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New solar install battery selection

3K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  travlin-easy 
I use 4 T-105s as a house battery setup, keep them charged with a 100-watt Grape solar panel I purchased from Home Depot. It is mounted on the stern rail using Bimini fittings and a couple short lengths of 3/4-inch stainless tubing. I run my fridge on the batteries 25/7 while cruising and there's always enough sunlight to recharge the batteries during a normal day. On rare occasions, I'll have to fire up the A4 and top off the batteries, which with a 100 amp alternator, doesn't take very long.

Cheers,

Gary :cool:
 
There is no grounding to the frame of the solar panel. If it were, I would have experienced one hell of a short circuit with a positive ground. Just two wires coming out of the panel, which I connected to an inexpensive regulator ($39). The batteries are rigged in a series parallel connection, which makes it a 12-volt DC system. All four batteries get charged at the same rate at the same time. Never had a problem with this setup.

Gary :cool:
 
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