Hello Todd,
Since your strong opinion is a completely negative one, I suggest you
study the installations you have had trouble with. I have seen many
poorly designed systems that cause to the demise of the battery. Far
too many parallel strings and undersized charge systems are the worst
problem causers. Not accusing you of poor practices, but something is
wrong if you believe all sealed batteries are fragile and crap. What
brand(s) of battery was the basis of your experience?
As for my 8 year experience with AGM and Gel, their life is equal to
flooded. The huge efficiency improvement and low discharge rate should
not be overlooked when designing a battery based system. I have
customers in Mexico that leave their AGM's in float for 6 months
during the summer when they are gone and perform an equalize
conditioning charge before they use them the next season. Flooded
batteries have not stood up to this type of seasonal use, especially
when they disconnect the battery bank because there is no one present
to water them. In this case, sealed are the best choice. About half of
my mobile battery sales are now AGM, even at the higher price, because
word is spreading about the benefits.
Larry Crutcher
www.starlightsolar.com
la...@starlightsolar.com
(928) 941-1660
On Nov 30, 2009, at 8:50 AM, toddc...@finestplanet.com wrote:
As someone who has been doing off grid systems since 1985 I can say
from experience, ALL sealed batteries are CRAP... especially in off
grid applications. They are too fragile and do not last.
Todd
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