New Crown batteries badly sulfated

[hammick]

Well, there is a issue with a new battery, it's between 70-80 % of it's capacity before the plates form in a deep cycle battery. Trying to drive the SG above the fill strength really doesn't work very good. All you do is end up doing is doing a massive over charge and a lot of heat. A light EQ can drive the cells closer, but what they really need is to be cycled 20-30 times to 50 % and full chargers to allow the plates to form. Now about the best your going to do is 1.265 ( fill strength ) and the SG level will be all over the place with every charge till after they form and the pores in the lead open enough to give you full capacity and a higher SG level.

Trojans now use 1.280 after May of 2014.

Makes sense but Crown says the SG for a fully charged CR330 is 1.275

Does this mean the fill strength should be 1.275?

I have seen other documentation from Crown that 100% is between 1.265 - 1.275 SG.

Oh well. Pretty sure I am going to spend $400 more and get the L16RE-A Trojan batteries.

[Willy T]

1.275 according to the data sheet. I am using a hydrometer that has temp compensation. My only other experience with deep cycle batteries is Interstate GC2 batteries and they are always at 1.275 or higher when fully charged.

Well, there is a issue with a new battery, it's between 70-80 % of it's capacity before the plates form in a deep cycle battery. Trying to drive the SG above the fill strength really doesn't work very good. All you do is end up doing is doing a massive over charge and a lot of heat. A light EQ can drive the cells closer, but what they really need is to be cycled 20-30 times to 50 % and full charges to allow the plates to form. Now about the best your going to do is 1.265 ( fill strength ) and the SG level will be all over the place with every charge till after they form and the pores in the lead open enough to give you full capacity and a higher SG level.

Trojans now use 1.280 after May of 2014.

[inetdog]

My inverter should put out 60a with my 7000 watt generator. Should be good for morning bulk charging if needed.

Exactly the way to go. Then let the PV handle the absorb and/or float so you do not have to keep the genny running at light load.

[hammick]

And that is one good reason that we recommend a generator as a critical part of any off grid installation (except maybe ones with a battery bank that allows PSOC operation.)

My inverter should put out 60a with my 7000 watt generator. Should be good for morning bulk charging if needed.

[inetdog]

...
These batteries are a pain to get fully charged. Can't imagine trying to do it on solar.

And that is one good reason that we recommend a generator as a critical part of any off grid installation (except maybe ones with a battery bank that allows PSOC operation.)

[hammick]

What do expect them to be ?? What is their listed fill strength ?? Are you Temperature correcting the result ??

1.275 according to the data sheet. I am using a hydrometer that has temp compensation. My only other experience with deep cycle batteries is Interstate GC2 batteries and they are always at 1.275 or higher when fully charged.

I have yet to get the 15a automatic charger I bought to show these batteries as fully charged. If I get it there maybe the SG will go up.

These batteries are a pain to get fully charged. Can't imagine trying to do it on solar.

[Willy T]

Even on the two newer Crowns I appear to be having problems getting the SG above 1.265

What do expect them to be ?? What is their listed fill strength ?? Are you Temperature correcting the result ??

[hammick]

It is a pain in the butt to charge the battery bank to 100% SOC daily with solar alone. I hope you have grid or generator to charge the battery when solar is not enough. That is the reason I wish I have the Trojan smart carbon battery instead pure FLA batteries.

Yes I am pretty sure I will be returning all eight and paying the premium for a set of L16RE-As or L16RE-Bs.

Even on the two newer Crowns I appear to be having problems getting the SG above 1.265

[paulcheung]

It is a pain in the butt to charge the battery bank to 100% SOC daily with solar alone. I hope you have grid or generator to charge the battery when solar is not enough. That is the reason I wish I have the Trojan smart carbon battery instead pure FLA batteries.

[hammick]

Once Google changed the format I have this issue. Here is a shareable link: https://goo.gl/photos/rjYjBx8NJ5UJbt6N6

[inetdog]

hammick,
Your two photos do not show up. Most likely the link you gave was to google user content that is not available to the public. The images will show up for you since you are logged into Google as yourself.

If the images are too large to upload, you can either try making them public on Google (you may need a different link for that too) or host them on another site like Photobucket.

[hammick]

A few of you guys warned me in a different post that my new Crown batteries probably were sulfated and lost some capacity. I discounted your advice as the "sky was falling" and for that I apologize. It turns out they are severely sulfated and pretty much worthless.

I bought eight of the Crown CR333 batteries on Wednesday. They had six at the shop and six more at the warehouse. The six I took home had a June of 2015 sticker so four months old. I was disappointed to find five of them showed 6.15 volts and one showed 6.13 volt. I was assured they would be fine with a thorough charge.

Right away I found that they weren't showing typical charging voltages. I was also suspect because the 50a charger I borrowed wasn't tapering the current like I am used to on other chargers. I bought a 15a charger at Walmart and it erred out after 18 hours. So I set out to desulfate the batteries with the charger I borrowed. I couldn't get the specific gravity above 1.265 after four hours of equalizing (should be 1.275).

Today I picked up the other two batteries which were July of 2015 date. The had 6.25 voltage each.

After spending many hours trying to desulfate the six batteries I decided to take a good look at the plates with a flashlight. I was shocked what I saw. All six of the June batteries appear to be badly sulfated and the two July batteries look clean as a whistle. You can see it in the attached photos but it's really clear when looking in the cells. All six of the June batteries are severely sulfated.

I will be returning the six batteries Monday and asking for six new ones direct from the factory. Maybe I'll return all eight and get all new ones.

Anyway thanks for the advice. I have learned a lot about battery sulfation and how to identify it. More importantly, once I get a fresh set I will make sure my batteries never get sulfated.