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diy solar

Recent content by WaltAllen

  1. W

    disappointing lead acid battery capacity

    Hi all, I have not been able to understand why my battery bank capacity is so much less than it should theoretically be. I have 12 six-volt 230 AH flooded lead acid deep cycle golf cart batteries arranged in three sets of 4 in series giving 24 volts. These batteries are only one year old. In...
  2. W

    Series vs Parallel

    Thanks, I'll do that!
  3. W

    Series vs Parallel

    Thanks for that. I think I'll stick with my original plan and go 2s2p. This is a second set of 4 panels and the others are 2p2p and are closer to the controller. I figure if there is noticeably lower power from the new panels I can always change the wiring to parallel at that point. Thanks again.
  4. W

    Series vs Parallel

    24 volts (12 6-volt in 4s3p)
  5. W

    Series vs Parallel

    I'm in need of some expert advice: I am installing four 370 watt 35 Vmp 10.7 amp panels and was planning to wire them 2s2p using a single pair of 6 awg wires. So about 70 volts and 22 amps to go the 25 feet to the controller (Midnite Solar max 150 volts and 60 amps). But my friend says that...
  6. W

    How critical are identical lengths on parallel wired batteries?

    Isn't it true that with over-sized cables and charging current not excessive the difference in voltage to the batteries is so small as to not really be a problem in the case of the OP's system?
  7. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    I'm still in early thinking stages, but I will definitely do the math! My first step is buying those panels before they get more expensive or hard to get. My existing 4 panels are 325 watt and they are closer to the controller, so I put them in parallel (2P2P) and used 10awg with no problem. The...
  8. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Yes, that is a good compromise and much less expensive than the combiner box. And I could still go with 8awg for those two final wires going to the controller by using pollenface's idea of solder and shrink wrap.
  9. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Yes, my site is far from ideal. Lots of oaks and maples all around that I am not allowed to remove. I get maybe 4 hours of full sun. But the solar & batteries gives me a silent backup during outages, plus I can power some of my 120V circuits, too. Anyway, it's such a fun hobby for a retired...
  10. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Thanks to everyone! This site is great.
  11. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Thanks, I'm liking the combiner box idea, then just two maybe 6AWG wires in the run.
  12. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Yes, I'll have two sets in parallel with 4 wires in the run. Maybe 10 awg is good enough for 20 amps for a 20 foot run.
  13. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    I have lots of trees nearby so shading happens a lot. I've read that wired in parallel loses less power I see references to combiner boxes, but where can I find these. Amazon? .
  14. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    Thanks, that's what I may do. It just seems like some of those 2 into one splitters should have the larger wire size mc4 connector on the single side.
  15. W

    How to transition from 10awg to 8awg wire

    The 4 panels I want to wire in parallel are 35 volts and about 10 amps output. My run to the MPPT controller is about 20 feet, so I would like to combine two of the panels and transition from 10awg to 8awg. But I can't find any mc4 connectors that make this size change. How should this be done?
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