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    When I'm evaluating an old system, one thing I do is really yank on
    all the battery connections.  If it turns, tighten it down, and in
    several cases, the cable just pulls loose from the connector.  They
    are time consuming to do right.  Cable has to be stripped long
    enough, the crimper needs to be set correctly, and be the right
    crimper for the particular lug.  <br>
    Below is an example of:<br>
    the wrong cable (THHN, not X Flex)<br>
    Not enough cable stripped<br>
    Wrong Size Lug<br>
    Not Crimped Properly<br>
    Not Vaselined<br>
    <img src="cid:part1.2E2D58FD.47EEBB69@solarray.com" alt=""><br>
    Now let's put 150 amps continuous through that garbage and see if we
    have some long term issues......<br>
    <br>
    <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">R.Ray Walters
CTO, Solarray, Inc
Licensed Master Electrician
Solar Design Engineer
303 505-8760</pre>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/21/2017 3:16 PM, Dan Fink wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote
cite="mid:CAF+3LneepKxezZ7EZ9_ypkSrOhMiKybdOLH7OF+O7CHUE345Og@mail.gmail.com"
      type="cite">
      <div dir="ltr">Last weekend. 3-year old, 24v battery bank,
        series/parallel.
        <div>6v Trojan L-16 in an 8-battery bank, one battery on one
          string showing 4v. Negative end of string. Replaced the one
          upstream of it last summer, same problem. Aha! I say, and
          folks here on the Wrenches list (including me) complaining
          about Trojan cell failures, factory defects (I've had one too)
          and that the battery on the negative end fails first. Darn you
          Trojan. Up your game.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>3yr - 3yr - 3yr - 3yr</div>
        <div>4v - new - bubbling - 3yr</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>So as I am disconnecting this string so the homeowner has
          at least half a battery bank, I can hear the next battery
          upstream of the NEW one bubbling, with no power in or out,
          system shut down. Didn't need the thermal imager this time, we
          could feel it was hot.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>And, as we are doing this disconnect and pulling off
          interconnects, the cable between the 4v battery and the new
          one pulled right out of the ring terminal lug. Bad crimp.
          Cause of problem now known. These were factory interconnects
          purchased from AltEDirect.com.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>Never again...I have the tools to make up interconnects and
          do it on small projects, it's just they are so time consuming
          to do right (crimper, glue-melt heat shrink, etc) that it
          costs me more in labor (unless I have student interns working
          for free) than buying them from AltE.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>That crappy crimp cost my customer 3 Trojan L-16s. I have
          notified AltE. They should be ashamed.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>I believe it was Mr. Tom Duffy, SolarBiz, on this list who
          pointed out during the Trojan thread that cell failures were
          rare, most failures are due bad connections. I've had a real
          cell failure (Trojan J185) but in this case, Mr. Duffy was
          spot-on.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>Best regards;</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all">
          <div>
            <div class="m_-8822420106587573857gmail_signature"
              data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
              <div dir="ltr">
                <div>
                  <div dir="ltr">
                    <div>
                      <div dir="ltr">
                        <div>
                          <div dir="ltr">
                            <div><span
                                style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">Dan
                                Fink</span>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">Adjunct
                                Professor of Solar Energy Technology,
                                Ecotech Institute</div>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">IREC
                                Certified Instructor™ for: </div>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">~
                                PV Installation Professional</div>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">~
                                Small Wind Installer</div>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">Executive
                                Director, Buckville Energy</div>
                              <div style="font-size:12.8000001907349px">NABCEP
                                Registered Continuing Education
                                Providers™<br>
                                <a moz-do-not-send="true"
                                  href="tel:970.672.4342"
                                  value="+19706724342"
                                  style="color:rgb(17,85,204)"
                                  target="_blank">970.672.4342</a></div>
                              <br>
                               </div>
                          </div>
                        </div>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
          <br>
          <div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jan 21, 2017 at 7:54 AM,
            cwarfel <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
                href="mailto:cwarfel@entech-engineering.com"
                target="_blank">cwarfel@entech-engineering.<wbr>com</a>></span>
            wrote:<br>
            <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
              .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
              <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
                <p><font size="+1"><tt>Hi David, do you have any
                      pictures of this that could be shared?  Chris</tt></font><br>
                </p>
                <br>
                <div
                  class="m_-8822420106587573857m_6612796613243774516moz-cite-prefix">On
                  1/20/2017 12:52 PM, Dave Palumbo wrote:<br>
                </div>
                <blockquote type="cite">
                  <div
                    class="m_-8822420106587573857m_6612796613243774516WordSection1">
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Following is an entry
                        from a Backwoods Solar email that I received
                        today. I would like to share this as a teachable
                        point for RE techs not familiar enough with
                        proper battery bank care and as a reminder for
                        those of us with years of storage battery
                        experience. </span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>I have underlined the two
                        issues in the Backwoods email copied below my
                        bullet points to highlight the teachable issues.</span></p>
                    <p
                      class="m_-8822420106587573857m_6612796613243774516MsoListParagraph"><span
                        style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span
                            style="font:7.0pt "Times New
                            Roman"">         </span></span></span><span>Checking
