iLoveTheSun:
@obimind:
Obviously 'deep cycle' describes the purpose of the battery: typical applications are UPS (in a stable grid environment where there is always light) or fisher boat (normally the engines powers a generator when on sea), so there are only view failures per year. Normally current of discharge is high. Let's say, it is used for 15 minutes, when a genset kicks in in a UPS application. It shortens the life cycle anyway, but the number of cycles is little in this case. => not suitable for every day charging and discharging!

'Gel' battery describe the built of the battery. Normally gel is put in glass matt in VRLA (closed Valve Regulated Lead Acid) battery. It is for "slow" charging and discharging without producing too much gas. It is more "gentle" to the materials inside the battery.

In general, to boost life cycle you should charge or discharge over a long time period, like 10hours (=c 10) or better 20 hours (=c 20).
I will look for a chart and post it here. The faster you charge/discharge, the shorter the life cycle is.

What I have read here, many people charge during the day and discharge the same evening.

One more factor is the depth of discharge (DOP). A battery that is only discharged to 80% of its capacity has a much longer life than a battery with DOP=50%.

So I have the feeling that people undersize their battery capacity.

My recommendation: when you have the feeling you have the right battery capacity, simply double it, then you will be on the right side.

sunny regards,

double what? in this economy? bros you are wicked o!

netotse:


double what? in this economy? bros you are wicked o!

Double your battery capacity so it gives you 2 times the AH you actually need. That will ensure you do not discharge your batteries beyond 50%. This will extend the lifespan of your batteries.

He gave the best advice otherwise, the frequency of batteries replacement would be high, and that means more money. So bite the bullet and do it once so that some peace of mind can be enjoyed for some years.

Cheers.

blazeup:
gentlemen, it is right to connect my inverter DC inlet to the Load connection point of my MPPT charge controller ?
a colleague in the Office (a certified EE) has insisted that is the correct method of connecting both the inverter, solar and Disco power as it would enable the charge controller serve as a switch and as well regulate the current at which i charge my batteries.

that this : Solar PV to the solar PV input on the CC as usual, Batteries would be connected to the Battery input on the CC as usual, inverter DC cables would be connected to the Loads outlet of the CC .while the AC inlet of the inverter for charging would be connected and powered on.
His point been that the CC would switch between DC sources for charging the batteries as well regulate the SOC of the batteries to my preferred cut off point.
(solar to cc, battery to cc, inverter dc to cc loads, inverter AC input to AC mains for charging, inverter AC outlet to my desired inverter powered devices) vs ( solar pv to cc, battery to cc, Inverter DC to batteries, and the inverter AC IO would be same). Can the CC load point also serve as a DC input to the CC to charge the batteries as well ? the Charge controller here is an EPsolar 40 A.

please comment.

You certified EE friend is in need of urgent upgrade. The load side of a charge controller is not meant for running powerful load (the kind an inverter exert on your batteries) the load generally meant for small dc loads like lighting systems (some people use their cc to power their security lighting points as such can use the load aspect to make turning on of security lights automatic) You can also use the load aspect to design a low voltage disconnect setup, using a DC solid state relay with an AC disconnect (that's another story) Anyway on no condition are you suppose to connect your inverter to it. Check the connection schematics of any cc and you none would you see it where inverter is connected to the cc.. in fact you are always warned never to try it or you risk turning your cc into expensive metal.

JohnKester:


Double your battery capacity so it gives you 2 times the AH you actually need. That will ensure you do not discharge your batteries beyond 50%. This will extend the lifespan of your batteries.

He gave the best advice otherwise, the frequency of batteries replacement would be high, and that means more money. So bite the bullet and do it once so that some peace of mind can be enjoyed for some years.

Cheers.

I see...so rather than teach people how to properly size their battery banks, he would rather they possibly over size the bank and waste money?

obimind:
@ all, deep cycle batteries and gel batteries which one is better in terms of being rugged and surviving deep discharge over time? Pls opinions are highly welcome. Thanks!

