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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Ray,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Absolutely: Battery charging 101 = temperature
compensated charging, no exceptions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I too thought of underground storage but the
temperature is still above 100 degrees at 6 feet down. It is really hot in the
Baja!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I disagree about AGM life. I have heard others say
this about AGM's but it has not been our experience. I personally have a
900AH bank that is 6 years old and shows little signs of aging. I have equalized
the batteries twice to keep the capacity up(each one individually, constant
current, unregulated voltage) We only sell and install battery
based systems at our retail store and about 50% of sales are AGM
batteries. We have found that they have similar life to
flooded batteries but with great benefits.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, some L16's just don't hold up well but I am
talking about entire banks failing all at about the same age.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for your reply.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Larry</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ray@solarray.com href="mailto:ray@solarray.com">R Ray Walters</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 21, 2011 1:50
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RE-wrenches] Air
conditioning for batteies in high temperatureclimate</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Are you using temperature compensation? It lowers the voltage
when its hot.
<DIV>Also, have you considered setting the batteries in a below ground vault?
I've had good luck with in floor battery boxes.</DIV>
<DIV>Finally, AGMs and L16s just don't last very long anyway. AGMs maybe 3
years, and L16s I've seen die in under 5 years and we get to 15 below
zero.</DIV>
<DIV>My suggestion: temp comp, ground vault, HUP or equivalent cycle
life.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>
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<DIV>R. Walters</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:ray@solarray.com">ray@solarray.com</A></DIV>
<DIV>Solar Engineer</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV><BR
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<DIV>
<DIV>On Apr 21, 2011, at 1:22 PM, Starlight Solar, Larry Crutcher
wrote:</DIV><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline>
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<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello Battery Wrenches,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Over the years I have had several battery banks
in Baja and Sonora Mexico fail in just 36 to 48 months. These have
been L16 or 8D AGM or flooded banks, 24 and 48 volt systems. The
charging systems are working properly and
programmed to manufacturer recommended set points and
discharges are rarely over 30% DoD. Some batteries are only used
on weekends, some are discharged daily. I believe what is affecting
the short life is the high temperature they live in for 5 months each year.
Temps. can hit 115 F in vented battery rooms. I have been thinking about a
small air conditioner and insulated battery box to keep the battery at
no more than 80 F. There are some portable units that draw about 600 watts
and the run time would be very little with a highly insulated enclosure.
There is ample power to do this on the home I am changing batteries in now.
Has anyone done this and gained longer battery life?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Best Regards,</FONT></DIV><FONT face=Verdana
size=2></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana size=2></FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Larry Crutcher<BR><A
href="http://www.starlightsolar.com/">Starlight Solar Power
Systems</A><BR></FONT><FONT face=Georgia size=1><BR></FONT><FONT
color=#ff0000><EM><FONT face=Georgia size=1>powered by<SPAN
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