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  • SLA V FLA in tropics

    P3240456.JPG

    Hi everyone,

    Recently the front cell in the pic has pushed the grommets around the terminals up, ( I have pushed them back down) when i cleaned the terminals one of the posts is loose inside the battery so not good.

    These will have been in service for nine years this coming july, which equates to their states life of cycles @ 30% discharge.

    They are still holding well but obviously this one cell could fail any time.

    The system is 24V, these are excide energy store 4RP1800.

    They are fine apart from we live in the tropics and they use a lot of water, i have cut back charge rates as far as i feel comfortable.

    Sonnenschein have a Gel battery that has similar specs to mine at the C10 rate. Sonnenschein 12 OPzV 1200 2V 1200Ah battery

    Prices online show that they would cost about 30% more than the excides.

    I would be happy to pay more for a maintenance free option.

    So my question is "Are gel batteries a good option for use in a tropical climate"

    Cheers

  • #2
    Originally posted by Bala View Post
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]6128[/ATTACH]

    Hi everyone,

    Recently the front cell in the pic has pushed the grommets around the terminals up, ( I have pushed them back down) when i cleaned the terminals one of the posts is loose inside the battery so not good.

    These will have been in service for nine years this coming july, which equates to their states life of cycles @ 30% discharge.

    They are still holding well but obviously this one cell could fail any time.

    The system is 24V, these are excide energy store 4RP1800.

    They are fine apart from we live in the tropics and they use a lot of water, i have cut back charge rates as far as i feel comfortable.

    Sonnenschein have a Gel battery that has similar specs to mine at the C10 rate. Sonnenschein 12 OPzV 1200 2V 1200Ah battery

    Prices online show that they would cost about 30% more than the excides.

    I would be happy to pay more for a maintenance free option.

    So my question is "Are gel batteries a good option for use in a tropical climate"

    Cheers
    G'Day Bala,

    Thats a very good question. My uncle in Gympie has had FLA going on 10 to11 years, they were about stuffed and ready for replacement but he decided to sell the property so he didnt have to. We have been using BAE 2v 900 amp batteries for installs around the Adelaide hills now for about 3 years, so far, so good. I think you are right to be concerned as to how they will go in the tropics.

    Lucky for you we have a few people here who might be able to help, we have one guy Paul in Jamaica who knows a bit about it and we have SunKing who knows a lot about it. Hopefully one of those guys and there are others mind you, who might pop in to help you out, good luck with it cheers.

    Comment


    • #3
      "GEL" batteries (a gelled electrolyte mix) are NOT good for solar, they cannot be quickly charged.

      AGM batteries (Absorbent Glass Mat) are good for solar, but only last half as long as flooded, and cost 2x as much.

      You may want to consider the lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), they cost a lot more than AGM, you have to set custom charge points with the controller, but they are zero maintenance and only need balancing 1x a year after the initial setup balancing.
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
        "GEL" batteries (a gelled electrolyte mix) are NOT good for solar, they cannot be quickly charged.

        AGM batteries (Absorbent Glass Mat) are good for solar, but only last half as long as flooded, and cost 2x as much.

        You may want to consider the lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), they cost a lot more than AGM, you have to set custom charge points with the controller, but they are zero maintenance and only need balancing 1x a year after the initial setup balancing.
        Having a very quick look at LFP I think I would rather just replace with the same batteries but buy the auto water system and deal with the extra cost of the water.

        Really not up for setting up basically a new system and learning a new battery.

        Comment


        • #5
          Stick with FLA batteries in warm climates where it never freezes. In tropics you run the battery Specific Gravity a little lower than in cooler climates. That means you give up some capacity which is made up by the higher temps where FLA batteries operate at higher inefficiencies. However the lower SG is kinder to the plates, so added cycle life.

          With any SLA battery you have no control of SP, one flavor only. Not only that but twice the cost and half the life of FLA.
          MSEE, PE

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Sunking View Post
            Stick with FLA batteries in warm climates where it never freezes. In tropics you run the battery Specific Gravity a little lower than in cooler climates. That means you give up some capacity which is made up by the higher temps where FLA batteries operate at higher inefficiencies. However the lower SG is kinder to the plates, so added cycle life.

            With any SLA battery you have no control of SP, one flavor only. Not only that but twice the cost and half the life of FLA.
            I changed the charge rates some time ago to reduce gassing/water use.

            removed bulk, absorb down to 1hr @ 28V, and float from 27v to 26.8v They still take 1 to 2 litres of water per week depending on the weather.

            Without loss of overnight capacity.

            On a nice day they are in float and bubbling by 10am.

            How low could/should i go with float?

            I am home for the next 6 weeks so can play with settings if advisable.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Bala View Post
              I changed the charge rates some time ago to reduce gassing/water use.

              removed bulk, absorb down to 1hr @ 28V, and float from 27v to 26.8v They still take 1 to 2 litres of water per week depending on the weather.

              Without loss of overnight capacity.

              On a nice day they are in float and bubbling by 10am.

              How low could/should i go with float?

              I am home for the next 6 weeks so can play with settings if advisable.
              The high water loss may have something to do with their age and # of cycles they have seen. Did they consume that much water when you first installed them?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Bala View Post
                How low could/should i go with float?
                Until Hell freezes over. There is no limit as you can leave a battery in Float.
                MSEE, PE

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Sunking View Post
                  Until Hell freezes over. There is no limit as you can leave a battery in Float.
                  I actually have had them floating @ 24.6, it is quite possible they are gassing more and using more water now than when they were new.

                  What i meant was, what is the minimum float V to keep them in fully charged state.

                  by being below 27 am i causing more degredation by trying to lower

                  For an automotive battery i would consider 27v as a minimum to stay fully charged

                  Comment

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