[RE-wrenches] Failed L16 with perfect Sp.Gr.

[Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar]

The FLIR is nice but SG and voltage would have told the same thing, would
it not?
I have excellent experience with the L16 2V cells but will be switching to
the LG RESU 10 very soon for my clients.

> Here's a thermal image from a recent inspection of 2 v Trojan L16REs.
> Notice the normal batteries above and below, they are cool blue, running
> around 75F
>
> 2 of the cells of the center battery are obviously shorted.  Cell
> voltage was 2.07 v compared to about 2.3 to 2.4 v for surrounding good
> batteries.  Dead cells are much easier to find on 6 v batteries.  I
> wouldn't have found this without the Flir 167.
>
> About 1/4 of the batteries in this set had hot cells; 25 -30 deg F
> warmer. Obviously time for some fresh lead.   Owner couldn't recall how
> old the set was, he thought 2 to 4 years.  Rated at 1000 cycles to 80%
> DOD, these Trojan RE batteries should do much better than that.  I have
> never been impressed with L16s anyway. John, my experience has also
> been: higher Capacity = more premature cell failures.
>
> R. Ray Walters
> Chief Technical Officer, RemoteSolar.com
> BS Mech Engineering, 1988
> Former NABCEP Certified, 2004-2016
> Licensed Master ELectrician, Colorado
> 303 505-8760
>
> On 4/26/17 2:09 PM, John Blittersdorf wrote:
>> Wallace,
>>    I installed some Interstate RE batteries (green case) L16's that
>> supposedly are made by US Battery.  As with Trojan and other High
>> Capacity L16's I had several cell failures.  I have always felt that
>> gleaning more amp hours from the same box must lead to cutting corners
>> on robustness.  I have found that often when the batteries are full,
>> they work OK for awhile but as the voltage drops and the current flow
>> rises, the cell will eventually drop out.  Other adjacent batteries in
>> the string often overcharge to compensate.  In my case with the green
>> batteries, they were about 2 years old as well.  I took them back to
>> my distributor and replaced them with standard L16's at a special pro
>> rated price. I have found that all lead acid batteries that have
>> problems seem to first have a cell failure somewhere along the line
>> and finally the capacity diminishes to the point that it is an
>> annoyance. Seems  bad cells seem more numerous lately.
>>
>> John Blittersdorf
>> Rob Stubbins Solar
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 26, 2017 at 11:54 AM, Wallace Stahle <wstahle at pacific.net
>> <mailto:wstahle at pacific.net>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hi Folks,
>>
>>     I was called by a customer with the complaint of the MS4024
>>     inverter shut down and ME-ARC controller and Trimetric acting
>>     strange, intermittent and even even showing 29 volts at times.
>>
>>     The batteries are four 2.5 year old US battery L16XC 380 AH and
>>     checking each battery showed one at 4.8 v under charge while the
>>     other three were at 7+ volts and no current.
>>
>>     Meanwhile the specific gravity was high on all cells and even a
>>     week after removal are up at 1.275 on all three cells.
>>
>>     I suspect an open in the cell interconnects with enough continuity
>>     to read volts but not conduct current.
>>
>>     My question is what have any of you seen n this regard and any
>>     knowledge of cause of such a failure.
>>
>>     Your insights and experience are greatly appreciated.
>>
>>     They were installed by others and are out of warranty. I donated a
>>     serviceable used USB L16 to get her back to a working system.
>>     She did recall her Ex stating along the lines of "oh this one has
>>     a problem but dont worry, it'll come around" as they were installed.
>>
>>     Many thanks,
>>
>>     Wallace Stahle
>>     Future Electric Energy Co
>>     P O Box 236
>>     Willits, CA 95490
>>     future at pacific.net <mailto:future at pacific.net>
>>     CA Lic.# C10-762093
>>     707-459-0474 <tel:707-459-0474>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
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