[RE-wrenches] OB Battery Charging

[Nick Soleil]

Yes Ray:
    I have to back up what Todd is saying.  If the batteries are well maintained, Trojan L-16s will frequently last 10-12 years , even with SW and DR inverters, and C-40s(I tell my customers 7-10.)  I would expect that in a grid-tied application, with almost no added lifecycles, the batteries would make it for ten years plus. 
    I have been witness to a couple of L-16 battery banks that died catastrophically at five years of age, but those were neglected batteries.  One of the banks died when the customer added a skylight to the battery room??? and the bank cooked during a hot summer month.  The water evaporated out of the battery, and the SW inverters automatically started the generator to charge them up.   The remaining fluid was cooked out of the L-16s as the batteries were 'charged'.  After the genny had run for a day, the customer called me and I arrived to find a set of batteries that was visibly melting down.
    Do your customer's find the Mate controller to be very counter-intuitive and challenging to utilize.  I do, even after installing 50+.  I think I've given up on OB now, though.  No Dual AC inputs?

 Nick Soleil
Project Manager
Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
PO Box 657
Petaluma, CA 94953
Cell:   707-321-2937
Office: 707-789-9537
Fax:    707-769-9037




________________________________
From: "toddcory at finestplanet.com" <toddcory at finestplanet.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Wed, November 4, 2009 8:17:14 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] OB Battery Charging

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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