Nickel Iron Battery - NREL Test Results

[FloridaSun]

I'm not near Pine Mtn, I'm on the west side.

hahaha, didn't think you were the same Mike. Been 25 years since I lived up there.

[Mike90250]

I have no problem accessing it from the link right now. I have downloaded all three directories as zip files.

I got it too, had to allow several scripts from different sites, to run.

I'm not near Pine Mtn, I'm on the west side.

I'm running 42 cells, with absorb set to 67.5V, which is just below my inverter max input voltage.
I could disconnect the inverter and up the voltage another .75 volt, but I don't think it will help with the gassing.

[Iron Bran]

40 cells

After moldering along for 8 months, this thread wakes up.

So, my off-grid experience living with NiFe batteries ( a large 48V, 800ah bank, single series string)
is so far, mixed. I'm going through a lot of water, even in winter, with cloudy and short days. Shortly
after sunrise, and way before the batteries get to absorb voltage, the battery shed sounds like a den of snakes, with all the bubbles hissing away. And when it hits absorb...... you nearly need earplugs.

I have my major loads (large water pump for agricultural water) on a timer to only run on daylight hours, to not cycle the batteries, and do other load shifting, as anyone off grid would. So nights, the batteries are really only running the fridge and small amounts of lighting.

Power has not gone out, but in cloudy weather, I've got a fair amount of generator run time, to keep
the NiFe bank up, since it electrolyzes a lot of water compared to lead acid.

So, I'm still reserving judgement, and when I have time, will break out the carbonate test kit, and
see how the electrolyte is holding up.

Mike
Willits, CA.

How many cells are you running?

[SunEagle]

Here are a couple of systems using Nickel Iron batteries...


[ATTACH=CONFIG]2693[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2694[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2695[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2696[/ATTACH]

So what is the rough installed cost for the typical 1.2kw home system?

[FloridaSun]

Mike
Willits, CA.

Hey Mike, curious, didn't realize you were from Willits. You wouldn't happen to be my old neighbor, lived on the other side of Pine mountain, would you?

[inetdog]

Please make the dropbox files available to the unwashed public.
It (dropbox) wants me to log in to view them.

I have no problem accessing it from the link right now. I have downloaded all three directories as zip files.

[Mike90250]

Here is a link to my Dropbox folder containing all the data files.

LINK TO DATA HERE


Each Excel spreadsheet is approximatly 12mb, and I am unable to upload to this forum directly.

Please make the dropbox files available to the unwashed public.
It (dropbox) wants me to log in to view them.

[Mike90250]

After moldering along for 8 months, this thread wakes up.

So, my off-grid experience living with NiFe batteries ( a large 48V, 800ah bank, single series string)
is so far, mixed. I'm going through a lot of water, even in winter, with cloudy and short days. Shortly
after sunrise, and way before the batteries get to absorb voltage, the battery shed sounds like a den of snakes, with all the bubbles hissing away. And when it hits absorb...... you nearly need earplugs.

I have my major loads (large water pump for agricultural water) on a timer to only run on daylight hours, to not cycle the batteries, and do other load shifting, as anyone off grid would. So nights, the batteries are really only running the fridge and small amounts of lighting.

Power has not gone out, but in cloudy weather, I've got a fair amount of generator run time, to keep
the NiFe bank up, since it electrolyzes a lot of water compared to lead acid.

So, I'm still reserving judgement, and when I have time, will break out the carbonate test kit, and
see how the electrolyte is holding up.

Mike
Willits, CA.

[Iron Bran]

Existing Nickel Iron battery systems

So I hear people talking about Nickel lead. But anybody actually have an off-grid system using them. And if so how did it compare?

Here are a couple of systems using Nickel Iron batteries...


Case Study and System Examples_Page_1.jpg

Case Study and System Examples_Page_2.jpg

Case Study and System Examples_Page_3.jpg

Case Study and System Examples_Page_4.jpg

[Sunking]

Sorry I meant Nickel Iron....

OK then the answer is YES. Mike one of the moderators recently installed NiFe batteries. He has spoken about them in many threads. If you know Mike and learn how to read in between the lines he has mixed fellings and has not made up his mind yet.

What he does say is it cost him some $40,000 for his set and takes a lot more maintenance labor, expense, and time than he anticipated. Hopefully Mike will chime in and set the record straight. PINGING Mike

[ooo0oo0ooo0ooo]

guess I have la on my brain

Sorry I meant Nickel Iron....

Nickel Lead battery? Do not think so. There is Nickel Iron, Nickel Cadium, and Nickel Metal Halide, but no Nickel Lead that I am aware of as they are incompatible. Nickel requires an alkaline electrolyte while Lead requires an acid electrolyte. Sure you did not mean Lead Carbon?

[Sunking]

So I hear people talking about Nickel lead.

Nickel Lead battery? Do not think so. There is Nickel Iron, Nickel Cadium, and Nickel Metal Halide, but no Nickel Lead that I am aware of as they are incompatible. Nickel requires an alkaline electrolyte while Lead requires an acid electrolyte. Sure you did not mean Lead Carbon?

[ooo0oo0ooo0ooo]

So anybody have real world results?

So I hear people talking about Nickel lead. But anybody actually have an off-grid system using them. And if so how did it compare?

[russ]

OK girls - take your pissing contest elsewhere or act like grown adults!

Next post in this contest I will close the threads and then we will see what more has to be done.

never replace the cells?

As Bill pointed out from Iron Edison's literture:

[SIZE=3]With the Nickel Iron batteries, you will never have to replace the cells