This a little off topic. I work with a guy that has been scavaging 18650 batteries out of all kinds of devices like drill battery packs, where when one cell goes bad you throw the other good cells away. Long story short, these are about the highest power density cells there are. Chinese devices like flashlights use them, as well as a majority of electric cars.

There are special rules associated with their use which is monitored by the charger. But the power density and ability to cycle a huge number of times make them desirable

It may be worth a look. Here is an example.

18650 battery for solar - Google Search