@dsalling, Aaron hasn't been on BYC in nearly a year, so you won't get a reply. I suggest you start another thread with your questions. Other people may be able to help.
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Thank you for the update.@dsalling, Aaron hasn't been on BYC in nearly a year, so you won't get a reply. I suggest you start another thread with your questions. Other people may be able to help.
Thanks for following up. I appreciate it. I will have to figure out how to run solar directly to batteries and power outlet to batteries. That’s why I needed the inverter. How are you connecting drinkers to battery source?@dsalling ,I have a solar setup, too. I have 2 solar panels charging 2 car batteries, which they do very well.
I began with an inverter and a heated waterer with an outlet that automatically shut off power when temps went above something like 40°. The batteries couldn't keep up.
The inverter itself wastes power, so I changed to a 12V submersible heat pad and a temperature sensor. The sensor turns on the power when the water temperature falls to 1°C and shuts off when it reaches 2.5°C. This itself is a vast improvement in efficiency.
My goal has always been to have enough power stored to be able to ride out below-freezing cold spells (which may last a week or so here) and cloudy days. This setup has done that.
This year, I added a second waterer, with no problems so far, although we haven't had any long cold spells yet, just the occasional night.
Depending on where you live, I feel fairly sure you can run 2 or 3 waterers and the auto door if you had an extra battery, and if you get rid of the inverter. Add loads one by one, and see what your batteries look like at dawn.