Solar Energy

[phideaux]

What do you guys think of this charger?

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1...mpensation/dp/B07W3QT226/ref=dp_ob_title_auto

For how many batteries.

I just threw a big NOCO Genius in garbage.

It almost destroyed my battery pack.

It went bad.

I called them and was not pleased with their response to me.

I have since gone to smaller multiple units , to monitor and keep individual banks charged.
Seems to be working very well.


Jim

 

[Meerkat]

For how many batteries.

I just threw a big NOCO Genius in garbage.

It almost destroyed my battery pack.

It went bad.

I called them and was not pleased with their response to me.

I have since gone to smaller multiple units , to monitor and keep individual banks charged.
Seems to be working very well.


Jim

It will be for the 6 T105s we have in golf cart for now.

 

[Meerkat]

Hubby has been using just a regular 6 volt,12 volt batery changer for past 18 yr or so. Kept those last T 105s going on golf caart for 13 yr but these may not be as good as the ones manufactured back then?

 

[phideaux]

It will be for the 6 T105s we have in golf cart for now.

That's what I thought.

I'm not ever going to use a single charger , especially a NOCO Genius , to charge multiple batteries again.

If it goes bad , you could lose all batteries at one time, that's expensive.

I almost lost all 8 if mine, only because I keep close watch my batteries did I save them after I figured out the charger wasn't working right and was killing my batteries.

I have 4 banks at 12v .
Two 6v each bank .
I can tie 2 , 3 or 4 , banks together to supply up to about 932 ah of power.

I use 4 little , 3A charger/minders , one for each bank .
Here's what I settled on , they are smart and supply 3 amps.

Been working great for about a year.

If one goes bad , it only affects 1 bank.

This is just my own opinion.
Others may like doing one charger.

I can tell you that my solar controller is smart and charges at 30 amp.you can watch the charge % as they monitor and charge. That was important to me.

Here the ones I settled on after lots of homework.

Walmart. $19.85 each.
I own 5 .

Jim

.

 

[Meerkat]

That's what I thought.

I'm not ever going to use a single charger , especially a NOCO Genius , to charge multiple batteries again.

If it goes bad , you could lose all batteries at one time, that's expensive.

I almost lost all 8 if mine, only because I keep close watch my batteries did I save them after I figured out the charger wasn't working right and was killing my batteries.

I have 4 banks at 12v .
Two 6v each bank .
I can tie 2 , 3 or 4 , banks together to supply up to about 932 ah of power.

I use 4 little , 3A charger/minders , one for each bank .
Here's what I settled on , they are smart and supply 3 amps.

Been working great for about a year.

If one goes bad , it only affects 1 bank.

This is just my own opinion.
Others may like doing one charger.

I can tell you that my solar controller is smart and charges at 30 amp.you can watch the charge % as they monitor and charge. That was important to me.

Here the ones I settled on after lots of homework.
View attachment 42521
Walmart. $19.85 each.
I own 5 .

Jim

.

Thank you Jim that sounds good to me. Will check them out and some more batteries too,and you like the Interstate batteries right?

 

[phideaux]

Thank you Jim that sounds good to me. Will check them out and some more batteries too,and you like the Interstate batteries right?

I do like interstate batteries .
But I did a lot of homework/research and concluded that IMHO. That DEKA is a great battery.
I found out that the DEKA is the only battery that KY coal mines use.
I bought 8 , 6v Dekas for my SidexSide about 2 years ago , so I guess they are my favorite.

I can use that pack and the pack of my golf cart (4 Trojans @ 48 v), and the pack in my solar system(Interstates 8 @ 6v ea) to run my house if need be.

Yeah DEKA.

Jim

 

[phideaux]

I'd like to hear Supervisor chime in on the DeKA ,
And
The charging / monitor using smaller tenders ,instead of bulk charging.

He is my battery guru mentor.

jim

 

[Meerkat]

Guess between you and SuperV we should have agood one although very small in comparason to you guys. But it will keep my fridge and maybe chest freezer going,the rest I can suffer thru, I hope anyway. Gotta have ice here in Florida and a fan..

 

[Supervisor42]

I'd like to hear Supervisor chime in on the DeKA ,
And
The charging / monitor using smaller tenders ,instead of bulk charging.