Deep cycle is a generic name for batteries that are designed to be (well) deeply cycled (cycle being a discharge and charge) as against automobile batteries which are not design for deep discharge.

Gel, AGM and Flooded acid batteries are all types of deep cycle batteries. The type depends on your use and how you designed your system and your peculiarities.

for new users with a large family and little space, I often recommed AGM batteries for the following reasons:

The are pretty much sealed and maintenance free, which means they require no water topping, little worry about gaseous discharge.. no worries about using hydrometers or acid spill.. They can also take quick charge, AGM batteries can take as much as 40% of their current capacity hence they are great for using with high charge capacity inverters and large solar array.

The down side of AGM is that they mostly don't like heat, and they have relatively lower cycle time compared to flooded acid batteries. Most AGM batteries sold in Nigerian market have as little as 500 cycles when used at 50 depth of discharge. If a cycle is a day of use, that is roughly a year and half. Some high end AGM can do as much as 1000 cycles at 50% dod but that will cost u.

FLA requires lots of baby sitting, you have to ensure acid dont spill, always make sure it is has right water level, always good to have a hydrometer close by to check the electrolyte and acid levels, They usually don't like fast charging (not more than 13% of capacity) if you charge more than the recommended rate they will gass and release hydrogen which if kept in an unventilated space can lead to a huge nice cute explosion..and when no explosion happen will cause the battery to die before it should.

the upside for FLA and why I choose it is they can give u very high dod. The brand am using (Mercury tubular battery) is rated at 1250 cycles and 80% dod. (I use it at less than 30% dod) for me that is what wins it. batteries are the only component in an offgrid system that requires regular replacement. so the longer your battery can last the better and most cost effective your system would be. So if you are not scared of a big nice explosion and u fancy waking while wife is asleep to check the gravity level of batteries.. and don't mind equalizing your batteries for 2 hours and sit to monitor that all goes well, if you have a well ventilated space then I would recommend flooded lead acid.

for AGM if you can get Luminous batteries it is a good affordable agm battery.. the more expensive ones like Ritar are also good.

for FLA, Trojan is the king of the hill, US battery is also top dog but if they are beyond your reach, Luminous and Mercury tubular batteries are also good.

netotse:


I see...so rather than teach people how to properly size their battery banks, he would rather they possibly over size the bank and waste money?

Let us assume that after all calculations of your consumption and power requirements you arrive at 100 AH a day. It would not be wise to have a setup that is exactly 100AH capacity. This means that you will always over discharge the batteries, that is 100% DOD. With that, however, the lifespan of your batteries, if originally designed for 2 years, will be far less than 2 years because the deeper you discharge the batteries, the shorter their lifespan. That means that you may be replacing your batteries every 6 months to one year, and if undercharging becomes an additional issue, then the lifespan becomes even shorter. With every replacement you spend money...!

The question now is: would you rather replace your batteries every three to six months or you can expand your system capacity to 200AH, so that the maximum DOD would be in the neighbourhood of 50% which will extend the lifespan of your batteries.

The choice is yours, there are no hard and fast rules about all these. Each individual is always free to set his system according to his means and needs. You can only be advised on how to get optimal performance from your system. The final decision is always yours.

Cheers

JohnKester:


Let us assume that after all calculations of your consumption and power requirements you arrive at 100 AH a day. It would not be wise to have a setup that is exactly 100AH capacity. This means that you will always over discharge the batteries, that is 100% DOD. With that, however, the lifespan of your batteries, if originally designed for 2 years, will be far less than 2 years because the deeper you discharge the batteries, the shorter their lifespan. That means that you may be replacing your batteries every 6 months to one year, and if undercharging becomes an additional issue, then the lifespan becomes even shorter. With every replacement you spend money...!

The question now is: would you rather replace your batteries every three to six months or you can expand your system capacity to 200AH, so that the maximum DOD would be in the neighbourhood of 50% which will extend the lifespan of your batteries.

