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So I have gotten the a pair of nice new 118 pound Trojan SPRE 6-415 batteries wired to give me a 12 volt battery with 377 amp hours. I need a new charger that can charge these batteries off of my Honda Eu2000i generator. I'll be charging the batteries about once a week, every other week, after my sister uses them to run her CPAP machine when she's on my off gird farm. I'll equalize the batteries about once per month.Trojan literature says charge the battery at 13% of C20 which equals just about 50 amps. The SPRE 6-415 literature also says to use an absorb voltage setting(or voltage bulk setting) of 14.7 volts. The chargers I'm finding online charge at 14.8 volts. And I can't seem to find a charger that lets the operator set the charging limits. I don't expect the charger will operate for long periods of time in a bulk setting since I don[t anticipate those batteries ever being discharged below 85-90% of capacity. My question is: will that 0.1 volt make a difference in the short and long run when charging my batteries?
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Tommy there is no right voltage and part of why you are others get confused. Every battery manufacture gives range of voltages. Trojan specified Bulk/Absord of 2.4 to 2.45 vpc or a window 14.4 to 14.7 volts. So what is the right voltage? It is the one that gets the specific gravity to 100% SOC under the climatic and usage conditions. For solar that voltage can go significantly higher.
Take away here is use a hydrometer to tell you what voltage to use. Manufacture recs are just a starting point.MSEE, PE -
Do you have any solar, or only the generator?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-ListerComment
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I really only plan to use a generator. I have about 400 watts of solar that charge a couple of 12 volt SLA batteries that provide power to my 12 volt electric animal fence, my cell phone and laptop. I've considered cutting down a few trees so that I could move that 400 watts closer to my dwelling. Then it could "augment" the generator. Run the generator to bulk charge to batteries and then try to top off the batteries with that 400 watts over the several hours of mid-day sun. But my plan for now is to a generator to charge these batteries. And those batteries will only be used for no more than 5 days in a row every twelve to fifteen days. Using the generator is a hell of lot easier than trying to use solar.
I don't use much electricity on my farm. Other than a few lights, charging my laptop and cell phone and the occasional electric drill. I use a propane fridge, propane heat, hand water pump personal use or my larger generator to pump several thousand gallons of water for animals(pigs) during the summer. My sister with the CPAP is the motivation for these big Trojan batteries.Comment
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Well JPM I use to be young and stupid once like anyone. When I was in college and military was no exception. Drank a lot of beer in college and while serving in the USN, and we lit up a lot of beer farts. Being Native American I could get away with it because injuneers do not have hairy butts and balls to burn.
Top that one my friend.
MSEE, PEComment
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Won't even try. I was doing similar stuff to you only not in a sub but as best as I can guess about 10 yrs. sooner than you.
Well JPM I use to be young and stupid once like anyone. When I was in college and military was no exception. Drank a lot of beer in college and while serving in the USN, and we lit up a lot of beer farts. Being Native American I could get away with it because injuneers do not have hairy butts and balls to burn.
Top that one my friend.
I never needed to worry about or even consider scortching, as the velocity head/head pressure and launch velocity allowed for a healthy standoff distance for open flames. Top that !
As for memories of hirsuteness and blue flame specials, I've a story or two involving me, a mess hall w/~ 800 cadets in it, and a bet/challenge. As a fourth classman (freshman for you non military types), I wound up walking tours for the rest of the semester and on a non judicial confinement for a month, but I was a hero with some serious balls to the rest of the Corps. Priceless.
BTW, I've heard from a friend/neighbor who's last duty was XO on an LA class boat (before, he pissed off Rickover over ever getting command of a boat and got retired, or so the story goes), that subs can smell a bit. What happens to the flatulence ?
Now that I'm thinking about it, can officers flare off gas ? Seems close to conduct unbecoming.
Respectfully,
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Co2, Co, H2 all go through the MEA scrubbers. Part of the process involves heating and burning off H2. methane, and CO leaving you with N and small traces of Co2. My understanding today sub air quality is a daisy. In my day it always had a bad smell especially amine (MEA). Food was good though and still today when the curtain is rocking don't come knocking.
MSEE, PEComment
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