Please Help Mr. X

[LoTech]

Hypothetical Question:

Mr. X recently acquired a used 120 watt solar panel and AmpAir 100 wind turbine. His electrical system is DC-only and he has no engine alternator or generator so these are his only charging sources.

Mr. X would like to consume 60 amp/hrs a day. And THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART: X wants to avoid having to purchase controllers/regulators/battery monitors!

Under these circumstances, what type of batteries should he buy, and how large a bank? Mr. X WOULD place a breaker and digital amp meter between the units and the batteries -- but that's all (if possible).

Mr. X is cheap and lazy. (No, I am not Mr. X - really)

P.S. Mr. X sails mostly in the Aruba/Venezuela area where it is pretty windy and sunny.

[sailingdog]

LoTech-

It would help if Mr. X said how big a battery bank he had. He needs a minimum of 300 amp-hours IMHO, if he is going to try and stay off the grid. That would give him an operating cushion, should he run into some Seattle-type weather...

The 120 Watt solar panel will generate about 40 amp-hours per day. THe AmpAir 100 Wind turbine's output is a bit hard to guess since it is really dependent on wind speeds in the anchorage.

Chances of FRYING any battery bank is very high without using a charge controller of some sort. A breaker and digital amp meter is probably going to cost almost as much as an inexpensive charge controller. The cost of the charge controller is going to be paid back in the cost of batteries saved by not over-charging them. A good MPPT-type charge controller will also increase the effective usable output of both the wind gen and solar panels.

I'd add stupid to Mr. X's description, since it is foolish to try and do something like this without investing in the proper equipment IMHO.

[camaraderie]

Tell Mr. X that he should go ahead with his plans as long as he joins the battery of the month club.