battery sulfation [RE-wrenches]

[Todd Cory, Mt. Shasta Energy Services]

<x-flowed>
Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Shopping for a new car? 
Pay 2-3% below invoice on a new car of your choice. 
Save thousands with our free car discount finder service!
http://click.topica.com/caaemrqbz8Qcsbz9JC9a/Dealix
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Boy, I have been round and round on this... here is what I know...

Flooded lead antimony batteries are designed for cycling, and when 
floated not only do they suck power, but the electrolyte stratifies, so 
I was recommend that they see monthly equalizing. I take my home pack of 
8 grid tied L-16's (48 volt system) to 60 volts for 7 hours once a 
month. That uses about 7 kWh (does not include the standby losses). :-(

If that is done, I believe the typical off grid 10 to 12 years of life 
expectancy can be had... provided, the customer checks the water and 
EQ's regularly.

The best battery IMO for this application are flooded lead calcium 
cells. They will last 30+ years, if treated as a shallow cycle (50% DOD 
MAX, floating most of the time) battery. They rarely need EQ-ing (or 
watering for that matter) and standby losses are low. The downfall is 
that they are damn expensive. I was stoked to get the 20 year old set 
from the hydro plant I work at part time. They are still doing great 
even though they are beyond the end of their "service life".

I shy from AGM's as they seem to have a short life and are fussy about 
regulation voltage... same for gels.

Do others have better info?

Todd

Marco Mangelsdorf wrote:

>Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor:
>If one were using flooded L-16-type batteries in a UPS mode (grid-tie
>w/battery back-up) where the batteries are spending 99+ percent of their
>lifetime in a float state, are equalization charges needed and if so, how
>frequently?
>
>marco
>
>Marco Mangelsdorf
>President
>ProVision Technologies, Inc.
>Electrical Contractor License C-26351
>69 Railroad Avenue, Suite A-7
>Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA
>(808) 969-3281, fax 934-7462
>www.provisiontechnologies.com
>

Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Is your computer freezing up or slowing down?
Repair corrupt files and harmful errors - protect your PC
Take a 2-minute PC health check-up at no charge!
http://click.topica.com/caaemrnbz8Qcsbz9JC9f/PC PowerScan
-------------------------------------------------------------------

- - - -
To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com

Archive of previous messages: http://lists.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/read

List rules & how to change your email address: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquette.php

Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/

Hosted by Home Power magazine

Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com
--^----------------------------------------------------------------
This email was sent to: michael.welch at homepower.com

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Qcs.bz9JC9.bWljaGFl
Or send an email to: RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit:
http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER
--^----------------------------------------------------------------



</x-flowed>