Can’t you refresh my memories on how long your batteries lasted vs expected life? I seem to remember you making your mea culpa over maintenance and so other “oopsies”. Going off grid solar is an eventual goal of mine, and I much prefer hearing from someone with real life experience than from the used car salesm... err... solar vendors.

HP thats in my first post in this thread, this coming feb/march will be 7 complete years, and when I replace them sometime next year it will be 7. something on these new ones, total. For practical purposes I can say done at 7 years, In theory I could have made close to 10 but hopped for 9 cause things never work out perfect.

When looking for batteries you want to find the cycle life chart of the model of battery you want to buy, Im not saying to believe it, but because I have experience with that model I knew the cycle life chart for the T105 was truthful..its been around forever.

My model is the red line on the chart.. http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/image/164698591

My daily usage was sized for 5kwhrs per day, the total size of my bank was 20kwhrs so that works out to 25% discharge of my batteries, that red line crosses the 25% discharge at 2650 cycles, so 2650/365=7.26 years of use, BUT at roughly the same time I was buying the batteries that I sized for 25% discharge, rapid changes were occurring. LED light were coming in strong, (I replaced my compact floresents), and everything I can think of was switching over to SMPS power supplies (thanks to EU regulations regarding efficencies). So all of a sudden my usage was dropping to closer to 20% and that's 3000 cycles on the chart and that's 8.2 years of use...but ofcourse I had also found ways to load shift, and reduce usage further that should have brought me closer to my goal of 10 years on the cheapest deep cycle batteries I could find. If I had bought more expensive batteries like the T105 RE (thicker plates) they may have survived my miss adventures better but oh well, im learning as I go...

Back to add I found my receipt, 145 a battery (generic T105s) so 145 X 14 = 2030.00/7= 290 per year. I cant complain!

Peppercorn. Here’s a question for you. You obviously have nailed solar and done so on very economical way.
You have stuff like cutting wood, welding.... geared for solar.

Right now, batteries are available and no need to get creative, but what is your plan for replacements? Do you have the material to make your own and if so, what is your list of material and method of storing acid.
I think any of us who has solar or considering it would appreciate your take.

Peppercorn. Here’s a question for you. You obviously have nailed solar and done so on very economical way.
You have stuff like cutting wood, welding.... geared for solar.

Right now, batteries are available and no need to get creative, but what is your plan for replacements? Do you have the material to make your own and if so, what is your list of material and method of storing acid.
I think any of us who has solar or considering it would appreciate your take.

My plan for replacements, is just to buy new ones next year, likely in July, August or so. No I have no plan to build my own, I was saving the acid for other things, like metal prep. I don't think there is any reason a person couldn't build their own, after all they have been built since something like the mid 1800s, but I suspect performance would be poorer from home built ones, lacking good manufacturing practices and component purity, but likely suficient for lighting, computer use and such.

Peppercorn. Here’s a question for you. You obviously have nailed solar and done so on very economical way.
You have stuff like cutting wood, welding.... geared for solar.

Right now, batteries are available and no need to get creative, but what is your plan for replacements? Do you have the material to make your own and if so, what is your list of material and method of storing acid.
I think any of us who has solar or considering it would appreciate your take.

My plan for replacements, is just to buy new ones next year, likely in July, August or so. No I have no plan to build my own, I was saving the acid for other things, like metal prep. I don't think there is any reason a person couldn't build their own, after all they have been built since something like the mid 1800s, but I suspect performance would be poorer from home built ones, lacking good manufacturing practices and component purity, but likely suficient for lighting, computer use and such.

Thanks. Will give it some thought.

Here you are Clarence.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7gp3XjsH64
A actual chemist building a "crude" lead acid battery. He is just demonstrating how, if you were doing this for serious use you would use 5 gallon pails instead of jars, but it gives you a idea of construction and how to condition them.

and here is complete proper rebuild of batteries from parts, though if I was going to that kind of trouble I would be casting my own positive and negative plates, rather than reusing.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOTFBDLziHI
About 10 years back I came across a couple antique cells I remember they were glass jars (square) a touch smaller, maybe 3/4 the size of a 5 gallon pail, and they had a removable top, and the grid plates were much thicker than is typical in the above video. I would have bought them for the novelty of having a antique rebuildable cell but the guy selling them wanted a stupid price so I passed.

