Luke langhals

Hi Everyone,
Original poster is back. I've been trying to follow along whenever possible.

First, I wanted to say Thank You for all the great information. Particularly Thomas, Dillon and Irene.

Thomas -- we are now planning on a 24V battery bank built from 6V batteries. Most likely totaling 800AH. The batteries we haven't ordered yet as we're exploring the best options for these; both new and used. The minisplit will only be used for cooling, and probably only run 2-3 hours on particularly hot days. Further, the inverter/charger can be plugged in during the summer to charge up our battery bank. In the future, when we expand the amount of AH -- we will be able to use the minisplit more, without needing the shore power for backup charging.

Dillon -- We did end up choosing a Inverter/Charger. AIMS 4000W version for under $1000.00. The standby usage isn't great, but the large capacity gives us future options. Also, we chose the Renogy 60 Amp charge controller. This should give us plenty of leeway when inputting 1000 watts into 24V battery bank. We already have as many 330W panels as required. We have these sitting in the shop from another project.

Irene -- Thank you for the information and detailed responses. I used several of your comments when talking to my partners on this project.

I have several extra small 30W panels and 12V deep cycle batteries laying around. I'm considering making a separate solar system consisting of 3x 30W panels and x3 36 AH 12V batteries. This would only be used for the DC fan in the composting toilet vent. Therefore separating that from the larger solar system. Basically, even if our main battery storage drops too low, AND shower power isn't available -- the composting toilet's fan will still be exhausting. Just a thought of mine, and not sure if it's worth the time.


Any suggestions on where to obtain quality 6V batteries on a semi strict budget? We have a team of mechanical engineers working on this, so modifying and combining items can be done.

Does anyone know how to get a minisplit to operate with "soft start" to prevent a immediate large draw on the batteries?

Any recommendation on composting toilets? I'm currently considering Natures Head or Separett.

Thanks again for the ideas!

Hi Everyone,
I'm enjoyed reading through the forums, but I couldn't find anything that meets my exact needs. Hoping you can help me out with some recommendations on a solar set up.

Project Details: 320 sq ft Tiny House (shipping container) underway.

Solar will need to run 5x outlets for phones, tv, accessories etc. Refrigerator. Small washing machine. Very small mini-split rarely. Water pumps. DHW and backup heat will be propane. Woodstove will handle majority of space heating. Lighting will be DC direct to batteries.

I'm hoping to have the system run off-grid for the majority of the time. I also want it to accept shore power for charging the batteries and preferably bypass when the batteries are charged.

Current Plan:

Solar = 5x 270-330W panels

Inverter = Renogy 3000w Inverter/Charger $750.00 (Looking for other recommendations)

Charge Controller = Renogy Rover Li 40 Amp MPPT $170.00 (NEED recommendations, I'm not sure this will work for 1000W+ of solar input - can I use two?)

Breaker Box = 3x 15 amp breakers wired from the inverter. (Will this work?)

Battery Bank = 3x 200AH 12V (Should I use 24V? What are the benefits?)

I appreciate any input, thoughts, recommendations, and opinions. I've done a lot of research and continue to get conflicting answers to how the charge controller, inverter, breaker box, and shore power are wired together.....