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rmak
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# Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:55pm
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More simple answers needed please. I'm running my recreational cabin on Honda generator power.
My next step is to buy two deep cell batteries, a good inverter and a battery charger that I can hook to my generator to charge my batteries until I can afford a few solar panels.
An electrician friend built a circuit breaker box for me that has a switch that I can trip to go from generator to battery power when needed.
My wattage needs are simple. I have two LED 60 watt equivalent bulbs drawing around 20 watts and three 40 watt equivalent bulbs in my ceiling fan drawing around 12 watts total. That's 32 watts of lights. I also would like to have a docking station running for a little Pandora music off my cell phone.
This is all I plan on running off the batteries. I want to be able to turn off the generator at night when we are at the cabin and just enjoy reading, enjoying a few tunes or the silence.
When I called a solar dealer recommended to me here I just got confused again. The salesman asked if I was going to hook the batteries series or parallel (I didn't have an answer). He also said I couldn't charge the batteries using a generator or they would be ruined by overcharging (not what I heard here). More mumbo-jumbo about inverters and at that point I thought I'd come back here for some straight answers.
My simple questions:
I found these $80 batteries on amazon. They seem like a good price for me.
http://www.amazon.com/DEEPCYCLE-SOLAR-ENERGY-STORAGE-BATTERY/dp/B008D5YG3G/ref=sr_1_4 ?ie=UTF8&qid=1398807256&sr=8-4&keywords=deep+cell+batteries+solar
Any reason why they won't work?
Someone tell me what inverter to buy. I will buy two solar panels and a charge controller later.
Someone tell me a good battery charger to use with my generator. I read here a microprocessor charger would not over charge my batteries.
Someone tell me if series or parallel hook up would be best for my application.
Please keep it simple for my first venture into solar.
Thank you again, folks!
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 29 Apr 2014 08:15pm
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that's not the battery for you , online battery sales are costly because of high shipping cost for very heavy things , go to walmart and buy a deep cell 12 volt marine 180 amp hour lead acid battery,. about 100$, much better choice... or 2 golf cart deep cell 6 volt battery's about 300$ for 300 amp hours probably the best choice . I have a walmart battery its my second one first one lasted 6 years. it and a small inverter runs most lights and things at our camp for a weekend .
I will let others comment on the generator charging as I only use solar .
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spoofer
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2014 06:48pm
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or, buy two 12 volt batteries at Walmart and a 200 watt mono crystaline solar panel kit from Renogy for about $300, and your done. I bought the 100 watt kit and use 1 deep cycle battery. But I only go up on weekends, so the battery has time to recharge those 5 days I don't use it. I power about what you do. I do have a small led tv thats about 24 watts that I can watch at nite for an hour or two.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2014 07:40pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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While I agree that one or two (at the most) 12 volt RV/Marine batteries is probably a good place to start, that is a guess, like everybody else is making. Or for batteries that could last a little longer, two 6 volt golf cart batteries. Right now don't worry about series vs parallel. Concentrate on how much power will be used and how often you want to run the generator.
It's good to know the number of watts the 120 VAC LED lamps use, we need to know the number of hours each might be used, too. I might be thinking 4 hours at most in a 24 hour period, but you or someone else might be thinking 7; a large enough difference. Use the figure for the darkest time of the year.
Also how many days between running the generator? Running everyday might be best for the batteries, but maybe you only want to run it every other day.
One possible battery life issue is how long between periods of use? Lead acid batteries self discharge. If they sit there for a month between uses that shortens life. That's why solar panels are a very good thing.
While you're at it determine how many watts the docking unit uses. How many hours of use in a 24 hour period?
Then, any chances someone will want to add to those loads in the future? A blender, water pump, tv... whatever?
Then the battery options can be looked at. Once the batteries are known then a charger can be properly selected.
The inverter choice depends in part as to how many devices will be wanted to run at the same time. The inverter needs to be able to deliver that total whatever it is. No sense having a 1000 watt inverter if the maximum at one time load is 100 watts.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:51pm - Edited by: groingo
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Sounds like your power use is very similar to mine so here is what I have run for the past couple of years and I live in my 195 square foot cabin full time.
I have two 6 volt Lincoln forklift batteries at 225 amp hours, then run them through a 200 watt inverter.
For charging I use an old Sears 10 amp battery charger (pre digital) so it puts out 10 amps till you turn it off (I use a timer too).
