Batteries

Hi Guys, I need to start looking at replacing my existing battery bank. Currently I have 2 banks of 48V at 100AH in each bank, but the battries is over 10 years old now. If I have to size my new battery bank correctly, I would need about 800AH or more. Problem is that it is way to costly right now. I'm happy to run with 400AH. Now, I can do it with 4 x 100AH parallell strings, 2 x 200AH strings or a single 400AH string. Thing is, with multiple strings, I can buy a new string say every 3 to 4 months. With a single string, I would need to save for at least a year Now the question is, if all the battries have the same specs, which configuration would b…

Just wondering if anyone has made use of these batteries and what they are like. Sounds like a good price, but the batteries are "reconditioned". What does that mean exactly? http://www.ecorecon.co.za/wmenu.php

Hi everyone, I am clueless when it comes to the finer details of setting up a stand-by system and need an experts guideline. Basically I have purchased a 3kw UPS unit ( see attached file , my model is the AV5K ) , and need to know what kind of batteries to buy for this kind of unit. The supplier advised me to purchase 12v180ah for a 4 hour backup , but the price of 180ah batteries are out of my budget. So the second choice was 12v100ah . I found a supplier selling me 12v105ah TASMAYA batteries at R1400 per battery. I ordered 8 batteries for a start. I don't think im going to power a lot of things in the beginning , just my LED lighting and TV systems. I work…

Hi Guys, So currently I am running a 3kw solar system at home. It is off-line and not connected to the grid. It is only running during the day. At night, it switches to normal power. I have some 2nd hand battries I got from a friend some time back. Their work chucked them due to age. Currently it is 2 banks of 48V each at 100AH per bank. I was planning on going grid-tied later this year, but now CPT have made me re-think this. Should I go with 2 strings of 100AH or rather go single string at 200AH? Max I have seen on my system is 58Amps at 48V, so around 2,8kw. Also been leaning towards Lead Crystal battries. Thanks

Thought I would start off with a bit of information on types of lead acid batteries, reason for lead acid batteries is because they are still the cheapest technology on the market that is reliable and available Lets first understand the different parts of a battery: Cell The cell is the basic electrochemical unit in a battery consisting of a set of positive and negative plates divided by separators, immersed in an electrolyte solution and enclosed in a case. In a typical lead-acid battery, each cell has a nominal voltage of about 2.1 volts, so there are 6 series cells in a nominal 12-volt battery. Active Material The active materials in a battery are the raw co…

Increasing the range of electric vehicles and improving the storage of renewable energy systems are two examples of the benefits offered by lithium-sulfur batteries. Though they can hold four times the energy per mass of the lithium-ion batteries used today, their considerably shorter lifespan has proven something of a roadblock. Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have now designed a lithium-sulfur battery with four times the longevity, bringing the technology that little bit closer to maturity. Read More http://www.gizmag.com/hybrid-anode-improves-lithium-sulfur-battery-life-by-four-times/30925/

http://hexus.net/mobile/news/accessories/65281-batteries-powered-sugar-cheap-powerful-biodegradable/

Hi all, This morning I came across a lightly used (6 month old, I'm told) set of Trojan T-125 batteries (4 of them), apparently thrown out of a golf cart not because there's much wrong with them, but because the owner of the golf cart converted to petrol after the controller board died. I was also given a warranty by the seller, so I can take them back. What I'm trying to do now, is check the manufacture date. The interwebs says to look at the number stamped into the negative pole, but mine has none of those. It has several other numbers all over... someone had engraved A1027 on all of them, it has 0611 (or 1190, it's hard to make out what's up and what's down) me…

http://www.gizmag.com/flow-battery/28747/

Has anyone ever come across this: http://www.noonco.com/edison/videos.htm Look at some of the dates of the articles : http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch//#/edison+battery I contacted suppliers in the US of A as well as their suppliers in China, but for a 24v 200Ah battery, you are looking at +-$2400.00+ of which shipping makes up the most of the cost I would imagine. http://www.changhongbatteries.com/ch/products/index/13/2.2.1 http://www.zappworks.com/ So, without any further typing, anyone out there who has the knowledge, or know of someone who may be game to give it a try? http://www.noonco.com/edison/edison_brochure.pdf For sure as I am t…

All-solid lithium-sulfur battery stores four times the energy of lithium-ions By Dario Borghino June 7, 2013 2 Comments 2 Pictures Researchers are building an all-solid Li-S battery that is cheap, safe, durable, and stores four times the charge of conventional lithium-ion batteries (Photo: ORNL) Image Gallery (2 ima Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have come up with a promising design for a lithium-sulfur rechargeable battery that is considerably cheaper and energy-dense than standard lithium-ions. Using a solid electrolyte rather than a liquid one, the battery is also testing much safer and more durable than previous designs. Lithium-su…

http://on.digg.com/12Ju4hp E

This is something I find a lot of people get wring in the industry and thus their batteries don't last. The following needs to be know before starting to size: Voltage of the battery bank, 12, 24 or 48V are the common PV system voltages Autonomy on your battery bank (be it min, hours, days), taking into account the C rating you are working at, ie the number of hours Ah or Wh of your load If you have the Ah make sure it is with the correct voltage of your battery bank, if you have Wh divide it by your battery bank's voltage. Once you have worked out your Ah of your load, and the ampere hour is per day, multiply it by the days autonomy you want on your system…

Willard RT range is the FNB competitor for solar batteries, very nice vented tubular battery. Its a vented battery, so maintenance is required. Does about 1500 cycles to 80% DOD, not bad! MT_and_RT.pdf

A great guide and information to calculate battery capacity. Click Here Basic calculator also attached E peukert.xls

Hi Guys a great site for everything Battery http://batteryuniversity.com/ E

For me, battries have been the single biggest stumbling block when looking at a solar system. The simple reason is cost!!! For a small system that does not need to run 24/7, or use much power, batteries is not that big an issue. Problem comes if you looking at constructing say anything larger than 1kW. Now you have to start looking at battery configurations, like 12V, 24V, 36V or 48V. For 12V the currents would be much higher and you would need loads of batteries in parralell. 48V requires lower current, but more battries in series again, 4 x more than with 12V. Then you have to look at backup time, charge time and how low the battries would drain every ni…