[RE-wrenches] RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 3, Issue 600

[William Korthof]

The batteries in my forklift are from the early 90's and continue to perform, despite regular abuse and irregular care. I'll second the comment about the economy of golf cart batteries... They are great for situations where they can be made to fit. 
They've worked well for me in all sorts of applications, and even when they actually fail due to abuse or application misfit, the remedy is not much of a hardship. But you do need to remember that they are commodity traction batteries, not heavy duty solar float or cycling batteries... 

/wk



On Oct 30, 2010, at 10:35 AM, re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Re: Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price? (Dave Palumbo)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:57:43 -0400
> From: "Dave Palumbo" <dave at independentpowerllc.com>
> To: "'RE-wrenches'" <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price?
> Message-ID: <051901cb77de$42a97d00$c7fc7700$@com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> All,
> 
> 
> 
> I've worked with most battery types in 23 years in the trade. There are no
> easy answers here. We see the unusual T-105 battery bank go 12 years.
> Conversely we have seen people blow through L-16's in 3 years. I personally
> have some gigantic (Hoppecke LA's 330lbs each cell) 2v cells in my shop
> system that are 16 years old and show no signs of decline. They are German
> made and brought in special to make good on a failed fibered NICAD battery
> we sold for Hoppecke in the early 90's  (that was not a pleasant experience,
> I would not do it again, even for a free 20 year+ battery bank as a make-up
> gift). Also, I wouldn't want to actually buy these large 2v cells.
> 
> 
> 
> If you can trust the life cycle, depth of discharge, charts from the
> manufacturer and calculate a simple "best value" for the dollar, than you've
> done your job. Then it's up to a good system sizing design, good metering
> and great user care. Our number one rule is "fully charge every ten days (at
> least)". If you do this, you avoid sulfation, the number one culprit in
> early battery demise.
> 
> For a small system  the T-105's typically are the best value. In larger
> system's there are more choices. A string, or two, of 2v cells can be an
> excellent choice depending on the price/value ratio. Medium size systems
> will normally call for Surrette/Rolls 6v, or Trojan L-16 batteries. All for
> off grid applications. Sealed batteries for battery backup grid tied. 
> 
> 
> 
> Dave Palumbo
> 
> Independent Power LLC 
> 
> Offices in Lamoille and Champlain Valley, Vermont
> 
> www.independentpowerllc.com 
> 
> NABCEP Certified PV Installer
> 
> Vermont Solar Partner
> 
> 802.888.7194 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
> [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of jay peltz
> Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 8:52 PM
> To: RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price?
> 
> 
> 
> HI Nick,
> 
> 
> 
> I gotta ask have you ever seen a battery last 25 years that wasn't in float
> and had to do some work,
> 
> or even 15 years?
> 
> 
> 
> jay
> 
> peltz power
> 
> On Oct 29, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Nick Soleil wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You generally pay for what you get.  The industrial 2V cells generally cost
> more, but will last a lot longer (up to 25 yrs.)  I think it depends on the
> customer's budget, and the long term plans for the property.   
> 
> 
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> End of RE-wrenches Digest, Vol 3, Issue 600
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