<div dir="ltr"><div>While I have no experience with HUP, I do have many years of experience with Rolls/Surrette. They are a robust battery, and in my opinion superior to Trojan and other mid-line flavors. I am not as adamant about staying away from L16s as Allan, although I'd whole-heartedly agree with keeping to one string wherever possible, and 2 at most. <br><br>Of course, going to the 2-volt batteries almost always allows for single strings, and give you a much more robust battery, and are often the right choice even for budget conscious clients. However, they are a much larger investment and take a much more robust charging system. Sometimes it makes sense to start a new off-gridder on a set of less expensive "training" batteries, depending on your assessment of their learning curve, motivation, and budget. <br><br>As with all batteries, there are occasional cell failures, likely attributable to manu defects. But I've found with Rolls, this is less common (except with the T12250 12-volt batteries which I have seen a significant failure rate over with the years). And I have never had trouble getting batteries covered under warranty from them if I determine that the failure was not likely operator error. But this is probably dependent upon having a good, trusting relationship with ones supplier, which I've always had with RAE Battery.<br></div>Howie<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(120,63,4)"><b>Howie Michaelson</b></span><br><font size="1"><i>NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™</i></font><br><span style="color:rgb(106,168,79)"></span>Sun Catcher, LLC<br><span style="color:rgb(68,68,68)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font size="2">Renewable Energy Systems Sales and Service<br>VT Solar Electric Incentive Partner</font><span></span></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(180,95,6)">802-272-0004</span></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 12:37 PM, Allan Sindelar <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:allan@sindelarsolar.com" target="_blank">allan@sindelarsolar.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(0,0,0)" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Drake,<br>
Your request is missing specifics so my answer can only be generic.
Get away from all L16s. Go to one string of industrial cells. There
are numerous well-respected brands. I would put HUPs at about the
top. <a href="http://www.hupsolarone.com" target="_blank">www.hupsolarone.com</a>. Spend some time on this website and it
will become more clear.<br>
Allan<br>
<br>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Allan Sindelar</b><br>
<span style="font-size:10.0pt"><a href="mailto:allan@sindelarsolar.com" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:allan@sindelarsolar.com" target="_blank">allan@sindelarsolar.com</a></span><br>
<span style="font-size:10.0pt">NABCEP Certified PV
Installation Professional<br>
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional<br>
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician<br>
Founder (Retired), <span>Positive
Energy,
Inc.</span><br>
<b><a href="tel:505%20780-2738" value="+15057802738" target="_blank">505 780-2738</a> cell</b><br>
<br>
<b><u></u><u></u></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>On 12/15/2015 9:07 AM, Drake wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
Hello Wrenches,<br>
<br>
Even after my clients have learned to maintain their batteries
properly,
the Trojan L-16 batteries continue to crater, one cell at a time.
One
client is considering spending $12,000 on a nickel - iron battery
bank he
found on the web. This seems like a ridiculously large investment,
but he
is feeling desperate. We urgently need another option from the
Trojan
L-16s.<br>
<br>
How are the Surrette L-16s holding up? Would you recommend them as
worth
the extra investment? <br>
<br>
What is the best battery to use in an off grid system these days.
<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Drake <br>
<br>
<a name="151a6b8d0c4a8f8f__MailAutoSig"></a>Drake Chamberlin<br>
<i>Athens Electric LLC<br>
OH License 44810<br>
CO License 3773<br>
NABCEP Certified Solar PV <br>
<a href="tel:740-448-7328" value="+17404487328" target="_blank">740-448-7328</a><br>
</i><a href="http://athens-electric.com/" target="_blank">http://athens-electric.com/</a>
<br>
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