Im going to build my own solar set up ..

I went out and bought the Harbor Freight 45 watt system for $139 with coupon .. Yes I know a waste of money, but its very educational for me ..
I also went on a bidding war on EBAY for 5 different solar panels with a total of 600 watts that I have not put up on the roof yet, its just to dam hot currently and Im building my own solar panel with cells I bought from China where you tab the cells together then build the frame, very educational ..
I bought a 30 amp morning star controller with display a 1000 amp inverter ..
Question on batteries and wiring .. I can go 12 or 24 volt with the battery set up, im not sure which way to go ? Wiring, is 10 gauge wiring from solar panels to controller ok and 6 gauge from battery to battery ok ?
Batteries Im looking @ Walmart deep cycle with a 114 amp hours for I think $90 each (2 year warranty) ..I would like to start out with 4 batteries, also, do I need to worry about the heat in the garage and the excessive temperature of 90 plus @ midnight in the garage doing August ?
I have learned a lot on Solar here, now I just need to put the pieces of the puzzle together properly ...

Good luck with your project, Mark! Please be careful! Even with a small system like you are working with, there is still some danger working with batteries, etc.

mark1313 said:

I went out and bought the Harbor Freight 45 watt system for $139 with coupon .. Yes I know a waste of money, but its very educational for me ..
I also went on a bidding war on EBAY for 5 different solar panels with a total of 600 watts that I have not put up on the roof yet, its just to dam hot currently and Im building my own solar panel with cells I bought from China where you tab the cells together then build the frame, very educational ..
I bought a 30 amp morning star controller with display a 1000 amp inverter ..

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:shock: Hopefully that's a 1000 Watt inverter, instead!

mark1313 said:

Question on batteries and wiring .. I can go 12 or 24 volt with the battery set up, im not sure which way to go ?

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You need to go with the voltage of your inverter. Likely it has a 12V input.

mark1313 said:

Wiring, is 10 gauge wiring from solar panels to controller ok and 6 gauge from battery to battery ok ?

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10 AWG is fine for the panels, but 6 is too small for the 12V portion. If you put a 1000W load on a 12V battery, you will draw more than 100 Amps of current. Likely you need 1 or 0 AWG. Be sure to fuse the connection to the battery properly.

mark1313 said:

Batteries Im looking @ Walmart deep cycle with a 114 amp hours for I think $90 each (2 year warranty) ..I would like to start out with 4 batteries, also, do I need to worry about the heat in the garage and the excessive temperature of 90 plus @ midnight in the garage doing August ?

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Yeah, the heat will be hard on the batteries, just like in your LEAF. I would put the charge controller as close to the batteries as possible. If it has a battery temperature sensor capability, be sure to use that to prevent overcharge.

mark1313 said:

I have learned a lot on Solar here, now I just need to put the pieces of the puzzle together properly ...

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I would recommend looking at the post by KillaWhat on hooking the inverter to the LEAF for some good ideas of safety equipment for a 12V inverter setup.

What do you intend to power with this set up? Fridge, just lights?
I would generally recommend 24 volt system over 12v.

smkettner said:

I would generally recommend 24 volt system over 12v.

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It's more efficient. However, I will note that safety equipment for 12V systems is very easy to come by, so it is much cheaper and available locally.

Im going to start out slow with what I connect to the system..... Outside lighting, garage lighting and fans, security cameras, attic fans .... If everything goes well, I would like to put a enough cells up on the roof to run a AC unit in the garage for the Leaf and solar batteries....If everything goes well from there, I would like to add green switches and outlets in the house..
Another thing im afraid of is the hail storm we had a few years ago.. That storm broke safety glass in hundreds of cars and put holes in house roofs, it could wipe out a entire solar system fast ....

mark1313 said:

Another thing im afraid of is the hail storm we had a few years ago.. That storm broke safety glass in hundreds of cars and put holes in house roofs, it could wipe out a entire solar system fast ....

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The question is whether or not any PV glass was shattered in that storm. Most PV modules are rated for 1-inch hail.

Check the internet. There are several suppliers of solar panels and hardware in Arizona. I live in Los Angeles and used CRAIG'S LIST for my equipment (new). Study U-Tube and find what applies to you. I added 1kW of panels to my existing system for about $1600. It will be easy to expand even further. Be careful that you don't over load your house-electric panel. My house has a 200 amp box, older houses have only 100 amp boxes. The solar panels are really cheap now. Micro-inverters just plug into the panels and provide AC electricity(at 30 amps) to your house electric-panel. The hard part is climbing on the roof (best done in the cool of the morning). You'll need a pickup to carry 14 foot rails and 250 watt solar panels. There are a variety of electrical problems that you might encounter, but a good electrician can solve that and check your work....Good Luck.

My favorite solar wish list catalog Solar Electric Supply, Inc