The choice is yours, there are no hard and fast rules about all these. Each individual is always free to set his system according to his means and needs. You can only be advised on how to get optimal performance from your system. The final decision is always yours.

Cheers

what you've described should already be part of deciding on the size of your battery banks, what he said was when you feel you have the correct size, double...that's misleading.

netotse:


what you've described should already be part of deciding on the size of your battery banks, what he said was when you feel you have the correct size, double...that's misleading.

So I have the feeling that people undersize their battery capacity.

My recommendation: when you have the feeling you have the right battery capacity, simply double it, then you will be on the right side.

Cheers

bigrovar:


Deep cycle is a generic name for batteries that are designed to be (well) deeply cycled (cycle being a discharge and charge) as against automobile batteries which are not design for deep discharge.

Gel, AGM and Flooded acid batteries are all types of deep cycle

for FLA, Trojan is the king of the hill, US battery is also top dog but if they are beyond your reach, Luminous and Mercury tubular batteries are also good.

Well said
Just as you said,
CC has an ampere limit. Its meant just for DC loads within the limits of the current rating of the load output

JohnKester:


So I have the feeling that people undersize their battery capacity.

My recommendation: when you have the feeling you have the right battery capacity, simply double it, then you will be on the right side.

Cheers

JK,
The truth is that every pro solar power system design and installers knows that it's necessary to oversize-
- to provide power for not_too_good days with the sun
-also to be able to maintain a certain DOD and get more life cycle out of the battery

In Nigeria, customers and users when sold the idea likes it but the determinant is finances.
They would rather start small and grow to the point of achieving the expected results as per your advice.

But for now that solar power system products are not subsidized, let's do as we can afford

Cheers

obimind:
@bigrover, d merciful & mank1234...u guys are wonderful. Sincerely I've learnt a lot from u guys. Now that it been made clear to me to avoid mixing the old and new batteries in parallel, what do u advice me to do with my weak batteries which can last for 6 hours when fully charged?

Option 1: sell it as second hand.
Option 2: send to buyright and get new ones at reduced price.
Option 3: if you're on x * y bank, use it as the last row; not in series. If you use all old ones in series it might ruin the news ones that it appear parallel to.
Option 4: don't use it at all. Dispose it properly
Option 5: give it out.

x * y = x rows of batteries, y columns.

Before buying a battery, you need to check the data sheet as well - not only the name/type plate.
The 'Ah' value is always dependent on the period of discharge, e.g. c 5 (=5 hours), c 10 or c 20.
Sometimes vendors put high Ah numbers for c50 or even c100 (=100 hours) on the name/type plate.
The slower you discharge a battery, the more Ah you get.
But in real life people discharge the battery the same night, within 5 hours.

Let me search for a chart... I'll get back.

JohnKester:


Let us assume that after all calculations of your consumption and power requirements you arrive at 100 AH a day. It would not be wise to have a setup that is exactly 100AH capacity. This means that you will always over discharge the batteries, that is 100% DOD. With that, however, the lifespan of your batteries, if originally designed for 2 years, will be far less than 2 years because the deeper you discharge the batteries, the shorter their lifespan. That means that you may be replacing your batteries every 6 months to one year, and if undercharging becomes an additional issue, then the lifespan becomes even shorter. With every replacement you spend money...!

The question now is: would you rather replace your batteries every three to six months or you can expand your system capacity to 200AH, so that the maximum DOD would be in the neighbourhood of 50% which will extend the lifespan of your batteries.

The choice is yours, there are no hard and fast rules about all these. Each individual is always free to set his system according to his means and needs. You can only be advised on how to get optimal performance from your system. The final decision is always yours.

Cheers

Nice observation. Truly the final decision lies with the user.

Equally important but often ignored is the issue of hour rate. Battery life are also rated in hour rate (for instance a 200AH battery might be rated so at 20hr rate but 160AH at 5hr rate). The implication of this is that the faster the rate of discharging, the lower the capacity you'll get from your battery. To make it clearer, if you cycle your battery once a day at 20hr rate (drawing 10A) it will last more years than cycling once a day at 5hr rate (40A).

