Carbon monoxide detectors and hot batteries? [RE-wrenches]

[James Surrette]

Good morning,
 
Per the composition of the off-gassing;
 
Hydrogen and Oxygen are liberated but a minute amount of Sulfur was
probably present (rotten egg smell) as a result of the aggressive rate. 
Not sure if Hydrogen will trip a CO detector.
 
Per the testing for a failed battery;
 
To get this heat (without a failed regulator), per cell voltage must
have risen as a result of a failed cell (or more than one), which drops
terminal voltage - therefore acts like you've raised the charge voltage.
 Quick detection, put a load on the bank to eliminate surface voltage
and read the battery voltage at the terminals.  You will see >6V on the
"healthy" batteries and <4V on the ones with failed cells.  Also, failed
cells will not consume water but the other cells in the same battery
will.
 
Jamie
 
James Surrette

Surrette Battery Co. Ltd
1 Station Rd.
Springhill, NS, CAN
B0M 1X0



>>> Geoff Greenfield <Geoff at Third-Sun.Com> 22/05/2007 11:53 am >>>

Hello all wrenchies -  

I VERY concerned customer called with what seems to be a failing
battery
bank (tons of heat, bubbling way more than normal, and a recently
manifesting large difference between strings of water consumption). 
These
are T-105s  retired from an electric vehicle, and I suspect an open or
shorted cell. 

He is remote and has transferred AC loads and shut things down on the
DC
side... and once he borrows a multimeter I will walk him through a
resistance check on the cells and suspect to find a bad battery.  Along
with
looking for anomalous individual battery voltage, at rest and during
heavy
charging do any of you have any other quick tests to suggest?  I
already
asked if he had an infrared thermometer... and when I spoke with him
"all
the batteries were too hot to touch".

So - the gist of my post is:  he was alerted to this situation not by
collapsing voltage under load, but by his CO detector going off.  What
chemically is happening there?  These are flooded LA batts... is
insulation
and plastic heating up and generating CO?  Does the CO detector pick
up
other stuff?

The batteries are in a roomy painted plywood box with plastic liner,
screened low vents and a 2" pvc power vented to the screened exterior
(I
should have him check that for wasp nests).  Will check to see if the
vent
operates. it was controlled by the MX-60 aux to come on at around 53
VDC.


For a brighter energy future,

Geoff Greenfield
President
Third Sun Solar & Wind Power Ltd.
340 West State street, Unit 25
Athens, Ohio 45701
(740) 597-3111   fax: (740)597-1548
www.third-sun.com 

Clean Energy - Expertly Installed


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