I have a couple of the "solar tester" electronic style and they seem to
be pretty accurate, then I have an old fashioned huge resistor style
with a voltmeter. Always accurate and really cool after testing a
couple of batteries and having a smoking hot resistor!
On 6/30/18 8:38 AM, [email protected] wrote:
I agree, or put a load on each one by itself and see if one drops to a
lower voltage quicker.
Load testing is one of the best test methods.
-----Original Message----- From: Robert
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 10:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fun with a solar site
Probably because none have had a chance to charge up to a higher
voltage.. You would have to put each battery on a charger separately...
On 6/29/18 7:25 PM, Matt Hoppes wrote:
I do you have a fuse on each battery which I found interesting and now
I’m sort of wondering if that isn’t the case they all share the same
voltage I’ve even had them disconnected since about noon today and
none show drained more than another one.
On Jun 29, 2018, at 21:54, Chuck McCown <[email protected]> wrote:
You can avoid this in the future if you have a fuse on each battery.
(This only works with parallel arrays, not series arrays).
When a cell shorts, that battery will have much higher current until
all the other batts discharge into it down to the new voltage. Just
make the fuse higher by a little bit than the max charging current.
-----Original Message----- From: Matt Hoppes
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 7:46 PM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fun with a solar site
OK that’s what I was wondering. thanks Chuck, a wealth of information
as always.
On Jun 29, 2018, at 21:38, Chuck McCown <[email protected]> wrote:
Disconnect one terminal of the battery and measure the voltage. The
battery with the shorted cell will have a lower voltage.
Or, during charging, just put your hand on the batts. The shorted
cell bat will run warmer.
-----Original Message----- From: Matt Hoppes
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 7:30 PM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fun with a solar site
He’s very reasonable way other than trial and error to determine
which battery has the shorted cell in it?
On Jun 29, 2018, at 21:21, Chuck McCown <[email protected]> wrote:
Any time you have cells or batts in parallel and one of the cells
shorts, the whole system drops 2 volts. (if lead acid chemistry).
-----Original Message----- From: Matt Hoppes
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 6:45 PM
To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fun with a solar site
Robert, that was my first thought as well but why would connecting
additional batteries suddenly drop the overall voltage? Do you
think that is just the cells can’t put out enough to charge
everything so the overall output voltage goes down?
On Jun 29, 2018, at 20:38, Robert <[email protected]> wrote:
hosed cell(s)
On 6/29/18 5:12 PM, Matt Hoppes wrote:
I’m currently about halfway through troubleshooting a solar site
and had to quit for the day.
I have a site with five 100 amp hour batteries. It is a 12 V site
and I have three of the batteries on to wire leads going to the
charge controller and two of the batteries on a wire lead going
to the charge controller.
I have been seeing something weird for the past three months
where during the day on a sunny day we never hit and plateau at
about 12.5 12.7 V like we used to.
Instead it will get up to about 12.2 or 12.3 and then do this
weird saw tooth pattern. Today when I was at the site I
disconnected the secondary battery group of three batteries and
things went up to 12.5 V and plateaued.
When I reconnected the three batteries it went down to 12.2 and
started doing the weird saw tooth pattern.
What do those of you who have worked with solar before think?
Might this indicate a bad cell or battery? Or some kind of an
issue with not enough voltage or amps being pushed into the
battery strings? Or something else?
I should also mention that normally this site is able to maintain
itself, but in its current state it maintains a very steady decay
until the batteries are finally drained and I’ve had to boost it
once with a charger.
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