He is my battery guru mentor.

jim

Well you saw the 'White Elephant' in my backup system. It was a Deka. (photo on request).
It worked flawlessly for over a decade (until I sold it with the house), I would have to had to redesign it to use solar.
To use solar you have to have it so it can 'harvest' the power and then 'sell' it to the house.
After studying for 10 years, it's obvious how it needs to work. You need 4 states of operation instead of 2.
Generac just this year, figured out how to make a solar and backup system into one.

To answer the previous question, the fewer battery cells you have charging in a string, the closer the cell voltages will be. They get out of sync over time. The more in the string, the further out of sync they can get.

 

[Mr.Meer]

I know sooner or later I will have to set up these panels , charge controller and monitor with new batteries for Meerkat and I.

 

[Meerkat]

Well you saw the 'White Elephant' in my backup system. It was a Deka. (photo on request).
It worked flawlessly for over a decade (until I sold it with the house), I would have to had to redesign it to use solar.
To use solar you have to have it so it can 'harvest' the power and then 'sell' it to the house.
After studying for 10 years, it's obvious how it needs to work. You need 4 states of operation instead of 2.
Generac just this year, figured out how to make a solar and backup system into one.

To answer the previous question, the fewer battery cells you have charging in a string, the closer the cell voltages will be. They get out of sync over time. The more in the string, the further out of sync they can get.

Not sure I understand but in golf cart its in parell, not series.6 T 105s.

 

[viking]

We haven't had a grid power failure for a number of months and I'm considering doing a battery drain down test, batteries have shown that they have been constantly topped off by the solar array and the inverter/charger and are sitting at a constant average of 27.5 volts but just sitting there with no major discharge, they tend to get sulfite build up on the cells so I think it's about time to have to drain them down a bit and have an equalizing charge cycle done. It seems that every time I'm around where batteries are being sold, like Costco, I check on their 6 volt golf cart batteries and recently Costco has gotten in Interstate 210 amp hour batteries, when we bought a ours their batteries were 205 amp hour, still great but I like to get as heavy duty as I can, yeah the 210's are now up to $98 and change compared to the $80 + I got all ours for, that's alright, I'm happy with what we have and they do a dang good job. Anyway, if I changed out all the batteries to 210 amp hour, I'd only gain 50 amp hours, presently the total is 1,025, but I have space for one more bank and the cables to connect them which would raise the amp hours to 1,230, but I think we're okay with what we have, if I had to do a total change out of batteries, then I'd add another bank and use 210's. Actually my biggest problem is that the solar backup shed is a mess, still have a lot of nuts, bolts, Strong-Ties and stuff from the solar array build that are in boxes as well as tools and other things laying around, we seem to never have enough storage, I do have another shed that I just cleaned out some concrete forms to give a neighbor for his green house project, thing is, anything I put in it needs to be tarped because bats use the shed and droppings get on everything, but I'm happy to have bats around and it's amazing to see the moms nursing their babies. The job they do in taking care of insects is awesome.

 

[Supervisor42]

We haven't had a grid power failure for a number of months and I'm considering doing a battery drain down test, batteries have shown that they have been constantly topped off by the solar array and the inverter/charger and are sitting at a constant average of 27.5 volts but just sitting there with no major discharge, they tend to get sulfite build up on the cells so I think it's about time to have to drain them down a bit and have an equalizing charge cycle done...

If you keep them at a float voltage of 27.5v (perfect for AGMs and SLAs) that is above the gassing voltage for most flooded deep-cycle batteries, you may want to look into a watering system (inexpensive and perfect for guys like me that procrastinate) especially if you have a lot of batteries. Gravity-fed is perfect as there is no rush in turn-around time.

It's not rocket science and 'some guys' have been weeding out the stuff that doesn't work for decades .
The perfect float-voltage varies with different battery manufacturers and how concentrated the acid is and their plate chemical composition.

 

[viking]

If you keep them at a float voltage of 27.5v (perfect for AGMs and SLAs) that is above the gassing voltage for most flooded deep-cycle batteries, you may want to look into a watering system (inexpensive and perfect for guys like me that procrastinate) especially if you have a lot of batteries. Gravity-fed is perfect as there is no rush in turn-around time.
View attachment 42566
It's not rocket science and 'some guys' have been weeding out the stuff that doesn't work for decades .
The perfect float-voltage varies with different battery manufacturers and how concentrated the acid is and their plate chemical composition.

