Need wiring schamitic for battery bank

[jimmyh]

Running off grid with Solar panels, battery bank and 12v inverter.

Since I am running a 12v inverter and 12v water pump I want to keep my battery bank output at 12v.

I have (8) 6v golf cart batteries and I am looking for the most efficient way to wire them up to output 12v. I have them wired now, but not sure I have the best for for battery health and charging efficiency.

please offer schematics if you can, everything I see is 4 or 6 batteries only, I have 8!

Thanks!

[SunEagle]

Running off grid with Solar panels, battery bank and 12v inverter.

Since I am running a 12v inverter and 12v water pump I want to keep my battery bank output at 12v.

I have (8) 6v golf cart batteries and I am looking for the most efficient way to wire them up to output 12v. I have them wired now, but not sure I have the best for for battery health and charging efficiency.

please offer schematics if you can, everything I see is 4 or 6 batteries only, I have 8!

Thanks!

Jimmy

I provided a link to a website called Smart Gauge in your other posting.

[Mike90250]

you just keep stacking pairs of batteries in parallel
Use the right fuses at each pair (if a battery shorts out and dies in 4 years, you DO NOT want the other batteries to dump power into it, you want a fuse to blow)
Connect to the bank on the diagonal, like the SmartGuage site shows. Or use equal length leads and bus bars

But be prepared to be disappointed with a massive parallel bank.

[jimmyh]

Did not plan on using fuses at each pair, can you elaborate, I have not seen this detailed anywhere.

Also see this schematic, this is how I plan on doing it: two banks of 4 and connect them at a bus hub. This will be cleaner that what I have now.

[Mike90250]

In your sketch, each long red wire, at the left end, near the battery terminal, needs a fuse.
(The shorter red wire should also have one too)

You seem to have the terminals to do a Bus wire of equal lengths which would be better than the layout you show.

Fuses are sized to protect the wire from melting. A good chart is here

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

Say you have #4 wire, you use a 60 A fuse

[jimmyh]

Thank you so much. I had not event planned fuses from the banks to the busbar. Right now my system is so raw, this round of wiring will include several disconnect points, breakers and fuses.

This is a getaway off grid beach house in Baja and because I tried to move some equipment hot last weekend, I fried my inverter and scared the **** out of my self....never again!