[RE-wrenches] Nickel-Iron Batteries

[bob ellison]

The bigger warning is with the "Chinese" NiFe cells.
There was a company importing them 15-20 years or so ago.
The failure rate was very high and the factory support was almost
nonexistent. Unless you're a tinkerer, they are great cells to stay away
from!

 I know people who use the original Edison cells in power systems and have
seen people just using them as a DC source. 
Don't worry, you can't get the voltage too high when charging them. They
just take it. They don't freeze and if I remember correctly, temp does not
alter the output either. There are plenty of the original Edison Cells still
out there.

Later,
Bob Ellison


-----Original Message-----
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Tom Duffy
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 7:54 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Nickel-Iron Batteries

Nickel iron has been around since Edison (Thomas) the cells are 1.2 volt and
use potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte. The problem we had with them 20
or so years ago was that the voltage range is large, too large for
electronics. So the useable range (window) is not that great. I have
actually seen some that the cases were nickel... I can't imagine what that
would cost today.

We concluded that while what you read looks amazing, they're not all that
useful for RE applications using inverters. They might be useful if you're
doing straight DC circuits. But it's a lot of cells.

Kind Regards

Tom Duffy
Senior Solar Design Engineer

Toll Free 888-895-8179
tom at thesolar.biz
For: Customer Service and Accounting 888-895-6810  Grid tie sales
888-895-7847 Off Grid sales 888-895-7765 Other Product Sales 888-895-9612
Shipping and Receiving 888-895-6497 Tech Support 888-895-8179

-----Original Message-----
From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Phil Theis
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2012 12:35 PM
To: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Nickel-Iron Batteries

Greetings,
Does anyone have experience with Iron Edison Batteries for an off grid
application?
They claim "excellent and reliable performance for 20+ years"
Thank you,
Phil Theis  NABCEP Certified PV Installer PennSun Solar
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