Thanks Bob but he has a tubular type hydrometer, not the pointer type. They're usually ok but I'll check it against mine when I go there which looks like a certainty.
They EQ the batteries on a regular basis as per my instructions (they say) but will have to nail them down on that. The small 2500w generator worries me but they have 800w solar and a Whisper 100. The wind blows a lot. Inverter is a 3524 Outback. Ron On 2011-10-08, at 5:07 PM, bob ellison wrote: > I bet he has a cheap pointer type hydrometer, I have seen them be way off > from reality. > My guess is that the gravity is low the voltage changes quickly, specific > gravity changes slowly in a battery bank. > To fully charge a 24 volt bank you need to get it to 29 + volts and keep it > there for several hours, depending on the battery bank size. > Charging it to 25.4 is nothing in the long run. > Give them a LONG full charge, what are the inverters? Does it ever get an EQ > charge? > > Bob Ellison > > From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org > [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Ron Young > Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2011 2:02 PM > To: RE-wrenches > Subject: [RE-wrenches] intermittent battery problem > > Howdy Wrenches, > > One of my customers that lives 3 hours out in the back country is having an > intermittent problem that I haven't encountered before. The batteries drop > rapidly in voltage but hydrometer readings are in the green. Turning off the > inverter and just using DC doesn't change anything. Meters on the Mate, > Outback MX and Whisper controller are all the same so it's not a metering > problem. On the way to bed the batteries were at 25.4, overnight with no > loads they dropped to 22.9 then a short 15 min. charge with a generator > brings the batteries back up and two hours later they are at 25.8. This > scenario has occurred several times and then doesn't appear for a day or two. > > It doesn't seem to be sulfation as the batteries are reading good on the > hydrometer every time. All cells check out. The inverter doesn't seem to be > the problem. They have a Sunfrost on a separate DC circuit. It sounds like an > intermittent circuit problem or electronics issue. Customer has checked and > tightened all the connections he can get at but hasn't been inside the > components. Would appreciate any suggestions or clues before I make the trip. > > Ron Young > > earthRight Products - Solareagle.com > Alternative Energy Solutions ~ Renewable Energy Products > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Options & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org >
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