I also have a good quality multi meter to check charge levels and battery condition.
To run the charger I power it with my little 400 watt generator which typically uses
less than a quart of fuel to recharge every three days.
Total price comes to about $600.00
Thanks to technology my power use continues to drop, recently dropped another 60watts by moving from a laptop to a tablet.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 1 May 2014 08:31am
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I'll second Just and Groingo. I also have a buddy who uses the same kind of power needs (lights/fan/small stereo/phone charger) as you.
He uses 2 6 volt batteries in "series" to make 12 volts at 225 amp hrs.
Depending on your budget I would recommend the morningstar inverter. It uses almost nothing on idle and is pure sine. So it won't damage electronics or batteries (say you're charging a small drill battery or some'at.) there are cheaper models. but pure sine will save you money in the long run.
For a charger, I like the powermax line. pretty affordable. but a 10 or 15 amp charger from a big box will work too. Groingo's solution is the lowest cost.
You might consider getting a solar panel. My friend has one 85 watt panel mounted on a tree and seems to get all the power he needs. I don't think he even has a charger or a genny. He uses the property mainly in the summer. With rare winter weekends.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 2 May 2014 12:43am - Edited by: groingo
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To clarify a couple of points.
The battery charger I am using was opted for because the new digital and solid state controlled chargers typically tapered off their charge when sensing a full charge, this unfortunately but ultimately caused my generator to run longer than it should, so I found a charger that would charge at a fixed rate which turned out to be something that hasn't been made for some time. The charger was choosen to save on unnecessary and unproductive charge time and not reqire too much power draw from the generator (keep below 25%load for lowest fuel consumption).
The inverter is a sine wave inverter and is to fill the need and does not have a cooling fan and indicates 93% efficient, I am currently looking for a smaller one
If it can meet specs.
So how'd you fare over the winter Creeky?
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 2 May 2014 09:59am
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hey groingo
tough winter out here. too many cold days (saw you had some water issues with the cold also). inverter troubles.
but i did well. the propane heaters i installed last fall meant I didn't have to get up every night at 3 and add more wood to the firebox as I did in the winter previous.
having just changed inverters (tbs 1600) I went from a 3kw inverter to a 1.6. And 25-30 watts / hr idle to 10. I can see the difference in the a.m. You know. Long winter nights (14 hrs) x 30 watts = 420 watts vs 140 watts idle consumption.
and it runs everything just like the old inverter did. so I'm kinda coming to the conclusion that we oversize our inverters. that's why I recommended the morningstar. pure sine. 300 watts. idle consumption in milliwatts instead of watts.
try to find the morningstar on sale tho.
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rmak
Member
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# Posted: 4 May 2014 09:33am - Edited by: rmak
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Hi folks, and thanks to you all for your guidance.
I finally connected with someone in Ohio that deals with solar parts. He has a thriving business with Amish communities in north central Ohio. He actually took the time and gave me a lot of straight talk, which I appreciated.
With his advice, I'm going with two 6V batteries in series, a 600W inverter and a battery charger built for the job.
He also said when I'm ready for solar, I just need one panel, which he can provide with mounts for my roof at a very reasonable price. He said in this part of the country I can recharge the batteries with this one panel in a few days. Perfect for my recreational usage.
I want to thank and apologize for all my questions. My only editorial comment for solar newcomers is to find someone in your area that you can have a conversation with. I love this forum, but it's hard to ask a lot of specific questions and get immediate answers. I often felt I was burdening everyone here even though you all were bending over backwards to be helpful.
Unfortunately, internet solar dealers were hard for me to deal with personally and seemed to contradict each other sometimes. Could be my fault entirely due to my lack of knowledge.
When I'm back at the cabin site it's like being in a different, simpler world. Having a few lights on with complete silence at day's end so I can enjoy the peace and quiet to read and relax will be so cool!
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desertratt
Member
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# Posted: 27 Jul 2014 08:28pm
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i've got to agree been using sams club golf cart batteries for 2 years now and they perform like new still (about $100 each with core charge).as for inverter if your not running anything with a motor(ex.refrigerator) or delicate circuits then a modified wave inverter might work but theyre less efficient i've found.these can be found anywhere like walmart home depot etc. for about $60 for a 500-800 watt model,puresine inverters tend to be 4-5 times the price but are more efficient,cleaner(less emf -important with radios and such)if you run anything with a motor like a ref. a mod wave might wrk but will take more power and is very hard on the motor
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