Hi Jesse, Hope the fish are biting!
Your client will have an issue of determining SOC if she dumped and replaced the acid - as this will provide artificially high SG readings. If the batteries froze, the batteries had to be discharged, which means there is a significant amount of lead sulfate on the plates (suspect much of which is crystalized). The only course of action - that I can think of - would be to charge the bank until the SG stop rising. Given the age of the bank (12yrs) not an incredible amount of harm done as assume the bank is reaching the end of useful life but getting a few more years is always a benefit. Given the temperature and age of the bank, I would recommend the client charge at EQ settings (60-64v) until the SG stops rising and is stable for 30mins and / or current drops below 5A. Suspect you will see SG readings >1.300. Once you have a reading, please advise and we can provide you with quantity of acid to remove & water to add to return to 1.265. Regards, Jamie >>> Jesse Dahl <dahlso...@gmail.com> 12/29/2010 9:34 AM >>> Wrenches, There is a MX60 charge controller with the system, 2 trace inverters, and ten BP modules. Not sure the wattage of the modules.... There was no way to get to the roof and and check. I have only been there once, it was in October. The array was partially shaded at 1:45pm...... The batteries (rolls 6V) are the original batteries (12 years old....) some have visibly bulged from the freezing. There are 16 batteries, 4 sets of 4.(24 volts). The cables were a problem in my opinion. When I was there, only 8 batteries were being used. So there were disconnected cables in the battery room. Cable lengths varied from bank to bank, and they were just run across the floor. I will post some photos that I took later today. And more generator information, I'm in my fish house right now and don't have my camera!!!! Thanks for the help, Jesse Sent from my iPad!!! On Dec 28, 2010, at 5:20 PM, "Starlight Solar, Larry Crutcher" <la...@starlightsolar.com> wrote: Jesse, It looks like you said the battery was replaced with Rolls. If so, good choice. Without extensive regular testing, keeping a log book, and possessing the knowledge to do it right, you will not really know if you are fully charging the battery to 100% SOC. From the information in your post, it leads me to think that this is the case. IMO, the single most important thing you can do for this customer is install a battery monitor system. I recommend the trimetric. While this will not take the place of skilled battery testing, it will give you far more information than you have ever had. This is where to start. You will then know how high and low the voltage got each day. You will see how many AH are removed and replaced each day. You will have eyes to see your battery health like never before. Please post the size of the battery bank, the cables and length used to connect the inverter and all the generator information. Perhaps we can help more. Larry ----- Original Message ----- From: Jesse Dahl ( mailto:dahlso...@gmail.com ) To: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 11:04 AM Subject: [RE-wrenches] Trace inverters undercharging batteries. Wrenches, I have been in contact with a person living off-grid in Northern MN. She had some problems with her system and called me. I teach a solar class at a local community college and have been helping her in my free time (free of course!). Some of her batteries froze last winter and she said she dumped out the electrolyte and put new in........ (6 V Rolls) Her main concern was the batteries never fully charging. She has a very nice Kohler gen, but from what I have been told, the Trace inverters may be part of the problem with the batteries undercharging. I have limited experience with off grid applications and any help would be greatly appreciated. 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