off grid battery equalization [RE-wrenches]

Jay Peltz, Peltz Power jay at asis.com
Mon Sep 20 17:19:01 PDT 2004


 

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Hi Phil,

Can't speak to the specifics of this system but of a number of others that
just didn't work "normally" with surrette batteries.  Once the newer
surrettes were replaced with other brand ( trojan/ us/ etc ) the system
worked normally: ie came up to voltage correctly, hyrometers showed
correctly etc.

I am not saying that the surrettes didn't work, but they acted very
differently than other batteries I've worked with.

jay

Peltz Power


>
> I wanted to chime in on this thread for a couple of reasons:  We carry
> Surrettes here at Dankoff, I've installed and serviced numerous sets in my
> time in the field, and I just installed a set of S530s in my own home last
> month.
>
> The electrolyte is standard 1.265 specific gravity electrolyte--nothing
> unobtainium there.  Admittedly Surrette builds a denser plate in their
> batteries than many other manufacturers--that's one of the ways they get
the
> capacity and longevity.  But that wouldn't cause the voltage and
hydrometer
> readings to never rise.
>
> The old batteries were 5 years old--is there a log of how long they took
to
> recharge when new?  I can't count the number of times I've heard clients
> misunderstand that batteries aren't healthy if the voltage quickly shoots
> up, and that you can't equalize a battery that isn't full.
>
> So my first questions would be, what are the bulk and float settings of
the
> inverter now, and what were they with the old batteries?  Recommended
> settings for bulk would be 2.37-2.45 volts per cell; float is 2.2-2.23. Of
> course, these were reset since re-powering up the system, right?  Do you
see
> the inverter charge current taper off at the stated 75% full, or  are you
> getting the full current still going into the batteries?
>
> If the inverter is going into float while the TriMetric is showing less
than
> full, what is the charge efficiency factor programmed on the meter?  If
> using an E-Meter, did you reset the calculated CEF from the other bank?  I
> have seen numerous E-Meter CEF errors on systems that have lots of
generator
> charging, for some reason.
>
> This is a 48v system, correct?
>
> Also, to answer Kurt's question remember that "Set Max Run Time" doesn't
> affect generator run time--it only gives an error light on the inverter if
> exceeded.
>
> Phil Undercuffler ext.238
> Technical Support
> phil at dankoffsolar.com
>
> Dankoff Solar Products
>
> The Premier Manufacturer and Distributor of Solar Water Pumps, and
> Wholesale Distributor of Solar Electric, Wind, and Solar Heating Equipment
>
> 888-396-6611 toll free
> 505-473-3800 phone
> 505-473-3830 fax
> www.dankoffsolar.com
>
>
>

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