Deep cycle batteries.

[itareanlnotani]

4 x 12v 260aH batteries, 3kW pure sinewave inverter, 6 x 300W solar modules, roof mount structures, 70A max tracker plus cabling and other stuff. including installation R122 000.

Holy crap, they're making a killing off of that.


4 x 12v 260ah +-4k at most each = 16k
3KW Pure Sinewave Inverter +- 5k
6 x 300w +- 3k each = 18K
Mounting +2k
70A tracker +- 10k (assuming $$ one)

===

41k cost odd. (and thats retail).

 

[CAPS LOCK]

No affiliation to these guys whatsoever, nor can I vouch for them, just a random Google search. Prices seem pretty decent.. http://umbani-solar.co.za/

 

[akescpt]

No affiliation to these guys whatsoever, nor can I vouch for them, just a random Google search. Prices seem pretty decent.. http://umbani-solar.co.za/

Got a quote from them. Very reasonable.

 

[akescpt]

my thoughts too.

What choice do we have though? It's scary at night with all the lights off and no alarm. When the electricity's down MTN always seems to be down too.

That feeling of isolation - noooo

Lady I'm a simple man. If the alarm is a concern buy a box of back-up batteries. Find an isp that works when the power is down then get a mifi device. Install a solar setup that provides led lighting when the load shedding is in progress. That won't cost allot. There's alternatives. Those dudes are looking at you bent over over that barrel and licking their lips.

 

[tRoN]

So where can I buy the best quality and recent prices deep cycle battery?

 

[maumau]

That will provide less than 200kwh per month I reckon

Very close Sinbad. The quote says 6kWh per day.

The system's set up to use solar power in the house all day until sundown, then it'll switch to battery power till they reach 80%. If there's eskom power it'll kick in at this point if there's no sun. If no eskom and no sun the batteries will go down to 50%. Otherwise batteries recharge when sunlight 's available.

 

[maumau]

Holy crap, they're making a killing off of that.


4 x 12v 260ah +-4k at most each = 16k
3KW Pure Sinewave Inverter +- 5k
6 x 300w +- 3k each = 18K
Mounting +2k
70A tracker +- 10k (assuming $$ one)

===

41k cost odd. (and thats retail).

Is that quality stuff Isheed?

These people say batteries will last 10 years, german panels.

 

[maumau]

Lady I'm a simple man. If the alarm is a concern buy a box of back-up batteries. Find an isp that works when the power is down then get a mifi device. Install a solar setup that provides led lighting when the load shedding is in progress. That won't cost allot. There's alternatives. Those dudes are looking at you bent over over that barrel and licking their lips.

You know akescpt, i actually lean towards these solutions too, so thanks for reminding me.

Being without light for an hour or two isn't unbearable but it's bad for the fridge, the tv and the router to keep going off, coming on etc. Yesterday it went on and off 6 or 7 times in an hour, luckily all appliances had been unplugged.

The alarm has battery back up but the battery keeps running low. Today i learned that there's a way of using 2 batteries that will double the length of time before batteries run low so I got a 2nd battery today.

You speak a lot of sense when you say there are cheaper ways..... hmmmmm. That got me thinking.

 

[itareanlnotani]

Is that quality stuff Isheed?

These people say batteries will last 10 years, german panels.

Batteries -
Don't believe them.
Batteries last cycles, not years.

12v @ 260Ah = 3000W odd of power @ 100% usage (depth of discharge)
x 4 = 6000W @ 50% usage.

Probably only 4000W of usage if 30% DoD to get the maximum lifetime out of them.
That means you can use 4000W of power from your 4 batteries before you need to charge them again. (assuming you want a 10 year lifespan, and you aren't going to be using them that often).

Ask them what depth of discharge they plan on using. Get a data sheet for the batteries and look at the lifetime / depth of discharge for the batteries. Don't believe what someone tells you if they say oh, it will be fine for 10 years, unless the math / data sheet works out. In 3-5 years time will they still be around when your batteries fail as you've been discharging to 50-60%?



Panels - doesn't really matter. German panels / Chinese panels are pretty similar in quality (Renesol, etc). The important thing to note is the temperature co-efficient. Again, get a data sheet. We have hot sunny days for the most part here, so I tend towards Poly panels for our climate. In Europe they have less heat, less sun, so Mono panels. Make sure what you get is appropriate for use.

