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  • New here and setting up a new system

    I have a shop that is too far away to economically run power to plus I want to be able to get off the grid or put a grid system in for my house down the road. I plan on putting in a system to run some lights and occasionally some shop tools and air compressor. In the meantime time I bought a electric golf cart and plan on charging it at my house and running it to the shop and plugging it into an inverter until I get my system planned out and install. The cart runs 4 12V batteries in series so I am looking for a 48VDC to 120 AC hardwired inverter. What are some good brands and features that I would want? I also have a generator so would like to be able to hook that up to the inverter to charge a battery pack.

  • #2
    WHY?

    Please answer this question. Why do you want to pay 4 to 10 times more for power the rest of your life? Can you please answer that question?

    Anything you take off-grid is going to cost you 5 to 10 times more for power just in battery cost alone. So why in the world would you do that?

    I know a lot about golf carts and their batteries. So you have a 48 volt cart using 12 volt batteries. Most likely those batteries are Trojan T-1275, or US Battery US12VEXC2. Both are 12 volt 150 AH batteries. Both wil cost you around $225 to $250 each or lets just say $1000 for a set of batteries.

    Regardless of how much you use them, at best 3 years. So lets say you use them every day and discharge them 30% to maximize battery life to 3 years or 1095 days. That works out to 2.4 Kwh per day x 1095 days = 2628 Kwh of usable energy. Do the math please. You spend $1000 for 2628 Kwh or you paid 38-cents per Kwh. How much does your utility charge? Can you say 10 to 15-cents per Kwh.

    Now be realistic, you do not use the power every day. Say once a week and you discharge to 50% or use 3.7 Kwh once a week 3 years is 156 weeks 3.7 Kwh x 156 weeks is 578 Kwh usable. Again the math gets real ugly. $1000 / 578 Kwh = $1.74 per Kwh. How much did you say your utility charges you? Did you say 15-cents. You would now be paying 10 times more than you have too.

    FWIW to properly charge a 48 volt 150 AH golf cart battery will require a 1000 watt Panel System, and a 30-Amp MPPT Charge Controller. Now thi spart you will really like and have fun with. A 48 volt 150 AH golf cart battery can only handle at most a 2000 watt Inverter. Not big enough to start and run an air compressor..

    So why do you want to do this? Answer that and I will help you spend a lot of your money.
    MSEE, PE

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