[RE-wrenches] HuP Conundrum

[Dana]

Try Tommy Penson at North West Energy Storage at 800.718.8816

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Dana Orzel 
Great Solar Works, Inc -  NABCEP # 051112-136
E - dana at solarwork.com  - Web - solarwork.com 
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"Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"  
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-----Original Message-----
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Dave
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 10:23 AM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] HuP Conundrum

Luke,

Contac HUP for specific advice. You've probably already done that?

What comes to mind:
Since you have two series strings, run the house on one string of all good cells.
 
Pull out the weak cells and charge them as per HUP's advice.

I'm guessing that this problem has happened because the homeowner did not properly charge the batteries.
Homeowner most likely did not use a hydrometer upon EQ'ng the cells.
Homeowner thought the cells were fully charged and equal but obviously they were not.
Record keeping, log books etc.. for people caring for expensive batteries are well worth the effort.

David Palumbo
Independent Power LLC
462 Solar Way Drive
Hyde Park, VT 05655
802-371-8678 cell
802-888-4917 home





-----Original Message-----
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Luke Christy
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 12:01 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: [RE-wrenches] HuP Conundrum

Hi Friends, 

With all of the battery threads going on right now I figured it would be a
good time to start another one. 

I have a customer with a large off-grid system who has just started having
trouble with a bank of HuP batteries. This system is 48V with 8x 12V
6-85F-27S batteries in two series strings. Charging is supplied by around 10
kW of PV.  

I didn't install the system and the customer has always taken care of the
maintenance and watering himself. He has seemingly been pretty diligent
about taking care of things, including  equalizing on a regular basis.
However, recently he started having voltage problems and when I made a site
visit to check on the batteries, I found that 3 of the 8x 12V batteries each
had a cell with SG so low it wouldn't register on my hydrometer. 

Obviously this is a problem, and owing to some complicating factors I'm not
really sure how best to address the issue. 

Replacing the entire battery bank will be unbelievably expensive, especially
given that the house is in a remote location and there is difficult access
to the battery room. To add a another factor, the house is currently
unoccupied while the owner tries to sell the property, so he is not exactly
eager to invest a lot of money into battery replacement. 

The batteries are only 11 years old, so they should theoretically have quite
a bit of life left in them. Perhaps those of you with more experience with
larger batteries can advise. Can the cells be resurrected with careful
charging and equalizing? 

What would you do?

Thanks as always for opinions and advice.

Luke Christy

NABCEP Certified PV Installation ProfessionalT: Certification #031409-25 
NABCEP Certified Solar Heating InstallerT: Certification #ST032611-03       


Solar Gain Services, LLC
PO Box 531
Monte Vista, CO. 81144
SGSRenewables at Gmail.com
719.588.3044
www.sgsrenewables.com

   







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