PDQ OWNERS FORUM

Hi all,
I am in the final throws of completing a solar install on Karma. Equipment 3 x 100w Newpa panels wired in parallel (due to shading) mounted off seat frame to top of davits ,8 ga wiring to Epever MPPT 30 amp controller with Mt-50 remote display, Blue seas 30 amp breaker mounted either side of controller , system tied into + and - busbar. House batteries 6 volt golf cart x2 total amp hrs 450. I have a Wells battery combiner, original ProSine 2000 inverter. I have marine starting batteries on each engine (approx 56 amp hrs each).
I know you should have all the same type of batteries in a solar battery bank ideally. So here is are my questions.
Do I need to replace my starter batteries with deep cycle batteries?
If I don't replace them when programming the controller would my total battery bank be 612 hrs ?
What did everybody else do and what are real world experiences?
Do I need to worry about my starting batteries failing prematurely ,they are all currently approximately the same age?

I preferred the Epever controller over the Victron (excellent product) because it has a good reputation ,big and heavy (space was not a consideration) and it came with its own remote.

Gen set I believe is independent with its own marine starting battery.

Thank you for the education.

Cheers Carl

hi,

i'm no expert on this but i will say what we've done over the 17 years we've had duetto.

we've always had 6v deep cycle golfcarts for the house bank. we've always had 12v maintenance free (not deep cycle) start batteries. we've had multiple xantrex charger/inverters and one victron charger/inverter over the years. we also have a combiner linking 2 start and house bank into one big bank for charging purposes. so 1) we've always mixed deep cycle and start type batteries in one bank for charging 2) we always programmed the bank capacity as the sum of the 20 hr capacity of the starts plus the hose bank.

our batteries have typically lasted about 5 years on average. some more some less.

i'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to mix different battery types (i.e flooded lead acid with agm). you might want to email trojan and pose the question, they're pretty good at answering.

Thats a great idea, thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm not well schooled on this solar stuff either, I do a little research and then follow what others have done.
Cheers Carl

Good morning,
I concur with all Duetto has mentioned....except the life of the batteries....If we are lucky we get 4 years out of the house bank and only three years out of the eng. start batteries. Last year we tried a different brand for the house (interstate) and they lasted 2 years...never again ...now back to Trojan where we have always experienced 4 years.