[RE-wrenches] Battery Bank Off-gassing CO?

[Daniel Young]

By the way, it was a typo, it is an 8 battery system @48Vdc.

 

We just put in an order for a power vent, the home owner is going to install
this herself, as she is handy enough and has done PVC plumbing work before.
I will let the list know if this solves the issue or not. Also I plan to
have her install new CO detectors downstairs just in case the hydrogen
caused any damage to the sensors.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

 

Danny

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Ronald
Paredes
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 10:50 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery Bank Off-gassing CO?

 

Hello Daniel,

 

Unfortunately, I've had to deal with this issue in the past and after
countless hours of effort (end-users, fire departments, and my own), the
conclusion and/or corrective action has always been to replace the CO
detector. 

 

Carbon monoxide or other carbon oxides are not expected byproducts from a
lead-acid battery. Lead-acid batteries essentially have three active
materials, which broadly speaking are lead dioxide, spongy lead, and
sulfuric acid. Since no carbon exists in the active components, carbon
monoxide cannot be a byproduct of lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries
do produce small amounts of oxygen and hydrogen while they are being
charged. Particularly, as the battery approaches the end of charge.  Most
battery designs will start producing oxygen when the battery reaches a state
of charge of about 70% SOC and will produce hydrogen at about 90% SOC. Both
gases will continue to be liberated until the charge is complete. 

 

Hydrogen has been known to be an interference gas for some CO detectors. The
sensing technology of CO detector will largely determine how much hydrogen
cross-sensitivity it will have, but there is also a hydrogen concentration
threshold that will trigger some CO detectors. In most cases, the problem
will go away if the end-user improves the ventilation of the room. 

 

Sounds like you are taking all the appropriate steps to resolve the problem.
Let me know how it goes. 

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Ronald Paredes

Technical Product Manager - Renewable Energy

Trojan Battery Company

 

12380 Clark Street 

Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

Tel: (562)236-3000 Ext. 3066

Fax: (562)236-3279

 <mailto:rparedes at trojanbattery.com> rparedes at trojanbattery.com

 <http://www.trojanbattery.com/> www.trojanbattery.com

 

Trojan Battery Company - Clean Energy for LifeT

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Young
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 6:50 AM
To: re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Battery Bank Off-gassing CO?

 

I was emailed recently by someone in my area saying that she thinks here
battery bank is going bad and poisoning her home.. My firm did not install
her off grid system. Her original installer will not respond.

 

She has an 6yr old battery bank w/ 6 Trojan L16H's (48V). The system has
1.2kw of shell solar modules with an MX60 CC and FX Inverter. She noticed
feeling ill when in the basement where the system electronics were
installed, so she got out a combustion gas analyzer, (she is a home energy
auditor), and recorded over 500 ppm CO in the battery bank storage closet,
not the battery box, but the closet that stores the outback system. That is
over double the concentration that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission
considers deathly toxic. She reports this has been going on for the last 1-2
months. There is one battery box in this closet, with a 3" PVC vent pipe
going up to the roof. There is no power vent.

 

Has anyone heard of a flooded lead acid battery bank emitting CO? I did not
think that a lead/sulfur based battery was capable of this. Is it possible
that her combustion gas analyzer is mis-interpreting some other gas as CO?

 

We already plan to install a power vent at minimum, and to closely inspect
her ventilation system and improve it as needed. Just curious if anyone else
has seen this happen before.

 

Thanks,

 

Danny

 


This e-mail message and any attachments that accompany it may contain
information that is confidential, privileged, or protected from disclosure.
It is intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it was
intended to be addressed. If you have received this e-mail by mistake, or
you are not the intended recipient, any reading, disclosure, copying or
other use of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received
this communication in error, please immediately advise the sender at their
phone number listed above, or by electronic mail, and also permanently
delete the original and all copies of this e-mail and any attachments from
all locations. Thank you. 

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.830 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2970 - Release Date: 06/29/10
02:35:00

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20100629/38203703/attachment-0004.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 11543 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20100629/38203703/attachment-0004.jpg>