I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

I'm just curious. Why are you going with 12V system, not 24V?

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

ywhic wrote: »

I know I can't turn them all on or I will surely blow the batteries with too much power..

Welcome back... The Classic can be told to limit its output to the battery. Lots of folks are "over-paneling" their systems so that they can get high output on a cloudy day. On a sunny day, the Classic can protect your batteries by limiting its output.

--vtMaps

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

Cariboocoot wrote: »

you need to manually connect/disconnect additional panels to meet the load requirements. Giant pain-in-the-anatomy.

If it is only for a week, it isn't that hard to flip a breaker to increase the number of panels when there are more loads.

ywhic wrote: »

The 1st week out will be 2 batteries @ 6v.. then a week later when I get a check I will be buying 2 more.. so I will have four 6v batteries at that point.

How about these famous $80 GC batteries that are available at Sam's Club?

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

Hi Al,

Had been wondering just where you had gone. Welcome back here.

Great advice so far. I do not have such a dim view of 12 V Marine Trolling batteries. They do appear to be real Deep-Cycle batteries. Have never torn one apart yet, however, and specs are quite lacking in general, other than AH Capacity, or Reserve Mins. Have used them before with very good results. Think that the GCs are real Deep Charge batts, no question, and are the real value deal.

Glad that the A/C part of the conversation came up. In the past, I have said that my Samsung 6,000 BTU window A/C consumed about 500 Watts, which is generally true. But in the last heat-wave here, noted that it could consume as much as 650 watts in the afternoon, at peak heat. This may have somewhat to do with pressures that the compressor is working with or similar. It amazes me just how little that I know of all of the internal workings of an A/C, other evaporation and condensation at the hands of a compressor and fan/s.

If I were looking for batts for a new system, in the range of what Al is, I would very, very seriously consider GCs. They are very inexpensive, tough - can take a real beating, and still smile about it all.

Good Luck Al with the move. Have FUN setting up the new system and the new abode. Vic

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

I'd setup your whole array and let MidNite CC limit, as others have said, that way if you ever have a cloudy day, you'll still have max charging.

The Sam's club Here(Missouri) and Florida don't require a deep cycle battery for a core, I even had them except a big lawn mower battery! Check around, and keep your eyes open, ask your friends. I bet you can find 4 old car batteries!

In a 24volt setup I have run an 5200btu A/C every summer except last year, on 4 golf cart batteries. I just purchased a Kenmore 5200btu EER of 11 air conditioner from Kmart(SearsLite) for @$155 w/tax, price was $159, 5% off at Kmart, and if you link through Fatwallet.com you can get another 5% cash back(in a couple months) buying on line. It's a Consumer reports 'Best Buy' in small A/C's and my previous one (EER of 10.7) is still running fine 6 years later. If you don't recall I only ran it when batteries were charged(I was in float) and for @3-5hours at night on energy saver.

Re: I'm back and moving.. now the last minute questions..

One thing to think about with the AC unit is to use one of the two Aux ports on your Classic, so that the Classic signals a relay to disconnect the power to the AC when the battery voltage falls below a set-point. That way you won't hammer the batteries down just because it got cloudy or dark and you weren't there to shut off the AC. E.g., you run some Cat 5 signal wire (or similar) from the controller to an inexpensive relay like this one. You'll also need to make up a short extension cord for the air conditioner plug so you don't have to cut up the one on the unit. Set the Classic to "Vent Fan High" and you can pick a voltage to have the AC unit turn off automatically.