very cool build.

Perhaps I missed it, what is your real world fuel consumption per hour (off road diesel?)

Approx how many hours between maintenance intervals?

IIRC, it's abt a pint to a quart an hour.

The data is in the link in the first post...

I'd change the oil every 100 hrs, these are run all over the world in probably the most inhospitable situations.

Bump

Picked up an old forklift battery to experiment with...  It's a 24 volt DEKA 12-D85-13 w/ 11.87 KWH rating at a 6 hour rate.

Service weight is 1031 pounds. Looks like this except metal case is DEKA yellow... Cost was the scrap value of the lead.





The cells were 'empty' and the charge was zilch, a low electrolyte level is expected at low charge because the sulfur ions aren't in solution to expand the liquid.

Today I added some RO water to the cells, not too much, and began charging with a Truecharge 12 volt 40 amp charger on one side and a Vector Smart charger set to 40 amps on the other half...

After 4 hours of charge, there is some expansion of the electrolyte suggesting some sulfur ions aren't sulfated and 'locked' into the plates.

Also, the specific gravity has increased a bit, but still shows 'discharged' at the moment.

The battery [24 vdc] is rated at almost 12 KWH at a 6 hour discharge rate implying 2000 watts can be drawn an hour for 6 hours until the battery is fully discharged.


Using the 50% rule, that suggests 1000 watts can be drawn for 6 hours. 1000/24 = 40 amp rate of discharge.

This implies 40 amps can be drawn for 6 hours safely...


The cheaper L16 batteries have a greater capacity per weight. Reason is the DEKA battery is designed for a quite long service life and IIRC the plates are 1/4" thick... So much heavier vs capacity.


The plan is to let charge tonight and look at the cells in the morning... Charge started at 5 PM and from 'empty' to full, it ought to take about 6000/500 = 12 hours plus loss of efficiency to full charge, so in 18 hours, I should have an idea of condition...


I'm not too much of a believer of high frequency pulsed 'de-sulfation', but might give it a shot as well...

More data to come tomorrow


Deka data sheet

Nice score on the battery I have had 2 electric forklifts and those batteries don't die easy.

Thanks Buck!  We'll see how good it is soon, it was left out in freezing wx and the SG of the liquid was real low... It took maybe an ounce of water to get the electrolyte above the top of the cells that didn't have liquid visible, so they weren't that low.  


This morning went to my doc and had a 1/4" mole on my upper chest removed, I and my doc tried freezing it a number of times but it didn't respond much and always came back.

He made an elliptical incision so he could sew it up nicely, used 2% Lidocaine injection to numb and I never felt anything. Clipped it out with scissors. I really like him, he's a bit shy, and a couple years younger than me, and I like his extensive experience. It's taken a while to earn his confidence... His new nurse/assistant is cute and had on some retro 50's classes that she got from Zinni Optical $35.

My SO stayed with me in case I had a panic attack...

I asked him if we could used Dermibond or Crazy Glue and skip the stitches... He said nope.

Then went to look at the forklift battery after charging all night and the Vector Smart charger had turned off... The Truecharge was still running showing 25% of a 40 amp charge...

Used a hydrometer and the Truecharge's cells were at a SG 1.225 roughly, so there's hope...

The Vector's cells were at 1.200 -about... and when I turned it back on it settled at an 18 amp charge at 12 vdc...


The charge rate and the SG suggests sulphation... Modest bubbling... Forgot to check cell voltage today. Last night it was 1.95 per cell, across the board...



The way I connected the 2 chargers---  one charger clipped to the positive terminal and after removing the plastic busbar cover between the 6th and 7th cells, the neg lead clipped to that.

The Vector clipped to the negative post and its positive clipped to the same busbar.


Battery has been charging about 5 hours since then, I went and took a nap, and may get my SO to run by and reset the Vector and take another hydrometer measurement.

The cells in the two respective charge groupings, seem to have similar SG's.

