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Old 12-01-2007, 10:32 AM   #1
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Battery Info

I couldn't find a post to attach this too, soooo this new one. Here's a link to some good battery info. It's pretty long and slanted towards those of us living on solar power, but it has good all around battery info and also good stuff on AGM batteries. Might help someone understand batteries and what to do when their house battery needs replacing.
http://www.solar-electric.com/deep_cycl ... 0Batteries
It's a pretty good store too. I've bought lots of stuff from them over the years.

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Old 12-01-2007, 02:54 PM   #2
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Darn good info. Thanks for that link.
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Old 12-01-2007, 04:40 PM   #3
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That's really helpful. Thank you.
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Old 12-01-2007, 06:10 PM   #4
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Thanks scatter; that explains a lot about AGM battery performance.

Another battery factoid I learned this October: you get no recharge from your solar panels while camped in the rain in an old growth forest on Vancouver Island. I had to run the diesel on high idle for an hour each evening to get enough charge for the lights and refrig all night.
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Old 12-02-2007, 08:05 AM   #5
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Yeah, no sun is a bummer. We've just gone thru six days of no, none, nada, zilch (you get the idea) sun down here. I couldn't believe it. The Mexicans living around here can't ever remember this happening before. Two days was the previous record. Had to run the generator a couple of times to keep the fridges going. Glad I was home instead of off exploring. It's a pisser coming home hungry to a science experiment in the fridge.
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Old 12-04-2007, 11:24 PM   #6
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Ed just wondering how much wattage of solar are you packing? I haven't had too much of a problem with 180 watts but was thinking of adding more. I do usually drive at least every other day at minimum but find I get a few amps on overcast days when sitting out of the trees.
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Old 12-05-2007, 05:48 AM   #7
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Daveb, we have two 55 watt Solera panels on the roof and the older Mark V (I believe) controller with one AGM house battery. From March through September up here in sunny Montana, east of the Continental Divide, the panels have worked fine, always having enough charge to run the 2.7 cubic foot refrig and lights for several days, even without driving anywhere.

On Vancouver island, the SMB sat in the hotel parking lot in the rain for several days, and when I drove out to camp, I got stuck in a lot of stop and go traffic, so the AGM battery didn't fully charge. And yes, it is dang dark in October in a rain forest!
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Old 12-10-2007, 11:08 PM   #8
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2 6v vs 2 12v batteries

I recently had a conversation with a marine dealer who told me that putting two 6-volt batteries in series in my SMB would be better than two 12-volts because it would provide more amperage, and that is what makes the batteries last longer. I don't have solar panels and so rely on the alternator for a charge.

If this is true, would any other modifications be required? Would the 12 v outpt of the alternator damage the batteries or the inverter etc....etc....

Seeing as how I will need to make a cabin battery purchase soon, what makes/models do you recommend?

Thanks, y'all.

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Old 12-11-2007, 07:03 AM   #9
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one of main disadvantage of 2 - 12 volts hooked up in parallel (pos. to pos./neg. to neg.) is that they feed off each other, (weaker will ALWAYS draw from the stronger battery) and will have different charge rate, etc...

as for the 12 v output hurting the batteries, that should not matter,

no experience but i read, that trojan t-105's 6 volts are one of the best out there..
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Old 12-12-2007, 04:28 PM   #10
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That was a typo; 180 watts, I wish I had 1800, I'm gonna change that. I just had SMB add a 2nd 210 AH house battery and even though the 1st battery was still good, I had them install 2 new batteries for the reason disscussed above. I plan to add a 4th panel soon and will be pushing over 200 watts. I also had a plug in port to hook up a portable panel installed at the rear of the van. As far as 6 volt batteries if they are wet cell batteries I would stay away from stuff you have to maintain. I like a AGM/solar combo because it keeps the batteries up and I find that even it central Ca fog they still stay charged plus AGM's are easy to maintain. Not sure why but I find that Optima batteries charge in half the time compared to wet cell batteries, at least on my bass boat this is true.
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