We had some really great threads last year, with the following four nominated for the Thread of the Year award in this January's Environment Site Awards ceremony.
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if i make a small solar setup wit a 12v battery, what would the best type of battery be? lead acid or gel? is there a difference between car batteries and others?
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if i make a small solar setup wit a 12v battery, what would the best type of battery be? lead acid or gel? is there a difference between car batteries and others?
im a beginner in this field so please help me out
They are both types of lead acid battery. Most of the batteries I have seen and used for standby power in recent years have had gel electrolyte and sealed* so are practical and have low maintenance and that may well be the best route for you.
just another question, if i have a 12v battery how long would it take to charge it fully using a 12v/5w/0.3a solar panel and a 12v/5a switching regulator? and how do i work it out? thanx 4 ur help guys.
just another question, if i have a 12v battery how long would it take to charge it fully using a 12v/5w/0.3a solar panel and a 12v/5a switching regulator? and how do i work it out? thanx 4 ur help guys.
It depends on the Ah capacity of the battery.
0.3A for 10 hours gives you 3Ah charge.
You can often pick up second hand lead acid car batteries that no longer hold enough charge for starting a car for almost nothing from businesses that sell new ones. Sometimes only one cell is dead and can be rejuvenated.
I would go with a 12v gel battery (used for alarm systems), you can pick them up for as little as £10 on ebay. It won't hold a lot of power but they are designed to be deeply dicharged like a leasure battery. I wouldn't use a car battery - deeply discharging will damage it very quickly.
best battery
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