Honsolo The 6 volt batteries are designed to be used in solar applications. They need to be true deep cycle batteries only. Those 24V batteries are most likely true deep cycle , if deep cycle at all. Don't skimp, go with Trojan or US Battery. In fact don't skimp on anything. I tell people me whole system cost $15,000, $10,000 for the system and $5,000 for the education.
The battery bank size is determined by the number of solar panels you have and the shortest days of sunlight. Keep in mind you can on... moreThe 6 volt batteries are designed to be used in solar applications. They need to be true deep cycle batteries only. Those 24V batteries are most likely true deep cycle , if deep cycle at all. Don't skimp, go with Trojan or US Battery. In fact don't skimp on anything. I tell people me whole system cost $15,000, $10,000 for the system and $5,000 for the education.
The battery bank size is determined by the number of solar panels you have and the shortest days of sunlight. Keep in mind you can only draw the batteries down 50% or you can damage them. You also need to charge them to 100% at least once a month. This requires hours of a slow trickle charge. The larger the bank the more the hours.
With this in mind forget about so much sun that can make power that your loosing in the long summer days. If you can't properly maintain your batteries during the short winter days, you will resort to using a generator. Do that all winter and you just defeated your whole reason for going solar.
I'm happy to assist anyone with advice from my $5,000 education. Just ask. If there's a lot of interest we could set up a discussion group. My background is in 35 years of commercial and industrial refrigeration. I also have a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. I'm not an absolute solar except, however I do find I know more then 90% of the sales people I talk to. Most of that cost of my education came from morons trying to push high dollar crap on me. I knew I could build it cheaper, and I did. However the cheap equipment I bought didn't last long. The first battery bank of 10 deep cycle batteries turned out to not be true deep cycle, but they were cheep and ended up costing me dearly.
Going 48 volts is wise over 1000 Watts. Under 1000 Watts you should use 24 Volts. This will allow the power from the panels to the controller to be in smaller wire and run longer distances. The higher the voltage, the lower the amps.
Duke is right about power consumption. If the average person does a audit of their home to determine the size solar system they need, it will cost $50,000+. In a small off grid cabin you should remove luxury items like microwave, big screen TV, washer and dryer. You get the idea. Now you have refrigerator and lights. Change all your lights to LED. Depending on your fridge and available sunlight you might get by on a 250W system. You can build on from there. As you understand solar more and what you can produce, it will be easy to build your system. It's important to have an idea how big the final system will be so you know the voltage you want. I started with a small 12V system. However I bought controls that will do 12 or 24. As I grew, I had to go up to 24V. I was easily able to do that without reburying everything.
With solar you absolutely need a generator back up. If you don't monitor your system properly or have to many gloomy days in a row, the excessive depletion of the batteries will kill them quickly. I also have a 900 Watt wind turbine. That's good to consider.
hawkman
yea the inverter has back uppower input genny or grid
as long as grid is cheaper than fule genny will be last resort
also can draw from backup(grrid) to suplument higher power needs/peeks or just bypass the grid straitgh thru and the in verter can also charge at 90amp i guess if solars not cuttin it
my batteries are 6V deep cycle (bout twicw the hight of car bat)
the rateing says 90 min @ 75amp GRIN
Honsolo Grid tie changes things a bit. One thing to keep in mind as a prepper is the grid won't always be their. My neighbor is off grid. He thought he got a great deal on a combo inverter/charger. Once he got it, he found out it was a grid tie. Now he has to constantly turn it off and on to get it to charger to start once he starts the generator. Without constant power going to it, the charger shuts down. Look for one that can do both. i think I've seen them.
I know you can get a 12/24 volt inverter ... moreGrid tie changes things a bit. One thing to keep in mind as a prepper is the grid won't always be their. My neighbor is off grid. He thought he got a great deal on a combo inverter/charger. Once he got it, he found out it was a grid tie. Now he has to constantly turn it off and on to get it to charger to start once he starts the generator. Without constant power going to it, the charger shuts down. Look for one that can do both. i think I've seen them.
I know you can get a 12/24 volt inverter and I'm almost positive I've seen 24/48/96 volt multi tap inverters. It's been a few years since I completed my system but my ass is still sore from kicking it for not getting one when I started. You might have to go directly to China to get it. Try AliExpress.com. Hell all our name brand stuff is made there anyway.
I'm not sure how I feel about true sine. I have a 3,500 Watt modified sine and been using it for 3 years on plasma and LED TV's also no computers and many small electronics and never had a problem. Motors are the most important. I have a refrigerator and a chest freezer I also have a well pump and system pump. When I first hooked it up I checked the amp draw on all of them and found them to be normal. I ran them for a while and didn't get any additional heat. 3 years later everything is still doing great. My modified sine inverter cost $1,000. The same size in true sine was $2,800.
First of all never use car batteries or marine deep cycle batteries. Never charge the bank with a car charger, use one designed for deep cycle charging with 3 stages (that was for everyone else)
Also I know you got this but I'm making it easy for everyone to understand
1 6V 110AH is 110AH@ 6 volts
2 6V 110AH is 2200AH@ 6 volts
2 6V 110AH is 110AH@ 12 volts
4 6V 110AH is 220AH@ 12 volts
4 6V 110AH is 110AH@ 48 volts
8 6V 110AH is 220AH@ 48 volts
Keep in mind a 220AH bank only has 110AH's available to use.
Honsolo
OH sorry I didn't see all your other posts. You got a good sized system and all the controls already. Outback is a real good unit. I was expecting someone doing a much smaller system. OH well more info for everyone else.