Hello all, choose string here. We are back here in my battery room where I keep all my batteries for my backup systems and we're going to talk today about the most common or traditional battery. That's a flooded battery. And for most solar systems, this is still the bulk of what is used. Most systems, most people have this type of battery in their system and we're going to talk about why it's the workhorse of many solar backup systems. And for good reasons. First good reason is compared to lithium wet cell batteries, like these lead acid you're seeing here, are four times less expensive. They're also much less expensive than an AGM or a JAP. Second good reason, lead acid batteries are also recyclable. So therefore they produce less waste and at the end of their useful life they can be entirely recycled. That's important to a lot of people. Third good reasons, they will last many years if taking care of. This battery I have here, I bought in 2015. It is still running strong. I also have some batteries in my system that are older than that. And they still function perfectly well and they run my system. Just make sure you get a deep cycle battery. Car batteries will not work. It must say on a deep cycle. It's important to know that. Now, let's talk about a few things on these batteries that I've had questions on. Let's go to the tag. This one here. All right, it will say part number. Actually what they're talking about here is the size of the battery. So when you buy a battery for your system, make sure they match. And they're all the same one. Next, they're going to talk about cold cranking amps and marine amps, which is how much power it has to start an engine. Which in most solar systems like mine, that doesn't matter. These numbers will not matter on a strict solar system you're using is a backup. This number will, if you can see that, this is your reserve capacity. Reserve capacity is like the amp hours. But I'm going to show you how to do that. The easy way to do the computations. Yeah, I can do all the math and get you exact. But generally speaking, when you're buying a battery, take this 160, the reserve capacity, divide it by half. And that will generally tell you the amp hours. That way you'll know how many amp hours your system's going to have. So reserve capacity, divide that number in half. And that will be your amp hours. Important thing to keep in mind. Okay. Also, like I said, they're rather inexpensive. I looked this one up just the other day. And it was $74. Advanced Auto. You can also get coupon. You can get them cheaper. You can get 10% 20 off sales. You'll also, if you don't know, you also will have something called a core charge. What is that? Well, when this battery is entirely dead and you can't use it anymore, it's simply called a core. You turn it in at wherever you're buying your battery and they will give you so much money off for it. Okay. So that explains what the numbers on top mean. Make sure you get deep cycle, please. The battery for your solar backup must be deep cycle. Now, why are they so inexpensive compared to other batteries? They're so inexpensive because they need maintenance. Remember that you have to keep these batteries taking care of. If you're taking care of properly, though, they will last many, many years. Mind you. Okay. So let's talk about some of the maintenance. First of all, they have to be recharged. As soon as a battery, you've used the battery, recharging. Is it much of a problem if you have it connected to your solar panels? Because it will be charging as soon as the sun comes out, but keep them charged. Also, don't drop it too low. Don't drop the volts too low. Shoe string always has 12.1 in stop. So you use a multimeter. Make sure it's all charged up when you started. At least 12.9 and never let it go below 12.1. Also, they need their electrolytes levels checked. At least every three months, maybe more often, depending on how often the battery is used. So check your levels. And I'm going to show you how to check. And we'll just call it from here on out water levels. Okay. Open up these caps using a screwdriver, which is what I did right there. Caps come off. Check inside. Make sure they have proper fluids. Use de-steeled water. Okay. I've had several other videos where I've shown how to put the water in there and how to do it properly. So make sure you keep fluid levels up. Also, a lot of folks recommend wearing gloves and eye protection when you do this. Because inside the battery is actual acid. And that's probably a good idea. I, of course, not following my own advice and I'm not doing it. But I have had clothes burned. Okay. And I have got the acid on me. I'm just not smart enough to learn from past experiences. Also, want to keep terminals nice and clean, right? Keep the rust off. Keep them all cleaned up. Another tip, okay, is you have to keep these laying flat. All right. You can't turn them upside down. You can't put them sideways. They must be laying out of flat level nice and even for them to work properly. Connect them just like mine are and they will work for a long time, nice and flat. I am going to show you a mistake I made when I was creating my own solar system here, my backup. If you look how this is done, it seemed the racks were perfectly fine, right? But when you go to check the battery and the level of the fluid, see, you can't really get in there and look. So every time I want to check my fluids, which I do frequently, I have to take the battery out where I can see it. Okay. And that's a mistake. So when you set up your solar system and your backup, make sure you do it in such a way that you can actually see you have enough space to see what the fluids are and to keep it clean. You have to keep the battery clean. You have to keep the cables nice and tight, right? Finger tight isn't going to do it. I've also learned that the hard way. Use the screwdriver when you're putting the cap on here and then use a wrench of some sort when you're putting the cables on. Keep the cables clean, right? Also, these systems produce gases. That's important to know. There are gases produced by these batteries. So you want it well ventilated. Please keep it well ventilated. My little area here, of course, as door, I keep it ventilated because they're flammable and these things rarely but they can explode. So keep them outside or in a battery room such as this. Don't keep them closed up in the house. But as long as you keep these batteries maintained, fluids, nice and clean, keep them level. Always have them charged back up after you use them. These will work many, many years for you. Mind do is still the bulk of my system. Still the workhorse of my backup system. Now there's a lot more that goes on with these batteries but I wanted to give you a few tips and ideas from what comments I've received on my channel and what people have asked me. If you have any questions about these flooded lead batteries, please ask. Put it in the comment section. I don't know everything, of course. But what I know, I will be happy to give to you. That's what this channel is for. So you guys can learn from my mistakes and do it in an inexpensive and unissue string. And still you can have electricity when the power goes out. So please like and subscribe. Anything else I can help you with put down in the comments that has to do with these batteries or other ideas that you'd like to see. Shoe string out.