Off Grid Solar Power System Batteries -- which are best?

Discover the ultimate guide to choosing the best batteries for your Off Grid Solar Power System! After 14 years of experience with off-grid living, I'm here to share my insights on selecting the perfect batteries for your cabin in the woods. With a multitude of options available, it's crucial to make an informed decision. Join me in this video as I delve into the key factors to consider and reveal the top choices for your off-grid power needs. Don't miss out on maximizing your solar power system efficiency with the right batteries!

#batteries #offgridpower #solarpower

Here are some of the tools I use on the mill, to seal logs and the camera's I use to film videos:

0:00 Intro
0:25 Two Classes of Off Grid Batteries
1:06 Not Heated
3:15 Flooded Lead Acid
4:49 CountryPlans Forum and Golf Cart Batteries
5:35 Most People Abuse Batteries
7:44 Cycle Life
16:30 Cost of GCB's vs L16's & AGM's
18:47 Heated
21:43 Two Categories of LiFePo4's
28:13 Outro

[KPVFarmer]

It’s great to see someone talk about realistic cost effective off grid energy solutions! Most people don’t have unlimited budgets.

[joneberle]

Hey mister. Did not think I would watch the whole video, which I did. Thank you for the detailed info. Info that was not in my knowledge base. Keep up, the good work. Just discovered your channel today. Take care.

[tinynhhouse]

Great info on batteries. Winter temps at my cabin average around +20 F. I am glad I went with golf cart batteries! My auto mechanic was able to get the batteries for me at wholesale price. Thanks for the video. - Dave

[mericasilverpatriot]

I'm running on 16 crown 6v 235a making a 470a 48v bank. Working great.

[smaggies]

As viewing the video, I thought of capacitors, I will do a search of this thought, just to view the usage of a capacitor within solar system. It's great to learn and understand, all types of battery's and the usage. :)

[stans]

I'm retired and have a summer home in the middle of Maine that I spent 3 winters at. 10 to14 feet of snow and -47 degree temps every year changed my mind on wintering there. Power goes out around 6 times a year, but between needing to bring batteries south and storing them without use and only getting 6 months of benefits, as much as I want to go off grid, I won't recoup my expenditures for over 15 years. I probably will get a transportable battery powered backup system in a year or two.

[WilsonForestLands]

In our mild winter climate sounds like the LiFePO4 will be east to manage.

[ssilver]

Thank you for going on about this. I am very near the Atlantic ocean in North Carolina. It seems, recent years are colder here. I use plant sprouting heating pads and one inch insulated foam made into a cover to the batteries. My water pumps failed due to freezing over the years, I have stainless steel pump now and rewired pump house with heat.

[Hank-Waconda.]

Im running 3 8D 12Volt flooded in parallel for 4 years. Gets to 15 below here also. Keep em charged and watered rock solid.

[SarahStuff-pu]

You sir are a Gem in the rough, thank you

[dc]

You are 100% correct. Even my EVE LFP 280ah cells need to be used correctly. I do not go below 12% or charge past 88%. I also have mine setup where each of 4 battery banks go to a busbar so the load is shared evenly and my C rating never goes over 0.2C. Also mine are in a basement where my temps are perfect 50F-70F year around even when outside temps get -15F or colder. I have 4 14.3kw banks. That is called a 48 volt system even though Mine are 51.2-55.2 volts and 48 volts means they are almost empty and would cause damage over time.

[dc]

One thing most people do not understand is MPPT Solar chargers. I do not use any of those as they can fry out easy. Most of them are not able to hold a full load and when your batteries stop receiving a charge there is no where for the power to go. That is why I use all in one inverters. I have 2 5k growatt inverters and when my batteries are full to where I set my bms settings at the inverters hold the power and use it to power any house loads till and even stop accepting PV power till its used then it uses PV power to cover loads and batteries if PV is not enough. Just thought I would share this since so many think those little blue MPPT boxes are good. Only use them if your whole system talks to everything which is way to expensive for me.

[apr]

Your right gel acid I have renogy hybrid gel

[mpccenturion]

Canada here. - 54 F this winter gone by. Batt in Canada go thru heck.

[JamesBond-zdjx]

Central Georgia. You think we don’t get winter? Yeah, you’d be wrong. Two whole weeks of it every year.

[GREATDANE]

I went with both chemistries for My Lodge Battery Banks - 8 CHINS 280AH LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE and 8 RENOGY 200AH AGM BATTERIES in 24 Volt Packs anticipating several weeks of Freezing Temps at 3, 100 feet in The High Desert of Southern California near Big Bear Lake Mountain Resorts Community in California 🌴💦 Indian Creek 🌵⛩

[reginaldoertel]

If been running Willard 2V Cell Lead Acid batteries, and only discharging them between 13 - 20 percent per day. They have been running now for 10 years.
I'm now thinking of getting LiFePO 4 to replace them.

The only thing that puts me off the lead acid batteries is the amount of water that i need to keep them topped up.

[charlescoffey]

Good points, I am in total agreement with you, though I went a slightly different path. I have found older lead acid from random auction sites as well as 4 big batteries cycled out a commercial backup system, they still work fine. I favor having a lead acid system even if you have a lithium one as well. Because I am a belt and suspenders kind of guy. I am always assuming the world can go to hell at a moment's notice. If I needed more batteries after a collapse, I am not likely to find lithium just laying around but lead, lead is everywhere. I also do not favor one big system but two or more smaller systems. If we are grid down, or even supply deprived, if you have just one, all it takes is one blown capacitor and you are down. I should mention their are also things like fork lift batteries available. Hard to move but damn they are tough and have some serious capacity. Long term in a real grid down world even without inverters, I could still have lighting with just batteries, even car batteries which can be used, you just need a lot more of them.

[timothyadams]

From a old sailor to an Old Jarhead. Have you ever looked into using a 16 volt ultracapacitors bank on your system; prolong the life of your batteries?

[dc]

mine are 8000 cycles with 80% discharge and within temp and discharge within their specs. I can 0.5C discharge or charge and I already said I only do 0.2C charge and discharge max and only use 76% with temps 50F - 70F 70F is only for 2 weeks of hottest summer in my basement which is cooled and heated with mini split.