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DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

mobile-solarpower.com

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Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#141

Post by bkjelden »

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

> Look at nearly every 12v car or boat battery. You don't see those being replaced every 3-5 years. It is old reliable tech that just works.

I actually do see this all of the time. In decades of owning multiple cars I've found the batteries tend to fail so regularly at about the 5 year mark that you could set a watch to it.

They are easy to find and inexpensive to replace, but they absolutely do have a limited lifespan.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#142

Post by mlac »

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

This is a really good point, but my car batteries last between 3-5 years. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#143

Post by varelse »

bkjelden wrote: post #141
sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

> Look at nearly every 12v car or boat battery. You don't see those being replaced every 3-5 years. It is old reliable tech that just works. I actually do see this all of the time. In decades of owning multiple cars I've found the batteries tend to fail so regularly at about the 5 year mark that you could set a watch to it. They are easy to find and inexpensive to replace, but they absolutely do have a limited lifesp…

I would love to have found that magical car battery that doesn't die after 5 years or so. But the real comedy is that my EV is required to have one of them independent of all the lithium batteries, and if it discharges/fails, it's a whole fan dance to get into the car.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#145

Post by sandworm101 »

mlac wrote: post #142
sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

This is a really good point, but my car batteries last between 3-5 years. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.

What actually happened to your car battery to cause you to replace it? Did you do anything to fix it? Did you ever maintain it? Did you replace the fluid? Or did you just drive your car every day and then replaced the battery when the mechanic told you it was broken? It is normally cheaper to replace a standard car battery than attempt to maintain and fix it (100-200$) but in an off-grid situation many thousands of dollars are at stake, which makes maintenance and repair more practical than replacement.

https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/how-to-recondit...

https://www.totalcardiagnostics.com/learn/recondition-car-ba...

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#146

Post by gcp123 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

The OP, Will Prowse knows what he’s talking about. He lives off the grid and meticulously documents all of his testing and research. When I was new to solar to battery power storage, I learned everything I needed to know from his website and videos to build my own off the grid system. Check out his YouTube channel.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#147

Post by LinuxBender »

jacquesm wrote: post #108
knorker wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Can you give examples about when he's been dangerously wrong?

Sure, but I will have to go through a couple of months worth of youtube history, I was binge watching anything about Lithium Ion when I was working on this: https://jacquesmattheij.com/long-range-ebike/ As a result I have a very long article on Lithium Ion battery safety and pack construction in the works, but exactly for the reasons the GGP lists I'm pretty careful about releasing that, I want to triple check everyt…

I had commented to this affect on his channel and my comment was removed. Same with other channels where people are drilling without hand and eye protection.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#148

Post by zbrozek »

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

I can believe that lead-acid batteries in a thermally-regulated and immobile location would have a longevity advantage. But what magic dance are you doing to get car batteries to last longer than 5 years? I - and my parents, and seemingly everyone else I know - absolutely do seem to have to replace them at just about exactly that interval.

That's not to say they aren't filling their role in a totally reasonable way, I'm just really curious how you're getting more life out of them than the rest of us.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#149

Post by zbrozek »

sandworm101 wrote: post #145
mlac wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really good point, but my car batteries last between 3-5 years. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.

What actually happened to your car battery to cause you to replace it? Did you do anything to fix it? Did you ever maintain it? Did you replace the fluid? Or did you just drive your car every day and then replaced the battery when the mechanic told you it was broken? It is normally cheaper to replace a standard car battery than attempt to maintain and fix it (100-200$) but in an off-grid situation many thousands of d…

Car batteries these days are sealed, so you don't really have much opportunity to replace their acid. A regularly-driven car isn't deep-cycling its battery, so I'm not sure what else you'd do to maintain it.

Re: DIY Off-Grid Solar Power

#150

Post by passerby1 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

Marketing. I would take everything on this website with a grain of salt. Take it from someone who has actually built an off-grid system, one that is relied upon for 24/7/365 living rather than mere vacation cottage. For example: OP re lead-acid battery options: "Heavy, cheap, easy to use and they work! Typically will last about 3-5 years. Slower charge rates than lithium, much heavier, and they cost way more in the l…

That's interesting. Winters are cold where I'm originally from, and car batteries get replaced more frequently than once in 10 years. Where are you from? Your experience is very different.
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