                        wiring connections: Check not only for tightness
                        but also for temperature. There are two simple
                        methods that work well: #1) Use an IR
                        Thermometer to ensure all connections are of a
                        similar moderate temperature. #2)  Use your
                        fingers to check temperatures. I'm practiced at
                        this second method because inexpensive IR
                        thermometers were not available when I began to
                        care for storage batteries. I simply use my bare
                        fingers (with a light coating of petroleum
                        jelly) to wiggle test each battery cable at the
                        battery terminal. Fingers are sensitive enough
                        to gauge proper temperature. I have easily found
                        several warm or hot connection points over the
                        years caused by loose or corroded hardware. Do
                        this as preventive maintenance every time you
                        water the batteries or bi-monthly with sealed
                        cells. Corrective measures (tightening, or
                        taking apart and cleaning, or replacing, and
                        reinstalling) are taken immediately when a
                        warmer than usual connection is identified.</span></p>
                    <p
                      class="m_-8822420106587573857m_6612796613243774516MsoListParagraph"><span
                        style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span
                            style="font:7.0pt "Times New
                            Roman"">         </span></span></span><span>It
                        is not recommended by most veteran wrenches to
                        use any "anti-corrosion paste" on the terminal
                        connections. This has been discussed a few times
                        over the years on the Wrenches list. Most of us
                        have found that a thin coating of petroleum
                        jelly (Vaseline is one brand) does the best job
                        of protecting against corrosion while still
                        allowing some visual inspection.</span></p>
                    <p>from Backwoods Solar 1/20/17.  << This past
                      summer Backwoods had a visit from one of our
                      retired co-workers, xxxxx.  While it is always
                      good to have friends visit, the circumstances for
                      his dropping by were less than ideal.</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>A small, catastrophic
                        failure had led to the loss of a battery bank,
                        two inverters, and a voltage converter. 
                        Ultimately, the failure was traced back to a
                        single nut and bolt in the battery bank cable
                        connections, that had developed hidden corrosion
                        over time.  Corrosion causes resistance to the
                        flow of electricity, which in turn generates
                        heat.  With enough corrosion, and enough current
                        flow, the amount of heat generated can be
                        sufficient to melt battery terminal connections;
                        which is exactly what happened in xxxxx’s case. 
                        The melted metal flowed between the negative and
                        positive terminals of his industrial battery,
                        causing a high power short that was beyond the
                        capabilities of any of the circuit protection,
                        resulting in the damage to the equipment.</span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Now keep in mind, xxxxx
                        is one of the more detail-oriented people we’ve
                        had here at Backwoods.  The discipline of a
                        military background, along with critical
                        thinking of an engineer, were still not enough
                        to overlook one very tiny detail.  xxxxx does
                        his mechanical maintenance on a routine
                        schedule; <u>checking for tightness in wiring
                          connections</u>, cleaning accumulated spray
                        off battery tops, cleaning out dust and spider
                        webs, <u>and keeping his battery terminal posts
                          coated with anti-corrosion paste.</u>  This is
                        not the type of person you’d expect to see such
                        a failure.</span><span></span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>So what happened?  It all
                        boiled down to the battery terminal
                        connections.  What xxxxx had NOT done, was
                        dissembled the nut and bolts from the battery
                        terminals and cables to check for internal,
                        hidden corrosion.  It had been about 6 years
                        since he had done that level of inspection. 
                        When previously reviewed, the hardware had been
                        thoroughly inspected, cleaned, and re-assembled,
                        and then coated with <u>anti-corrosion paste on
                          the exterior</u>.  In one of the 16 nut/bolt
                        pairs, a small bit of contamination or moisture
                        must have been left trapped inside.  Over the
                        course of the next six years, the corrosion
                        grew, contaminating the entire connection; but
                        was NOT visible externally at all! >></span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Best regards,</span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Dave</span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal">David Palumbo </p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal">Independent Power LLC</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal">462 Solar Way Drive</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal">Hyde Park, VT 05655</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
                        href="tel:%28802%29%20371-8678"
                        value="+18023718678" target="_blank">802-371-8678</a>
                      cell</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
                        href="tel:%28802%29%20888-4917"
                        value="+18028884917" target="_blank">802-888-4917</a>
                      home</p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
                    <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                  </div>
                  <br>
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                  <br>
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</pre><span class="m_-8822420106587573857HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
    </font></span></blockquote><span class="m_-8822420106587573857HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
    

    <pre class="m_-8822420106587573857m_6612796613243774516moz-signature" cols="72">-- 
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="tel:%28401%29%20466-8978" value="+14014668978" target="_blank">401-466-8978</a></pre>
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