Since we started homestead off grid in 2012, all of the regional home solar companies have gone out of business. There are a number of reasons for this that I have discussed in videos on our patreon page. But one of the reasons is the continued decline of pricing of batteries. WHY the decline? As we all know, when technology improves it usually results in a drop in prices.
When we recently needed some new batteries for a bank we were building for a freezer on our homestead, I couldn't believe the prices that some solar companies were giving me. All the local and regional companies were out of business but other companies were quoting astronomical prices on batteries. But I thought prices were supposed to come down with time and better technology? IT HAS!
BATTERY EDUCATION
When it comes to batteries, it's all about the amp hours. An amp hour is a how long a consistent flow of current(amp) will remain the same. So it's a unit of measurement for each particular battery. When I was calling around to find new batteries, I was getting all these outrageous quotes and prices and I couldn't figure out why. And then I asked about what amp hours these batteries were. Most of them were over 300 amp hours per 12 volt battery! THAT'S WHY!
Is all this confusing? Listen, this is simple. You want a 12 volt AGM battery with around 100-125 amp hours. This is plenty for most off grid solar operations. Technology has improved and prices have dropped but retailers are pushing the larger amp hour batteries in order to keep sales numbers up. Most of these solar companies are really struggling right now. And like I said above, there are a number of reasons for that.
Find Cheap Solar Batteries
I found some amazing batteries with great reviews on ebay of all places! They are called VMAX Batteries. These are 125 amp hour batteries and they were perfect for what we wanted to use them for.
AGM batteries are obviously more expensive than the cheaper lead acid batteries for many reasons. AGM batteries are very low maintenance and will last longer than your lead acid batteries. It's worth the extra money but with that in mind, you want your batteries to still be affordable.
You can find these AGM batteries for around $1k for a set of 4 and that includes FREE DELIVERY! So that is what we ordered and we got them in and began to set up our bank. If you're interested in finding these VMAX AGM batteries with great reviews, search ebay for "VMAX 12 volt AGM batteries"
So we got out batteries in and built a new box to house them in for our new off grid solar freezer.
Then we got the batteries wired up with battery connector cables. These cables need to be of a large gauge to keep the bank as efficient as possible.
That's it!
If you would like to see a wiring diagram of one of our AGM battery banks, we have provided that for you below.
If you have any questions about solar, I will do my best to answer them if you leave a comment below. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
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