[RE-wrenches] Followup to Surrette Battery Question

Matt Tritt solarone at charter.net
Mon Sep 8 13:40:31 PDT 2008


Chris,

RO systems do NOT remove disolved minerals from water! Calcium carbonate 
is a disolved mineral, so I would suspect that by now you have a pretty 
good Ca buildup going.

Matt

Chris Schaefer wrote:

>Jamie,
>	I suspect that most if not all Off-Grid clients have well water. My
>question is what about domestic water systems that use a filtration unit to
>get the water to pass potable test in order to get bank financing and a C of
>O. Since we are involved in Green Building I make sure that all our clients
>also install an RO (reverse osmosis) system for drinking water only. Not
>being a water guru I'm unsure how this RO water would affect the batteries.
>I can only say that the water tastes awesome. I do know that it does remove
>any minerals or hardness and I'm told by more than one water company that it
>is similar to distilled water. I have been using RO water in our battery set
>here at the Design and Training Center since 2001. I have seen no ill
>effects. Love to hear anyone else's 2 cents.
>
>Christopher
>
>Chris Schaefer
>Solar and Wind FX Inc.
>5115 South Hill Road
>Canandaigua(Bristol Center) New York 14424
>585.229.2083
>Cell 748.1870
>chris at solarandwindfx.com
>http://www.solarandwindfx.com/
>Where Knowledge Equals Power Independence
>
>
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>________________________________________
>From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
>[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of James
>Surrette
>Sent: 05 September, 2008 08:36
>To: Matt
>Cc: RE-wrenches
>Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Followup to Surrette Battery Question
>
>Hi Matt et al, 
>
>Sorry for missing my que to respond. 
>
>As mentioned, the big concerns is mineral content in the water which will
>adhere to the plate and "take the place" of a possible reaction site - thus
>reducing capacity. 
>
>As you can imagine, water quality is a concern from both the input and
>output standpoint and we have an outside Environmental Consultant group
>review water (and air) quality 1/4ly.  We are very fortunate that even
>untreated/ filtered, has negligible mineral content.  I have never been in a
>battery plant that uses distilled water but (almost) all, I have seen, use a
>form of filtration / dionizing before use. 
>
>Hard water is a definite no no! 
>
>Jamie 
>
>   
>
>  
>
>>>>"R. Walters" <walters at taosnet.com> 09/04/08 10:44 PM >>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>Matt; 
>
>I've used the watering systems for years as well, but never the tap connect.
>
>We have hard water here too, good to know that our distilled water mania is
>not in vain. 
>
>Ray 
>
>
>On Sep 4, 2008, at 6:30 PM, Matt wrote: 
>
>Ray, 
>
>We sell plenty of watering systems, but none are fed from an actual
>pressurized tap. The "best" one uses a manual water release on top of each
>cap; this prevents over-filling when (not if) something sticks. 
>
>I have never used non-distilled water in a battery, but I have replaced a
>couple of banks that were wrecked by using well water with a high mineral
>content. 
>
>Matt 
>---- "R. Walters" <walters at taosnet.com> wrote: 
>  
>I never used it, but Battery Watering Systems has used them for 
>  
>years. The rep I talked to thought we in the solar biz were quite 
>  
>cautious on this. 
>I still use distilled H2O, myself BTW. 
>Have you actually experienced ruined batteries from ionized or 
>  
>filtered H2O? 
>Also, if you reread Jamie's previous response, it sounds like they 
>  
>aren't even using distilled H2O to build them either. 
>
>Ray 
>
>On Sep 3, 2008, at 7:15 PM, Matt wrote: 
>
>This is a majorly bad idea! Tap water usually contains dissolved 
>  
>minerals that will screw up battery plates, reduce or increase 
>  
>conductivity and generally void battery warrantees. 
>
>Am I correct about this Jamie? 
>
>Matt 
>---- "R. Walters" <walters at taosnet.com> wrote: 
>Some of the single point battery watering systems have a pressure 
>regulator that plumbs right to the water tap with a small filter. 
>Apparently we in the solar business are more anal about using 
>distilled water than many other battery users. 
>
>Ray 
>
>On Sep 2, 2008, at 6:46 PM, James Surrette wrote: 
>
>Hi Bruce, 
>
>FYI, Deionized water is commonly used in battery manufacturing and 
>large motive power applications; 
>
>http://www.philadelphiascientific.com/deionizer.html 
>
>Regards, 
>
>Jamie 
>
>
>
>
>R. Walters 
>Solarray.com 
>
>
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