[RE-wrenches] Air conditioning for batteies in high temperatureclimate

[jay peltz]

Hi Larry,

Are you installing them ground coupled or insulated off the ground?

I've found that by keeping them on the dirt so to speak, will keep them lots cooler.

Another trick for the desert is to build a well insulated box, and have a fan run at night using a differential thermostat , moving lots of cooler air.
Way less watts than an AC unit.

jay

peltz power

On Apr 21, 2011, at 2:19 PM, Starlight Solar, Larry Crutcher wrote:

> Hi Ray,
>  
> Absolutely: Battery charging 101 = temperature compensated charging, no exceptions.
>  
> I too thought of underground storage but the temperature is still above 100 degrees at 6 feet down. It is really hot in the Baja!
>  
> I disagree about AGM life. I have heard others say this about AGM's but it has not been our experience. I personally have a 900AH bank that is 6 years old and shows little signs of aging. I have equalized the batteries twice to keep the capacity up(each one individually, constant current, unregulated voltage) We only sell and install battery based systems at our retail store and about 50% of sales are AGM batteries. We have found that they have similar life to flooded batteries but with great benefits.
>  
> Yes, some L16's just don't hold up well but I am talking about entire banks failing all at about the same age.
>  
> Thanks for your reply.
>  
> Larry
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: R Ray Walters
> To: RE-wrenches
> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 1:50 PM
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Air conditioning for batteies in high temperatureclimate
> 
> Are you using temperature compensation? It lowers the voltage when its hot.
> Also, have you considered setting the batteries in a below ground vault? I've had good luck with in floor battery boxes.
> Finally, AGMs and L16s just don't last very long anyway. AGMs maybe 3 years, and L16s I've seen die in under 5 years and we get to 15 below zero.
> My suggestion: temp comp, ground vault, HUP or equivalent cycle life.
> 
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com
> Solar Engineer
> 

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