RF said:
UPS are not usually efficient for long run times or solar type functions.
They are often 60 Hz magnetic (transformer) based, heavy, and will likely
kill your battery in so many hours just sitting there doing nothing. A
switch mode inverter would be a better choice.
Why would you use 60 x 12V @ 7 Ahr batteries? Did these fall off a truck
somewhere? Not economical unless they were next to free. Trying to
maintain 60 blocks is hard . Normally you won't parallel more than a few
strings.
RF Dude
I have a bank of random small 12V lead acid batteries that I've collected.
I decided it might be a bad idea to parallel a bunch of batteries of
varying,unknown condition..So I used diodes to isolate them from eachother.
2 diodes for each battery (or 1 bridge rectifier,for a pair of batteries)
One diode with the anode to the battery + and the other with the cathode
to the battery +.
The diode with it's anode to the battery will be the "output" to the
load(s).The diode with it's cathode to the battery will be the "charge
input" (from solar,wind,generator,whatever)
With a bridge rectifier,and a pair of batteries,it's pretty easy.
Connect an AC~ terminal to each battery's +.
The + terminal on the bridge rectifier is the "output",and the -
terminal is the "input".
If you use decent schottky or Fast-recovery diodes the losses will be
half what a regular diode is. (0.2-0.4V drop,opposed to ~0.7).I'd
suggest using these types of diodes.Plus there are common high current
types available. (old PC power supplies,for example.)
I've had this setup for,maybe 3 years now,It's working well for me.
One advantage of this setup that I really like,is if one battery decides
to die,and hog current,it's just hogging the input current from the
solar panel,and *not* sucking it out of the other batteries and draining
them aswell.Instead of a discharged battery bank,you just have slightly
reduced capacity,and may notice that the batteries aren't getting a
decent charge when they should be. -That's how I noticed when one of my
batteries finally died.There was plenty of charge current to the battery
bank,but the voltage wasn't going up much,so I investigated,and found a
dead battery,unplugged it,and all was back to normal,minus a couple AH's.
