RE: Our 1st Week Living Off-Grid!!!
Maybe I can help a bit. LED’s definitely the way to go;some use more watts than others. Get a plug in Kill a Watt meter and check. What voltage are you running with the deep cycle set up? You need to be at least 24V . That marine battery is not what you want. You need at a MInimum a 24V system;deep cycle 6v golf cart batteries wired in series for 24V. I have heard some people have found good prices at Cosco. They apperently have both marine and golf cart batteries. They won’t be as strong as the big name batteries but someone told me they are lighter quality Interstate batteries-a good brand. I will follow you i hope this helps. I have had my learning curve too. Unless you have an area that seriously blows all day long, I would recommend staying away from the wind turbine and concentrate on solar. I have gone down that path as well. I thought we had enough wind to really peoduce something and it doesn’t . Only during serious wind storms. It’s a nice thing to look at but not worth much in production.
Also stick with lead acid batteries, they are much more forgiving while you are learning. Enjoy🙂
Ok, thanks. How do you mean forgiving?
Everyone has to learn how to maintain/cycle/charge their batteries. You need a battery monitor to keep track of the battery; 100%-70% charge is the best for long life of batteries. They also need to return to 100% at least every 30 days-more often the better. True golf cart deep cycle batteries will give you the most bang for your buck. The problem you can run into is when you don't fully recharge them over 30 days or more. Sulfate forms on the plates like concrete and will quickly kill your batteries. This is why fully re-charging is important. This is also why I would stay away from AGM for now because you can somewhat neglect lead acid then give them a good solid charge and it will drive the sulfates off of the plates and your back in business. You can overcharge a lead acid battery; it will forgive you and be OK. Overcharge a AGM and you will kill them-you will have a boat anchor.
Oh wow thank thanks for that very valuable information! So much to learn.... I am afraid to mess it up but I will learn!!!
There is so much chemistry involved and maintenance.
Very nice, thank you for the help and thank you for the follow of course!
So, what is the reason behind 24v instead of 12v? Just a concern about the 12v wireing already installed in our camper, would't I have to than change to 24v led bulbs, water pump and other various mechanical things that are already in?
I also heard Costco had good 6v batteries for a descent price. Iwill look into it for sure.
We are on a plateau somewhay in the middle of a valley, windy it is but I'm not sure if it is enough... I gage that out over time. I'm not quite ready for windmills!
Thank you for the advice... going over to your blog now!
I just relooked at your photo of the extension cord plugged into your camper. It is marked 120/240 volt, powered by your 120 volt inverter from your car. Is this charging your 12v battery only? Are your lights/water pump etc. running off 12 volt ? If this is the case, I would not rewire anything and stay with 12v for now. 24 volt is just so much better for larger loads tv, microwave, refrigerator. I started with 12volt too. I think you are going to have a very nice place! :)
Basically yes! It charges the battery, but there is also wireing for 110v accross the camper for the microwave (which we took out actually), outlets, a couple light fixtures and a ceiling fan. So while the inverter runs off the car, we also charge our phones and power tool batteries.
When we build a solar shed system I will look hard into 24v.
Thank you so much, we do want the place to be very nice and beautiful 😁!