My new battery bank is not working?!

Started by MNJon, July 20, 2012, 09:23:26 AM

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tommytebco

I hate to state the obvious, but, it seems the answer seems to be to go DC for a small off grid system.

And, what's so bad about a propane refrigerator?? I remember natural gas refrigerators, which were common  when I was a kid in the 50's. Auto defrost hadn't been developed yet, but the rest worked fine.



alex trent

Well, it actually is not so obvious.  Yes there are some advantages. Some with 120 system too.

For me the challenge is getting the 12v system stuff where i live.  Hauling propane tanks is is also a problem. And with 120v i can just plug in all my existing stuff...tools, etc.

Other things as well.  i am sure others will tell you what they are.

On a different note, having a system problem (like the inverter one I have) is not the end of the world and is ready solvable..already solved actually.  If something doesn't work you don't just run away and blame the system when it is a part of it and a natural part of dealing with mechanical or electrical systems.   I had a BMW and when i got a flat, my neighbor said (with all seriousness) "should have bought a caddie".  Same thing here.


alex trent

I am using my smaller inverter....1,500 watts. Can see the difference already. Was on about 15 hours over the weekend and the difference in the less than 1 amp idle draw with this and the over 4 with the big one is night and day on DOC. On my small battery system that is close to 15% of the total amp hours. Still no response from Wagan tech service.

MountainDon

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Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


John Raabe

I want to echo what Don says...

Before you post ask yourself if something you have typed might be construed as too personal or an attack - even if you didn't intend it that way. Forum postings don't have all the indicators such as voice inflection or physical body language that we use to express things we want to say.

Then, knowing that, it helps to have a bit of a thick skin and give the other guy a bit of slack. They might be having second thoughts as well.

Finally, you can always edit your post. Sooner is better but later is still better than saying something you might regret.
None of us are as smart as all of us.

MNJon

First, thanks all for the help. Also thanks Don and John for the call for civility.

Now, I have replaced the original four batteries with 6 6 volt gc's. Do I connect them as follows:

I have 6 6V 220 ah batteries that I am connecting to make a 12V 660 bank. Do I connect +/-,+/-,+/- then +/+ on sets 1 and 2 then -/-on sets 2 and 3, leaving the - on battery 1 and the + on battery 6 open for the charger and inverter leads?

UK4X4

3 sets of two batteries in series and then paralell them together if your doing a 12 volt system

series- voltages add together- amphrs stays the same

paralell - voltages stays the same- amphrs add together

so if you have the 6 batts 6v at 220amp/hour

you should get 12 V at 660amp/hr

tommytebco

I tried to draw it with letters, but failed miserably

In words then

You build three set of two six volt in series. Then connect the three end positives together and the three end negatives together at the other end
      + battery one, battery two-
      + battery three, battery four-
       +battery five, battery six-

Can't figure out how to show it but all the + connected and to + side of charger or load
And all the - connected and to - side of charger or load.

HTH baby


MNJon

Gotcha. I was missing two connections. I don't know why it eluded me, but you know sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. I had missed the - connections on 5-6 and the + on 1-2. I thought it had to leave the terminals at the opposite ends open for the inverter/charger leads, just like when you look at a battery you have one open + and one open -. It read proper voltage.but as soon as there was a load it dropped to  10.11 volts within 30 seconds, then when I removed the load it shot back up to showing full charge.

tommytebco

FYI, I spent almost 30 years self employed in the auto electric field.
I have owned the first item for over 25 years. The supplier has a reputation for cheap. My meter was inexpensive, if you get the nuance

The cheaper one was adequate for quick checks.

I admit my inexperience with battery arrays like you use. On car's the conventional wisdom was to disassemble and check separately.


http://www.harborfreight.com/100-amp-6-volt-12-volt-battery-load-tester-90636.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/500-amp-carbon-pile-load-tester-91129.html

MountainDon

#61
Using buss bars makes for a neater installation. Also makes it easy to remove a series string for any reason, without disturbing the others.

3/16" x 3/4" solid copper was used; size it for the needs of your own system



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

firefox

Very nice  and neat layout Don! You might think of getting some rubber strips and gluing them on the top of the bus bars. Nothing fancy, just something to prevent
the dropping of a wrench from ruining your day.
Bruce
Bruce & Robbie
MVPA 23824

MountainDon

Since those photos were taken I've slipped foam pipe insulation sleeves over the buss bars.   :)   "Mr. Sparky" visited me one day and I said to myself "That's enough of that".  The wrench has a little burn mark now.  If I was setting it up again I'd space the bars a little further apart. At the time I had that scrap piece of plywood just laying about and so I used it. 
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.