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My Sketch of my possible upgrade. Gonna get a quote.

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  • #16
    Hmm... can't you combat that by charging from both ends of the string (such as positive on one end of the bank, negative on the opposite end) or even changing where the charge controller connects to the bank from time to time (more work)? I've never worked with large deep cycle battery banks. I've got a good bit of experience with large high amp output banks though and we never really saw an issue with battery life being affected by parallel connections (car audio... multiple XS Power D3100 5ka batteries going on 6 years of abuse so far).

    Thanks for the info... just trying to get as much input as I can.

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    • #17
      Interesting. Thanks for the info.

      I'm one that loves to tinker... can't leave stuff alone. With that being said... if someone wanted to do the extra work... could you potentially break down the battery bank a few times a year and charge/top off individual batteries? Would that help extend the bank's life?

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      • #18
        .....no. I said i want it as an emergency back-up AS WELL. Re-read the post. I will be using it full time... it just wont see heavy loads (such as the freezer I mentioned) unless its an emergency. It will still be powering lights, TV, and other basics. Not looking for a toy... just don't want to spend 10k+ on a 48v system when I don't need it nor do I want it.

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        • #19
          Since you "read my post"....

          "I'm calling this system off-grid as it is completely separate from the grid power in my home. I'm setting this up to power the addition to my house and for emergency use to keep from running the generator during power outages, etc."

          From my first post.

          It's not a toy. I just have a specific plan in mind.

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          • #20
            Originally posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
            Since you "read my post"....

            "I'm calling this system off-grid as it is completely separate from the grid power in my home. I'm setting this up to power the addition to my house and for emergency use to keep from running the generator during power outages, etc."

            From my first post.

            It's not a toy. I just have a specific plan in mind.
            Ok it is not a toy. So I presume you don't mind spending more for the electricity you generate from you solar/battery system then what it costs you buying it from the grid?

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            • #21
              Correct... up front anyways (just like any solar system... last time I checked). I'm learning with this system. Learning costs money. I'm not however going to spend 10k+ to learn... nor am I willing to pay someone else to do it for me. I'm a very hands on person with a specific plan in mind. With that said... I dont wan't to get this post off topic too far so if it's about what I'm doing... reply to my other post. If it's about what I said as far as extending battery bank life... which kinda applies to what the OP talking about.. then why not.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
                Correct... up front anyways (just like any solar system... last time I checked). I'm learning with this system. Learning costs money. I'm not however going to spend 10k+ to learn... nor am I willing to pay someone else to do it for me. I'm a very hands on person with a specific plan in mind. With that said... I dont wan't to get this post off topic too far so if it's about what I'm doing... reply to my other post. If it's about what I said as far as extending battery bank life... which kinda applies to what the OP talking about.. then why not.
                Fair enough. To stay on topic I believe Sunking provided some information concerning the limits of cycling a battery system daily which requires discharging and charging it back up.

                Electricity is funny when it comes to resistance. It will always find the least path which can result in one parallel battery string getting the majority of the charging or discharge flow. Do that over a period of time and one string gets used up quicker then the other or one string does not get back to a full charge. That shortens the battery life.

                Like the saying that "one bad apple spoils the bunch", the same is true with batteries. Usually the shorter battery life is not noticed until a time come when you have to do a deep discharge. Then for obvious reasons a person finds their batteries not performing like they once did.

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                • #23
                  So could one disassemble the bank and charge individual batteries from time to time to help extend the bank's life? That would be more work... but in theory, it would help with the uneven charging.

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
                    So could one disassemble the bank and charge individual batteries from time to time to help extend the bank's life? That would be more work... but in theory, it would help with the uneven charging.
                    Theoretically charging the batteries individually will help but the other half of the problem is when they are under load and discharging. Uneven resistance paths will put more pressure on some batteries then others leading to uneven usage and early failure.

                    You can perform an equalizing charge every couple of months to help desulfate the battery panels but that is not going to put life back into a system that has been hurt.

                    If you look at the manufactures spec sheet they usually have a graph on how many cycles you can get out of a battery (singular) depending on how deep you discharge it along with the temperature of the environment the battery is located in.

                    Most people go beyond the maximum DOD a few times which will shorten the battery life no matter how you take care of it. Once one battery is weak it will pull down the health of the rest of the batteries in the system. The amount of time that takes varies depending on how the system is abused and the quality of the batteries.

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                    • #25
                      That makes sense. Thanks

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