new NiFe battery bank avaib, orignal buyer ???

[Mike90250]

Interesting. Those are some expensive batteries.

The benefit is, I will never destroy them, nothing that fresh mix electrolyte won't fix. (I hope)

[Higher-Ground Farm]

Interesting. Those are some expensive batteries.

[Mike90250]

No (zero) electrolyte change out. Schedule is 5-10 years. I'm at 5 years, and actually this last year, I raised my Absorb hours, and they have been holding charge better then before, last winter I hit 47 & 48V often (on my way down to 46V) but this year, have not gone below 48.8V
of course water usage increased !

[Sunking]

So far, doing ok. Oct 2011 install. The bank is oversized to allow for their high internal resistance, and that may be hiding some evil.
at some point, they will need an electrolyte change out, which involves 100 gallons of lye to pour out of each battery (about 2 gal/battery) and a fresh batch of 100 gallons to mix up to refill. Fun !

How many times have you done that already?

[Mike90250]

This is a very old thread, how are the batteries holding up? Would you say they were a good investment?

So far, doing ok. Oct 2011 install. The bank is oversized to allow for their high internal resistance, and that may be hiding some evil.
at some point, they will need an electrolyte change out, which involves 100 gallons of lye to pour out of each battery (about 2 gal/battery) and a fresh batch of 100 gallons to mix up to refill. Fun !

[Higher-Ground Farm]

This is a very old thread, how are the batteries holding up? Would you say they were a good investment?

[Mike90250]

These batteries that come up for sale, are ones with a deposit paid, but abandoned, so they get sold within 30 days or so. I'll go through in a day, and delete the old postings.

[Sunking]

Your other gear (inverters) needs to be able to handle the large voltage ranges too.

That is one of the killers of NiFe. If I were to spend that kind of money I would opt for LFP as they are very similar to standard lead acid discharge curves. The flattest is NiCd and NiMh

[Mike90250]

NiFe only needs an adjustable 3-stage charge controller. NiFe charging voltages are a fair amount higher than Lead-Acid, so the controller needs to be adjustable. Most of the major name brands are adjustable. I use a morningstar 60A MPPT, bulk is up near 68V for a 48V system. Your other gear (inverters) needs to be able to handle the large voltage ranges too.

[Mike90250]

Mike have you put your NiFe into service yet? If so what are your thoughts as of now?

They have been in service since late fall last year. I've just now gone through enough cycles, the cells need about 1.5 pints distilled added to each for make-up. I've not been stressing them, so I can't report how well they are holding up, but they are faring better in a 3 or 4 day cloud cover, then the 400ah, sulfated bank they replaced.
I have a 42 cell, 800 ah bank, a single series string.

* For BeUtilityFree to fill and cycle cells, add $175 per 10 cells.

I STRONGLY recommend this, and had I understood what the fine print (this) meant, I would have had this done for me.

I chose to fabricate my own battery terminal adapter plates, to bolt a conventional crimp lug to. I did not like the ground down kludge I was offered. I think I have a better result.

I had to buy a FWD axle bolt socket, to fit the giant M20 (IFRC) terminal nuts. Yes, the nuts are the same size as a FWD car axle nut.

battery lugs http://tinyurl.com/LMR-BigLug
Setting up batteries http://tinyurl.com/LMR-NiFe

[Mike90250]

OK, I get no kickback on this. Our host does not sell these. I'm posting as a public service so someone could take advantage of a good buy on a good sized 900AH 48V NiFe battery bank (41, 1.22v cells)

Every now and then, a bargain comes along, if you are in a position where you
can take advantage of it.
I've got a pretty much identical set, but if you are looking for one, here it is.
Mike

No comments from the peanut gallery, if you are a vendor and would give a better price.

~~~~~~~
from my vendor...

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we have a set of cells for immediate purchase and delivery.
The bank is a 900Ah, 48 volt battery (41 cells total), Part Number 7019. The original list price is $37,269.00. With our usual 15% discount, it would be $31,678.65. We are offering an additional 10% discount on this battery for a total discount of 25%, bringing the cost down to $27,951.75.

We will pay up to $400 of the shipping cost and we will also include a free battery rack of your choice if you purchase the complete 48 volt battery.

If you purchase this entire 48 volt battery and other equipment from us such as inverters, solar panels or charge controllers, we'll extend the discount to 30% and give a discount on the additional equipment depending upon quantity ordered. The additional equipment purchased would need to be purchased within the next 60 days.

The cells are currently at a trucking warehouse awaiting a destination. We'd prefer to ship directly to our customer as opposed to bringing them to Colorado until we locate a buyer. We prefer sell the cells as one order but we can split it into two 24V orders, this would require more time as we would have to have them shipped to Colorado where we can split it up.

If we have to split it into two orders of 24 volts, the original list price is $18,180.00. With our usual 15% discount, it would be $15,453.00. We are offering an additional 10% discount on this battery for a total discount of 25%, bringing the cost down to $13,635.00.
If we have to split the cells into two orders, we will pay up to $200 of the shipping cost and we will also include a free battery rack of your choice.

If you purchase the 24 volt battery and other equipment from us such as inverters, solar panels or charge controllers, we'll extend the discount to 30% and give a discount on the additional equipment depending upon quantity ordered. The additional equipment purchased would need to be purchased within the next 60 days.

More information about this shipment.

There are 25 wooden crates, ranging in weight from 200lbs to 300lbs
All 25 crates are 24" x 20" x 30" and can be stacked 2 to 3 high.
All crates are made to be easily forklift and pallet-jack accessible.
The cells can be stored for up to 4 years in their crates if kept in a cool, dry place.