12V solar workshop power, anyone?

[dannyr]

start eyeing up every old laptop battery (etc) that you see as a potential 18650 source!
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Sorry, what is a 18650 ?

I know that those you mention usually have AA/AAA sized cells within is that what you mean - I expect about 1.2V - and I do have old laptop etc batteries - would you rig these in parallel/series to get a serious battery source? or some from a wrecked EV scooter or bicycle?

soon I suppose when I say a used car battery, it'll be from an electric vehicle's motive power - couple of those could be serious power. -

 

[gmgmgm]

18650 (18mm dia x 65mm long) is the bigger battery size which is very common for LiIon. Once you see a few of them, you'll suddenly start seeing them everywhere - e.g. most laptop battery packs are sized around three or four of them, and lots of torches now use them.

Dannyr, I've used solar panels for years, including campervans and grid-tied. For a workshop, it would be 100x easier to just run a power cable to the end of the garden, if that's possible. Even 100m of armoured cable is good value, and you'll always have the power you need. Micro-managing solar power can be a lot of effort, and when you really need it (the winter), the amount of power a solar panel can give out over a day is incredibly small. (Think well under 10% of a summer day).

 

[Bigbadmarky]

I have a 60W solar panel in to an MPPT charger which charges up a 80Ah battery. I run my lights and a little radio off it and haven't really had any major issues. I had a cheap and cheerful charge controller at first but my battery was slowly dying even during the summer. I spent a bit more money on an MPPT controller and haven't had any problems since. I've added a pic of my charge controller as I can't remember the make etc.

There are lots of websites out there which can teach you bits and bobs (and invariably sell you stuff) but its all really confusing. The most useful stuff is on caravan and campervan forums. They run all sorts of 12v systems.

I've recently bought an inverter to wire in to my bandsaw (its only a 150W saw) but I've not got round to doing it just yet.