[RE-wrenches] 4 ways to keep a battery for a long time

[jay]

HI Luke,

Without knowing what the charging parameters its really hard to know whats going on.

And this false issue with life span is years really gets me.  
Batteries are measured in cycle life, period,  So to say a IND battery will get 15 to 20 years is bunk.
It’ll get the cycles based on DOD, if its charged correctly, watered and the sun is in a good phase and, and and,

I’ve got a guy who’s worn out his Hup’s in around 5-6 years.  
But how would any other but an IND battery worked with that hard of a life, yikes, L-16’s would have been a set a year.

But I’m guessing his 11 year old batteries could be quite done.  And he is caught in the perfect bind.  
Do you spend money on replacing some of the cells? 
If it was my client, I’d say no, he’d be throwing good money after bad.  

jay

peltz power




> On Dec 16, 2015, at 12:50 PM, Dana <dana at solarwork.com> wrote:
> 
> We recommend an EQ when there is a 0.02 SG differential on any one cell to the rest of the pack, use a refractometer for SG readings, install watering systems with a electrolyte port  or water the battery bank ourselves, & do not do systems without a charging power backup.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dana Orzel 
> Great Solar Works, Inc -  NABCEP # 051112-136
> E - dana at solarwork.com  - Web - solarwork.com 
> O - 970.626.5253  C - 208.721.7003
> "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"  
>  Please consider the environment before printing this email.
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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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>