This is a good read for learning purposes - http://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/...specification-part-1-power-temperature-specs/


Make informed decisions...
Without looking at your needs, I think that there aren't enough panels, and probably not enough battery either. I don't know what you use though, and how long you want to be online for.

 

[akescpt]

You know akescpt, i actually lean towards these solutions too, so thanks for reminding me.

Being without light for an hour or two isn't unbearable but it's bad for the fridge, the tv and the router to keep going off, coming on etc. Yesterday it went on and off 6 or 7 times in an hour, luckily all appliances had been unplugged.

The alarm has battery back up but the battery keeps running low. Today i learned that there's a way of using 2 batteries that will double the length of time before batteries run low so I got a 2nd battery today.

You speak a lot of sense when you say there are cheaper ways..... hmmmmm. That got me thinking.

Power 6 or 7 times off and on doesnt sound right. Care to share the alarm battery solution?

 

[SlowInternet]

Power 6 or 7 times off and on doesnt sound right. Care to share the alarm battery solution?

Would also like to know.

 

[Sinbad]

Power 6 or 7 times off and on doesnt sound right. Care to share the alarm battery solution?

Wouldn't that possibly overload the charger?

 

[maumau]

Would also like to know.

Sure. Where I work we sell 12v 7ah batteries to game farms. The batteries attach to lights used for night time game viewing but we also use them as backup for our alarms and gate motors. Our MD told me yesterday that they can be daisy chained and by using 2 batteries the back up will last longer.

They're about 10 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm

 

[maumau]

Tks isheed for that explanation and those links. Cycle is to 80% but can go down to 50% if there's no sun or no Eskom available.

 

[Sinbad]

Sure. Where I work we sell 12v 7ah batteries to game farms. The batteries attach to lights used for night time game viewing but we also use them as backup for our alarms and gate motors. Our MD told me yesterday that they can be daisy chained and by using 2 batteries the back up will last longer.

They're about 10 cm x 20 cm x 15 cm

In parallel, not series. Just remember the charging current will double.

 

[maumau]

In parallel, not series. Just remember the charging current will double.

If it doubles the cost then i'll try one new battery to see how long it lasts - I'm trying to get away from eskom, not pay them extra.

About the on/off issues 6 to 7 times at wek on thursday, the funeral of that top billing guy was happening a few blocks away. Don't know what eskom was trying to do but they might have been trying to get the lights on for that. Our IT dept said the server was constantly sending messages so they shut it down until ................ after the power cut on friday morning nice isn't it?

 

[DominionZA]

How do you determine if your batteries are poked?

My intellipower 4 cooked a few months ago and took my batteries with it. I now have a 1000W inverter hooked up to two old 70Ah batteries give me a total of 140Ah at 12V.
These batteries I purchased in 2009 and they were used for about 2 years every Sunday to charge up our lipos when we went heli flying. This is all they were used for. Since 2011 till now, they just lived in the cupboard.

We had load shedding yesterday and I got about an hour off them running an Asus N66U and a Cisco modem. Total about 80W tops.
Today I put my volt meter on the battery pack and disconnected Eskom. I was watching the voltage drop every 30 seconds or so. It dropped quick.
I left it charging for the day and by this evening they were on 13.14V. Load shedding hit us at 20H30. By 21H15 they packed up and my stuff shut down.

Now on my Intellipower 4, I had 2 x 105Ah batteries and this setup kept my entire rack (media server, router, wifi, cooling fans) for around 24 hours with no problem.

So, how do I figure out if my batteries are poked? I was planning on stopping by at Makro tomorrow and purchasing more, but want to make sure they do need replacing.

It could be my inverter... Maybe? But I have tried two inverters with the same results, so leaning towards buggered batteries.

Any advice?

 

[koeksGHT]

Any advice?

Use the tongue test, connect both terminals to wires and touch on your tongue, bitterness will tell age.



Don't take any of my advice, i'm a potato.

 

[alanj9za]

Just a point on battery life, the more you discharge the battery measured by the voltage, the fewer cycles you get.
Check you inverter low voltage cut out and chose one with at least 11v or higher , many use 10.5v which is too low for a deep cycle battery and will drastically reduce the battery life if you regularly drain to inverter trip point.

 

[Basil959]

I'm also very keen to test those 170 amp Northstars I bought..... when I asked the guy who was selling them if they were any good he said look here... got his mate to hold a fluke across the terminals and shorted positive and negative with wire... and proceeded to say " see they are good the voltage didn't even drop".... WTF...