Thursday, December 27, 2012

Solar Battery Bank Finished


After starting this project about 3 weeks ago, getting the flu in the process, the solar battery bank box is finally finished.

The box houses 4 Trojan T- 145 6 Volt deep cycle batteries, and all of the wiring that was previously exposed.

The aluminum construction of the box will provide better protection form the elements compared to the plastic boxes with bungee chord strapped lids, although they did last 6 years.


I also changed the face plate for the solar charge controller remote display, discarding the wood black painted panel with a aluminum panel.

I removed the Doc Watson gauge, and replaced it with a lighted digital meter so I can be read it in the dark.

The meter on the top left is also a new meter for the wind charger that will give a digital readout of the output from the wind charger when it is running.

Can't wait to see how it works, but that will have to wait for a couple of weeks.


Below are some building stages of the project:
The beginning of the frame to hold the batteries

The frame bolted together

The box being fitted to the trailer

The old combiner box 


The new combiner box inside of the battery box


4 comments:

  1. Another job, nicely done, Kirk! I just linked this post to the forum, as someone was inquiring about a battery bank.

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  2. Thank You Cindy

    Hope to see you guys in a couple of weeks, heading out to a rare (for this year) hunting trip.

    The lows are around zero, but highs are predicted to be around 30 degrees.

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  3. Hi Kirk! If you don't mind my asking, how much did making the box set you back?

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    1. Steven:

      In Denver we have a company that sells nothing but used and new aluminum by the pound and by the foot.

      So, almost all of it was purchased by the pound.
      Guess I will have to do some caculatin' and see what I can come up with. and let ya know

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