Another newbie

[Muldrick]

Hi all, I'm on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. Living in a double wide trailer. A friend gave me some great deals on batteries and the inverter, so I bought them.
I have attached an image of what I have so far, I'm sure I need many more panels, but any suggestions are appreciated.
One question would be the controller. This one handles only 4 panels. What controller would be good for future upgrades?

[SunEagle]

Where to start???

First off the 10 amp charge controller is too small and will turn that 400 watts into maybe 120 watts of charging.
Next that 6000 watt inverter is way too big and will require wires and fusing that can handle over 500 amps of current.
Next, parallel wired batteries will kill off one or more way earlier than expected due to unequal resistance paths causing unequal charging and discharging.
Next, I am not sure if that CB/transfer switch will totally isolate your pv system from generating back onto the grid. Connecting it may violate local codes as well as your insurance policy.

So the next big question is, how many watt hours do you plan to use from that pv system? Without first knowing that you can't properly size your battery system or pv wattage.

[citabria]

I could be blowing smoke..and I ain't no (expert), but what you have there appears to be FAILURE! To quote someone else of this forum...It will do exactly like it is built to do (Fail). Please read some of the stickies about off-grid, battery charging, charge controllers, etc.

1. Wrong kind of solar panels 2. Wrong type of charge controller 3. Wrong type of batteries or at least improperly mixed. 4. Over sized inverter, my home uses 4,000 watt inverters (2-each) on a 24 volt system. 5. Charge rate is undersized at 10 amps. etc.....

It is unfortunate that you may have bought a system before educating yourself on your power needs.

Maybe start here: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...considerations

[Muldrick]

Thanks guys. I certainly would like to make it work with some of the stuff I have.
I will start with a new controller, what would you recommend with higher Amps and able to add more panels.
The inverter only accepts 12 Volts. How else would I wire the batteries?

[citabria]

FWIW, Please DO NOT spend more money...yet. You should do some schooling first to educate yourself about these solar powered systems.

[littleharbor]

The first thing I would do would be to get rid of that inverter as soon as possible, if not sooner. If, in fact, you need a 6000 watt inverter then get a 6000 watt 48 volt inverter. That way you can at least series wire your batteries 4 at a time and reasonably be able to use two strings without too much grief.
You really need to start with a load assessment And build your system based upon that.

[SunEagle]

Thanks guys. I certainly would like to make it work with some of the stuff I have.
I will start with a new controller, what would you recommend with higher Amps and able to add more panels.
The inverter only accepts 12 Volts. How else would I wire the batteries?

As I mentioned in my first post, First you determine how many watt hours you plan on using each day. Until that is done you really can't determine your battery system.

The best way to build a battery system is to use low voltage cells (2V, 4V or 6V) with high Ah ratings and wire them all in series.

ie. If you need a 600Ah battery system then find batteries with that Ah rating and purchase enough to build the battery system to the desired voltage. If they are 6 volt then you need 2 for a 12volt system. If 4V then you need 3. If 2V then you need 6.

As for a good charge controller. Find a true MPPT type. The amp rating will be determined by how much you need to keep the battery system happy. Although you can find them rated for 30, 45, 60 & 80 amp ratings for various battery voltages.