This video by Solar Burrito, shows how to wire 12 volt Batteries in Parallel (to get one large battery) and also Series (to increase the voltage). Be sure to look at the comments below this posting, there is some valuable information that has been posted!
Those lead-acid batteries are capable of generating a couple hundred amperes, in the case of near-short (very low resistance) conditions. I worked on a project which utilized three slightly smaller amp-hour rated batteries in series, so we had 36V and drove a DC motor from stall at 220 Amps. This was part of the design requirements and was common in the usage of the product. The “amp-hour” rating is NOT the maximum amperage. Sealed Lead-acid (and other) batteries can appear safe to shove in a corner with some jumper wires attached, but they contain tremendous amounts of stored electro-chemical energy! These batteries should be protected from terminal-to-terminal short-circuits.
In my opinion, it would be wise to ALWAYS add fuse, or breaker circuit-protection, located close to the battery. Use a fuse rated for your application (the load): i.e. if you need 3 amperes, fuse to handle that PLUS the inrush, plus a little more. A time-delay (slow-blow) fuse can still protect from high fault amperage, but reduce the chance of “nuisance-trips”.
In addition to the circuit-protection (fuse / breaker), the wire gauge should be heavy enough to more than handle the trip-amperage of the circuit-protection.
The battery charging source is another potential path for high-amperage fault current. If the wires from your solar panel get shorted together, you don’t want the battery to heat the wires and start a fire. I recommend circuit-protection in that circuit also (both at the battery and potentially at the solar panel – as BOTH are power sources). Even a “wall-wort” trickle charger could potentially develop a short (internally, or in the wires).
There are fuses, or fuse holders, which include an indicator LED, to help you realize that the fuse is blown (LED lights when fuse is blown).
Also, to keep your battery connections functioning at optimal, you can apply dielectric grease to all wiring connections. Dielectric grease is silicon-based (non-conductive) and prevents corrosion of the connections.
Finally, circuit-protection devices are rated for BOTH interrupting amperage and interrupting voltage (they are rated in AC and DC voltages, which CAN be different). A 32V (automotive) fuse will safely interrupt up to 32V, but NO MORE! Likewise, a 125VDC rate fuse can interrupt up to 125V. Using a fuse rated for a lower voltage than your power source voltage, can lead to a blown fuse continuously ARCING internally, which produces very high temperatures and is a fire hazard. (personally, I typically buy 250V rated fuses when possible, so my spares will work in most any voltage situation)
Fuses are cheap, compared to your home, or your life.
Good video.
Pay attention to the terminals. Do not short out the terminals.
At low voltages, high current flows through the wiring. Make sure that you use heavy enough gauge wire for the connections.
Lima-06
Those lead-acid batteries are capable of generating a couple hundred amperes, in the case of near-short (very low resistance) conditions. I worked on a project which utilized three slightly smaller amp-hour rated batteries in series, so we had 36V and drove a DC motor from stall at 220 Amps. This was part of the design requirements and was common in the usage of the product. The “amp-hour” rating is NOT the maximum amperage. Sealed Lead-acid (and other) batteries can appear safe to shove in a corner with some jumper wires attached, but they contain tremendous amounts of stored electro-chemical energy! These batteries should be protected from terminal-to-terminal short-circuits.
In my opinion, it would be wise to ALWAYS add fuse, or breaker circuit-protection, located close to the battery. Use a fuse rated for your application (the load): i.e. if you need 3 amperes, fuse to handle that PLUS the inrush, plus a little more. A time-delay (slow-blow) fuse can still protect from high fault amperage, but reduce the chance of “nuisance-trips”.
In addition to the circuit-protection (fuse / breaker), the wire gauge should be heavy enough to more than handle the trip-amperage of the circuit-protection.
The battery charging source is another potential path for high-amperage fault current. If the wires from your solar panel get shorted together, you don’t want the battery to heat the wires and start a fire. I recommend circuit-protection in that circuit also (both at the battery and potentially at the solar panel – as BOTH are power sources). Even a “wall-wort” trickle charger could potentially develop a short (internally, or in the wires).
There are fuses, or fuse holders, which include an indicator LED, to help you realize that the fuse is blown (LED lights when fuse is blown).
Also, to keep your battery connections functioning at optimal, you can apply dielectric grease to all wiring connections. Dielectric grease is silicon-based (non-conductive) and prevents corrosion of the connections.
Finally, circuit-protection devices are rated for BOTH interrupting amperage and interrupting voltage (they are rated in AC and DC voltages, which CAN be different). A 32V (automotive) fuse will safely interrupt up to 32V, but NO MORE! Likewise, a 125VDC rate fuse can interrupt up to 125V. Using a fuse rated for a lower voltage than your power source voltage, can lead to a blown fuse continuously ARCING internally, which produces very high temperatures and is a fire hazard. (personally, I typically buy 250V rated fuses when possible, so my spares will work in most any voltage situation)
Fuses are cheap, compared to your home, or your life.