I am pretty sure the above is a non-union work site!

look, there is even a book on doing it.. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983784752/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Go back and look at that picture where I was test fitting the capacitor that I was going to add. I did tie strap it into place but don't do it the way I did if you ever do such a thing, I wasn't thinking, no need to mount this inside the unit at all, drill a couple holes in the case, bring your wires outside and mount the cap outside the inverter in the upright position. I am going to go back inside when I get time and do just that.

Here you are Clarence.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7gp3XjsH64
A actual chemist building a "crude" lead acid battery. He is just demonstrating how, if you were doing this for serious use you would use 5 gallon pails instead of jars, but it gives you a idea of construction and how to condition them.

and here is complete proper rebuild of batteries from parts, though if I was going to that kind of trouble I would be casting my own positive and negative plates, rather than reusing.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOTFBDLziHI
About 10 years back I came across a couple antique cells I remember they were glass jars (square) a touch smaller, maybe 3/4 the size of a 5 gallon pail, and they had a removable top, and the grid plates were much thicker than is typical in the above video. I would have bought them for the novelty of having a antique rebuildable cell but the guy selling them wanted a stupid price so I passed.

I am pretty sure the above is a non-union work site!

look, there is even a book on doing it.. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983784752/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

thanks Peppercorn. i like going to folks who like yourself, i believe know their stuff. the internet is a wonderful tool but there are some real tools out there and while they may present well, i wouldn't trust them with my life, money or time. thanks again

I had time today to go back in and pull out that Capacitor. I now have 3 of these ones hooked up.

So I have added about 8000uf to this inverters H Bridge. It originaly had 4500uf So I have bumped the total to over 12000 uf. The H bridge runs at 150+ volts DC, so thats a lot of stored charge. You can do this to any high freq inverter, mod or sine wave, cant do it to a low freq one though (or non I have been in).

If you do it just make sure the caps are rated for 200 volts DC or greater.

This is much better mounting the caps outside of the unit.

This is like having a inverter on steroids! even with battery voltages of 11.xx every motor load starts right up!
Now my bag of tricks is not used up, if my batteries fail even more I still have other options but I don't think I will have to go further. this should get me through until late Feb. At that point the days are longer and with more sunshine so its clear sailing until next winter.

Now just for fun I went back and used that formula I found for figuring out joules and I ran the numbers through it and and it says I now have 136 Joules of energy sitting on the bridge.
I don't really understand how much that is but according to wikapedia

One joule in everyday life represents approximately:
The energy required to lift a medium sized tomato up 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) (assume the tomato has a mass of approximately 100 grams (3.5 oz)).
The energy released when that same tomato falls back down one metre.

So I guess this means I have the power to lift 136 tomatoes 1 meter. Or 13.6 kg one meter. I think that is a lot of energy, and its energy that's more instantly available to start up motors.

Peppercorn, is this extra effort mainly due to your welding or just plane strong backbone for well pumps, hot water....?

Given your desire and I think everyone’s, to make life easier when one gets old, I think it would be worth people time to look at outside wood furnace. I had one for a decade and it was simply awesome. Farm neighbours would come over and look at it and they all have them now. Keeps wood outside, so no extra labour to bring in, no mess, bugs... a heck of a lot more efficient process. Efficient as hell, one load up a day is all it took. I could fully load it on a Friday night and come home on Sunday and it was still more then good. Ten minutes later, it was topped up and that’s it.
I used it to burn all the tree tops and small branches in it

I have hot water radiant heat in the floors and heated hot water tank. Never ever ran out of hot water. My neighbours connect it to their forced air systems and because the extra heat is easy to do, they have even started installing heaters in their work sheds..

They do need electricity to pump that heat into the house but not an issue for you 😆

Anyone who has access to wood should really look at one

Peppercorn, is this extra effort mainly due to your welding or just plane strong backbone for well pumps, hot water....?

Extra effort is just because my batteries are shot and I enjoy the challenge of seeeing just what I can do to keep living comfortable/normal with failing batteries, and ofcourse because I am cheap and like to get the most out of the money I have spent, but if I wasnt learning something (or confirming theory) I would just buy new batteries right now.
The one thing this hasnt helped is welding, or I should say it has helped but I have not noticed it because the time needed to light up a arc is much longer than the brief milliseconds needed by a motor to come up to speed, A welding arc must take a half second maybe 3/4 of a second to light up, stabilize and then the current drops to a steady state. I still dim the lights in the house when I strike up. I am sure the amount of welding I have done in the last two years have contributed to the decline of my batteries.

Hot water is solar but on a different system (straight DC) than my house power using batteries.

I will answer your comment about out side wood boilers in another thread later.

