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

[Chris Mason]

I didn't install it but it was well done, has three Sunny Islands and three
Sunny Boys. My only involvement has been to repair a breaker that failed,
and to service the generator.

On Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 11:18 AM, Drake <
drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org> wrote:

> With relays you can set the A/C up as a dump  load that will activate when
> the grid goes down.
>
>
> At 06:59 AM 12/17/2015, you wrote:
>
> I have a customer that has had AGM batteries in the Caribbean for many
> years without any sign of capacity loss, but...they air condition (?) the
> room they are in, and they do not use any discharge, they are purely setup
> as a UPS style system. Unless the power fails, all the power is exported,
> and they use grid power.
> When using AGM as an offgrid solar system, they last about three years
> here.
>
> On Wed, Dec 16, 2015 at 9:44 PM, jay <jay.peltz at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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 -Â  NABCEP # 051112-136
> > E - dana at solarwork.com  - Web - solarwork.com
> > O - 970.626.5253Â  C - 208.721.7003
> > "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"
> > ï Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: RE-wrenches [ mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
> <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
> <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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> --
> Chris Mason
> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
> Solar Design Engineer
> Generac Generators Industrial technician
>
> www.cometsolar.com <http://www.cometenergysystems.com>
> 264.235.5670
> 869.662.5670
> Skype: netconcepts
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-- 
Chris Mason
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
Solar Design Engineer
Generac Generators Industrial technician

www.cometsolar.com <http://www.cometenergysystems.com>
264.235.5670
869.662.5670
Skype: netconcepts
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