My mentor is still using his 4 cyberpower batteries 10+ years going even though he occasionally reaches 80% DOD. His secret: size your battery bank such that charging and discharging current is between 10-20A per battery, use intelligent charger that regulates charging voltage, can equalize battery and is temperature compensated, use intelligent inverter that cuts off at at least 80% DOD, if possible placed your battery in environment of 25 degree Celsius, don't leave your battery in a discharged state for more than 12 hrs. He connected his battery in grid format rather than series/parallel with the supply to battery from the charger NOT connected to only one battery. According to him he said that arrangement ensures all batteries sees near equal current and voltage.

mank1234:


Nice observation. Truly the final decision lies with the user.

Equally important but often ignored is the issue of hour rate. Battery life are also rated in hour rate (for instance a 200AH battery might be rated so at 20hr rate but 160AH at 5hr rate). The implication of this is that the faster the rate of discharging, the lower the capacity you'll get from your battery. To make it clearer, if you cycle your battery once a day at 20hr rate (drawing 10A) it will last more years than cycling once a day at 5hr rate (40A).

My mentor is still using his 4 cyberpower batteries 10+ years going even though he occasionally reaches 80% DOD. His secret: size your battery bank such that charging and discharging current is between 10-20A per battery, use intelligent charger that regulates charging voltage, can equalize battery and is temperature compensated, use intelligent inverter that cuts off at at least 80% DOD, if possible placed your battery in environment of 25 degree Celsius, don't leave your battery in a discharged state for more than 12 hrs. He connected his battery in grid format rather than series/parallel with the supply to battery from the charger NOT connected to only one battery. According to him he said that arrangement ensures all batteries sees near equal current and voltage.

Right on the money bro. This is why I discharge my battery at c40 though they are rated 220ah at c20. My discharge rate is usually less than 4ah and occasionally around 6ah when I have my freezer on (it's why I decided to only run the freezer at night when all load beside the fan is on and the freezer stays on for about 5 hours) In total my average daily circle are 25% to 35% dod. ( I use a watt meter with a current shunt placed between inverter and battery to accurately note battery discharge rate and total amount of discharge)

Despite powering 95% of electrical needs I have never used close to 1500w of energy in a day. My max is 1350w which is 25% dod of my battery bank. (Considering am using the battery at close to c30 the actual dod will be lower than 25%). This is where efficiency plays a big role. Efficient consumption ensures you use less at a laser discharge rate. In the end my 620w panels can easily replace back what is used even on a cloudy day. I always tell people it is cheaper to conserve energy than to generate it.

bigrovar:


Deep cycle is a generic name for batteries that are designed to be (well) deeply cycled (cycle being a discharge and charge) as against automobile batteries which are not design for deep discharge.

Gel, AGM and Flooded acid batteries are all types of deep cycle batteries. The type depends on your use and how you designed your system and your peculiarities.

for new users with a large family and little space, I often recommed AGM batteries for the following reasons:

The are pretty much sealed and maintenance free, which means they require no water topping, little worry about gaseous discharge.. no worries about using hydrometers or acid spill.. They can also take quick charge, AGM batteries can take as much as 40% of their current capacity hence they are great for using with high charge capacity inverters and large solar array.

The down side of AGM is that they mostly don't like heat, and they have relatively lower cycle time compared to flooded acid batteries. Most AGM batteries sold in Nigerian market have as little as 500 cycles when used at 50 depth of discharge. If a cycle is a day of use, that is roughly a year and half. Some high end AGM can do as much as 1000 cycles at 50% dod but that will cost u.

