Your battery bank is one off your largest investments when it comes to an off grid or battery backup system. Learning how to care for them is very important….
Video Rating: 4 / 5
I show and explain how and why I wired my solar panel battery bank the way I did. I explain the fundamentals of battery bank wiring and the pitfalls if done …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
50 comments
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schickmann says:
December 12, 2014 at 1:04 am (UTC 0)
Is your battery bank kept in the house basement? If so, should we (you), be
concerned about battery offgassing hydrogien during charging? I have a
simular size bank kept in my garage due to offgassing concerns….but here
in michigan , winter affects my battefies….i would love to keep battery
bank in my basement for this reason…but i dont know about offgas
dangers…if any. Thanks in advance.
naomi brogan says:
December 12, 2014 at 1:46 am (UTC 0)
*Make power at home with solar and wind energy to eliminate your power bill*
Glenn Hough says:
December 12, 2014 at 2:11 am (UTC 0)
Saving energy with the use of renewables such as solar panel would be very
easy, cheap and clean..
Ben Maxwell says:
December 12, 2014 at 2:36 am (UTC 0)
want to migrate from “on grid” to diy solar and wind. Currently on grid,
but my elect co charges me $25 per month just to use their equipment. I
keep my bill under $70 per month, even while using AC here in Florida.
Winter months, I use a wood stove for heating, so no issue there.
Rob Barrer says:
December 12, 2014 at 3:16 am (UTC 0)
Mohab awadallah says:
December 12, 2014 at 3:18 am (UTC 0)
is it better to use 6v battery or 12 v battery for longer use in emergency?
523panda says:
December 12, 2014 at 4:03 am (UTC 0)
How many ah are each battery and how long will it run a load?
Arulin E says:
December 12, 2014 at 4:14 am (UTC 0)
6v batteries hold more amps…Why are you using 12 volt batteries?
Ferencz Gabriel says:
December 12, 2014 at 4:57 am (UTC 0)
nice video , If anyone else is trying to find the most effective secrets
for solar power try Banfan Genie Solar Power (should be on google have a
look)? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my co-worker got
cool success with it – saved a ton of cash
TechStories79 says:
December 12, 2014 at 5:02 am (UTC 0)
Whats the difference between a 24 volt battery bank and a 12 volt battery
bank? can u still use your 12 volt inverter. I fail to understand this bit!
OBXSOLWIND says:
December 12, 2014 at 6:00 am (UTC 0)
Good to hear you are working on your setup. My hanger has a 100 by 100 roof
and soaks in the heat and quite effectivley kicking my butt.
adnan9557 says:
December 12, 2014 at 6:58 am (UTC 0)
hi sir can u email me your number i want to call u and ask u few think
about battery adnan_wali2002@yahoo.com thanks
jeromeT1020 says:
December 12, 2014 at 7:58 am (UTC 0)
how do i figure out how many batteries I can charge with my solar array?
SoCals Preps says:
December 12, 2014 at 8:37 am (UTC 0)
you put out a video… Holly $h!t!!!!!
Jeramie Curtice says:
December 12, 2014 at 9:02 am (UTC 0)
Do you use dielectric grease on your connections? It should help keep the
corrosion away.
Wolverine Prepper says:
December 12, 2014 at 9:39 am (UTC 0)
Great information. Your videos are always good.
minbound says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:08 am (UTC 0)
Heat, what heat? Lol, it was 102 here yesterday that’s almost to much for
us MN guys:) I did a video about two weeks ago showing what I’ve been up
too, managed to get new batteries and finally pick up a small well 4k
genny. As you know it’s always a work in progress. Take care my friend.
That guy named ben says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:15 am (UTC 0)
The comment has nothing to do with charge dissipation, also it’s not a
“Myth” it was an actual problem with glass cased lead acid batteries which
were some of the first batteries. Storing batteries on the ground leaves
them higher to accidental damage, unintentional abrasion….it’s about
sensibility not R&D
fudge21036 says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:19 am (UTC 0)
what about the gel batteries and what about marine batteries ??? and the
problem i have is that i live in a winter climate and battery life span
then where can you get solar pannels at a good price ???
PestControl02 says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:31 am (UTC 0)
you have an awesome setup
cfcGreg D says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:10 am (UTC 0)
It’s not so much that concrete is bad for batteries, it more of the issue
of maintenance. If acid is allowed to form a trace over the top and down to
the concrete, the porous concrete, which has a high amount of water in it,
will quickly discharge the battery leading to early failure. If the
batteries are maintained well (like yours) an acid trace never forms and
concrete is ok… except for the way it will eat it up (as you pointed
out). The benefit of concrete is in uniform cooling of banks
awomansworld123 says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:39 am (UTC 0)
Very good information, your videos are always so helpful. Thanks for posting
OBXSOLWIND says:
December 12, 2014 at 12:09 pm (UTC 0)
The bigger the better. Most auto parts stores sell premade cables. Buy the
shortest ones that will do the job. The expence of wires is easy to
overlook when putting together a setup…
OBXSOLWIND says:
December 12, 2014 at 12:34 pm (UTC 0)
Marine batteries are not true deep cycle batteries. They will have a very
short life in an off grid solar setup however they are a good option for a
backup system.
That guy named ben says:
December 12, 2014 at 1:17 pm (UTC 0)
Um the batteries are on the floor….shaking head.
Matthew Millner says:
December 12, 2014 at 1:34 pm (UTC 0)
Do you think the desulfator actually works? This video was the first I have
ever heard of them. I have done some research and most people call them
bogus. Just wanting your take on them. Thanks
fmanalsh says:
December 12, 2014 at 2:17 pm (UTC 0)
I have a 290 watts 12v solar panels connected to 4 6volts trojan batteries
connected in series/parallel to poduce a 12volts battery bank and into a
1500 watts 12v inverter. I need a battery tender to compensate for night
time charging and or when there is no sun?
