[huntinghawk]

With a battery & proper voltage & power inverter you can about power anything.
Most think small scale like powering lights, TV, fan, etc. But you can go larger like to power a frig or chest freezer.
Even larger you can go 240VAC inverter to power a well pump. And that is a big deal.

If you take one battery & one inverter & look at each as a individual circuit its easier to figure things out. IE: One battery & inverter to power lights & a TV. One battery & inverter for the frig. One battery & inverter for well pump.

And then there's charging the batteries. Backup system for charging the batteries would be using a generator. Solar panels will be your friend. About the only maintenance for solar panels is to keep the face of them clean but even dirty/dusty they will work, just not as efficiently.

Even if you have plenty of fuel for a generator you still don't want to run it all night long. That's when you run off the battery for atleast some lights.

And starting out on a budget you can start by using 12VDC lights & have a 12VDC TV to stay abreast of weather & such.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

Great price on that kit as its three 15watt panels. Basically allows for about 3amps.

You might want to purchase this charge controller. It will handle 100watts in panels.
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-amp-solar-charge-regulator-96728.html

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

As far as inverters go, buy bigger then what you think you need. That will ensure alittle extra power draw. If you need to run some extra lights or fans going larger will allow you to do it.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

Inverters are rated in watts. To figure the amperage divide the wattage by the output voltage (120).
400watt inverter would be 3.3amp.
2000watt inverter would be 16.7amps.

And if you have the amps & want to figure what wattage inverter you need multiply the amps times 120.
6amp motor would require 720watt inverter.

That is based on requiring 120VAC. If something is 240VAC just use 240 instead of 120 in the formulas.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

I know with electric golf carts they say batteries will last longer if you don't run them below 50%. And the better golf carts come with what is known as a "smart" charger. The amount of power it sends to charge batteries is determined by the voltage detected.

Any size solar panels are probably the most efficient way to top off a battery charge.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

As per myself, to have stored power I much rather have a pair of 6v cart batteries then a 12v deep cycle.
Infact, my plan is I will have two 6v batteries behind my storm shelter plus another eight 6v batteries in my cart.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

Not all manufacturers date their batteries the same way. But not unusual to find by the negative post a letter followed by a number. Example C9. That battery was manufactured in March 2009. But then too, it may have been 1999. LOL

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

Old Ohm's Law saying is:
When you PE you SI.

Connect batteries in parallel(P) the voltage is the same & the amperage increases(added).
When you connect batteries in series(I) the voltage is increases & the amperage stays the same.

Flashlights the batteries are connected in series to get a higher voltage.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

Looking at a 232A/H battery most people would be best off getting a 12V battery for backup power.

But I am going with a 48V electric cart with eight 6V batteries. A 12V battery for the storm shelter would not give me a spare battery for the cart but two 6V batteries would.
Plus I would have the power option with the storm shelter to tap two of the cart batteries at a time.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

OK, going with my 48V cart. I can set it up to use four 12V batteries & will run fine. But I will decrease my run time by about 50% versus using the eight 6V batteries.

HH

 

[huntinghawk]

BTW, most consider Trojan batteries the best. But most consider Crown the best for the money.

 

[huntinghawk]

48V on golf carts. Old 36V systems can be upgraded & newer golf carts are more & more going to 48V.

With a 48V golf cart four 12V batteries would give you the least runtime. Six 8V batteries would give more runtime. Eight 6V batteries will give you the most runtime.

Here's my problem with 8V batteries. What do you do if your 48V charger goes out? 12V batteries you can use a regular 12V charger on them. 6V batteries you can pair up & charge two at a time. But what is your option with 8V batteries?

HH