I had one question mark for my battery bank project: what to do with the temperature sensor for the solar panel system. I had no idea who to ask and then I realised I was an idiot. AM Solar has stellar staff; surely they would welcome feedback on one of their installations and be willing to answer a quick question.

I sent this email last night (Saturday):

You installed my 150W panel in March of 2011. The system has been working wonderfully and beyond my expectations. I am in the process of modifying my battery bank, starting with the addition new batteries that have more amp hours than my old ones. I believe I have everything figured out except the temperature sensor. I am including a photograph for clarity. It’s the wire held by silver tape. If I move to another battery, do I need to replace this sensor or can I just carefully cut it off this battery and tape it onto a new one? If I need a new one, do you sell them?

Since AM Solar is closed on weekends, I didn’t expect a reply till Monday at the absolute earliest. But, no. I got one late this morning (Sunday) their time!

I’m glad the solar has proven its worth!  The quick answer to your Temperature Sensor question is yes, you can carefully remove the foil tape and release the sensor.  You’ll need another piece of the foil tape, which we can send if needed, to re-attach the sensor to one of the new batteries.

Another important consideration to keep in mind is that if you upgrade to an Absorbed Glass Mat battery, you’ll want to re-set the Charge Controller for the appropriate charging strategy.   If you’re replacing Flooded Lead Acid batteries with the same, no changes to the Charge Controller set-points are necessary.

Let me know when I can be of further assistance.

What a perfect response: answers my question and provides extra information that I might need. I am once again thrilled that I fulfilled my dream of having a solar set up installed by AM Solar!