5 Photovoltaics,Batteries, Cable and Wire

5 Photovoltaics,Batteries, Cable and Wire

PHOTOVOLTAICS:

A note to our customers:

We no longer stock nor offer for sale photovoltaic modules.

We are doing this for a number of reasons.

First, they take up a lot of room on the shelf and once we repack them for

safe shipping, there is little profit in them.

Secondly, we would rather have the money invested in inventory that you

need and no one else stocks.

Having modules drop-shipped has become a nightmare so we will let

others deal with that.

Thank you for working with us,

John

A bit of advice for purchasing photovoltaic modules.

Stick with brand names such as Shell Solar, Kyocera, Uni-Solar, Matrix,

BP Solar, Evergreen and Solarex.

Check the voltage on the module, there are some "great deals" out there

on modules with odd voltages.

Many of these are left-over specialty modules designed for specific grid-

intertie systems.

These are not designed for charging batteries or operating water pumps.

You may get a good price per watt for the modules but give up the savings

on the cost of a charge controller that can handle the voltage output.

A standard 12 volt photovoltaic module should have an open circuit, Voc of 20.0 to

22.0 volts and a maximum power voltage, Vmp of around 18.0 volts.

A standard 24 volt photovoltaic module should have an open circuit, Voc of 40.0 to

44.0 volts and a maximum power voltage, Vmp of around 36.0 volts.

A standard 48 volt photovoltaic module should have an open circuit, Voc of 80.0 to

90.0 volts and a maximum power voltage, Vmp of around 72.0 volts.

Please keep this in mind when you are planning to charge batteries or when

you are going to run the module(s) through a linear current booster, PPT unit, to

operate a pump.

Whatever the open circuit voltage is on a module, it will drop as soon as it is

connected to a charging system or LCB in a pumping set up.

A 12 volt battery bank needs to receive about 13.25 to 13.75 volts to charge.

A 24 volt battery bank needs to receive about 27.50 to 28.50 volts to charge.

A 36 volt battery bank needs to receive about 41.50 to 42.50 volts to charge.

A 48 volt battery bank needs to receive about 54.00 to 55.00 volts to charge.

We use modules at our location that are over thirty years old.

If someone tells you that an old "solar panel" is worth as much as a new

one and puts out as much power - don't believe it.

Please click the back button on your browser to return to the items

you were looking at.

Please call or e-mail us with your needs.

Prices and specifications are subject to change without notice.

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BATTERIES:

WEIGHT: when purchasing batteries please consider the location of the

installation and how easy it is to get to it. I have turned down great deals on

deep cycle batteries (high quality ones) because I knew that I could not handle

them. Some of these batteries weigh 150 lbs and more. I can straight lift into

my van (using a hoist) up to 600 lbs. and handtruck about 250 lbs. to the

battery bank location (that is with no steps or stairs), with batteries this heavy,

that is as far as I go, no lifting without using rigging (time consuming and

expensive.) Most people can handle a 75 lb. battery if done properly.

A standard 6 volt / 225 amp hour deep cycle golf cart battery weighs

about 65 pounds.

No deal is a good deal if you wind up getting hurt.

It is also best to purchase your batteries locally as shipping costs can be

quite high.

PLEASE NOTE: we personally use AGM, gel cell and flooded batteries and

have been using deep cycle batteries for over 25 years, our good and bad

experiences may be useful to you.

We no longer stock batteries.

We purchase our batteries from Powertron Battery Co. in the

city of Santa Ana.

They have a wide selection of in-stock flooded, AGM and gel cell

batteries suitable for alternative energy uses as well as automotive

and industrial batteries.

They will also ship sealed batteries to customers out of the Southern

California area.

If you would like to purchase batteries directly from them please

call (714) 543 - 4858 and ask for either Craig or Drew.

They know their batteries and will give you excellent service.

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We do not sell cable and wire but would like to recommend

Hardware Specialty Co. in Seattle, Washington.

I have purchased cable from them for several years.

(206) 624-5785

Just ask for the cable and wire department.

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How to order:

1) You can securely order on-line using the

button to

pay using Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express,

an e-check (electronic check from your checking account) or

if you already have a PayPal account - from the funds in your account.

2) You can also securely order on-line using the black add to cart button

provided by Go - emerchant and Merchant E-Solutions to pay using

Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.

You will need to let your browser accept cookies to use this

cart.

The Go e-merchant cart offers: Priority Mail, UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day,

UPS 2nd Day, UPS Next Day Air and UPS Next Day Air Saver shipping options

based on the shipping weight and your zip code.

3) We accept telephone and fax orders and accept Mastercard or Visa.

4) Checks and money orders are gladly accepted by mail.

You can print out the order form on our website or just list the description

and catalogue numbers of the items you need - please make payable to:

John Drake Services, Inc.

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