Insurance doesn't pay for crazy glue but pays great for stitches....
I bet you get that battery back to life I know they tend to replace them when they can't get a full days work out of them without charging which is way before end of life. I am always on the lookout for them.

I was kidding with him about the C-G and the panic attack...  

He's sort of shy and when I first met him didn't know how to 'react' to my kidding around once in a while... He smiles and kid's back now...

I invited him and his wife to the mountain again to do whatever they want -we wouldn't bug them...

He's a very good doc with one of the most valuable resources -that's his vast experience, and I hate to think that he'll possibly retire soon...

I always tell him stuff to reinforce his confidence... Not that he needs it...


Your comment about battery replacement gives me some hope... This one may have sat unused for a while and the owners decided to put the machine back into service and replaced it.



My SO went and ran some tests on the batteries with me on the phone and the SG on the Truecharger cell group may have moved a little higher, but it's hard to communicate exact details over the phone. That charger was only putting out 10 amps and the voltage was only 15.1 vdc IIRC she told me.

The Vector charger had already shut down again after about 5 hours...


Today I'll put the more fully charged bank on the Truecharge's equalize setting and that puts out about 16 volts IIRC and see how much current I can push into it.


What I need is an Agilent/HP lab power supply that has constant current and voltage setting and can put out 50 or 70 amps...

If anyone is interested in forklift battery charging specifications...

Check out this charger's data sheet on page 3-2...

http://new.ametek.com/content-manager/files/APL//193111-0684.pdf


Tonight the battery voltage on the Truecharge side was 15.1vdc and the SG is ~1.255   Cell voltage is ~2.5


I just started doing an equalization process using the Truecharge and will run it at least 4 hours.

Charge current in this mode is about 20 amps because the chrger isn't voltage limiting at about 15 vdc.

Instead it will push current until about 16 battery voltage...

Next inverter you will need is a 24 volt DC input.

Hey Expy...  where did you find the battery connector?  That would work great for my mobile RV solar.  I've found a couple online, but they were way expensive.  Hoping you have a better source.
B

eBay --do you need a part number?

Apparently so...  my ebay-foo is letting me down.  
thanks
B

It'll be a while until I can get it... I will...

Covered...

OP: I have a couple Delta Q chargers if you find yourself needing something like that. I think one is already set up for a 48v bank of L16's.

Appreciate the offer Adam!

Somewhere I have two old HP high current supplies from a .gov auction years ago. Just have to locate them, and they have constant current constant voltage around 30 to 50 amps, and 30 volts  ---rough numbers...

I remember they required 220 vac and had a double breaker/on/of sw on the front...

Have to figger out where they are...

The mole analysis came back as cancerous.

Guys, get anything strange on your body checked...

More to this story ---later...

The connectors are Rebling brand.

The male is a series 2002 and can be salvaged from Concord [and other] brand AGM aircraft batteries. If you have a contact at an A-P they should fix you up with an old battery.

[Rebling battery receptacles are Mil-Spec qualified to MIL-PRF-18148/3 (MS3509).   Military connector #’s include: MS3509-28, MS3509-28-1, MS3509-29, MS3509-29-1, MS3509-20, MS3509-30, MS3509-31, MS3509-32. ]


The females are going to cost abt $40 + on eBay...

Search Rebling connector...

Some are listed now but I'd wait for a nice one at a good $


New prices are ridiculous...

This evening, the SG of the 6 cell group that I've run 3 1 hour truecharge equalization cycles on is up to 1.260 ---not bad...


The group the Vector is charging is only up to 1.250.


Trouble is, it's taking a long time to charge them with what I'm using, the Truecharge equalization function shuts off automatically after an hour and I haven't been here long enough to keep resetting it.

The word EQUALIZATION may be mis-interpreted...  I'm not interested in 'equalization' ---so much as I'm interested in pumping current into the batteries and giving them a 'high voltage' charge.

