What type of batteries do you recommend?

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Neb

Jack of all trades master of some
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The time has come for me to budget for the batteries for my place. Toward that end I want to first figure out what type of batteries I should get.

I have grandiose dreams that will be limited by the amount of space so larger batteries but not so large I need a forklift to move them.

Long life is desirable as well because I don't want to have to replace them very often it at all.

So please share your recommendation's please.

Ben
 
@Neb, If you have a strong budget I would go with LiFePO4 battery chemistry, they are very energy dense (small footprint) and they are relatively light for their storage capacity (a 12V 400AH battery weights less than 100 lbs) so you could build shelves and stack them. They are also sealed and can operate on their side, good for stacking arrangements. They are available in 12V, 24V, and 48V configurations. They also have some pretty impressive charge and discharge rate tolerances. They have a fairly long life, reportedly around 6000 cycles or over 10 years.

There is only 1 big problem with LiFePO4 batteries, they are expensive, about 6X that of a deep cycle flooded battery (but you need ventilation for that one), that's the only reason I used flooded deep cycle batteries in my little battery bank out back. I just couldn't swing dropping >$6K on batteries.
 
Depends on your budget and what you are trying to achieve. Need more info.

If you have plenty of funds Iron Edison will out last you. They are not as efficient but last WAY longer than any other option.

With my budget I try and get used AGM batteries from bank or hospital trade in's. They have to replace them early due to insurance.
 
Depends on your budget and what you are trying to achieve. Need more info.

If you have plenty of funds Iron Edison will out last you. They are not as efficient but last WAY longer than any other option.

With my budget I try and get used AGM batteries from bank or hospital trade in's. They have to replace them early due to insurance.
My pie in the sky goal is to run a MIG welder for an 8 hour period once a week in summer under optimal conditions. I already have the inverter sized for the welder, solar panels, wind turbine, charge controllers all in the original boxes (turbine not in the box).

Once I review your feedback on battery types I will work out cost per AH and determine how many batteries I will need for 8 hours plus some.

Then I will present the bad news to The Princess and figure out how much she can fund. She is typically will tend to "buy once, cry once" so batteries that will out live us is a plus.

If I have settle for less so be it.

But for now I am looking for advice on what is the best types of batteries are now available.

Ben

PS1
I had gathered components years ago and they are stored to protect from an EMP. I figured there would plenty of batteries in non-functional cars I could harvest if it happened. So I have deferred obtaining batteries before now.

PS2
About 45 years ago I maintained a lead acid battery bank of 100 lead acid batteries that were 18" tall with the tops being about 8x12". I only has to keep the water topped of and check the cell voltages for the 3 years I worked that job.

PS3
It is the high inflation that prompting us to evaluate if we can do this now. Better spend the money now while it is still worth something. The other high cost issue is running the 200 amp service 75' to the shop. May make the batteries look cheap.
 
How much actual weld time do you expect to have in 8 hours? Heck the duty cycle of most welders is less than 30%. Also welding at what power draw? My welder is a Lincoln 175 and 90% of my welding is done on C out of ABCDE A being thin light metal and E being 3/8 - 1/2 thick. It is a 220 volt welder and I run it off a 5,000 watt generator as needed.
 
So I should you down for...

Interstate GC2-XHD-UTL
?

Ben
Not recommended, unless you are going to bang them into other stuff, repeat deep-cycle them over 10 hours every day, freeze them at -12°F, and run them low of water. :confused:
But the above-mentioned are damtough batteries.
We left a wide trail of dead bodies of many other kinds behind to prove it. :oops:
Yours will live a cushy life and don't need to be "military grade", it would be a waste of your money.
 
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How much actual weld time do you expect to have in 8 hours? Heck the duty cycle of most welders is less than 30%. Also welding at what power draw? My welder is a Lincoln 175 and 90% of my welding is done on C out of ABCDE A being thin light metal and E being 3/8 - 1/2 thick. It is a 220 volt welder and I run it off a 5,000 watt generator as needed.
Not that I would do it every week mind tou. That is a worse case example.
 
Not that I would do it every week mind tou. That is a worse case example.

When planning battery storage you need to take averages in account. Otherwise you will way over spend buying more batteries than you NEED 90% of the time. Now if you won the lotto or just need to waste some money then sure buy enough to cover that once in a blue moon load.
 
When planning battery storage you need to take averages in account. Otherwise you will way over spend buying more batteries than you NEED 90% of the time. Now if you won the lotto or just need to waste some money then sure buy enough to cover that once in a blue moon load.
True enough if I was looking power the house under normal conditions. My DREAM is to be able handle TEOTWAKI needs. I suspect the budget will make me scale back my goals... but answer comes after I settle on the cost per watt-hour.

For now I am looking for suggestions on battery types.

Thanks

Ben
 
@ben ,
I'll not say what best battery for your application would be.

I'm going to tell you , for deep cycle batteries for powering inverters to run sections of your your house , based on my experience.

In KY , the coal miners depend on deep cycle batteries for their equipment underground.
I know many coal miners , and they told me they will run nothing but Deka batteries .

I have run them in a side x side and golf carts for years , and they are the best I've used.

Now , Duracell (label) is Deka.
I've run Duracell and had great success with them.

