All,
I've worked with most battery types in 23 years in the trade. There are no easy answers here. We see the unusual T-105 battery bank go 12 years. Conversely we have seen people blow through L-16's in 3 years. I personally have some gigantic (Hoppecke LA's 330lbs each cell) 2v cells in my shop system that are 16 years old and show no signs of decline. They are German made and brought in special to make good on a failed fibered NICAD battery we sold for Hoppecke in the early 90's (that was not a pleasant experience, I would not do it again, even for a free 20 year+ battery bank as a make-up gift). Also, I wouldn't want to actually buy these large 2v cells. If you can trust the life cycle, depth of discharge, charts from the manufacturer and calculate a simple "best value" for the dollar, than you've done your job. Then it's up to a good system sizing design, good metering and great user care. Our number one rule is "fully charge every ten days (at least)". If you do this, you avoid sulfation, the number one culprit in early battery demise. For a small system the T-105's typically are the best value. In larger system's there are more choices. A string, or two, of 2v cells can be an excellent choice depending on the price/value ratio. Medium size systems will normally call for Surrette/Rolls 6v, or Trojan L-16 batteries. All for off grid applications. Sealed batteries for battery backup grid tied. Dave Palumbo Independent Power LLC Offices in Lamoille and Champlain Valley, Vermont www.independentpowerllc.com NABCEP Certified PV Installer Vermont Solar Partner 802.888.7194 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jay peltz Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 8:52 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Are Thick Plate Batteries Worth the Price? HI Nick, I gotta ask have you ever seen a battery last 25 years that wasn't in float and had to do some work, or even 15 years? jay peltz power On Oct 29, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Nick Soleil wrote: You generally pay for what you get. The industrial 2V cells generally cost more, but will last a lot longer (up to 25 yrs.) I think it depends on the customer's budget, and the long term plans for the property. Nick Soleil Project Manager Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC PO Box 657 Petaluma, CA 94953 Cell: 707-321-2937 Office: 707-789-9537 Fax: 707-769-9037
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: [email protected] 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
