Regardless of the Amazing Batcap 30 yr claims debunked by Dan, a system
wired in the manner described (5 batteries in parallel, then series
connecting the sets of 5 for 48 v) is just not going to charge and
discharge evenly. Its violated the no more than 4 parallel strings
rule, so I'm surprised it lasted even 5 years. My guess is that some of
the batteries are toast and some may have a bit of life in them, since
they were so grossly imbalanced, so a neighbor might be able to use a
few of the best ones for a couple more years. Ultimately the rule in off
grid solar is "Batteries are the Weakest Link". The customer is not
going to have a decent experience until they replace that mess with a
properly sized and wired battery bank from a reputable manufacturer.
I won't take on new clients if we can't get the system up to snuff. I
don't need those oh so predictable calls that the power is off again.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
303 505-8760
On 11/21/18 1:06 AM, Dan Fink wrote:
Hello All; I would question the client about the origin of this
battery bank. New, used, how long in storage and in service, etc. If
he bought these new, that's a very expensive battery bank!
Usually when I've run into banks of massively parallel, low amp-hour
sealed lead acid batteries, the origin was "a great surplus deal on a
whole bunch of batteries from wheelchairs/UPS units/manufacturer
overrun etc."
My BS meter on the manufacturer Batcap was triggered by a few things....
-The company is focused on selling audiophiles xxxscratch thatxxx
punks with car stereos so loud they set off car alarms 6 spots down.
They need lots of amps right now to thump that bass.
- The company name Batcap targets the capacitor boost market for this
application, but actually a dedicated battery is a great idea, as it
would recharge quickly from the (often up-sized) car alternator. But
some folks seem to think the name implies there's a capacitor
involved. There isn't. Sneaky language in the company name.
- Sealed, low internal resistance, 100-125 amp-hours. Sounds like a
stock AGM to me, compared to a VRSLA.
- Spec sheet contains grammatical errors that indicate the writer does
not speak English as a first language.
- "Solar" seems to have been added to the website and battery label
stickers as an afterthought....and 30 years cycle life in a solar
application? Has Batcap been around for 30 years? Sounds like somebody
importing Asian AGMs and sticking them with new stickers.
DAN FINK
Buckville Energy Consulting, Box Prairie CO 970-672-4342
On Tue, Nov 20, 2018, 23:28 Mick Abraham <m...@abrahamsolar.com
<mailto:m...@abrahamsolar.com> wrote:
Hello, Drake & All~
Drake described his service dilemma about batteries bought
elsewhere & whether to correct the original hinky pack wiring
(copied below). My reply below may seem cynical & I may seem too
eager to declare the existing battery as: "Failed". Call me jaded.
Mick's $0.02 is: If there's no amp-hour monitor in the system, I
suggest you first try to persuade the homeowner to buy a metering
shunt & a modest amp-hour meter such as the Tri-Metric--which
could be used to measure & display the battery bank's amp-hour
capacity. If the client won't approve that expenditure (& hourly
labor for explanations), the service tech is hamstrung. Nobody can
measure the health of a battery bank by just looking at it or
talking about it...and clients sometimes receive the inevitable
"battery bad news" if they are shown the diminished capacity on a
digital display after an equitably managed "pump & dump".
Your thought, Drake, of holding back on any re-wiring of the
battery pack...seems prudent...until the first set of amp-hour
measurements are recorded as a baseline. From there...a common
pattern is a series of attempted remediation efforts--all for pay,
of course--until the homeowner acknowledges that it's time to
start afresh.
Oops, I left out an important step: getting a read on whether the
client has the money for new batteries or not. I'm personally
terrible at getting that reconnaissance done early enough. If the
client isn't materially blessed to be able to get new batteries,
they might be better off spending limited funds on fuel for the
engine generator instead of on battery testing & tutorials.
The Wrench List is the Bomb~
Mick Abraham, Proprietor
www.abrahamsolar.com <http://www.abrahamsolar.com>
Landline: 970-731-4675
Cell phone or for text messaging: 970-946-6584
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Drake <drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org
<mailto:drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org>>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
<mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>>
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2018 11:41:17 -0500
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Batt Cap AGM
Hello Wrenches,
An owner of an existing system has a bank of twenty, 100 AH,
12 V Deep cycle batteries of the Batcap
<http://www.xstaticbatcap.com/what-is-a-batcap-.html>
<http://www.xstaticbatcap.com/what-is-a-batcap-.html>brand.
The bank is made up of four sets of 5 batteries in parallel to
produce *500 AH battery sets at 12 V.* These four parallel
sets are then wired in series to give a 48 V nominal bank.
The battery voltages vary from around 13 to 15 volts. The bank
is about 5 years old. The CEO of Batcap told the system owner
that these batteries have lasted up to 30 years in solar
applications, so he has high expectations for these batteries
being around for a while.
My first impulse is to rewire the bank in a normal series -
parallel configuration. But there are too many strings to do
this without a bus bar. Besides, the batteries are likely
damaged, and rewiring them might cause the bank to exhibit
unsuspected problems. How much money is worth putting into
this bank? $0?
The owner seems like a reliable guy who likely hired the wrong
installer. He could use some help. What would you do in this
situation? Rewire the bank, leave it well enough alone or run
for the hills.
Thanks,
Drake
Drake Chamberlin
/Athens Electric LLC
OH License 44810
CO License 3773
NABCEP Certified Solar PV
740-448-7328
/http://athens-electric.com/
ᐧ
ᐧ
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