Genset, Battery, Inverter configuration

Feb 4, 2014
2
hunter 19 CA
Hi All,

In my home there is no electric grid supply. Hence I have implemented the following configuration for electric usage

1- 150 AmpHr 12 inverter Battery - 2 #s
2- 24 Volt input 240 V AC output -- 1600VA Inverter
3- 600Watt Genset.

Setup/working:
1- 2 batteries r in series 24 V with inverter.
2- everyday genset recharges the battery till inverter shows "fully recharged"

The setup used to work well for last 18 months untill one of the batteries dies completely.

Question:
1- Is this a correct configuration ?

2- Can 600 Watt of solar panel replace the genset ?

3- What might be the reason of battery went dead ?

4- Battery company says, genset shuld nt be used for charging. Is it so?

Thanks in advance ....

Thanks
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Hi All,

In my home there is no electric grid supply. Hence I have implemented the following configuration for electric usage

1- 150 AmpHr 12 inverter Battery - 2 #s
2- 24 Volt input 240 V AC output -- 1600VA Inverter
3- 600Watt Genset.

Setup/working:
1- 2 batteries r in series 24 V with inverter.
2- everyday genset recharges the battery till inverter shows "fully recharged"

The setup used to work well for last 18 months untill one of the batteries dies completely.

Question:
1- Is this a correct configuration ?

2- Can 600 Watt of solar panel replace the genset ?

3- What might be the reason of battery went dead ?

4- Battery company says, genset shuld nt be used for charging. Is it so?

Thanks in advance ....

Thanks

We really need a LOT more information..

How many Ah's are you using/day

How is the genet charging the batteries? Is it a 240V gen feeding the inverter/charger or are you using a 24V alternator..

150Ah is awfully small for off grid living. My buddies hunting/fishing camp has over 1000Ah and is all LED or gas lighting and has an LP fridge... We still manage to burn through 150-200Ah + per day...
 
Feb 4, 2014
2
hunter 19 CA
Thanks for your response ...

The batteries are recharged via the same inverter by the Genset. The inverter out put on battery side is 24 V DC.

In beginning i calculated, the total battery power 24 V X 150 AHr = 3600 Watt.

With target of using 30% of total 3600 Watt = 1080 Watt, I use the following equipement

25Watt CFL X 4 hrs = 100 Watt
15 Watt 2 no.s X 2 hrs = 60 watt
Television 75 Watt X 1 hr = 75 Watt (Account surge power)
Water filter 15 watt X .5 hr = 7.5 watt
---
Total = 250 Watt

There should be some transmission losses in the wiring. No other equipment are used.
The above is meticulously followed everyday w/o any exception.

Initially I was skeptical to buy more batteries since I was not sure whether the genset can recharge those and I can arrange solar panels on time.

I will scale the Batteries 150Amp more, but again Whether Genset can recharge those.

Does solar panel need specific type of Batteries for it ? I am using Amaron 12V 150 AmpHr batteries.
This battery is very bulky compared to what I have seen in USA.