[RE-wrenches] Quick Cote troubles

[Dave Palumbo]

Allan,

 

5 years in a scenario like that would certainly be a reasonable life
expectancy for those cells. Deep discharges followed by inadequate
recharging would cause sulfation in a short period of time and with many
cycles due to the undersizing. 5 years sounds like fair performance given
the situation.

 

Dave

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Allan
Sindelar
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 1:19 PM
To: William Miller
Cc: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Quick Cote troubles

 

I would prefer to use William's method, as it is certainly quicker if indeed
it provides long-term protection. Bob-O recommends the same thing.

I forwarded all replies to Russ in Taos; his reply follows. Russ is a
skilled installer.

Thanks for forwarding this discussion to me. The connections were definitely
tight, and the Quick Cote wasn't dirty.

We originally used Vaseline on the connections five years ago, so there was
no old Quick Cote on the jumpers (which we reused), and the contact surfaces
were clean (Vaseline does a good job of "spooging" out of the way when you
tighten the bolts down).  Curiously, this was a warm battery bank (when we
came to remove the old batteries, they were quite warm from charging
(insulated battery box)), but the vaseline didn't melt off and expose the
cable lugs to corrosion, as I would have expected -- every cable was in
perfect condition.

BTW, this was a set of Rolls series 5000, large 6 volt batteries, that the
customer killed off in 5 years from deep cycling (he'd wait until the system
shut down before turning on the generator) and inadequate recharging -- the
size of the battery bank was designed before the house was finished, and the
customer added a bunch of loads that weren't listed on the load profile
(like a 3hp pump, instead of the smaller one anticipated by the homeowner).
Andy looked into the warranty, but the folks at Rolls said they've never
warranted an entire battery bank that was abused like that. He knew the
customer wouldn't get warranty coverage for the whole bank, but he had to at
least look into it. 

 

Allan Sindelar
 <mailto:Allan at positiveenergysolar.com> Allan at positiveenergysolar.com
NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic Installer
EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Positive Energy, Inc.
3201 Calle Marie
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507
505 424-1112
 <http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/> www.positiveenergysolar.com


On 2/22/2011 11:33 PM, William Miller wrote: 

Allan:

We have had problems if battery terminals are not absolutely clean and dry
when mating to connectors.  We use a wire brush, usually chucked in a small
right-angle grinder.  We apply no coating until connections are done and
tested.  We then apply a spray product we purchase at Napa Auto.  It drys
eventually to a non-sticky consistency.

William Miller

Hiya Allan & Roy, 

I do the same thing Roy does. I prefer the connection to be "bright &
tight", then put the gooey on. Seems like you would get a better connection
without the gooey between and when the stuff spooges out during tightening,
it seems like it might keep the bolt from getting completely tight.
Different stroke for different folks, I guess.

Hope you both are well. This getting older shit ain't fer sissies!

Best, Bob-O

 

On Feb 22, 2011, at 4:46 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:



On 2/22/2011 5:29 PM, Roy Butler wrote: 





Allan,

I used Quick Cote for years until my local supplier had problems getting it
in a timely manner.
I never had a problem with it but then again, I never put it on the lug/
terminal mating surfaces
prior to making the connections. Then I carefully coated the terminals,
making sure to not
miss any spots.

I've had several opportunities to have a look at the mating surfaces years
later and never found
any corrosion. I would imagine that grit would indeed create a connection
problem. But you say
you've never seen this yourself?

I wonder if the formulation has been changed recently?



Roy Butler
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