Biting the bullet. Doubling my battery capacity $$$$$$

[EPicTony]

My system is running well. I have 6 EG4-LL's for 31kwh of total storage. My daily consumption is 25-30kwh.
When there is back to back sunny days all is good. When it turns cloudy for a few days I have to run off the grid.
I can run only about 1 day without sun. I don't think my investment will ever pay for itself but I think the added security for grid down senerios is worth it.
I'm contemplating going further into the solar $$$ hole by buying another 6 EG4-LL batteries doubling my capacity to 62kwh.
I'm sure I can trim my energy usage some but I live in Ohio and feel like my system sits idle too much. Double battery capacity would give me a lot more use before I need to go to grid, not 100% but a lot more. Should I bite the bullet ? The batteries are on sale now with the 6 slot rack "free". If I'm going to do it , might as well get it on sale - vs. full price. Any thoughts on this ? Thanks

 

[fatdaddy]

If you want it and its on sale. Might as well get it for a good deal!

now you get to use the "but honey, it was on sale!" excuse to your spouse

 

[JJJJ]

now you get to use the "but honey, it was on sale!" excuse to your spouse

Think of all the money we saved!

 

[Mattb4]

Since I have not done the math all I can add is the question about do you have sufficient solar power in order to charge back the added battery capacity and maintain loads? There is a lot of folks that get caught with drawing down the battery and never being able for their PV to catch back up. Yes that can be done with grid power but if so what are you really gaining by adding more battery?

 

[EPicTony]

Since I have not done the math all I can add is the question about do you have sufficient solar power in order to charge back the added battery capacity and maintain loads? There is a lot of folks that get caught with drawing down the battery and never being able for their PV to catch back up. Yes that can be done with grid power but if so what are you really gaining by adding more battery?

Yes, lots of PV power, enough for the extra 6 batteries. On a sunny day my batteries now charge from 30% to full in a few hours. Good point however - thanks.

 

[MajicDiver]

Should I bite the bullet ? The batteries are on sale now with the 6 slot rack "free". If I'm going to do it , might as well get it on sale - vs. full price. Any thoughts on this ?

You can’t take $ with you when you go. If you have the cash and you are debit free and there isn’t something else more important , go for it

 

[Danke]

I don't think my investment will ever pay for itself but I think the added security for grid down senerios is worth it.

If it’s just for added security when the grid goes down, how about a generator? For the cost of one battery you can have a generator and that new charger from Signature Solar.

 

[MichaelK]

If you want it and its on sale. Might as well get it for a good deal!

now you get to use the "but honey, it was on sale!" excuse to your spouse

Wrong response! It should be "but honey, now you can run your hair-drier longer".

 

[EPicTony]

If it’s just for added security when the grid goes down, how about a generator? For the cost of one battery you can have a generator and that new charger from Signature Solar.

I already have a 5000 watt generator. It's a pain to drag out, hookup, needs a lot of gasoline and is noisy. I only want to use that if I don't have any solar or battery power.

 

[rodrick]

it all boils down to why you went solar to begin with if it was to save money buying batteries blew that up
if it was solving a power availability problem like a lot of grid down issues different story
or its a just in case everything goes to hell then it’s like buying insurance how much coverage do you need or want

 

[Tom Funchess]

My system is running well. I have 6 EG4-LL's for 31kwh of total storage. My daily consumption is 25-30kwh.
When there is back to back sunny days all is good. When it turns cloudy for a few days I have to run off the grid.
I can run only about 1 day without sun. I don't think my investment will ever pay for itself but I think the added security for grid down senerios is worth it.
I'm contemplating going further into the solar $$$ hole by buying another 6 EG4-LL batteries doubling my capacity to 62kwh.
I'm sure I can trim my energy usage some but I live in Ohio and feel like my system sits idle too much. Double battery capacity would give me a lot more use before I need to go to grid, not 100% but a lot more. Should I bite the bullet ? The batteries are on sale now with the 6 slot rack "free". If I'm going to do it , might as well get it on sale - vs. full price. Any thoughts on this ? Thanks

I just did that very thing - I bought a second rack of batteries after analyzing my actual usage and seeing how long the system would power those loads without PV or Utility input. I also need to add a few more panels, but the math for me pointed toward adding the batteries first.

 

[EPicTony]

it all boils down to why you went solar to begin with if it was to save money buying batteries blew that up
if it was solving a power availability problem like a lot of grid down issues different story
or its a just in case everything goes to hell then it’s like buying insurance how much coverage do you need or want

Reason 1. power availability problem like a lot of grid down issues - grid is getting more fragile with this "green" energy BS & seemingly random attacks on the grid
Reason 2. SHTF insurance, hope it never happens but if it does I won't be regretting my $$$ spent on solar
Reason 3. semi-retired nerd who likes to mess around with stuff like this

 

[time2roll]

Better get 12 while the sale is on
Too large of battery is a lead-acid thing.

