Solar/Manual charging

Byrogie wrote:
Will the batteries not freeze in the winter? Or, if they stay connected, they will stay warm enough?
They probably would get snow covered in the winter, southern Alberta? Maybe, maybe not...

A few things at work here to ease your worries--A lead acid battery with full charge isn't going to freeze. Freeze chart--Sorry, temps are in f, not C but you probably have experience with discharged batteries and frozen batteries, anyway. I live just a bit South and have frozen more than my share.

---If you can tilt the solar panel, the snow will melt off fairly soon. I've experienced sequential snow events where the White C**p just keeps on coming and the module will shed the accumulation within a day or two. One Winter with exceptional snowfall, the module did accumulate some hardened snow and ice on the bottom edge of the tilted module. I got up there and removed a wee bit from the snow pack and all was shed in a day or two.

---Of all the stuff I mess around with regarding electronics and electrical, my solar charging system is the most "hands off" operation I have. At first, I closely monitored what was happening with power harvested, setpoint levels with the controller, and battery health. After a couple of years, it's now just a glance at some meters and a dip with the hydrometer, occasionally. I add water to the FLA bank about twice a year. In fact, I should go spin some tops off the FLA bank and see how the electrolyte level is fairing. Solar can make you lazy. :B