I forgot to add the power that first cap bank (red ones) added. It is 40 joules, much less even though it has more capacitance but the voltage those operate on is 12 volts. So 40 plus 136= 176 joules or the power to move 17.6kg one meter instantly, or is it moving 17.6kg over the time that it would take it to fall from one meter? hmmmm

In thinking about my batteries I may have stressed them far more than I thought with my welding, the huge surges of current clearly stressed the inverter to the point of failure in one of the boost sections, so its reasonable to assume this wasn't good for my old miss treated batteries.

I forgot to add the power that first cap bank (red ones) added. It is 40 joules, much less even though it has more capacitance but the voltage those operate on is 12 volts. So 40 plus 136= 176 joules or the power to move 17.6kg one meter instantly, or is it moving 17.6kg over the time that it would take it to fall from one meter? hmmmm

In thinking about my batteries I may have stressed them far more than I thought with my welding, the huge surges of current clearly stressed the inverter to the point of failure in one of the boost sections, so its reasonable to assume this wasn't good for my old miss treated batteries.

well, i will tell you this, your certainly reigniting the idea of solar for me. need to think on it and check out costings.
thanks for all your postings. i am sure many of us value to intel

I forgot to add the power that first cap bank (red ones) added. It is 40 joules, much less even though it has more capacitance but the voltage those operate on is 12 volts. So 40 plus 136= 176 joules or the power to move 17.6kg one meter instantly, or is it moving 17.6kg over the time that it would take it to fall from one meter? hmmmm

In thinking about my batteries I may have stressed them far more than I thought with my welding, the huge surges of current clearly stressed the inverter to the point of failure in one of the boost sections, so its reasonable to assume this wasn't good for my old miss treated batteries.

well, i will tell you this, your certainly reigniting the idea of solar for me. need to think on it and check out costings.
thanks for all your postings. i am sure many of us value to intel

I will tell you right now you will be quoted 60, 70, 80000 or maybe much more, and they will be absolutely be right to quote you such figures as I suspect your usage is typical if not greater than average (for example from your heating system, see other thread motor load)
I am telling you what I tell everyone who says they want to go solar and thats to forget about it until you have your monthly kwhrs down to 5 kwhrs a day for one to two people, plus 1kwhr per day for every extra person living in the house. Believe this or not but when you get serious about power consumption you can do this easily, but it will take you time to evaluate everything, will take you time just to figure out how to evaluate items,and how you use power in your home, and maybe even making mistakes at reducing power but if your serious you can get there. I think the average daily kwhrs in Canada is something like 30kwhrs per day. That gives you some idea of how far you have to go...

I forgot to add the power that first cap bank (red ones) added. It is 40 joules, much less even though it has more capacitance but the voltage those operate on is 12 volts. So 40 plus 136= 176 joules or the power to move 17.6kg one meter instantly, or is it moving 17.6kg over the time that it would take it to fall from one meter? hmmmm

In thinking about my batteries I may have stressed them far more than I thought with my welding, the huge surges of current clearly stressed the inverter to the point of failure in one of the boost sections, so its reasonable to assume this wasn't good for my old miss treated batteries.

well, i will tell you this, your certainly reigniting the idea of solar for me. need to think on it and check out costings.
thanks for all your postings. i am sure many of us value to intel

I will tell you right now you will be quoted 60, 70, 80000 or maybe much more, and they will be absolutely be right to quote you such figures as I suspect your usage is typical if not greater than average (for example from your heating system, see other thread motor load)
I am telling you what I tell everyone who says they want to go solar and thats to forget about it until you have your monthly kwhrs down to 5 kwhrs a day for one to two people, plus 1kwhr per day for every extra person living in the house. Believe this or not but when you get serious about power consumption you can do this easily, but it will take you time to evaluate everything, will take you time just to figure out how to evaluate items,and how you use power in your home, and maybe even making mistakes at reducing power but if your serious you can get there. I think the average daily kwhrs in Canada is something like 30kwhrs per day. That gives you some idea of how far you have to go...

Oh, I fear the cost to go truly solar with a full run house. No, I am looking at solar for only bare bones light, well pump and in house water pump. Heat would be wood stove as would hot water. Fridge and freezer would also be ideally on solar. But as you mention, a big and honest review is first on the list. No longer have the wood furnace so back to basics 🙁
If I do get serious, rest assured, I will seek your experienced opinion on any of the inverters etc etc etc. It’s a 2019 project and I would likely purchase the basics long in advance of needing them. Have a hunch things will turn ugly politicaly this winter or spring