Off Grid Set Up

[PNPmacnab]

If you go into TV settings the backlight, not brightness, can be turned down saving more than 30% power. My TV was sold with a 12V wall wart. These were common about 5 years ago, not so common these days. I run a buck boost converter to get stable voltage.

[morgandc]

What is the consensus on sizing batteries for 3 days, going with AGM batteries to avoid the min. amps need of keeping a FLA happy, and using a small array that takes 2 weeks to top off the battery since it is only used once a month?

[ButchDeal]

What is the consensus on sizing batteries for 3 days, going with AGM batteries to avoid the min. amps need of keeping a FLA happy, and using a small array that takes 2 weeks to top off the battery since it is only used once a month?

AGM isn ( damn apostraohe crap, can apostrophe T ) admins fix this ) not going to like a 2 week trickle charge either.

[J.P.M.]

AGM isn ( damn apostraohe crap, can apostrophe T ) admins fix this ) not going to like a 2 week trickle charge either.

I'd consider using "is not" instead if "isn't".

[Sunking]

What's the problem with apostrophe? Let's play with it. Real easy to fix.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''

[Sunking]

What is the consensus on sizing batteries for 3 days, going with AGM batteries to avoid the min. amps need of keeping a FLA happy, and using a small array that takes 2 weeks to top off the battery since it is only used once a month?

There is no problem with charging AGM SLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Not with the battery anyway. It is a problem with FLA because of Stratification where the heavier acid will settle to the bottom of the jar and float the water on top. However unless you are talking about storage of an AGM battery using solar, you cannot charge slow because there are not enough hours in a day to recharge slowly.

AGM certainly has niche applications, but you had better justify the cost using them. At the end of the day is 400% higher cost than FLA. AGM cost twice as much as FLA and only last half as long as FLA. So be careful what you ask for. There are only three reasons that come to mind to select AGM over FLA.

1. Spills cannot be tolerated. This is why AGM were invented by Concorde for military aircraft.
2. Very high charge and discharge rates. If you only size for 3 days is going to be a high charge rate.
3. Extreme cold climates like high altitude or where temps drop to -40.

[morgandc]

I was thinking another "special use case" might be called "very slow charge rate" and avoiding having to install are larger panel system/charger than needed for the loads without having stratification problems of a slow charge. The question was coming in at the price of batteries vs the price and complexity of a larger system.

[Mike90250]

AGM is not immune to sulfation. If it sits long enough, below 80% charged, it's going to start to sulfate after 48 hours. If your solar cannot get the battery back to 80% within 2 days....

you could use a genset to boost it up just before you depart.

[ButchDeal]

What's the problem with apostrophe? Let's play with it. Real easy to fix.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''''''''''''''

apparently apple products use a different apostrophe that this forum does not like. This is a new thing. It was not acting this way before.

[morgandc]

This seems like a pretty typical use case. Someone visits their cabin every couple weeks, doesn't want the noise of a generator, and doesn't want to put a lot of money into the project due to either financial sense or risk of theft/vandalism. Is there a better battery technology suited to this use case?

[ButchDeal]

This seems like a pretty typical use case. Someone visits their cabin every couple weeks, doesn't want the noise of a generator, and doesn't want to put a lot of money into the project due to either financial sense or risk of theft/vandalism. Is there a better battery technology suited to this use case?

you could add a few PV modules far cheaper than all this battery stuff. Just get enough to recharge in 2 days and be done with it.
The batteries are more expensive than PV modules so if you are worried about theft worry about them.

or as already been suggested recharge the batteries before leaving and let the solar trickle / maintain them till you come back.

[Sunking]

apparently apple products use a different apostrophe that this forum does not like. This is a new thing. It was not acting this way before.

Apple has always been a queer.

[ButchDeal]

Apple has always been a queer.

Funny but since Steve and Steve invented the PC, it is the windows world that is queer.
PCs are just so far gone that queer seems normal.

[Sunking]

Funny but since Steve and Steve invented the PC, it is the windows world that is queer.
PCs are just so far gone that queer seems normal.

LOL. What I really mean everything about APPLE is proprietary and does not work with anything except APPLE PRODUCTS. That way they can charge you twice as much for everything.

For cell phones and tablets there is APPLE Ios that is not compatible with anything but APPLE. Then there is DROID (UNIX) which is a universal standard everyone understands and works with. All Servers use APACHE which is a UNIX code.

Now having said that VB software can have a Plugin to translate APPLE, On Mike Holts Forum we did that years ago. The guys down under I can only assume do not know how to fix it. Just like the PM function does not work here. DIY Admins cannot figure out how to make it secure. They need an IT NERD.

[J.P.M.]

Funny but since Steve and Steve invented the PC, it is the windows world that is queer.
PCs are just so far gone that queer seems normal.

Seems I remember way back in the early '80's Apple computers being considered more toy than serious computational tool. But, at the time, Apple did some slick marketing and seeding of a future technical market by getting in bed with educational institutions and giving away a lot of product to schools and offering deep discounts to students to indoctrinate/familiarize teachers and students to Apple products. But that may have caused more problems for graduates than it created a market for Apple computers when Apple junkies graduated and came pretty much, or at least partly, face to face with the real PC dominated world of business and engineering, and were behind the curve in what became and remains a PC (Microsoft) world.

Kind of like owning a model train layout using "s" gauge track and scale (the old American Flyer scale) and about 90+ % of all the model trains in the world are "O" gauge (like what Lionel use and had ~ 90 % of the market).

Apple may have good products but IMO and experience, most (but not all) of the really technically savvy engineering and technical types I know and have worked with don't take Apple computer products very seriously and so don't use them. Often at least to my observation, Apple computers are more often the choice of technical wanna be's and dabblers than of serious nuts & bolts types who actually produce results and designs that work.

I don't own or use any Apple products and I don't seem to have ever had machine induced problems with punctuation. But then, correlation is not causation.

But, if I needed to change my writing style to accommodate a communication tool, or that tool hampered my ability to communicate, that tool would be outta' here faster than a calculator with keys that stick.

Just my $0.02.