I had Interstate batteries in my solar bank for over 10 years and still going strong , when I sold them with the farm.

Maintenance is the key.
With Deka, Duracell, interstate , I don't think you will be unhappy.
Figure about $200 + - for each 6v/ 230ish AH.

Not cheap but not overly expensive.

Jim
 
Absolyte make damn good batteries. They are what we are using now. They were used when we got them almost 5 years ago.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2655275382...I_aMAzQkbZIa511k5--iQndddmlIVlzwaApz3EALw_wcB
I know I'll get in trouble for this, but I deal with punishment pretty well.
GNB is using the Absolyte name because GNB quickly became a cuss-word.
In our world, none of their AGM batteries made it to 3 years in daily use.
All of the equipment going into Lowes stores for a couple of years got them to eliminate "battery maintenance" to save money. :thumbs:
Since they ran at different voltage levels than flooded batteries, we had to change the charge/discharge settings in everything when the replacement flooded batteries were installed.:mad:
I'll be quiet now.:confused:
assspank.gif
 
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My 110 miller MIG works fine on a honda 2000 watt generator. Do a little more welding and sell some stuff and have more fun money for the batteries. www.ryderhorses.com I am setting up 500 watts and some plain jane deep cycle batteries Just to see what i can run around the place. My main concern is a 12 volt well pump to water the garden during the coming food crisis.


26904189_1784995701800466_22010160771662383_n.jpg
 
This is my second used set I got 7 years out of the first set. I've been happy with them. YMMV The set I have now came out of an operating room.
 
I've known supervisot42 for a good many years, and I have depended on his battery knowledge for years

It was his job for many years ..he knows batteries.

Listen to him.

Jim
I agree. As to Deka batteries/ "Duracell", that's what our friend ended up getting because all other suppliers were totally out of GC-2 batteries, yeah they were spendy $200 + core charge, on the other hand they are 245 amp hour, which is a good thing.
 
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My 110 miller MIG works fine on a honda 2000 watt generator. Do a little more welding and sell some stuff and have more fun money for the batteries. www.ryderhorses.com I am setting up 500 watts and some plain jane deep cycle batteries Just to see what i can run around the place. My main concern is a 12 volt well pump to water the garden during the coming food crisis.


View attachment 84252
I have a 110 volt water pump to feed my drip irrigation system, I have an old 2000 watt HarborF modified sin inverter that runs it fine for the short time I run the pump each day. The pump is a "FLUENTPOWER 1HP Portable Stainless Steel Lawn Sprinkling Pump, Electric Water Pump Shallow Well Sump Booster Pump with 1" NPT Female Thread for Home Garden Lawn Irrigation" that I got on Amazon ~$110, I have used it for 3 seasons so far.
Having enough batteries and large enough cables for the inverter are a must, to draw more than 1500 watts, even for a short time.
 
I agree. As to Deka batteries/ "Duracell", that's what our friend ended up getting because all other suppliers were totally out of GC-2 batteries, yeah they were speedy $200 + core charge, on the other hand they are 245 amp hour, which is a good thing.
He did good. :thumbs:
Our 'rule of thumb' was, the higher the amp-hour rating for one in a given size/series, meant it had thicker plates and would survive longer.
You were buying more "battery" than just plastic case.
(I know, I know, now back to my corner:confused:)
 
I
Cable size is a major plus to higher voltage systems.
Direct Current has a bad habit of loosing voltage with long cables, so the larger the cable the less voltage loss you will have. The inverter info says that between the batteries and the inverter the cables should be no more than 3 feet. This DC voltage loss is why I designed our solar system to run on higher voltage, whatever voltage loss I have from the nearly forty feet of #6 wire from the solar array to the solar controller doesn't make a lot of difference as it is our daily voltage range from the array is 60 to 84 volts, the MPPT controller drops it down to charge the 24 volt battery bank, I'm very happy with the systems performance as it has exceeded my design beyond what I had figured.
 
The size of wire is determined by Amps and distance. With an average of 72 volts DC how many amps are your panels generating? At 40 feet with AWG 6 cables I think you would be good to about 60 amps ?? just off the top of my head. (4300 watts?)
 
The size of wire is determined by Amps and distance. With an average of 72 volts DC how many amps are your panels generating? At 40 feet with AWG 6 cables I think you would be good to about 60 amps ?? just off the top of my head. (4300 watts?)
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We have 1560 watts from our solar array, I've never seen amperage up to the rating of what the total array is capable of according to their rated output of a total of 23.2 amps.
 
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Yeah, you are golden. I have noticed in your discussions that you have thought it all out. I have the same mindset - to the tiniest detail. It drives those around me crazy sometimes.
 
To truly see what your panels can produce you need a heavy enough load to go past the rated limits. DC Water heater elements are the best thing I know to use for a sustainable load you can turn on and off an element at a time.
 
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I've been studying batteries a lot lately. What conclusion did you come to? I'm considering dipping a toe in the LifePO4 pool. There are a couple others that I'm also considering from EV's. This would be a 48 V bank for the golf cart. I figure that's a lot better test bed for me than my home is! LMAO That way I can learn and make mistakes without shutting the lights off. haha
 
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