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3RRL · 08-26-2006, 01:00 PM

BTW, the solar contractor and I laid the panels out to test them and provide 100% rated output!!! The sunny California weather is good for something.

We decided to buy a Cummins GGDB20 (20kW) It is liquid cooled and runs at 1800rpm on propane. The generator can run the household and will be wired up so that when there is an immediate demand (from the house or shop) it will send power that way. It will also start to charge the batteries until they get charged full either by the generator or the through the photovoltaic panels mounted on the solar arrays. I'll probably have to fill them with distilled water. But that's what the hydrogen recovery caps are for...to minimize maintenance. And the Power Vents are to keep the area ventilated so I don't blow myself up when I go in there smoking a stogie. Ha ha.

The batteries are pretty expensive and list at $990 ea but My cost is $688.22 each. So that's what we'll be looking at to replace them every 10 or 15 years. However, these also have the 10 year warranty so it will be important that they fail every 9-½ yrs so I can get them replaced under warranty. Not only that, but as newer technology appears regarding battery mediums, they may reduce in price years from now. The flip side is I may be dead by then???hahaha so who cares.

Here's another picture of the rest of the batteries.

08-26-2006, 01:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
3RRL Super Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Foothills of the Giant Sequoia's, California Posts: 6,665	Re: Solar Power Shed Project BTW, the solar contractor and I laid the panels out to test them and provide 100% rated output!!! The sunny California weather is good for something. We decided to buy a Cummins GGDB20 (20kW) It is liquid cooled and runs at 1800rpm on propane. The generator can run the household and will be wired up so that when there is an immediate demand (from the house or shop) it will send power that way. It will also start to charge the batteries until they get charged full either by the generator or the through the photovoltaic panels mounted on the solar arrays. I'll probably have to fill them with distilled water. But that's what the hydrogen recovery caps are for...to minimize maintenance. And the Power Vents are to keep the area ventilated so I don't blow myself up when I go in there smoking a stogie. Ha ha. The batteries are pretty expensive and list at $990 ea but My cost is $688.22 each. So that's what we'll be looking at to replace them every 10 or 15 years. However, these also have the 10 year warranty so it will be important that they fail every 9-½ yrs so I can get them replaced under warranty. Not only that, but as newer technology appears regarding battery mediums, they may reduce in price years from now. The flip side is I may be dead by then???hahaha so who cares. Here's another picture of the rest of the batteries. __________________ Rob- ...The Older I get...the Better I Used to be...