Ray, Yes, this is an off-grid applications. I think you are right, the battery guy sold him what he had. Pretty pricey battery lesson twice!
On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 at 6:42 PM, Ray Walters <r...@solarray.com> wrote: > Mac; > > Is this off grid? The Intimidator is not a high cycle life battery. > I've had trouble finding exact ratings, but its probably in the 250 to 300 > cycles at 80% DOD. I'd expect 3 years max in an off grid application. > Also the Intimidators I've seen are actually AGM, not Gel, but I don't > know. I looked on Deka's website but didn't find any good charge set > points. This is basically a sealed RV/ Marine battery. Definitely not a > top choice, but its what the battery guys have on the shelf, so that's what > they sell. > You're on to the biggest problem, pulling off opposite corners of the bank > to balance the connector resistance between all the strings. > I go out of my way not to poo poo the customer's choice, but to make sure > and let them know you can't guarantee the performance of the system. I > had almost the exact experience just a few months ago, where the customer > had just bought a new set of Intimidators. I just told him to use them up, > no sense in worrying about it, and when they were worn out, we'd get him > something better. I used AGM setting on the Midnite controller on that > system. Voltage set points should be his responsibility to track down, if > their gel. It keeps you from being responsible for anything to do with the > battery performance or life. When he needs a new set, you sell him the > right stuff, set it up right, and low and behold you'll look good when they > outlast his previous sets. > > R.Ray Walters > CTO, Solarray, Inc > Nabcep Certified PV Installer, > Licensed Master Electrician > Solar Design Engineer303 505-8760 > > On 8/3/2013 5:31 PM, Mac Lewis wrote: > > Hello wrenches, > > I am looking for guidance with charging setpoints for a battery that I > don't have experience with. This system was put in by another solar > company and this battery bank failed after 1.5 years. He bought these > batteries without consulting us, but now we are stuck with them. > It is a Deka Intimidator Gel Sealed Battery 12V 225 Ahr. It is set up as > 3 strings of 4 batteries to give a 675Ahr bank at 48V. The batteries were > not wired at opposite corners, but inverter/charger leads were connected to > the middle string. We will fix that and other things but I don't use Deka > batteries. > What charger setpoints would you recommend for this battery bank? Does > anyone have a good tech contact at Deka? Anyone have any results to report > about this type of battery in a solar application? > > Thanks in advance > > -- > > > > Mac Lewis > > * > > "Yo solo sé que no sé nada." -Sócrates > * > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Home Power magazine > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change email address & > 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: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change email address & 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 > > > -- Mac Lewis * "Yo solo sé que no sé nada." -Sócrates *
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