'High voltage' meaning ~16 vdc to force current into them to charge... IIRC, the Vector shuts off at around 14.7 VDC so I'm running it on one of the banks and will later aggressively push charge into it once I finsh evaluating the bank of 6 cells on the Truecharge.


HA! I found the HP power supplies!  So, after I clean them up and fix whatever I have to, they are going to solve my charge supply issues. The HP Agilent 6264B series can be set for constant current and voltage.

What they look like in their prime...





***********************************
ATV battery charging...

For example, right now I'm charging an EVERSTART AGM ATV battery out of the box, and the instructions say to charge for 3 to 8 hours at 1.5 or so amps.

So, there's a smaller HP 6286A power supply on my bench and it's set to a constant voltage of 14.7 and max [constant] current of 1.5 amps.

The battery is drawing .7 amps.

Pix of small power supply... These are cheap on ebay and reliable and useful ---and because their components are all discrete, easily serviced if ever needed...





A problem I had getting this small battery ready to charge was the bottle of acid in the box didn't fill the cells to the 'upper line' like the instructions said.

So I waited over night and 18 hours later the electrolyte level was at the upper line.

???

When I filled the cells, one of the cells fizzed a lot, like it had some baking soda or something in it.

Anyhow, I started to charge it and am 40 minutes into the one hour charge.


Also, the battery in the ATV failed almost 2 years ago, and wouldn't take a charge and start the machine. So I added [taped to the front carry rails with Gorilla tape]  a little solar panel about 10" x 12" and clipped it to the battery and the battery has worked well until now. I figure it's time to replace it...

More on the ATV battery...

Typical dry charged ATV battery...





The instructions say to charge it 3 to 8 hours at a 1 amp rate.

This battery will only absorb .7 amps per the power supply meter...

The battery cells are too small to use a hydrometer to check SG but a refractometer is the perfect instrument to use.

This- Ones made in China are cheap, plentiful and accurate.





Never checked an ATV type battery specific gravity before -until now. To get a small sample, used a plastic tuning tool and put a drop on the refractometer window, then closed the clear lid.

The SG is read out on a scale in the eyepiece, accurately...


It read 1.270 and the voltage is 14.06 with the power supply connected, after ~ an hour charge.

Thinking about the ATV battery, I checked the cell that fizzed...

It read 1.240 and all the others read 1.270




So there was something in the cell that neutralized some of the acid...


What to do???

Much appreciated.  I'm actually in the solar business, so most of what you talk about is not unknown.  Have been NABCEP certified since 2009 and playing with solar since the early 80s.  Access to batteries is not an issue.  I'm currently trying to score some LiPo batteries for a "mobile test system".  

I design (and sometimes install) grid-tied systems mostly - a little over 5MW worth in 2015.  But I also do a few off-grid/battery-backed systems each month.  However none of it is mobile like what I want to do, and I'd not seen that connector before.  Since this is strictly for my rolling rig, I'm happy to try out new things that I'd never use on a customer site.  

And yes, those connectors are crazy expensive new.  But having worked in military avionics back in the 80s, I do understand.  

Cheers,
B

What to do...

This-

The good cell's are at a SG of 1.280, the fizzed one is at 1.250, both readings taken after 2 hours of .7 amp charge.


So, SO is going for some battery acid, I'll discharge the battery until the good cells read 1.265.

Since battery acid is 1.265, I'll drain the bad cell and fill it back up with fresh acid...

Hooked an auto headlight bulb to the battery, clipped so the high and low beam filaments are in series.

The lamp drew 4 amps this way and in about 35 minutes the SG of a good cell reads 1.265...  Now waiting on SO to bring the battery acid.

Glad I could help, you will enjoy those connectors. The threads are double or something so they are fast to separate.

I did something to mine to make it easier to separate, I think it was lubing the knob threads...

Sounds like you have a lot of experience in this area...  

Got the battery acid, matched all the cells at ~1.265, drained the cell that 'fizzed'...

Added acid back and charging now...

