Hello Dana, Sounds like you've solved the sore back problem without over- or under-watering cells.
I water and check electrolyte level every 2 to 6 months depending on the battery bank's age and use (grid-tie float only, off-grid daily charge/discharge, etc.). I encourage spot-checking specific gravity of about 10% of the cells before each scheduled watering and changing the sampling cells each time. That's only 5 cells of a 48 cell battery. But is that an adequate sampling or am I just rationalizing to avoid a sore back? Joel Davidson ----- Original Message ----- From: Dana To: 'RE-wrenches' Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2011 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery watering Hey Joel, We have a couple of auto water systems in use that we connect manually and it takes less than 5 minutes to water a triple HUP 1690 amp hour-24vdc bank. Pretty sweet but doing the SG is a bit of a hassle as you have to unscrew each cap. I hear that there are auto water caps that have a port for the extraction of electrolyte for testing, but I have not used or seen this cap. Dana Orzel Great Solar Works, Inc E - [email protected] V - 970.626.5253 F - 970.626.4140 C - 970.209.4076 web - www.solarwork.com "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988" Do not ever believe anything, but seriously trust through action. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Joel Davidson Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2011 9:59 AM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Battery watering Dana, One of my battery suppliers gave me the same or similar float. He said something like, "Here's a sample from one of the watering systems that we sell. It's pretty good, but sometimes the float sticks open and sometimes it sticks closed so I wouldn't turn on the water supply unless I was there to monitor it." He said that his forklift customers schedule 30 minutes for watering - turns the water on before going to lunch and checks to see if the cells are full when he comes back from lunch. Joel Davidson ----- Original Message ----- From: Dana To: 'RE-wrenches' Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 2:37 PM Subject: [RE-wrenches] Battery watering I found Battery Watering Systems ; http://www.batterywatering.com/ Kits and lots of options on parts for battery service. I am getting a new pressure sprayer and ordered a "gun" that stops when the battery fluid is at a preset level $80, includes a flow meter visual, 20PSI pressure reducer, sprayer handle and auto stop tip. No more sore back from leaning over the battery bank, Yes! Dana Orzel Great Solar Works, Inc E - [email protected] V - 970.626.5253 F - 970.626.4140 C - 970.209.4076 web - www.solarwork.com "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988" Do not ever believe anything, but seriously trust through action. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ 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
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