Quote:
Originally Posted by Forest Grump
Why not use a larger battery and reduce the number of batteries required? You can get 5 Trojan 215 ah 12 volts, J185H or 6 360 ah Trojan 6v? I've used both. The 12v are 7 years old and going strong, new owner, and the 6v are in my ACE going on their 3rd year and also going strong. These batteries have a size 27 footprint but are taller 18" and 14" if I remember right.
When I designed my solar I went for a quick recharge with a smaller battery bank. This allows the batteries to receive a full and complete adsorption phase after each use which is important for battery longevity. I only use a max of 40 amps per day, normally. I have 2 6v 360 ah batteries with 480 watts of solar. I can inflate my pontoon boat - 22 amp draw from available solar and dry camp 7 days without the need for running the generator. This is when parked in partial shade.
Then again I only travel and camp when there is sun, no clouds of any type are allowed.
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The things I considered when deciding which batteries to use were size (both electrical and physical), price, availability and user ratings. Not necessarily in that order. I could have went many different ways with this, but since the batteries will be here tomorrow I'm pretty firm on which ones I will use (grin). Thanks for looking out though. Phil
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