Charge rate is now 1.2 amps at 13.3 volts and the voltage is rising...

Thanks for documenting all this, and please don't get discouraged by the paucity of replies: I bet there are a lot of folks like me who don't have a lot to contribute, but are learning a lot from your work.

Thanks for the remarks G-M...

I appreciate the opportunity to share technical details of things in the hope that others enjoy reading them, and profit from them too...

DEKA INFO


Haven't been at the forklift battery today, hope to be there later tonight to continue charging the F/L battery...

I was seeing weird things yesterday with it, on the Truecharge side, the SG changed about 10 points down, the charge current went up and the battery voltage under that charge was down...  At least that's the way I remember it...


Regarding the ATV battery -I dumped the free electrolyte from the 'fizzing' cell into a pie plate and refilled it using new 1.265 SG acid.

After a little charging, the adjacent cells and the fizz cell were within about 12 points  I.e., 1.270 vs. 1.260 for the fizz cell...

The headlamp bulb with the filaments clip-leaded so they were in series drew about 3.5 amps and took about 35 minutes to reduce the SG in good cells from ~1.260 to 1.265.  

After refilling the fizzing cell and recharging, the charge current went to 1.2 amps at cell voltage of 13 up thru 14 vdc when I decided to stop the charge, in about an hour.

The reason the SG in the 'fizz' cell didn't come up all the way is that at least half the electrolyte was absorbed in the spacer mat between the plates and I couldn't change it all in one dump. It's close enough to put the battery in service...




Here's a link to a company that has a lot of valid or invalid promoting for 'gimmicks' to extend battery life and restore them.

Web site is broken up to promoting and experimental data, there are some good areas that discuss and provide insight into the internal workings and reactions of batteries --in some layman detail.

You'll have to look thru and sort of what might be 'hype'.  Hard to tell if their claims are valid but some of the info is educational.

One of the pages has particularly good info about how the negative plates 'sulphate' due to low charge and inactivity....


Sulphation Surprise

DEKA INFO



DEKA is the brand of Eastpenn Manufacturing, maker of motive equipment batteries.

The link above is one of the best modern resources for detailed info for all facets of flooded batteries incl the manufacturing process I've found, covering construction, disassembly and repair, restoring, charging, etc.

I have an old book from the 1920's IIRC that goes into detail on the repair and maintenance of flooded batteries. Not much has changed, material science being most significant.


Regarding the DEKA forklift battery I'm working on, the hang-up has been the HP [Hewlett Packard, Agilent, and now Keysight]  high current DC supply I got from a .gov surplus auction years ago and getting it working again.


Keysight PDF of 1976 manual


Keysight home page  6259B/6260B/6261B/6268B/6269B Operating and Service Manual - Mar76



Between buying and building up pallet racks the past week and other stuff, yesterday I got the supply working.  The nice thing about some older HP equipment is many highly sophisticated instruments are well documented and designed to be repaired in the field by the owner... Making them essentially timeless. This supply was designed in the early 1970's I'm guessing, the manual was finalized by 1976 with all the revisions and options, and HP sold it at least into the late 1990's. The 1997 catalog on pg 177 has the series, but main focus by then was on digitally controlled supplies at $$$$$.


Here's a link to an archive of HP/Agilent/Keysight manuals...

HP ETC Manual ARCHIVE


I remember reading and dreaming in the 60's and 70's these HP catalogs and later their descriptions of their incredible network and spectrum analyzers, and other T&M equipment, and then being able to buy it new from them after starting a business.


Story -the local HP salesman demo'd an analyzer to me ---I placed an order for an $82k demo unit [about 5% savings for being a demo] and was supposed to have it in a week...  The salesman called me a few days later and said he wasn't going to order it because the rest of the office would make fun of him when I couldn't pay...

Shit, I'd already made a million bucks++ and he wasn't going to order it...

No way could I convince him I was serious...