 

[Tom Funchess]

Reason 1. power availability problem like a lot of grid down issues - grid is getting more fragile with this "green" energy BS & seemingly random attacks on the grid
Reason 2. SHTF insurance, hope it never happens but if it does I won't be regretting my $$$ spent on solar
Reason 3. semi-retired nerd who likes to mess around with stuff like this

I also went through these same reasons, but added a fourth:

Reason 4: Comfort and convenience. If I have extra battery capacity I can run my A/C or heaters if I want to. This one is hard to put a value on but it's nice to have the option.

 

[pollenface]

The only time off grid pays for itself is when the grid is down and your wife is happy because she can keep watching Netflix and charge her phone. Only then does she appreciate those thousands of hours and late nights you've spent in the shed perfecting your system

 

[timselectric]

That's an easy question.
Absolutely yes.

 

[JJJJ]

The only time off grid pays for itself is when the grid is down and your wife is happy

Forget about payback and return on investment. The reason just posted is priceless and worth every penny.

 

[rodrick]

Reason 1. power availability problem like a lot of grid down issues - grid is getting more fragile with this "green" energy BS & seemingly random attacks on the grid
Reason 2. SHTF insurance, hope it never happens but if it does I won't be regretting my $$$ spent on solar
Reason 3. semi-retired nerd who likes to mess around with stuff like this

Sounds like you have some new toys coming your reasons seem valid to me, you could spend money in a lot worse ways by far, having that security to me is by far the most valuable, dollar bills could end up being glorified toilet paper

 

[42OhmsPA]

Reason 3. semi-retired nerd who likes to mess around with stuff like this

Why not build your own bank? It's really not that difficult.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Why not build your own bank? It's really not that difficult.

Don't know why it's not displaying... 32 cells.

 

[JJJJ]

Can one "Really" have enough battery power? I am finalizing my build on my third DIY pack and found myself looking at current pricing on EVE cells.

As I said in another thread, this can be addictive...

 

[Yurtdweller]

First off, my needs are microscopic. I use around 1 kwh, and no more than 2 kwh per day. I can generate 1.3 kwh per hour, and 4 kwh per day, on a good day. That being said, I recently bought 16 lifepo 280ah cells from China, planning to resell half of them. I couldn't bring myself to do that, however. So now I have a 14kwh bank. That is ten days regular use, over fifteen days conservative use. I'm totally off grid, and don't own a generator. I mention all that to say this: I loooooove having tons of storage. I rarely ever check my battery any more. I occasionally glance at my daily generation. As long as its between 1 and 2 kwh, I'm good. Will said it in one of his vids. "If you're checking your battery constantly, then your system isn't big enough." At the time I rolled my eyes, and said, uhuh, but I was running a single 1.3 kwh battery at the time, with only 800 watts of pv. Now that my system meets all my needs for generating, and drastically exceeds my storage needs except in the height of the Texas winter (Rainy season), I get it. As long as the sun comes out two days a week, I'm good. I got though two weeks of crap weather this winter, but barely. This winter has been sunnier than most. Unless you need to travel(I do) you can't really have too much battery. And, the more battery you have, the fewer true 'cycles' you'll have, therefore, you batteries Should last all that much longer. Granted, something cheaper/newer/better will always come along, but imho, you just cannot have too much battery.

 

[timselectric]

You can never have too much battery, as long as you have enough solar. And you can never have too much solar.

 

[Yurtdweller]

Don't know why it's not displaying... 32 cells.
View attachment 139152

Agree, HOWEVER, some of these server rack batteries are actually cheaper per watt, I think. I hate to admit that, but I got my cells before the server rack price dropped. I spent a year watching vids and finding a seller (https://diysolarforum.com/posts/433989/

Shenzen Luyuan Technology Co. LTD. Alibaba, Wan Amy,​

When it came time to top balance and build packs, it was easier than expected. I built 4 packs at 12v, and just ran one or two at a time, at first, but recently finally got them all assembled together into a parallel pack, in a roadie crate , and it's all good. I paid about the same price per cell, about $2600 usd total for my 14kwh order. Other than the battery cells, I probably spent another 500 bucks on the road crate, lynx power in, fuses, cables, crimps and crimpers, etc.

 

[740GLE]

How many hours last year or the year before did the grid go down requiring a >24hr battery run?

if you are in a grid down situation, you surely can go mission critical with load and avoid running everything as it wishes.