Alternative Power sources

Author

100 batteries

G M D

2005-08-20, 1:21 am

Hello from Nova Scotia

I have 100 batterys from UPS's (more coming) they are 12 V 7A batterys, 20
are 12V 9A. I want to convert my chickenhouse into 12 volt lighting (with
horsepoop heat..see previous post). I will need 5 lites and 2 radios and a
horsepoop waterpump. I am not a battery expert. these are not deep cycle
batteries.

My question.. Can i fire solar panels to charge these puppies up? Is that
too many batteries? Am I overkilling it? I have 100 more coming..

Is there a good site i can goto to figure this stuff out? I hate to pester.

Thanx and cheers

Gerry in NS

JoeSixPack

2005-08-20, 1:21 am

"G M D" <gmd@NOSPAM.pchg.net> wrote in message
news:syxNe.8004$p5.5726@nnrp.ca.mci.com!nnrp1.uunet.ca...
> Hello from Nova Scotia
>
> I have 100 batterys from UPS's (more coming) they are 12 V 7A batterys, 20
> are 12V 9A. I want to convert my chickenhouse into 12 volt lighting (with
> horsepoop heat..see previous post). I will need 5 lites and 2 radios and a
> horsepoop waterpump. I am not a battery expert. these are not deep cycle
> batteries.
>
> My question.. Can i fire solar panels to charge these puppies up? Is that
> too many batteries? Am I overkilling it? I have 100 more coming..
>
> Is there a good site i can goto to figure this stuff out? I hate to
> pester.
>
> Thanx and cheers
>
> Gerry in NS

Good idea, but one bad battery can ruin the whole bank. It seems like a lot
of work, but I would try to test them all for their ability to take/hold a
charge. Then, once you are ready to set things up, I would try to keep the
banks small, 4-8 batteries in parallel maximum, all of similar condition.
Then you could switch battery banks in and out as needed. It's probably best
to charge the banks separately too, because of likely variance between
units. I would recommend a separate charge controller for each bank, and if
you are seiously into overkill, you could set up an automatic switching
system to turn banks off and on as needed, and as they need to be recharged.

Vaughn

2005-08-20, 11:21 am

"G M D" <gmd@NOSPAM.pchg.net> wrote in message
news:syxNe.8004$p5.5726@nnrp.ca.mci.com!nnrp1.uunet.ca...
> Hello from Nova Scotia
>
> I have 100 batterys from UPS's (more coming) they are 12 V 7A batterys, 20
> are 12V 9A. I want to convert my chickenhouse into 12 volt lighting (with
> horsepoop heat..see previous post). I will need 5 lites and 2 radios and a
> horsepoop waterpump. I am not a battery expert. these are not deep cycle
> batteries.

I will let others address your choice of batteries, but here is the 12-volt
lamp I have been using for the last several years.
http://www.nolico.com/saveenergy/12_volt_marine_cfl.htm It takes about one amp
at 12 volts and fits into a regular screw-in socket. Polarity matters! be sure
that + goes to the tip of the lamp and - to the screw base. I use mine outside
in regular porch light fixtures and haven't had one fail yet.

For solar power you will need a solar panel and a charge controller, both
sized appropriately for your system...not cheap.

Vaughn

SQLit

2005-08-20, 12:21 pm

"G M D" <gmd@NOSPAM.pchg.net> wrote in message
news:syxNe.8004$p5.5726@nnrp.ca.mci.com!nnrp1.uunet.ca...
> Hello from Nova Scotia
>
> I have 100 batterys from UPS's (more coming) they are 12 V 7A batterys, 20
> are 12V 9A. I want to convert my chickenhouse into 12 volt lighting (with
> horsepoop heat..see previous post). I will need 5 lites and 2 radios and a
> horsepoop waterpump. I am not a battery expert. these are not deep cycle
> batteries.
>
> My question.. Can i fire solar panels to charge these puppies up? Is that
> too many batteries? Am I overkilling it? I have 100 more coming..
>
> Is there a good site i can goto to figure this stuff out? I hate to
pester.
>
> Thanx and cheers
>
> Gerry in NS

I completely understand the concept of low cost or free. I would be worried
about all the connections and the cells being matched. Lots of connections
means lots of potential problems.

The poster that suggested that you create banks of batteries at your voltage
has a good idea in my mind.

Pete C

2005-08-21, 6:21 pm

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:35:51 -0300, "G M D" <gmd@NOSPAM.pchg.net>
wrote:

>Hello from Nova Scotia
>
>I have 100 batterys from UPS's (more coming) they are 12 V 7A batterys, 20
>are 12V 9A. I want to convert my chickenhouse into 12 volt lighting (with
>horsepoop heat..see previous post). I will need 5 lites and 2 radios and a
>horsepoop waterpump. I am not a battery expert. these are not deep cycle
>batteries.
>
>My question.. Can i fire solar panels to charge these puppies up? Is that
>too many batteries? Am I overkilling it? I have 100 more coming..
>
>Is there a good site i can goto to figure this stuff out? I hate to pester.
>
Hi,

Probably best to charge each of them via a schottky (sp?) diode and
discharge each of them to the load through another diode. This will
effectively isolate each battery from the others in case one goes
down.

A diode is just a component that only conducts current in one
direction. A schottky diode is just a low voltage drop diode, silicon
diodes can be used but have a higher voltage drop.

If you would like a simple circuit diagram I could post something in
ASCII.

cheers,
Pete.

Ptaylor

2005-08-22, 3:21 pm

Pete C wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:35:51 -0300, "G M D" <gmd@NOSPAM.pchg.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Probably best to charge each of them via a schottky (sp?) diode and
> discharge each of them to the load through another diode. This will
> effectively isolate each battery from the others in case one goes
> down.
>
> A diode is just a component that only conducts current in one
> direction. A schottky diode is just a low voltage drop diode, silicon
> diodes can be used but have a higher voltage drop.
>
> If you would like a simple circuit diagram I could post something in
> ASCII.
>
> cheers,
> Pete.

That's exactly what I've done on my collection of small SLA's,for
exactly the same reason..To prevent any failed batteries from "dragging"
the rest down with it. ;-)
I used fast-recovery diodes on my setup.The voltage drop on the diodes
is negligible.. ~0.25V if you get the right types.
It's been working great,and diodes are cheap!

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