Battery Life in Grid-Tie Systems [RE-wrenches]

[Jay Peltz, Peltz Power]

HI Windy,

I've been told by battery manuf's not to deep cycle them for  the first 4-5
cycles. Has to do with the plates not beening super stretchy, and needing a
bit of stretching before they can be 100%.

Of course try telling that to the customer!!

jay

Peltz Power
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Windy Dankoff, Dankoff Solar" <windy at dankoffsolar.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 10:08 AM
Subject: Re: Battery Life in Grid-Tie Systems [RE-wrenches]


> Kurt,
>
> Clive said:
> >... Plates have to expand to
> >get the chemical reaction to start.
> >Cell performance improved after several deep cycles.
>
> I just spoke with Surrette Battery Co. They confirm the need for deep
> cycling before the battery will perform to full capacity. They say to
> expect 70% on the first cycle, increasing to 90% after about 10
> cycles, and about 30-40 cycles to gradually reach 100%.
>
> My experience with RV and golf-cart batteries has been that the first
> cycle appears to yield only about 50% capacity, and then it improves
> gradually with cycling. I tell customers that it's like stretching
> out a new balloon before it will blow up to full size. My advice for
> off-grid has been to make a deliberate attempt to perform one deep
> cycle initially (after topping off), and then let nature take its
> course after that. That seems to do the job from what I've observed.
>
> For backup service however, more deliberate cycling may be advisable.
>
> This is an immediately measurable factor -- therefore, battery
> manufacturers should be able to advise for their specific batteries.
> I suspect that batteries that are specifically designed for backup
> service may have less break-in requirement.
>
> Windy
>
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