Ok, been reading lots and learning lots...
Here's what Im going with after all my posts and dumb questions - can someone take a look and tell me if this is the realm of correctness (or even the realm of possibility):
- 18 leds (20mA each, 3.2 volts each, split in to banks of 3 leds with the correct resistor to ensure each only gets its 20mA)
Thats OK.
- turning on at night with my
twilight switch kit
Thats OK
- Running all night and trickle recharging during the day
Depends on the Sunlight.. but no hazard.
- Building my own simple solar charger to charge a bank of 10 AA nimh batteries in series (2000mAh or 2500mAh)
A little complicated, but possible.
As for the the solar panel:
- Jaycar has a large-ish 12 volt panel that produces 250mA (perfect for the 2500mAh AA's)
I go for this version 20% more ummph.
- Or Dicksmith have a much smaller 2 volt panel that produces 200mA (I would need 6 panels in series, but would suit the 2000mah AA's perfectly)
*Both solar panel options cost about the same and would mean that I would not need to worry about 'current limiters' because at full sunlight, each option would produce the recommended 10% current for the batteries. And according to my reading if you keep them at 10% percent, overcharging is not so much of an issue (nothing a new pack of batts wont fix if its wrong)
Sounds OK to me.
Does all that sound about right to everybody - no major misconceptions that will get me blown up or burn my pergola down?
Sounds OK, always have a suitable fuse in the battery circuit.