20x32 A frame cabin Central KY

[CjAl]

do you need tue cash or are ya open to horse trading? i would buy them but i csnt take a grand away from my build right now.

[AdironDoc]

Here are our panels for now. Mounted on a galvanized pipe rack with enough bracing to look like a giant erector set. Running a 15k BTU A/C and still charging the batteries is awesome

Nice array there    Wish I had something like that on my house in the burbs. Like most of us, you arranged your panels all sitting up tight against each other. Having seen the amount of lift the wind creates over a large flat surface, I often wonder if it would be better to leave a small gap between each panel. Fortunately, mine are still where I left them. 

[EaglesSJ]

Todays harvest. Some of the stuff is a bit smaller than max because we want to get 2 full crops out of the garden this year. The next crop will be put out today and wont be harvested until just before frost so that we get larger produce. The peppers are of course a constantly producing crop and we just picked some to start canning tonight.

Also had 7 baby chicks hatch out under mama hen yesterday and the day before. I absolutely love this time of year.

[UK4X4]

That crop looks awsome- I came home today to find my new monster puppy decided to eat three chilli plants I've been working on for 9 months.....

2 may survive the mauling but the other is missing in action - I expect to find a significant deposit later this evening !

bogota seems to be a chilli free zone !

peppers and chilles are a constant crop plant if you have sun and heat- I guess they'l stand down for the winter up your end of the world.

Long term storage for chilles and peppers we basicly make a vinegar- olive oil mix - add the chopped chilles and peppers without seeds- i find they add bitterness along with the heat
add a few garlic cloves and store in a corked bottle

we have one bottle over 7 years old and just keep adding to the top......its pretty strong !

We use as a hot oil - re- adding the oil mix as required

peppers and garlic if you don't want the heat but just the flavor my wife minces  no seeds -adds olive oil and stores in the fridge in a jar- we get about 6 months out of a jar- before its eaten  never got to test how long it would last !

[AdironDoc]

That crop looks awsome-

Indeed it does!

Long term storage for chilles and peppers we basicly make a vinegar- olive oil mix - add the chopped chilles and peppers without seeds- i find they add bitterness along with the heat
add a few garlic cloves and store in a corked bottle

Mine are well on their way. I'm going to be sure and try your method out! I'm getting hungry thinking about it.. 

[CjAl]

the pepper oil sprinkled over a bowl of rice is awsome

[EaglesSJ]

Got a new battery bank installed today. The walmart Maxx-29s only made it 9 months!!!!! Luckily I got a full refund on them and was able to put the cash towards some golf cart batteries. With the first set lasting about 15 months and the second lasting 9 I can say that I DO NOT RECOMMEND them for off grid use.

Now onto what I bought. I got sixteen 6v 230aH golf cart batteries from Sams that say Deka on the top. Ive read that deka makes alright batteries. These weigh 67 pounds each and from a quick look under the caps have much thicker plates than the last set I had.

Thinking about getting another 8 of them to take my bank from 460 ah to 690ah at 48v. This would give us about 4-5 days of back up. Here are the pics. I like the fill cap setup. Twist one lever and all three come off.

[EaglesSJ]

Couple of questions:

How long can I expect these to last? Anyone else using similar batteries?

Its been 106 here the past few days. How does the heat affect batteries and is there anything I can do to help negate the heat issue?

[MountainDon]

How long can I expect these to last?

We have 12 similar batteries I bought at our Sam's July 2009. (24 VDC system) They are going strong and look like new when you peer into the cells. They test like new too with a hydrometer. How long will they last?  Depends.    Depends on a number of things; usual depth of discharge, keeping fluid levels up, etc. etc......     I think we can get 7 years and it's been suggested that with our use pattern maybe 10 years.   Stay tuned; I'll let everyone know as long as the batteries expire before I do.   



Heat shortens life. That's where we have an advantage as out 8800 foot elevation location is cooler than that. Darn cold at times. We've been running daytime highs in the mid 80's but only for a few hours. Nights still cool into the 50's. We are returning tomorrow and I have my thermometer with me to check the internal temperature (I'm just curious... will report. )

[MountainDon]

PS: our usual/normal depth of discharge runs to a maximum of 20%; 25% on occasion, sometimes 15%. Some will think that the bank is oversized but I am most comfortable with it.

[MountainDon]

From AZ Wind-Sun....

"Even though battery capacity at high temperatures is higher,  battery life is shortened. Battery capacity is reduced by 50% at -22 degrees F - but battery LIFE increases by about 60%. Battery life is reduced at higher temperatures - for every 15 degrees F over 77, battery life is cut in half. This holds true for ANY type of Lead-Acid battery, whether sealed, gelled, AGM, industrial or whatever. This is actually not as bad as it seems, as the battery will tend to average out the good and bad times."



