[RE-wrenches] dry battery issue

[Phil Undercuffler]

Hi Chris,

There's some good advice on the Surrette website, both in their FAQ,
troubleshooting and solar battery user's manuals.

http://www.surrette.com/content/tech-faqs#dry
http://www.surrette.com/content/activating-instructions-dry-charged-batteries-600?phpMyAdmin=0610e516bf803196b5feee0b1ad65c08&phpMyAdmin=3jSJ-jdC5E7b53DHgV8TGvpSCF6
http://www.surrette.com/content/battery-user-manual

One thing I remember Jamie telling me a while ago was that it will take
longer to activate the battery if humidity or moisture has gotten into the
cell.  I don't remember the technical reason for that, just that the drier
you keep 'em, the better they store.

The one time I had to add electrolyte to a battery (other than my
motorcycle battery), the acid came in an interesting "bottle in a box"
packaging with a handy flexible spout. Got it from the local NAPA.  Clip
the spout, and the rest is easy.  I'd definitely have acid-resistant bib
and long gloves, and absolutely positively good eye protection, and a bag
of baking soda from the warehouse store.

Expect to burn some generator run-time in the activation process -- you
want to make sure that the new cell is brought up in line with all the
rest, and that may take some time.

Phil
-----------
"When we learn how to store electricity, we will cease being apes
ourselves; until then we are tailless orangutans. You see, we should
utilize natural forces and thus get all of our power. Sunshine is a form of
energy, and the winds and the tides are manifestations of energy.  Do we
use them? Oh, no! We burn up wood and coal, as renters burn up the front
fence for fuel. We live like squatters, not as if we owned the property.

There must surely come a time when heat and power will be stored in
unlimited quantities in every community, all gathered by natural forces."
-- Thomas Edison --



On Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Chris Daum <chris at oasismontana.com> wrote:

> **
> Dear Wrenches:
>
> I have a customer who most likely has a dead cell in his battery bank and
> wants to replace it with a dry replacement battery he has on hand.  The
> battery bank is made up of (24) 2ks-33PS batteries in series for a 48 volt
> system.  I haven’t activated a dry battery before and expect I will not
> hear back from Surrette before I head out to check specific gravities
> tomorrow.  I’m wondering what the procedure is for adding electrolyte to a
> battery so it can be added into a string?****
>
> ** **
>
> As always, appreciate the input.
>
> Chris Daum
> Oasis Montana Inc.
> 406-777-4309
> 406-777-0830 fax
> www.oasismontana.com
>
>
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