So, I called the HP CEO's secretary in San Jose and explained things to her... The analyzer was in the plant a few days later. The sales guy never spoke to me again...

A couple years later I needed another, called from the Kahala Hilton and ordered it. No issues other than ITAR/EAR verification it wouldn't leave the US...



There's an entire series [several dozen?] of these power supplies with various specs, some weigh over a 100 pounds in a relay rack mounting only 10 inches tall, and these must have been a big profit center for HP. They made versions with multiple KW ratings, physically much larger.



The Truecharge I was using on one half of the battery [6 cells, nominally 12 vdc] issue was that except in 'Equalize" mode, I couldn't get more than about 14.8 volts to the battery and then at only about 10 amps or so. Very slow going...


Since the HP lab supply has analog constant current and voltage settings [rather precision in the day] ---yesterday I was able to set the output voltage to about 18 vdc [noisy 10 turn pot I'll replace today] and considering HP requires a high current diode be put in series with the battery negative lead  when using the power supply to charge large batteries...

So from abt 6PM to 11PM set the constant current control appropriately and dumped 25 amps in the battery and the voltage rose to 15.2 volts...


Specific gravity averaged per cell 1.255 ---The DEKA battery is spec'd at 1.280 to 1.290 full charge.

The DEKA link above gives a chart to relate charge to SG and right now I'm guessing the battery is about 75% charged..


The DEKA manual also gives instructions [page 19] on so-called "de-sulfating" the battery by excess charging and [complete?] discharging, rinse repeat... [More detailed than that...]

I'll charge these cells for another 5 or six hours at 25 amps then discharge this group ---and begin charging the other half [6 cells that I used the Vector charger on]


The HP power supply manual has instructions to use the PS for a controlled discharge of up to the respective rating of the power supply, but it's complicated and I'll figure out some sort of load...

Maybe a 12 volt inverter driving a 500 watt work light...



Incidentally, the link above that talks about high frequency 'pulsing' to de-sulfate batteries,  and they mention a 'resonate' frequency of ~3 MHz IIRC...

Seems to me to be a crock of crap, considering the huge capacitance of a large flooded battery by the time the RF energy got to the plates... The energy would be effectively  'shorted' [bad terminology] out...

Charged the half of the battery with the HP power supply today for 4 1/2 more hours.

SG for cell 2 stayed abt 1.260 and cell 6 at 1.250


I have to conclude that all the sulfide ions available to be driven from the positive plate [paste] have gone into solution and there's no more that haven't been 'sulfated' and locked into the plate.

Next step is to discharge the battery fully per the service manual and recharge.

Hopefully that will result in more sulfide ions available to go into solution and consequently a higher specific gravity


Where's the 25 amps x 15 vdc = 375 watts going?  I suppose it's gassing the water into H2 and O2


Correcting a Sulfated Battery
If batteries are not operating full shifts, heat while on charge
and after charge, and if temperature corrected specific gravity
readings are below the manufacturer’s specifications, the batteries
may be sulfated.
To restore a sulfated battery to good condition, carefully follow
this procedure:
1. Thoroughly clean the battery.
2. Add water to bring the electrolyte to the proper level in all
cells.
3. Charge the battery at the prescribed finishing rate until
the specific gravity shows no change for a three-hour
period with readings taken hourly. Record on-charge
voltage and specific gravity readings. Temperature correct
the specific gravity readings using the chart (Table
3-1) in Section III. If the temperature rises to above
115°F (46°C) at any time, stop the charger and allow the
battery to cool to 90°F (32°C) or lower, then continue the
charge and monitor the specific gravity as described
above. If the charger is automatic, be sure it is capable
of charging the battery at the prescribed finish rate. A
constant current charger that can maintain the correct
finish rate is preferred. If the battery is badly sulfated, the
specific gravity may only rise 30 to 40 points (0.30 to
0.40) during the first charge.
4. Fully discharge the battery.
5. Repeat step #3 until the specific gravity remains
unchanged for three hours. In extreme cases of sulfation,
two or more discharges and recharges, per the above
instructions, may be necessary to restore the battery to
full capacity. (Percent capacity capable of being restored
is a function of overall battery age and condition). If the
battery hasn’t responded, it may be sulfated beyond
repair and should be replaced. If the specific gravity rises
to within ten points of a fully charged battery, then place
the battery back into normal service.
6. Before condemning the battery, one last check should be
made to make sure the battery has not simply lost acid
by dumping or over-filling. Adjust the specific gravity to
the manufacturer’s specification (see Table 4-1 -
Procedure for Adjusting the Specific Gravity of the
Electrolyte of a Battery).
Conduct a capacity test. If the battery delivers over 90% of
its rated six hour capacity, the battery may be returned to
service. If the capacity on discharge remains low, the battery
should be replaced.
IMPORTANT - Only experienced battery technicians should
perform the above technique.

