Harbor Freight Briefcase Solar Panel

[lkruper]

I would say those batteries will probably be ok for your first set to "test and burn". They are probably not really deep cycle so will not last as long as some of the better FLA batteries.

Your last statement is what gets most people in trouble. If you purchase the hardware first and then determine what you true daily watt hour load later, like most people do, they end up getting rid of what they got and starting from scratch because their batteries are too small or they have gotten the wrong Charge controller and solar panel type.

Keep in mind that having your system just sitting there waiting for the grid to go down might be ok but the batteries will start to die even if you just keep them on a trickle charge.

If it was me I would invest in a quiet inverter type generator which would provide 1800 watt of power and pretty much sip gas the few times I would need it.

I just had my manual transfer switch installed, and already have a 2000w inverter generator and two 5 gal cans of gas. For what I consider necessary to keep on during evening hours when the generator is not running (TV, internet) I have a peak of 99 W and can run all my loads for 7.3 hours on the 1 27DC battery. If I double the battery I can run at 24v and the system at that point is upgradeable to 4 6v 225 AH batteries in the future.

The batteries are not necessary, but I also did not like listening to the generator when the power went out for 8 hours last month when SCE had an emergency repair on a transformer. I expect El Nino to give me a higher percentage of chance of losing power this year.

[SunEagle]

I just had my manual transfer switch installed, and already have a 2000w inverter generator and two 5 gal cans of gas. For what I consider necessary to keep on during evening hours when the generator is not running (TV, internet) I have a peak of 99 W and can run all my loads for 7.3 hours on the 1 27DC battery. If I double the battery I can run at 24v and the system at that point is upgradeable to 4 6v 225 AH batteries in the future.

The batteries are not necessary, but I also did not like listening to the generator when the power went out for 8 hours last month when SCE had an emergency repair on a transformer. I expect El Nino to give me a higher percentage of chance of losing power this year.

I understand not wanting to hear a generator at night even a quite one. That is also why I built a couple of solar/battery systems. Hindsight shows me that I should have just spent the money on the battery/inverter part instead of also getting battery pv panels at $2/watt.

[lkruper]

I understand not wanting to hear a generator at night even a quite one. That is also why I built a couple of solar/battery systems. Hindsight shows me that I should have just spent the money on the battery/inverter part instead of also getting battery pv panels at $2/watt.

Solar would be phase III (battery/inverter is II) which would give me extended coverage for longer outages if the gas ran out. But that is likely never to happen, so I will probably either never do it or make it primarily educational.

BTW, why are dual battery boxes so much more expensive that two singles?