Aaron Mason says:
December 12, 2014 at 2:18 pm (UTC 0)
How do you figure out what size fuses to use between the batteries and
inverter?
Miah Moody says:
December 12, 2014 at 2:48 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks for the videos, they are very informative! One question remains:
What happens to the AmpHours of each battery as you connect them in series?
i.e Say you connect two – 6 volt batteries each supplying 205 amp hours, in
series to create a 12volt system. Do you still have the combined 410 amp
hours, or since the voltage doubled, do you only have half(205)? I hope my
question makes sense.
Here is my future application: I have a camper and im going off the grid. I
would of course like to maximize power. Should I use a bank of four – 12
volt in parallel or two banks of two – 6 volt in series? I have a feeling
the latter will be most effective and efficient. Just wanting to check with
someone who knows what they’re talking about. Thanks in advance!
Charles Stewart says:
December 12, 2014 at 3:31 pm (UTC 0)
I have two sets of Possies. & Negs. going from battery 4 (Pos) & battery 9
(Neg) to C.C. & inverter. Do you think that I’ll have an imbalanced charge
from C.C.? Also, will my 24 volt inverter be powered correctly? (14)-12
volt batt. series/parallel
gene mayne says:
December 12, 2014 at 4:04 pm (UTC 0)
Hi one thing you have forgot in next 5 years battery’s will nt even be used
Garfield Oliver says:
December 12, 2014 at 4:55 pm (UTC 0)
Station 237465.yes 250w of poly and 250w of mono solar panel are the same
in ways per watts but 1 will performed better in higher temperatures and
the other will perform better in lower temperature
surfdogdude says:
December 12, 2014 at 5:18 pm (UTC 0)
How did you calculate how large your battery bank should be in relation to
the output from your panels?
De Cook says:
December 12, 2014 at 5:51 pm (UTC 0)
Commercial Solar Panels are too Expensive !!
If you want a Good solution to Power your Home,
You have to Learn to Build your Own Solar Panels
Go to Google and Search for:
*Top DIY Solar Panels Research*
Choose the First Result (Skip the advertisement on top)
It is a Blog that Explains it in Details….
station247365 says:
December 12, 2014 at 6:35 pm (UTC 0)
I’m confused, in your picture you state that the solar panels are 12v 220
watt poly solar panels. Then in the link that you have it states grape
solar 250 watt mono crystalline solar panel. In my research of types of
panels, the poly are cheaper and put out less energy, but isn’t 250 watts
250 watts?
RTStx1 says:
December 12, 2014 at 7:13 pm (UTC 0)
Butch Weise the placement of the fuses is one to protect the charge
controllers from a solar panel surge and 2 protect the inverter from a
battery bank surge. The reason for the 30 amp is due to ohms law watts
divided by volts. 440/24=18.3 amps. A breaker/fuse is good up to 80%
before tripping. So a 20 amp breaker/fuse is good to 16 amps safely
therefore needing an upgrade. As for the fuse after the battery bank I am
not sure yet.
Dan Helie says:
December 12, 2014 at 7:30 pm (UTC 0)
Is it best to wire the batteries (2 or more), series or parallel? I have
2, 12 v batteries in a parallel now.
Rick Reece says:
December 12, 2014 at 7:52 pm (UTC 0)
I thought you needed to use diodes (or isolation diodes) between batteries
to prevent that uneven voltage between batteries. That’s what my RV had.
Boe Heffner says:
December 12, 2014 at 8:01 pm (UTC 0)
Real good info, thanks
Reddylion says:
December 12, 2014 at 8:18 pm (UTC 0)
nice.
SyberPrepper says:
December 12, 2014 at 9:09 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks for letting us know.
LDSPrepper says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:00 pm (UTC 0)
Awesome. I am glad it helped. When I started I had no idea how any of this
worked. Now it is easy. 🙂
hing983 says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:15 pm (UTC 0)
Yr inverter fuse is 150a yr soler fuse is 30 , how do u calculate amperage
G Rodon says:
December 12, 2014 at 10:15 pm (UTC 0)
They would be wired ahead of the batteries. One thing about wind power is
that the power it generates is obviously changing constantly and requires
both mechanical and electric ‘braking’ to use a familiar term. Once
filtered properly they would go into the charger array as any other source
voltage.
LDSPrepper says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:05 pm (UTC 0)
I video the preps I have at my home. I provided links below the video so
you can create any battery bank you want. There are some great diagrams and
info there.
Charles McCune says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:11 pm (UTC 0)
good video. a lot of people dont know the infor you just brought forward. a
lot of people dont belive there is ristance in the wire and the futher the
bank is from the input of power the batties furthers a way will not have
the same voltage as the batt’s at the beginning and with how you just
showed it is the way to do it because it alows all batts to get the same
juice. again great video. a lot of poeple need to see this.
LDSPrepper says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:38 pm (UTC 0)
What 12v device?
susie89434 says:
December 12, 2014 at 11:59 pm (UTC 0)
I’d like to thank you for your excellent prep videos. You have been
extremely informative and helpful. Yet, with all the prepping we can
do…there are factors we need to be aware of. Have you considered prepping
your batteries, wiring and electrical componants against EMP effects? A
faraday system needs to be included to protect all electronics..or they
will fry when we’re hit with multiple X flares or an EMP attack. Thanks
again.
LDSPrepper says:
December 13, 2014 at 12:55 am (UTC 0)
Any size panel will work. It all depends on how fast you use the power in
the battery bank and how fast you want to recharge it.
LDSPrepper says:
December 13, 2014 at 1:11 am (UTC 0)
AGM work great for solar.