Hand holding needed

[mytoolman]

I need to produce 1000 Watt per hour of solar power. For simplicity lets just say its for an RV. Its actually a tool truck but they function the same for electrical use. I have six 6volt 225 ah float golf cart batteries set up to produce 12 volts. Im not sure if they are in series or parallel...I am confused on this my photo shows the battery bank. These batteries are 4 years old and have NOT been taken care of. Twice in 4 years they have been found to need water. I used more than a gallon of distilled water to top them off twice now. 4 or five times I have found the low battery buzzer alarm on. They have been charged too fast etc....meanwhile they are still functioning and I need to keep using them until I cant. My eventual goal is to go 24 volt.

I want to go Flexible Panels. I need to be careful not to spend the money more than once so I will bite the bullet and buy quality and spend more initially
since I in the next 2 years will probably have to buy batteries and want to go 24 volt what specs do I need to look for to buy good flexible panels?.. what specs do I need for a BMS that will work what I have for batteries NOW and Later when I have the 24 volt bank?

Is there a place to shop for all of this once I know what to shop for other than EBay?
Also is it possible to get 24 volts NOW? is my thinking wrong that if I add TWO more 6 volt batteries and have them connected properly I could have that happen? I want to limit the gauge of wire I will use etc if I can NOW and going 24 volt will do that right? I wish I could just trash my batteries and buy LiFePO4 batteries right now...I would have been on my way already well maybe not actually...I still dont know what panels to buy for them either..

 

[kernel]

Nice (distribution) wiring for a vehicle system! Looks like automation and control panel, good technique.

You can have the battery at 24v now, but it looks like there may be a buch of 12v only stuff in there. Needs to be checked amd may need to have a converter to feed all that stuff.

Looks like at least one set of series batteries on the far left (actually far right) have charge acceptance issues, green (negative?) Terminals..... corroded negatives indicate undercharge, positive = overcharge.
They are all connected to the same charger, so there is an issue in those two.....

You will need a hydrometer. You will likely have to divorce them to see if they can be straightened out with controlled over charge amd long absorb cycling.

If there is a major disparity in sg after that then your system will function better amd the other batteries will survive longer if you shed the dead..... they could 3ven be an auxilliary battery, but at what capacity?

They should be carefully equalized after reassembly if you do take them out and put them back in and may not have to be broken down at all if your maintenance goes well.

First, clean all terminals, check individual voltages, if a wide disparity exists charge independently then re assemble. Run the hydrometer test, run the charge cycling to proper sg across all batteries then check electrolyte level, equalize, check electrolyte leve again. Its about all that needs to be done and about all that can be done.

 

[mytoolman]

Nice (distribution) wiring for a vehicle system! Looks like automation and control panel, good technique.

You can have the battery at 24v now, but it looks like there may be a buch of 12v only stuff in there. Needs to be checked amd may need to have a converter to feed all that stuff.

Looks like at least one set of series batteries on the far left have charge acceptance issues, green (negative?) Terminals..... corroded negatives indicate undercharge, positive = overcharge.
They are all connected to the same charger, so there is an issue in those two.....

You will need a hydrometer. You will likely have to divorce them to see if they can be straightened out with controlled over charge amd long absorb cycling.
If there is a major disparity in sg after that then your system will function better amd the other batteries will survive longer if you shed the dead..... they could 3ven be an auxilliary battery, but at what capacity?

They should be carefully equalized after reassembly if you do take them out and put them back in and may not have to be broken down at all if your maintenance goes well.

First, clean all terminals, check individual voltages, if a wide disparity exists charge independently then re assemble. Run the hydrometer test, run the charge cycling to proper sg across all batteries then check electrolyte level, equalize, check electrolyte leve again. Its about all that needs to be done and about all that can be done.

Thank you Kernel! I can NOT take credit for the distribution design or build. I used a box from a retired tool truck that was already set up to function and that distribution system was already in place. I was lucky to find a donor tool store to place on the frame of my antique truck.... I appreciate it very much that you took time and share your knowledge with me....I actually was resigned to having bad batteries..I never considered trying to revive them some....Ill try I have time right now. The batteries have suffered the triple whammy. Theyve been low on electrolyte, run very low and then recharged to fast and to far...several times now...I was just trying to survive and get going so I did what I could to do that when I did those things except for the letting them get low on electrolyte...that was out of sight out of mind stuff going on there....
Yes ALL of what is there is 12Volt. I guess I would need a converter if I went 24 volt...would having to use a converter make it so that going 24 no longer has any advantage? I just like the idea of having smaller gauge wire and saving some money on the BMS by having it need less amps....but if Im going to have to delve into my current system and change anything other than maybe adding the converter you mentioned I am not equipped to do so and I also dont want to reinvent the wheel here....the system works well now...I just dont have consistent ability to plug into shore power anymore...so I need to keep the batteries charged somehow other than running the onboard 8kw diesel generator to do that....Is there anything I can do to help my two 14 year old 12volt battery banks that have been overcharged
and discharged and left discharged for 4 months in 2015....I retrieved them from my prior truck. That truck was stolen and abandoned and left unrecovered for 4 months...I am able to charge them to 13.5 volts but they go dead easily....I am not sure if they tied into the 6 volt bank they act to start the generator...

 

[kernel]

The old batteries are probably smoked. I wouldnt tie them into any other battery. If you charge to full and get nowhere near capacity back out, they are a potential hazard to charge.

 

[kernel]

If you mean use as a starting battery for your generator, your house battery can do that, but they might just be good for a quick start rather than 4 day power.