Picture of charge/discharge setup

More info coming later ---have gotten ~4000 watt-hours out of the 1/2 of the battery, into shown 100 watt 130 vdc bulb using an inverter

More pictures and more info to come...  Added some fresh acid, 2 oz per cell...


Got both constant current/voltage power supplies working and still charge the F-L batteries as 2 groups of 6 cells






This is the series diode HP requires to be used in series with the PS when charging batteries. The heats sink are lying on small ceramic tiles.

Have done a few charge discharge cycles and the battery might have 60% capacity -jury still out and I need to post data to see folks' opinions...

Seeing between 1.255 and 1.260 SG

Mfgr wants to see 1.285 as new.

Inexpensive H-F jumper cables used as high current test leads.

Separating the 24 volt battery into 2 12 volt batteries...




Transported to barn and ready to unload and figure out how to integrate into the existing solar system...


Here's the problem...  This old battery has a terminal charge voltage of 14.3 or 4  vs. ~15.1 for the existing L16 battery bank.

So it can't be directly connected...


A diode has a voltage drop of .7 volts, could that be a solution???

Very interesting thread.

Thanks!!


There's a Xantrex 600 watt Prowatt Sinewave inverter in the container that supplies our 120 vac juice.

It has a GFI outlet and since we're using it to power one of those new 'flat' style bug zappers outside [that work incredibly well] like in the bear thread, I decided to remove the GFI and replace with a high grade 20 amp outlet.

Reason is the inverter is critical to some of the remote control and camera systems and if the GFI  inadvertently trips, we lose some capability by IP remote control.


So I changed out the outlet in it and the backup inverter too. When I reinstalled the original inverter there was a big snap and the 80 amp fuse was taken out in the 12vdc distribution box outside.

Took it apart thinking I wired something wrong -nope just one of those hell of a coincidences...

The input power FETS were shorted. They're a couple hundred amp IRF4044's or something and I'll get some more.

[I think they finally failed because I disconnected the internal fan in the 'cooling tunnel' because of the annoying noise  


A trace from a tiny FET leg and where its soldered to the PCB is very poorly engineered, almost like a built in failure point.


One of the shorted FET's is just above the 2 red wires...





Hard to see where the small PCB trace is soldered to the FET leg.

BTW, W-M carries a great DVM made by EXTEK in the automotive dept for abt $18.

A fantastic buy. See pix above...

I've been a fan of the H-F $4 DVM for almost 20 years because they have manual range selection and are very compact and reasonably accurate and do most anything I need.

The new Extek has a beep continuity function and is considerably more accurate, and has the same great functions, is compact, and has manual range selection.

It's the go to now at all locations.


[Caution- It has a lamp [flashlight] in the end and the on/off sw is easily depressed inadvertently.  Drill a hole in the plastic lens and break the lamp...


Flashlight is useless if you have a Fenix in your pocket...  

Attempt to repair the 600W Xantrex Inverter failed.

Installed new FETs, applied power and they blew right out and shorted.

Suspect driver board failed, not worth pursuing without a schematic or at least a detailed block diagram...

