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Jest Went Off GriD
- Thread starter jazzy
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I just completed my qualified electrical worker training. Instructor told us to get an electrician anytime you are working outside your normal skill level
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so i had my new system checkled out by an electrician friend and he said it looks really good, work done was very good but suggested 2 more batteries. turned out to be a good move as i had 2 days of snow and my power bank ran out at the 2.5 days point. not a big deal for me--i limped along a bit and the next day was sunny and they all charged up very fast. i got the new batteries and the extra cushion of power has proven to be very good. several cloudy days and still recharged very quickly with noi problems. got some more snow coming next week so ill see how it goes and yes i go out and brush the snow off a couple times
no more flickering excpet for an aoccasional moment when the washer is on, well pump comes on and used the microwave. momentary flicker of light in kitchen overhead but it eneded quickly - like 3-4 seconds.
over all im real happy. over night useage brings the battery bank down to 75% when it was 50% before
the elecctric company wanted me to leave the meters and stuff for just in case i change my mind but charge me monthly for them to stay onmy property. if they didnt charge id let them leave it but i didnt want to pay. i declined their offer. guy who came out was a little pissy as in--i go thru this all the time and in 4-5 yrs you will want to be reconnected and we will havet o comeback out and it will cost you a min of $500. i just smiled and said--thats ok. if i ever get to that point i will deal with it
i feel good about the 2 extra batteries--you know--in the beginning in my gut i just felt i needed them but i let some well meaning friends talk me out of it saying i dont need them so save my money, etc, etc. then the first snowstorm and extra cloudy days came (not avergae for my area) and i ran out. the next sunny day they charged up very fast and did well but im still glad i got the 2 extra 2.
its all a learning curve i reckon. anything else i sohuld keep watch for?
no more flickering excpet for an aoccasional moment when the washer is on, well pump comes on and used the microwave. momentary flicker of light in kitchen overhead but it eneded quickly - like 3-4 seconds.
over all im real happy. over night useage brings the battery bank down to 75% when it was 50% before
the elecctric company wanted me to leave the meters and stuff for just in case i change my mind but charge me monthly for them to stay onmy property. if they didnt charge id let them leave it but i didnt want to pay. i declined their offer. guy who came out was a little pissy as in--i go thru this all the time and in 4-5 yrs you will want to be reconnected and we will havet o comeback out and it will cost you a min of $500. i just smiled and said--thats ok. if i ever get to that point i will deal with it
i feel good about the 2 extra batteries--you know--in the beginning in my gut i just felt i needed them but i let some well meaning friends talk me out of it saying i dont need them so save my money, etc, etc. then the first snowstorm and extra cloudy days came (not avergae for my area) and i ran out. the next sunny day they charged up very fast and did well but im still glad i got the 2 extra 2.
its all a learning curve i reckon. anything else i sohuld keep watch for?
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It's my understanding that it's not a good idea to just add batteries to an existing battery bank. The reason is that the weakest battery will drag down the rest of the batteries it's level. I have no idea how long it takes to ruin a battery bank. When my old 6 volt 8 battery bank started having problems I replaced all of the batteries with 12 new 2 volt batteries = 24 volt system. I'm pleased with my new battery bank.
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all batteries are new--well the first 4 have been in use a couple weeks but thats all. and the new batteries are the exact same as my first 4. another reason i wanted to add the 2 newer ones right away instead of waiting. guess ill find out
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Good idea. That shouldn't be a problem then.
I had to make do with some from the truck graveyard. Just make sure they're less than a year old, and top off the acid, you should be fine. Just pop an electrician's meter on them at full charge to make sure they ARE taking the full charge. your basic battery charger will lie!
Congratulations Jazzy, I hope you've a lifetime of off grid happiness!
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thanks! its been a dream of mine for many years. its been a neat adventure
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went thru another snow storm. day before was partly cloudy--batteries fully charged as usual that afternoon. snow came at night --got panels brushed off aournd 9am. batteries at 3/4 power. by early afternoon basttery bank fully charged.
i did have battery #5 added to stack. so far over night usage only uses about 25% where with 4 batteries overnight used 50%. i had ordered battery #6 to fill the stack but it hasnt arrived yet--should get it in next couple days. with holidays com,ing and all the kids and grand kids--yup--i wanted the extra batteries for a buffer.
so far its working out real well
anyone got satelitte internet and if its any good---mine went out for a couple days.
i did have battery #5 added to stack. so far over night usage only uses about 25% where with 4 batteries overnight used 50%. i had ordered battery #6 to fill the stack but it hasnt arrived yet--should get it in next couple days. with holidays com,ing and all the kids and grand kids--yup--i wanted the extra batteries for a buffer.
so far its working out real well
anyone got satelitte internet and if its any good---mine went out for a couple days.
Great test run for the system, glad it's working out!!
