 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Solar : Battery maitenance
| Author | Message | ||||
| windlight Guru  Joined: 03/03/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 331 |
Well my 48v bank of Exide's have now been install since May 2011, so coming up to 6 years. In that time two have failed and been replace FOC with assistance from Nick from Solar Works. Having noticed some of that nasty green gunk around some of the terminals, today I set about removing each strap and cleaning etc. Not bad for near on 6 years service but well overdue, so after a gallon of sweat that part was finished, all bright and shiny again, probably needs to be an annual event from now on. In turning off the 240v at the house MCB's I note another of the power MCB's does not trip on the test button. They are Hagar and I have already replaced two, once they were supposed to be a good brand. I shall list that job for Ron, later ron. I have a total of 18 DC MCB's for the solar panels and found four not operating, they are a brand I am not familiar with, something like 7 leaping goats power company, so I doubled up on other breakers for now, yes still well within capacity.  When I went back to take a pic of the squeaky clean batteries I found this deposit...........  Probably left as a protest by one of the shed lizards my dog was occupying herself chasing while I was doing battery things.  The cleaned again bank.  These are left overs from a mates bank, he replaced them when one failed, I was able to make up a good 12v bank for a friend. She now has a ceiling fan and a real fridge, ah the luxuries. To complement this we installed 10 second hand solar panels which seem to be holding their own. So life goes on here in the jungle, quite looking forward to full retirement, this being employed 2 days per week in quite a pain. Allan  "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - (Act II, Scene IV). |
||||
Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Cute little fella.  The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
I think i had the same lino on my kitchen floor before i replaced it with ceramic tiles. The green gunk means the cells are no longer sealed around the posts and leaking gas around the posts, check the vents in each battery cell or leave the caps loose. Also check your max voltage control system as it would imply you are gassing you cells greatly. Sometimes it just works |
||||
| upwind Newbie  Joined: 13/06/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6 |
G,day Pete, oh, and every one else. Once the green goop has been cleaned of should one seal around the post with some thing like thick super glue? Is vasaline still the go to treatment ? Iv'e got some geenery on one of my poles! C ya's. BD. If it can't be fixed with a hammer and chisel it's probably electrical !! |
||||
| Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333 |
Hi BD, There is not a lot that can be done once a pole starts to not seal anymore, really its a sign the battery is aged. There is no harm in trying to reseal it, not sure what you use, perhaps super glue might work, even a neat ring of silicon sealer could work on a cleaned surface. As for a coating over the terminals, the best is a spray on compound you buy in a spray can, not exactly cheap but goes a long way, also good for marine batteries. Most auto parts stores has one brand or another. A couple of other reasons why that cell might be leaking, a hydrometer test may show the SG of that cell to not be the same as other cells and the cell gassing much earlier during charge. Your charge controller may be set to high and on sunny days the battery spends too long in equalizing mode and not in float mode. Gassing the battery during charge i personally dont have a problem with it, and think its a good practice to stir the acid up, although it should not be held that high in charge voltage for more than about an hour a day. For 24V system around 28.6v would be fully charged and float voltage, somewhere around 29+/- volts would be equalization or gassing your batteries. As batteries age the charge voltage and where the gassing occurs often become reduced and the cells gas much earlier. Pete. Sometimes it just works |
||||
 Print this page |
