[RE-wrenches] OB Battery Charging

[toddcory at finestplanet.com]

The batteries are now 10 years old  
(twice the normal life span I see with L16s)

Maybe it wasn't the inverter's charger. I typically see 10 to 12 years in my off grid systems.

Todd

On Wednesday, November 4, 2009 8:54am, "R Ray Walters" <ray at solarray.com> said:

> I just wanted to comment on Outback's superb battery charging
> algorithm. (since I was ragging on the flexware last week)
> I have a customer still with his original Trojan L16s that were truly
> abused in off grid mode in the construction of his house. They
> regularly were run down to 22 vdc, and probably only reached full
> charge once a month for years. We finally switched the system over to
> grid tie about three years ago. The batteries are now 10 years old
> (twice the normal life span I see with L16s) and battery voltages are
> amazingly close, water use is very low, and corrosion of terminals was
> fairly low considering the age.
> I was really expecting to have to replace the batteries, but was
> pleasantly surprised to see how good a shape they were in.
> That's why we like Outback inverters, even if we're not so high on the
> Flexware.
> BTW this system also had a Bergey Wind turbine, and an Apollo charge
> controller, but the GVFX inverter basically regulates the battery
> voltage.
> I still haven't figured out just how the GVFX works, (i.e. when it
> goes thru a full charging sequence, whether it uses the renewable
> sources or the grid, etc)
> because the AC Kwh meter wiring configuration I used doesn't show AC
> input to the batteries.
> but what ever it does, it works.
> Anyone have a better meter configuration? We're using the recommended
> 5 jaw digital meter from Austin International, and the base is wired
> per Outback's white paper on the subject.
> It cancels energy readings that just pass thru to the loads and
> tabulates sell back, but it doesn't seem to register AC use from
> battery charging. (my system shows 0 Kwh after 2 years)
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com
> Solar Engineer
> 
> 
> 
> 
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