Temperature scale is across the bottom; degrees Celius in larger bold font, degrees F in smaller font, in parentheses. Left side scale is battery capacity... sorry I haven't found a life vs temperature chart.

[glenn kangiser]

Beautiful crop there.  I need to get my onions soon as they are giving our gophers bad breath... [ouch]

The golf cart batteries should be a significant improvement over any deep cycle type.  We never made a year with any combination deep cycle.  The golf cart batteries as well as the L16 batteries are lead/antimony plates and much more durable and resistant to problems if they are taken care of. 

I also need to pay more attention to that.

UK, we have noticed that about the peppers and have one that is 3 years old still producing now I think.  Sorry to hear about yours.

[EaglesSJ]

From AZ Wind-Sun....

"Even though battery capacity at high temperatures is higher,  battery life is shortened. Battery capacity is reduced by 50% at -22 degrees F - but battery LIFE increases by about 60%. Battery life is reduced at higher temperatures - for every 15 degrees F over 77, battery life is cut in half. This holds true for ANY type of Lead-Acid battery, whether sealed, gelled, AGM, industrial or whatever. This is actually not as bad as it seems, as the battery will tend to average out the good and bad times."



Temperature scale is across the bottom; degrees Celius in larger bold font, degrees F in smaller font, in parentheses. Left side scale is battery capacity... sorry I haven't found a life vs temperature chart.

So if Im reading correct basically the heat of the summer decreases my batteries lifespan but then the winter increases my batteries lifespan so they cancel each other out?

"This is actually not as bad as it seems, as the battery will tend to average out the good and bad times."

South Central Kentucky's average annual temperature is 69 degrees.

[EaglesSJ]

Ok so I have installed the new batteries however I have been unable to get my battery voltage up past 53.2V My amp meter shows that I am charging at 36amp and my  outback mate shows that I am charging at 2100w however my voltage never goes up. I let it charge like this for 5 hrs with the same result. My float is set to 55. My bulk and absorb is set to 58 and eq is set to 61. I would like to eq these batteries but for some reason its just not wanting to happen.

[Squirl]

I am not as familiar with 48v banks.  I don't know what the voltage is supposed to be at 100%.

If the voltage is consistently just lower regardless of the amount of power put in it and you can never get a full charge, you may have a bad battery in the bank.   My recollection from Trojan's website, was they recommend charging the battery, disconnect everything from all the batteries, and if there is a voltage drop after a few hours without the batteries connected to anything, you have a bad battery.

http://www.trojanbattery.com/tools/faqs.aspx

[EaglesSJ]

Ok so after my panels pumped 13kW into the batteries and the generator pumped another 10kW into them I finally got them equalized at 60v for 2 hrs. I took a SG test and all the cells came out to between 1.230 and 1.250 From reading this should be between 1.270 and 1.300 for a fully charged cell. What gives? Should I equalize again?

[Barry Broome]

How much do those batteries cost a piece?

[EaglesSJ]

Top is stamped DEKA east penn manufacturing. Call to them cleared that all components are made here in the US as well as being assembled here. Pretty cheap for a battery that people claim to get 5-10 years from.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod3590220&navAction=push

[EaglesSJ]

after 6 hrs of equalization at 63v as directed by deka I now have readings between 1.255 and 1.75  on all cells with 80% falling between 1.260-1.265 I guess this is as good as I am going to get for now. I have spent alot of time with these batteries trying to be good to them and treat them like a little princess. Its now time to treat them like an ol team of mules and just use em until they wear out I guess. Im disappointed that I can not get them all up to 1.275 but there is little left to be done at this point. I have eqed them 3 times for a total of 10 hrs.

[EaglesSJ]

Built a new chicken coop and painted our shed as well as building a little porch out from it for additional storage.

[CjAl]

how is that new solar setup holding up to demand?

[EaglesSJ]

how is that new solar setup holding up to demand?

Lots more than we use. It is a 3450w array and it rarely ever gets over 1200w to keep the batteries up. The only time it ever hits 2.5-3k is if it has been cloudy for a few days and the batteries are low. Even then a day and a half to two days of sun and were back at full.

[EaglesSJ]

I should also add that I go rid of the 6 kyoceras and I now have a total of 15 sharp 230s. 5 strings of 3

[sleepgsr]

Thanks for the update.  I've been following your build for the past few years, and to say the least, I have been impressed.   Its the inspiration for our family to buy some land and to build ourselves as well. - Thanks

[semosam]

First of all love your place and story very inspiring!  I am curious about your log siding, what stain and color did you use on it and have you been happy with it and where did you get it from?  thanks for the info in advance and keep up the good work!