Hi Ray,
Absolutely: Battery charging 101 = temperature compensated charging, no
exceptions.
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!
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.
Yes, some L16's just don't hold up well but I am talking about entire banks
failing all at about the same age.
Thanks for your reply.
Larry
----- Original Message -----
From: R Ray Walters
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 1:50 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Air conditioning for batteies in high
temperatureclimate
Are you using temperature compensation? It lowers the voltage when its hot.
Also, have you considered setting the batteries in a below ground vault? I've
had good luck with in floor battery boxes.
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.
My suggestion: temp comp, ground vault, HUP or equivalent cycle life.
R. Walters
r...@solarray.com
Solar Engineer
On Apr 21, 2011, at 1:22 PM, Starlight Solar, Larry Crutcher wrote:
Hello Battery Wrenches,
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?
Best Regards,
Larry Crutcher
Starlight Solar Power Systems
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