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  • Did I chose decent battery. New to this

    I bought a deka 1140 amp tractor battery. Actually 2 of them. Also bought 2 100 watt mono panels to charge them. They wanted 5k to hook to electricity. I like ideal of going off grid. Is small weekend cabin

  • #2
    Starting batteries are generally a very poor choice for this application. They may work for a while but will fail much more quickly than a true deep cycle battery.

    T-105's, L16's and similar.

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    • #3
      No, you threw your money away....any WTF would anyone hook 200 watts to the grid?
      1150W, Midnite Classic 200, Cotek PSW, 8 T-605s

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      • #4
        Originally posted by thastinger View Post
        No, you threw your money away....any WTF would anyone hook 200 watts to the grid?
        I missed the mention of selling power back to the grid in the original post. They did mention a small weekend cabin. Silly me.... I assumed they were off grid.

        200 watts is still pretty minimal for an off grid application.

        Question for the OP, what kind of loads are you trying to support ?

        Edit: I went back and reread the OP and they specifically said "off grid".

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        • #5
          I am not looking to sell anything back to light company. I was trying to hookup to them. They wanted 5k. After buying the land. Clearing part and building house. Well funds limited.
          so I thought would use solar and generator backup. I know 200 watts isn't enough. But is a start. Just like will need more batteries.

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          • #6
            Will cancel my order on batteries. Get different ones

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            • #7
              Boy..... I hate auto correct...... Bagins, you would be offended if I had not caught it

              What I would STRONGLY recommend is that you detail the loads that you need to support. Consumption and duty cycle.

              When you figure out what you need to support then you can design a system to support them.

              On another tack... I got a $5k quote to install power at my place out West. No way! I ran generators for three years. (part time home)

              Then I went out and bought and hauled the power pole. I hired a local guy with a backhoe to set the pole. I bought and installed the weatherhead, meter base and panel myself.

              total cost $1700

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              • #8
                Just lights and frig to start. Then over time expand. Buying small generac generator run on propane for back up.

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                • #9
                  That said, panels are cheap these days. I am placing 1800 watts on my bus. Panels cost me $900 including shipping.

                  Unfortunately, charge controller and batteries are going to cost more than the panels.

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                  • #10
                    I ran my cabin in west Texas this way. Just want to rely on solar more
                    Last edited by bagins52; 12-11-2018, 05:51 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Next question with this same ideal. Should I buy 6 volt battery. Can get 200ah for just a little more than tractor batteries

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by bagins52 View Post
                        Just lights and frig to start. Then over time expand. Buying small generac generator run on propane for back up.
                        With 200 watts of panels you are going to be out of luck trying to support much of a refrigerator.

                        My 10.7cf fridge needs a bit over 1kwh daily. Solar hours here in January are around 3. Less if I head to the West side. I


                        if you tell us where you are and what kind of fridge and lights you need to support then we can give better reccomendations.

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                        • #13
                          K. I'm in South East Texas. 21 acres mainly wooded. Was looking at small fridge. Maybe even propane. All that is up in the air. I'm still building cabin shell. Paying cash as I go. Hope to have it up by chChristm

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by thastinger View Post
                            No, you threw your money away....any WTF would anyone hook 200 watts to the grid?
                            Because you read his post incorrectly. He has no grid, so 200W may be enough for a couple lights and laptop charger
                            Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
                            || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
                            || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

                            solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
                            gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by bagins52 View Post
                              I am not looking to sell anything back to light company. I was trying to hookup to them. They wanted 5k. After buying the land. Clearing part and building house. Well funds limited.
                              so I thought would use solar and generator backup. I know 200 watts isn't enough. But is a start. Just like will need more batteries.
                              If you can get grid for $5K, it's a bargain, and grab it while they offer it. You can look for vacation rates, or stop paying the bill after a year, if you want to go off grid (check their rules for grid abandonment, you may be locked in for 20 years) Having grid increases the resale value of the property. I was quoted upwards of $80K to have grid connection.

                              So to run a fridge - that's a game changer. Good energy star fridges in the 18cf range, consume about 1Kwh daily. Mini dorm fridges, consume a bit more, because they have thin insulation, so they won't save you any money.

                              Gear : you are looking at least a 24v system and 4 golf cart batteries GC-2 wired in series (6x @ 200ah x4 yields 24V @ 200ah)
                              500w of pv is a beginning point, because just like car gas mileage, you never get the reported 45mpg. 500w of panels ( a couple of 250w grid tie panels and a MPPT controller) should keep you going even with only 2 hours of good sun a day. More loads means more panels and batteries.
                              Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
                              || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
                              || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

                              solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
                              gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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