Decisions thus made:
I'll spend about 1/2 of the donated funds on a single string of
high-capacity L16s. Beverly accumulated about $3,100 in pledges of
support. By going this way - smaller capacity at one string rather
than two let the string be the high capacity Surrette S-550s, with
428 claimed A/hr(C/20 rate). The savings lets me (for
now) add a good older 250W array (two Siemens SM55s and two PC4JFs
on a fixed ground mount rack), for roughly a 30-35% increase in PV
input, and still have enough left for some LED bulbs in her home.
Any remainder, she tells me, goes to canine restorative dental
services for one of her dogs.
I think that this will work fine for her. She is already overjoyed.
She asked whether a second string could be added next year. I said
yes, as in going from 4 to 8 batteries in each string we can match
two of the first set and two of the later set, so the resulting two
strings will operate reasonably well balanced. But I also said I
wouldn't add the second string without adding more array, to help
the two strings spend more of their time full with a good charge
rate.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. This will be my last
post on the thread unless a further issue comes up.
Allan
Allan Sindelar
al...@sindelarsolar.com
NABCEP Certified PV
Installation Professional
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive
Energy,
Inc.
505 780-2738 cell
On 10/23/2015 10:51 PM, frenergy wrote:
Is the other side of the coin, though, use one string of high
capacity L-16's to: reduce the number of cables and their
connections to terminals (failure points, maintenance), reduce
the watering hassle (half as many cells to check, water, take
SGs), because there are less cells you're more likely to check
SG's, only dropping into the 90% range for the overnight
discharge sounds like she could do with one string, no worries
about fusing a second string.
I'm not discounting the usefulness of GC batteries,
but I'm not seeing L-16s having a worse track record. I think
you guys have more experience in that regard than I do.
Bill
Feather River Solar Electric
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, October 23,
2015 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches]
Battery recommendation WAS: Rolls batteries
Thanks, esteemed Wrenches,
I'm thinking that she would do fine with 440 A/hr of T105 REs.
Jay asked about her loads. I emailed her this earlier today:
Beverly,
Back when the batteries were still strong, if you ended a
day's charging at 100%, what would the percentage be when
you awoke the next morning? I'm looking for typical, in
order to address a question about your replacement
batteries.
And she replied "probably in the 90s...I think..." She can live
on nothing if she has to. So it's either two strings of good
golf carts or two strings of non-high-capacity L16s.
And I like Jerry's suggestion to talk with my battery
distributor.
And I like Jay's suggestion re the box - yes, it was sized for 8
L16s, so it's either L16s or smaller unless we rebuild it.
I too have respect for golf carts - way more respect for golf
carts than for L16s in general. Golf cart batteries have a
greater capacity for absurd abuse then anything else I have ever
seen. I'd give Beverly three strings if the box had room. With
minimal care 5 years is safe, and she's not perfect but she's
pretty good. So at this point (unless Steve Higgins at Surrette
talks me otherwise) I'll go with 8 golf carts and save the rest
for the next set, or for more array.
Thank you!
Allan
Allan Sindelar
al...@sindelarsolar.com
NABCEP Certified PV
Installation Professional
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
505 780-2738 cell
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On 10/23/2015 8:31 AM, Drake wrote:
Hi Allan and Jay,
I second the golf cart battery option. Trojan T-105s seem to
be the most bang for the buck. An 800 W array wouldn't stir up
the electrolyte sufficiently in an L-16. Maybe the backup
generator would. What all is she running?
Drake
At 06:40 PM 10/22/2015, you wrote:
Hi Allan,
A few questions.
how little energy? amp hrs night/avg. and
is mx something this person does or would like to do
without?
But given what you’ve said, I wouldn’t go with wet cell
industrial as you’ll never get the C rate you need. If the
8 x L-16’s have done her well ( and probably the battery box
is set up for that form factor) and with your budget I’d go
with another set of L-16’s flooded or sealed if the
budget/want allows.
And if the need is really quite small, I”d consider golf
cart. Yea yea,I hear all the laughs, but where I live, golf
carts seem to have the life they always have, but L-16’s (
all brands) seem to have a shorter and shorter life for
reasons I don’t understand.
jay, peltz power
On Oct 22,
2015, at 11:19 AM, Allan Sindelar <al...@sindelarsolar.com >
wrote:
I have a related question, please. One of my longtime off
grid clients is a single woman who maintains a nonprofit
sanctuary for about 30 rescue dogs, both adoptable and not
adoptable (curious? www.bridgingtheworlds.org ).
With that many animals, Beverly seldom leaves her remote
land and her support and sustenance comes primarily from
donations. Her existing system is a 18-year-old
SW4024/Solar Boost SB50, with 800W of old array and eight
L16s.
The L16s were takeouts from another job that I figured had
some life left (used for two years in another contractor's
Sunny Island GTBB system without telling the customer that
he needed to add water regularly). I gave them to her at
no cost and they lasted three years but are now dying
fast.
At my suggestion she has been running a GoFundMe campaign
that has raised $2900. I have already told her that I'll
do the swapout at no charge. I told her that the choice of
her next set of batteries would depend on the money she
raised: we have another 24V set of 820A/hr Rolls that I
think has some life left, or we can afford 8 L16s, or with
the most generous donation total I'll order a set of HUPs
and they'll last her the rest of her life (or maybe not -
she's healthy, beautiful and independent at 71 years).
So, my question: At $3,000 and 24V, what would you sell
her? This is bound to bring varied opinions, but I want to
look beyond what I would select based on price and get
other Wrenches' suggestions. I'll add that while the array
is small and old, she lives well on very little energy,
and has a TriMetric and a backup generator.
Thank you for your opinions.
Allan
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