EXPY what breakers did you use between your panels and charge controller?
And did put them at the panels or inside?

Buck, I used ordinary 15 amp Square D breakers in inexpensive dual breaker 2 pole [$15 or so ] boxes...


Note: I don't recommend this as my 4 panel arrays have as much as 150 VDC @~10 amps [in the cold winter] and switching that high a voltage can make an impressive arc with not too much current. [See some YouTube videos of arcing I've posted]

I've heard a bit of an arc from inside them but it hasn't been an issue.

For arrays lower than say 80 volts I wouldn't have a concern.

EBay Sellers have various brand NOS or used, small, very high quality breakers rated for DC and ~150 vdc -at low cost.  I've purchased some and someday might switch to them. Just that mounting them is a little hassle.

So far the SQ D breakers work fine, they were inexpensive and convenient/fast to use, and it isn't often I need to operate them.


Where to mount, I keep them just above the Outback controllers.  I run 3 Outback's [see pictures] and last week we  cut panel mounts for another array of 4 panels so the number of ---Outback's will soon go to 4 [or 5] in the barn. That will make 4 more [of my SHTF Safety Stock Trade For Food Panels] for a total of 20 on the barn. ~36 left for food...  

This next array of 4 will be used to maintain the old forklift battery I've posted about. Special switching by means of IP remote control I'll post about someday when I get it working right so I can put that battery into the system if needed on long sun outages. [12 vdc actuator to switch one of those big breakers that I drilled and sprayed their contacts  in earlier posts]

Also, each [240 watt panel] in arrays of 4 panels, has a separate circuit to the inside, of IIRC #8 wire [way overkill for 10 amps but much less loss since the runs are long].  

In the event that the wires shorted before the breaker, the panel is essentially self limiting in max current and voltage out. Not the slightest concern for me.

In a  flammable structure, I'd most certainly stick to Code requirements.

I tend to bend the rules and I do know what my filings taste like.
I respect but don't fear it.
Was thinking of running my panels 8 sets of 3  going to cheap breakers in a panel on the roof as well as a panel inside just to make it easier to work on.
Its along way from the panel to the charge controller and just looking work smarter.
Breakers and wire are the last to purchase and just not sure the fancy solar stuff is necessary.
Do you worry about EMP?

If you ever get this way give me a heads up and I will buy you a cup of coffee.

Buck, 3 panels in a string might get to ~120vdc in the winter.

There won't be an issue with too much voltage for let's say an Outback charge controller [they trip out around 140 vdc with a High V error]

I don't know what controller you're using.

Is there any possibility of mounting the panels on the ground?

Re EMP...

That's the biggest Survivalist BoogieMan next to alcohol gasoline...

Or a lack of Stabil or other snake oil in sealed cans of gas...



Solar panels have a low impedance to RF and high capacitance and likely wouldn't know if an EMP hit or not.

LOL I should have said solar flare...
Outback
I might go ground but I will lose some daylight 30-45 minutes doing so.

Ground is a lot easier to sevice...

You might want to consider aligning the arrays in slightly different directions to optimize solar harvesting.


I've got an array facing SSE at ~45 degrees...

2 barn mounted arrays tilted back to ~22 IIRC degrees from horizontal with some perpendicular tilt...

And an array facing generally west with a steep slope.

We plan to add 4 more panels tomorrow along the top of the barn to the north of the 4 in pix. They will be spaced 2 bldg. corrugations apart instead of one ---and will be angled up about 10 degrees more than the top row.  Increased spacing will reduce shadowing by each other...










Our bear...  

I built tall without contemplating how tough getting up there with stuff is. It can be done but just not fun.
" />

Nice bldg. and dogs!  


That should be a snap on the roof.

Just engineer a good means to support the panels w/out leaks.  Should be a ton of pre-engineered mounts/clips to use.

Talk w/ me abt a good sealant...

I was inspired by the biosphere project

Great thread!