FLA requires lots of baby sitting, you have to ensure acid dont spill, always make sure it is has right water level, always good to have a hydrometer close by to check the electrolyte and acid levels, They usually don't like fast charging (not more than 13% of capacity) if you charge more than the recommended rate they will gass and release hydrogen which if kept in an unventilated space can lead to a huge nice cute explosion..and when no explosion happen will cause the battery to die before it should.

the upside for FLA and why I choose it is they can give u very high dod. The brand am using (Mercury tubular battery) is rated at 1250 cycles and 80% dod. (I use it at less than 30% dod) for me that is what wins it. batteries are the only component in an offgrid system that requires regular replacement. so the longer your battery can last the better and most cost effective your system would be. So if you are not scared of a big nice explosion and u fancy waking while wife is asleep to check the gravity level of batteries.. and don't mind equalizing your batteries for 2 hours and sit to monitor that all goes well, if you have a well ventilated space then I would recommend flooded lead acid.

for AGM if you can get Luminous batteries it is a good affordable agm battery.. the more expensive ones like Ritar are also good.

for FLA, Trojan is the king of the hill, US battery is also top dog but if they are beyond your reach, Luminous and Mercury tubular batteries are also good.

Goodday what settings i.e bulk,float,absorb and equalize are you using for your tubular batteries. Also advise the times for absorb and eqaulization.

DUNKA:
Goodday what settings i.e bulk,float,absorb and equalize are you using for your tubular batteries. Also advise the times for absorb and eqaulization.

Based on my email exchange with sukam support center (as I could not find any information whatsoever about the charging profile of the Mercury Tubular) I used what I found relating to other Tubular batteries like Sukam and Luminous:

Floating = 27.3
Absorb = 14.5 ( I was told by sukam support that absob voltage for their tubular is 14.4 - and that was what I saw on pretty much every documentation on indians tubular batteries, however made the decision to use 14.5 since my controller does not have a separate voltage sensing cable)
Equalisation= 15.5

bigrovar:


Based on my email exchange with sukam support center (as I could not find any information whatsoever about the charging profile of the Mercury Tubular) I used what I found relating to other Tubular batteries like Sukam and Luminous:

Floating = 27.3
Absorb = 14.5 ( I was told by sukam support that absob voltage for their tubular is 14.4 - and that was what I saw on pretty much every documentation on indians tubular batteries, however made the decision to use 14.5 since my controller does not have a separate voltage sensing cable)
Equalisation= 15.5

May I ask why your Floating voltage value is higher than Absorb? I suppose you meant to type 13.65v

Konnektions146:

JK,
The truth is that every pro solar power system design and installers knows that it's necessary to oversize-
- to provide power for not_too_good days with the sun
-also to be able to maintain a certain DOD and get more life cycle out of the battery

In Nigeria, customers and users when sold the idea likes it but the determinant is finances.
They would rather start small and grow to the point of achieving the expected results as per your advice.

But for now that solar power system products are not subsidized, let's do as we can afford

Cheers

Thanks for lending a voice to the point I was trying to make him understand. I quite understand the aspect of affordability and the need to start small and then build up. But the general principle should be borne in mind when the development starts so that you can work towards achieving the target.

Cheers.

bigrovar:


Based on my email exchange with sukam support center (as I could not find any information whatsoever about the charging profile of the Mercury Tubular) I used what I found relating to other Tubular batteries like Sukam and Luminous:

Floating = 27.3
Absorb = 14.5 ( I was told by sukam support that absob voltage for their tubular is 14.4 - and that was what I saw on pretty much every documentation on indians tubular batteries, however made the decision to use 14.5 since my controller does not have a separate voltage sensing cable)
Equalisation= 15.5

ok thanks what of the times for absorb and equalization

2 hours each. Which seems to be the generally accepted number based on most documentations. A really smart charger like the Midnight's and co should be able to auto detect the absorption time based on algorithms the determine it from battery internal resistance. But 2 hours should be fine.

* To equalise properly. You are suppose to start when battery is full. And continue and continue to check the gravity level of your electrolyte till u stop noticing an increase and all cells are pretty much of equal or close to equal gravity* but ain't no body gat time for that

Hello,

here I found the graph of the number of cycles depending on the energy used.

This graph is valid for a special type of lead-acid battery, it's called "heavy-duty" plate, open valve lead-acid battery - similar to those that are used in folk lifters.

