[RE-wrenches] Battery recommendation WAS: Rolls batteries

Fri Oct 23 21:51:38 PDT 2015

Is the other side of the coin, though, use one string of high capacity L-16's to: reduce the number of cables and their connections to terminals (failure points, maintenance), reduce the watering hassle (half as many cells to check, water, take SGs), because there are less cells you're more likely to check SG's, only dropping into the 90% range for the overnight discharge sounds like she could do with one string, no worries about fusing a second string.  

        I'm not discounting the usefulness of GC batteries, but I'm not seeing L-16s having a worse track record.  I think you guys have more experience in that regard than I do.

Bill
Feather River Solar Electric

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Allan Sindelar 
  To: RE-wrenches 
  Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 5:21 PM
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery recommendation WAS: Rolls batteries

  Thanks, esteemed Wrenches,
  I'm thinking that she would do fine with 440 A/hr of T105 REs.  Jay asked about her loads. I emailed her this earlier today:

    Beverly,
    Back when the batteries were still strong, if you ended a day's charging at 100%, what would the percentage be when you awoke the next morning? I'm looking for typical, in order to address a question about your replacement batteries. 

  And she replied "probably in the 90s...I think..." She can live on nothing if she has to. So it's either two strings of good golf carts or two strings of non-high-capacity L16s. 

  And I like Jerry's suggestion to talk with my battery distributor.
  And I like Jay's suggestion re the box - yes, it was sized for 8 L16s, so it's either L16s or smaller unless we rebuild it.

  I too have respect for golf carts - way more respect for golf carts than for L16s in general. Golf cart batteries have a greater capacity for absurd abuse then anything else I have ever seen. I'd give Beverly three strings if the box had room. With minimal care 5 years is safe, and she's not perfect but she's pretty good. So at this point (unless Steve Higgins at Surrette talks me otherwise) I'll go with 8 golf carts and save the rest for the next set, or for more array.

  Thank you!
  Allan

Allan Sindelar
  allan at sindelarsolar.com
  NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
  NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
  New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
  Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
  505 780-2738 cell

  On 10/23/2015 8:31 AM, Drake wrote:

    Hi Allan and Jay,
    I second the golf cart battery option. Trojan T-105s seem to be the most bang for the buck. An 800 W array wouldn't stir up the electrolyte sufficiently in an L-16. Maybe the backup generator would. What all is she running?
    Drake 

    At 06:40 PM 10/22/2015, you wrote:

      Hi Allan,

      A few questions.
      how little energy?  amp hrs night/avg. and
      is mx something this person does or would like to do without?

      But given what you’ve said, I wouldn’t go with wet cell industrial as you’ll never get the C rate you need.  If the  8 x L-16’s have done her well ( and probably the battery box is set up for that form factor) and with your budget I’d go with another set of  L-16’s flooded or sealed if the budget/want allows. 

      And if the need is really quite small, I”d consider golf cart.  Yea yea,I hear all the laughs, but where I live, golf carts seem to have the life they always have, but L-16’s ( all brands) seem to have a shorter and shorter life for reasons I don’t understand. 
      jay, peltz power

        On Oct 22, 2015, at 11:19 AM, Allan Sindelar <allan at sindelarsolar.com > wrote:

        I have a related question, please. One of my longtime off grid clients is a single woman who maintains a nonprofit sanctuary for about 30 rescue dogs, both adoptable and not adoptable (curious? www.bridgingtheworlds.org ). With that many animals, Beverly seldom leaves her remote land and her support and sustenance comes primarily from donations. Her existing system is a 18-year-old SW4024/Solar Boost SB50, with 800W of old array and eight L16s. 

        The L16s were takeouts from another job that I figured had some life left (used for two years in another contractor's Sunny Island GTBB system without telling the customer that he needed to add water regularly). I gave them to her at no cost and they lasted three years but are now dying fast.

        At my suggestion she has been running a GoFundMe campaign that has raised $2900. I have already told her that I'll do the swapout at no charge. I told her that the choice of her next set of batteries would depend on the money she raised: we have another 24V set of 820A/hr Rolls that I think has some life left, or we can afford 8 L16s, or with the most generous donation total I'll order a set of HUPs and they'll last her the rest of her life (or maybe not - she's healthy, beautiful and independent at 71 years). 

        So, my question: At $3,000 and 24V, what would you sell her? This is bound to bring varied opinions, but I want to look beyond what I would select based on price and get other Wrenches' suggestions. I'll add that while the array is small and old, she lives well on very little energy, and has a TriMetric and a backup generator. 

        Thank you for your opinions.
        Allan

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