William and all,
While I too have avoided Trojan in recent years due to multiple reports
of poor performance on this list, I want to note that in my experience,
battery distributor experience will vary according to the individual
branch. My local Albuquerque distributor is very good - prompt to
respond, remembers my specific preferences (e.g. VRLAs left in their
awkward boxes to avoid scuffing cases on our rough roads), gave me
2%10Net30 terms at my request, and even delivers to remote customer
sites or meeting points near me.
Batteries are the main component that I buy that's outside of solar
distributor familiarity, and I have had to learn over many years how
best to work with them. It's a quite different industry.
Allan
On 9/12/2018 12:31 PM, William Miller wrote:
Friends:
I used to buy Trojans. My vendor told me about 3 years ago that Trojan
had been acquired and the chemistry in the plates had changed. Later
they denied making that statement.
I had a set of L16s vastly underperform. Trojan suggest a
bulk/absorption voltage higher than any other manufacturer, a value
hard to achieve and maintain in a small off grid system. I replaced
them with US Battery and system performance improved.
Due to the decline in quality I stopped using Trojan. Due to the
varying stories, I stopped using Battery Systems. We prefer the
MK/Deka brand.
William
On Sep 12, 2018, at 11:33 AM, Ray <r...@solarray.com
<mailto:r...@solarray.com>> wrote:
Unfortunately I'm seeing premature failures of the 2 v models even
more. You have paralleled cells in each battery, and it can be
difficult to even identify the failures. I found the infared camera
to be invaluable, as you can see the shorted cell clearly in a
thermal image.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
303 505-8760
On 9/12/18 9:53 AM, Drake wrote:
I agree with the comments that followed on this thread, and would
also like to add that Trojan L-16 batteries have a high rate of
premature failure. Possibly the 2 V cells are better, but the 6 V
cells seem very prone to dying early. Trojan batteries were robust
in past decades, but seem exceedingly fragile now.
At 08:44 PM 9/11/2018, you wrote:
Hello wrenches,
I inspected a system that another company had installed. It had
single string of 12 x Trojan L16RE-2V batteries about 2 years
old. They had experienced a battery melt-down. It looks as
though the meltdown had occurred internally, not from a bad connection.
The system was dual stack Outback VFXR-3524A inverters (to be
precise one was a sealed unit). The set-points were as follows:
Absorb Voltage was 29.8V
Absorb Time was 6.0 hours
Float Voltage was 27.0V
Rebulk Voltage was 27.0V
End Amps was 0A
These settings extended similarly to 2 x FM80 charge controllers.
I was able to jumper the melted battery and get her power in 15
minutes. Her installer had left her without power for 2 weeks.Â
My clients will kill me if that happened!
Anyway, I believe these set-points are way out of whack and too
aggressive. The voltage is OK (Trojan recommends ~29.6V for this)
but the Absorb time seems way too long, Rebulk is too high and end
amps isn't helping. However, Im not finding a definitive article
from Trojan that describes typical Absorb times or even how to
adjust towards a good Absorb Time, based on specific gravity
measurements or amperage absorption. Â
My diagnosis is that these batteries have been cooked over the past
2 years. In the electrolyte, there is noticeable "floaties".Â
The client said that the original installer had accused her of not
using distilled water, but I don't believe that would cause her
symptoms. I believe the floaties are plate material.
I'd be interested in wrenches opinions familiar with these
batteries if these are appropriate settings for a low energy
user. I will attempt to get through to Trojan as well.
Thanks in advance
--
Mac Lewis
*"Yo solo sé que no sé nada." -Sócrates
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--
*Allan Sindelar*
al...@sindelarsolar.com <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com>
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
*505 780-2738 cell*
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