[RE-wrenches] Strings and series of batteries

Tom Elliot telliot at wagonmaker.com
Wed Dec 2 09:58:23 PST 2009


MessageI would be very curious to hear THE battery company's, or any battery company's, interest in warranty on a system where the strings of batteries are paralleled through a buss bar rather than physically through the bank.  The vulnerability to failure of an off-grid system with only one or two series strings is high enough to be a concern.  Then there's also the not un-trivial issue of handling large batteries safely.



From: Tump 
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 2:32 AM
To: 'RE-wrenches' 
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Strings and series of batteries


Surrette Battery, THE battery company suggests NO MORE the 3 parallel in a string & would like to see 2 preferably.
If there are more the 3 then they really not interested in warrantee issues.
Jamie where are you??????

Now a days there are plenty of options for a good size/AH BB that can be configured in 1 or 2 parallel strings.
 Its just that us old guys are having a harder time w/ gravity!


    Tump at swnl.net        www.SWNL.net
           Solarwinds Northernlights   
   Serving Mid Coast Maine & Northern California
     Me.# 207-832-7574  Cl.#  610-517-8401

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  -----Original Message-----
  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Dana
  Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 12:58 PM
  To: 'RE-wrenches'
  Subject: [RE-wrenches] Strings and series of batteries


  On a similar subject here -

   

  Long ago, I had a Trojan battery rep. state that they did not like to see more than [12] L-16s in a series -parallel bank system. This was due to too many points of connection  /  resistance and bad communication due to multiple flow paths.

   

  Has anyone else heard similar or contrary information/recommendations?

   

  Thanks

   

   

  Dana Orzel

   

  Great Solar Works, Inc

  www.solarwork.com

  E - dana at solarwork.com

  V - 970.626.5253

  F - 970.626.4140

  C - 970.209.4076

   

  I will be the shift in how the world uses power! - Dana Orzel

   

  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Larry Crutcher, Starlight Solar
  Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 10:42 AM
  To: RE-wrenches
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] concord batteries, EQUALIZE Them!

   

  If the 180 watt panel will provide enough current to run the recovery process, then give it a try. What I expect is that your current will vary throughout the day. Not sure if this is a critical point or if it will just prolong the process. Pay attention to the temperature. I use a laser temp probe on the terminals every 30 minutes to verify.

   

  Another thing to monitor is the current. It will probably start very low and build over time due to high resistance from sulfated plates. During this time the voltage might get really high and then lower some. Don't worry about the voltage. After a while the current will begin to drop. This means the recovery process is working. 

   

  I just realized that this battery bank must be 4 in series and ten parallel strings. This is a horrible design that can never work right without extensive monthly maintenance. The strings with higher resistance will not be charged properly. Because of this, many strings will be undercharged every day. EVERY day! So even if you recover these batteries, someone will need to test and equalize at least every month. I really want to stress this point as multiple parallel batteries are the ruin and waste of many thousands of tons of batteries each year. I never design for more than two strings in parallel. Do this and be happy.

   

  Larry Crutcher

  www.starlightsolar.com

  larry at starlightsolar.com

  (928) 941-1660

   



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