something solar 1

It has been awhile since I got to work on a project...I'm really out of practice.  Before I begin - I should say that this is not necessarily a HOW TO, but rather HOW I AM DOING IT in order to test this system and its' components.  Proceed at your own risk if you want to try this.  Hooked the batteries together today.  Carefully checked the water levels in them first (batteries contain dangerous acid too!).  I also checked the charge condition of the batteries with a volt meter - they all read about 12.5 volts.  The batteries are "wired" in parallel meaning all the plus sides are connected and all the minus sides are connected.  This keeps the 3 battery system at 12 volts but triples the amp capacity.  Sledge hammered flat two 16" lengths of 3/4" type L copper pipe and drilled appropriate holes.  Mounted threaded rod unions onto all the battery terminals to raise everything up a couple of inches.  Squirted a little dielectric grease (from AutoZone) into the unions before putting them on.  Fastened everything down with matching 1" bolts.  Because of the grease getting compressed in the unions - I had to crank pretty hard to tighten the bolts down.  Added connectors at each end of the run - one end for the charge controller wiring and the other for the inverter wiring.  Unions, bolts, and wire connectors are standard hardware store items.  All the threaded connections are 5/16".  With all that exposed copper, one has to be very careful not to touch a metal tool between the plus and minus runs - there will be a spark and it is not good for the batteries.  Under some circumstances, shorting out the batteries (direct connection of the plus and minus side) could cause a fire or explosion.  Wrapping the copper with electrical tape would be a good idea but I have a lot of experience working with electricity.  53,70,28,0,C,.23