........ and I know just enough to be dangerous! This is a great forum to read! My first post.
Let me tell you what I have, and ask you what would be ideal to make a working system.
I have been given a supply of GNB Absolyte 2 volt cells. Non spillable. The style printed on the label says GNB 1-50A13 320a.h. Here is a link to a page which shows them. They are the ones listed under the word "Signal"
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CDoQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tpscrail.com%2FProducts%2FGNB%2Fgnb.htm&ei=S6BJTJP6GYKC8ga8_bT2Dg&usg=AFQjCNG6ppWkZSy_udLNLEXaBiPA-nK1kg&sig2=5emC4NFJWgbv8VhHfiMTKw I've got 24 of them right now. 48 volts' worth, and these I have here at home are 320 amp-hour (each), some are even more than that. They are out of railroad signal department use, and the railroad changes them out every so often due to Federal requirements. I've topped them off with distilled water and put them on the railroad supplied charger and got them back up to 2.25 volts each. Well, 18 of them- 6 of them are being stubborn and don't want to come up. Maybe I need to jolt them with more voltage to get them back to top condition (if possible) So, I have 36 volts of battery.
They came with all the connecting cables and etc. Right now, I use them to power a 2 way radio I use as a police scanner for lack of anything else to do with them!
What I want to do is rig up a system I can use at the house to use these batteries as power for my home computer (and maybe other things I can decide on later.) Let the sun keep the batteries charged up and let the computer be a stand alone system. I let the cdomputer run all the time, so what better way to take advantage of R.E.
Right now I have one of the Harbor Freight 45 watt solar panel kits. They are on sale at a local HF place for $139. I think I'll buy 3 more sets while they are on sale.
I have read nothing bad about the HF panels, so am I missing something? Are they a good beginners way to get my feet wet.? I think I need to buy one of the MPPT style charge controllers.. I haven't decided on how big a unit to get.
Another question on panels in general. Would it be any help to place a sheet of Lexan (plexiglass) in front of the panels when they are mounted to protect them from being struck by hail? Maybe mount them an inch or so above the panel surface. I have quite a few sheets of 4'x8' sheets of 1/8th inch Lexan I could make shields with.
So, to summarize, I think I have the expensive part covered with a free supply of batteries, I just want some guidance on what sort of system to set up to keep them charged.