I figured that there had to be something like this around, I'll have to check with the Interstate battery store in Grants Pass to see if they can get me this system. Yeah, it's easy to procrastinate, having to crawl under the counter and fill each cell from a plastic cup while holding a flashlight while avoiding acid splashing can lead to that. Thanks for posting the pic.

 

[Bacpacker]

Viking, Try one of these out to fill the batteries with. Pretty precise and will allow you to stay at arms length. I've used these since I was a kid to keep batteries topped off.

https://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-14600-Battery-Filler/dp/B000M5X0MS

 

[Supervisor42]

Viking, Try one of these out to fill the batteries with. Pretty precise and will allow you to stay at arms length. I've used these since I was a kid to keep batteries topped off.

https://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-14600-Battery-Filler/dp/B000M5X0MS

I always had a couple of those.
They are essential if you accidentally overfill a cell. Simply use it to transfer liquid to another thirsty cell.

@viking There are 3 types of watering systems. One is for freezing temps. You definitely don't want that one.
Not because it isn't great, but it is designed so the fillers do not hold water, freeze and burst.
They intentionally weep into the battery after they turn off. If a watering gun is connected only once a month, it is not an issue at all.
For a perpetual water supply, it is a problem.
@phideaux mentioned Deka batteries.
Here's mine with the freeze-proof watering system because it lived outside. The White-Elephant:

24v, 510 AH, 1,000 lbs.

 

[phideaux]

The best time saver I've found , easy , precise fills,
Holds 1/2 gal of distilled water.

Jim

 

[phideaux]

The best time saver I've found , easy , precise fills,
Holds 1/2 gal of distilled water.
View attachment 42815
Jim

I have an electric SidexSide with 8 , 6v batteries, a golf cart with 4 , 12v batteries, and 8 , 6 v battery pack for solar power.
That's 72 holes to fill.
I ain't gonna spend the whole summer filling them.
It only takes a few easy minutes to fill 8 batteries , using that filler .
Cost about $10.

Jim

 

[Supervisor42]

...That's 72 holes to fill.

There's a Muslim joke here somewhere, but I'm gonna let it slide .

 

[viking]

In going through solar information that I want to pass on to a friend that has solar panels and really doesn't know how to set things up, I noticed that on post #54 I misstated our solar panels to be 295 watts, the correct wattage is 195 per panel. I will also add that I ended up getting a Plews two quart automatic battery filler, Interstate told me they just don't handle battery fillers and couldn't compete with Amazon, so that's where we got it.

 

[Supervisor42]

I will also add that I ended up getting a Plews two quart automatic battery filler, Interstate told me they just don't handle battery fillers and couldn't compete with Amazon, so that's where we got it.

Post some info on that or a pic.
I've been out of the loop for 2 years and need to see what they have.

 

[hiwall]

Is it like this one?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Performa...MI0eWsyN-_7AIVzZ6zCh0q6wFQEAQYASABEgKJGPD_BwE

 

[Supervisor42]

Is it like this one?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Performa...MI0eWsyN-_7AIVzZ6zCh0q6wFQEAQYASABEgKJGPD_BwE

Didja see post #107?

 

[viking]

The one I got is of good quality, cost $14.99, did top off of cells in about a quarter of the time it took with a plastic cup.

 

[hiwall]

Didja see post #107?

Oops!

 

[SheepDog]

You can also buy automatic fillers for stationary batteries. Those are often used with large industrial batteries.

 

[Supervisor42]

You can also buy automatic fillers for stationary batteries. Those are often used with large industrial batteries.

Yes. Fortunately the cap on the cells of every flooded battery is standard across all makes, models and types.
We installed countless watering systems over decades.
Compared to the cost of a single battery that had been ruined because it was 'run dry', they are pennies.
This is just one of the "proven" systems we used:
https://www.phlsci.com/product-lines/water-injector-systems/water-injector-classic-system/
It was one of the best 'low-pressure' systems that would work gravity-fed.

 

[viking]

You can also buy automatic fillers for stationary batteries. Those are often used with large industrial batteries.

I saw them on Amazon (battery shops don't have them on hand either), but I went with the 2 quart Plews waterer because it was far less money and it only takes about 15 minutes to top off 60 cells. I like the idea of an automatic system, I just couldn't justify the cost and as well it allows me to inspect the condition of the cells to make sure they are all getting the water they need.

 

[Meerkat]

Mostof you guys here helped me so much at the other site in buying and making my solar but we still haven't set it up yet, not sure where we want to put it.
My bus would have been good for me but hubby said " forget it ".