Example: if you use only 30% of the battery capacity, the battery's life is 4.000 cycles (at standard temperature 25°C).
if you use 50% of the battery capacity, then it's 2.500 cycles.

Lower quality, non-heavy-duty plate (not so thick), will have less cycles. As well as in hot temperature, the number of cycles is less.

I hope you get an idea, how to treat your battery, so it lasts longer.

sunny regards,

bigrovar:
2 hours each. Which seems to be the generally accepted number based on most documentations. A really smart charger like the Midnight's and co should be able to auto detect the absorption time based on algorithms the determine it from battery internal resistance. But 2 hours should be fine.

* To equalise properly. You are suppose to start when battery is full. And continue and continue to check the gravity level of your electrolyte till u stop noticing an increase and all cells are pretty much of equal or close to equal gravity* but ain't no body gat time for that

thanks really appreciate

Oga big Rover, u can conserve o, upon all this special care given to batteries, my prob is, it's expensive and fragile... Y na... Sum1 can't wake up one morning and vex to change his or her ba3 nawa o, dose pple wey get connection here , lets produce our own na... John Kester , dunka, mank and d rest of the ogas (they knw demsef) , this thread is lively and informative because of u guys, so many pple learnt a tin or two.. Keep it up

Hello house, I calculated the total watts rating of a the electronics in my salon and I arrived at 14523, but don't think I can be using more than 10000 watts simultaneously else during peak seasons like Xmas, is it possible to go solar with such gigantic energy requirement?

CoolKizzy:
Hello house, I calculated the total watts rating of a the electronics in my salon and I arrived at 14523, but don't think I can be using more than 10000 watts simultaneously else during peak seasons like Xmas, is it possible to go solar with such gigantic energy requirement?

How did you arrive at those figures if I may ask.

I guess a pro hair dryer alone draws 2000 Watts?

You need enough space on the roof for the amount of solar panels needed.
Let's take a moderate panel with 250 Watts(peak) poly which is 1,65m long and 1,0m wide. For 10.000 Watts(peak) you will need 40 panels.
And a single phase (electricity cable) should not go beyond to 4,6 kVA, so you will need a second phase for your salon.

May I ask what would you be willing to pay for electricity, if you were able to have light during business hours?

Currently, it's cheap, but on the other hand it is only available for a couple of hours. When businesses had light all the time, they could do more business and generate more money.

CoolKizzy:
Hello house, I calculated the total watts rating of a the electronics in my salon and I arrived at 14523, but don't think I can be using more than 10000 watts simultaneously else during peak seasons like Xmas, is it possible to go solar with such gigantic energy requirement?

like Bigrovar said you need to give more info on how you got those figures, if you do people might give you tips on how you can reduced the usage.

blazeup:
gentlemen, it is right to connect my inverter DC inlet to the Load connection point of my MPPT charge controller ? a colleague in the Office (a certified EE) has insisted that is the correct method of connecting both the inverter, solar and Disco power as it would enable the charge controller serve as a switch and as well regulate the current at which i charge my batteries.
that this : Solar PV to the solar PV input on the CC as usual, Batteries would be connected to the Battery input on the CC as usual, inverter DC cables would be connected to the Loads outlet of the CC .while the AC inlet of the inverter for charging would be connected and powered on. His point been that the CC would switch between DC sources for charging the batteries as well regulate the SOC of the batteries to my preferred cut off point. (solar to cc, battery to cc, inverter dc to cc loads, inverter AC input to AC mains for charging, inverter AC outlet to my desired inverter powered devices) vs ( solar pv to cc, battery to cc, Inverter DC to batteries, and the inverter AC IO would be same). Can the CC load point also serve as a DC input to the CC to charge the batteries as well ? the Charge controller here is an EPsolar 40 A.
please comment.

