On Fri, 11 Mar 2016 20:20:05 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:25:29 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
All but one of my light bulbs (75w pump house warmth) is either CFL
or
LED. My electric bill is $40/mo, and I have a new timer for the
electric water heater. Once I get the new solar panels installed,
I'll also have a 24v 900w element going into that water heater,
replacing one of the two 240vac energy suckers. The timer will come
on for one hour, if necessary, each day before I get up. I'm not
going to feed the grid because that means I'd have to get a net
meter.
That's a case where I think the economics favor grid power, because of
the high cost and limited cycle life of vented deep-cycle batteries.
That it does, but what happens when (not if) the grid goes tits-up?
I'm still experimenting with how to best use them. I think the answer
is to recharge them to the solar controller's lower VRLA/AGM voltage
cutoff setting so they don't release gas indoors, and then schlepp
them outdoors after the blackout ends to top off and equalize them per
the maker's instructions at the higher voltage that mixes the
How often are you equalizing? The last article I read said that it
drops battery life considerably if you do it very often. I think the
article was in HomePower mag. No equalization can drop the life, too,
so there's a balance.
stratified electrolyte by bubbling. That's one of those inconvenient
solutions only the inventer would tolerate, and impractical for
batteries heavier than Group 31.
Why not vent them well rather than schlepping? MUCH less work.
Enclosed battery space, right? Fan on the inside, window to the
outside? For a more exciting removal of the hydrogen, just burn it
off. (Disclaimer: Kids, don't try this at home.)
I need to do something better with my solar battery set. The original
is outside in a box, which means it chills in the winter and boils in
the summer. Maybe I'll build a foam-insulated cover for it, with
vents, then figure out a better solution for the larger battery set on
the new panels when I do get them. Battery watering sets aren't too
expensive, and auto-fill beats frequent checking. Cheap insurance.
When recharging quickly from a generator I feed my unregulated,
Powerstat-controlled homebrew 35V 15A power supply through the solar
controller's panel input to make use of its automatic charge cutoff.
Good idea. Generators are also more costly than grid power.
My filler-cap batteries don't bubble noticeably at the 13.6V AGM
cutoff. The "book" calls 14.3V the threshold of significant gas
generation. I can't judge the rate by just looking but 14.0 to 14.3 is
where the bubbling becomes continuous, and also where fine acid mist
comes out. I couldn't see well enough through the spattered food wrap
to describe bubbling as more than "substantial" at 14.8V.
Um, "food wrap"? Makeshift battery enclosure, Mickey? Whatever
works, wot?
I've run a gas generation test in ?? company's lab on their
lead-acid batteries. While I can't reveal details the results were
similar.
Good knowledge to have.
The Interstate battery I put in the truck in 2002 receives a top-off
charge every month or two and is still in good condition, judging by
the electrolyte gravity and the time it will run the headlights
without dropping too far.
13+ years? Not bad. I just replaced my Tundra battery last year, so
I got 9 on the original.
Other battery tech:
Ickterstate- I bought one rebuilt nicad tool battery from the local
Interstate and won't ever buy anything from them again. It was less
powerful than the original with the bad cell, and they said "It tests
to spec. No warranty necessary." I wish I'd checked specs on the
original cells, but I'd bet the replacements had a significantly lower
capacity.
The NiMHs in the Bosch Impactor lasted 5 years and were good when I
sold the kit. Lithiums in the new Makita are still going strong 5+
years later.
Lithiums in the $500 Milwaukee set I won at a fair are still going
strong at about a year old. g
I wish LiFePO batteries were 10x cheaper now. I'd get a few KW of
those instead of LA. Tesla keeps making strong drops in pricing on
their battery tech. A couple 10kw modules would be nice, eh?
Or maybe solar electrolysis to power fuel cells?
--
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at
a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand.
--Thomas Carlyle