1. normally, ur charge controller will regulate d charging current, that is the primary function. 2. as stated earlier, the load on d cc is basically for small load ( d.c lighting ), may nt be able to withstand the current that will be drawn by d inverter. 3. if u succeed in overcoming (2), it means u'll totally go off-grid, u dare nt charge ur battery with ur inverter through the load source, u'll end up damaging ur cc. 4. lastly a good inverter brand will regulate the SOC of ur battery, there is no point connecting it to the cc again.
I wouldnt know why ur friend suggested that, anyway I stand to be corrected.

mank1234:


Nice observation. Truly the final decision lies with the user.

Equally important but often ignored is the issue of hour rate. Battery life are also rated in hour rate (for instance a 200AH battery might be rated so at 20hr rate but 160AH at 5hr rate). The implication of this is that the faster the rate of discharging, the lower the capacity you'll get from your battery. To make it clearer, if you cycle your battery once a day at 20hr rate (drawing 10A) it will last more years than cycling once a day at 5hr rate (40A).

My mentor is still using his 4 cyberpower batteries 10+ years going even though he occasionally reaches 80% DOD. His secret: size your battery bank such that charging and discharging current is between 10-20A per battery, use intelligent charger that regulates charging voltage, can equalize battery and is temperature compensated, use intelligent inverter that cuts off at at least 80% DOD, if possible placed your battery in environment of 25 degree Celsius, don't leave your battery in a discharged state for more than 12 hrs. He connected his battery in grid format rather than series/parallel with the supply to battery from the charger NOT connected to only one battery. According to him he said that arrangement ensures all batteries sees near equal current and voltage.

This is how I ve been connecting my batteries my entire life, please can you share with me the advantage yours have over this my own.

Regards

anochuks08:
This is how I ve been connecting my batteries my entire life, please can you share with me the advantage yours have over this my own.

Regards

Your arranment is nice, but if you traced the path the current will flow you'll notice that the top 2 battery offer a shorter route for electricity to flow. More current will follow that route. Electric charge tends to follow least resistance route. The extra length of cable in the other route will introduce resistance, though very little but its effect in the long run will result in the batteries not ageing equally. Some will die quicker unlike if you had put the negative supply at the lowest battery on the right.

Also, in each string in your configuration, one battery might be at say 12.4 while the other is at 12.8. When you join the mid points it ensures all batteries on your left have equal voltage ditto the ones on your right. Uniformity will also ensure that thenooadn is equally shared.

Disadvantage is however extra cabling you need.

mank1234:


Your arranment is nice, but if you traced the path the current will flow you'll notice that the top 2 battery offer a shorter route for electricity to flow. More current will follow that route. Electric charge tends to follow least resistance route. The extra length of cable in the other route will introduce resistance, though very little but its effect in the long run will result in the batteries not ageing equally. Some will die quicker unlike if you had put the negative supply at the lowest left battery.

Also, in each string in your configuration, one battery might be at say 12.4 while the other is at 12.8. When you join the mid points it ensures all batteries on your left have equal voltage ditto the ones on your right. Uniformity will also ensure that thenooadn is equally shared.

Disadvantage is however extra cabling you need.

Thanks boss. I am doing that right now, you are very right. sometimes I have batteries at 12.2 and others at 12.8v. I am rewiring my battery bank now, let me see how it goes. Thanks once more bro, I appreciate. I will be sending you a new diagram of how my bank looks afterwards to let me know if I did it right or wrong.

mank1234:


Your arranment is nice, but if you traced the path the current will flow you'll notice that the top 2 battery offer a shorter route for electricity to flow. More current will follow that route. Electric charge tends to follow least resistance route. The extra length of cable in the other route will introduce resistance, though very little but its effect in the long run will result in the batteries not ageing equally. Some will die quicker unlike if you had put the negative supply at the lowest battery on the right.

Also, in each string in your configuration, one battery might be at say 12.4 while the other is at 12.8. When you join the mid points it ensures all batteries on your left have equal voltage ditto the ones on your right. Uniformity will also ensure that thenooadn is equally shared.

Disadvantage is however extra cabling you need.

Help me chk ds diagram of my battery bank of 12 batteries.

Regards