Best batteries that money can buy...

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fca1
fca1 Solar Expert Posts: 124 ✭✭
hi
i need to start thinking on upgrade my battery bank....
With my current needs, solar arrays i think i would need ~800-1000ah at 48v to go at 50%DOD every day...

if money was no stopper (up to certain point) what would be the recommended batts.
I need low gas batteries like AGM or gel...
how about lifepo4 ? are they ready for a solar system ?

Thanks for the advice..

Regards

Comments

  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    With unlimited finaces, I would definitely start looking for some sort of Li batteries. Looks like they don't need absorptions and therefore are much easier to deal with.
  • northerner
    northerner Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    If you're patient, a new aquious ion battery is about to become available. It's predicted they will have a very long cycle life, no problems with DOD or absorptions, require little or no maintenance, will be cost competitive with lead acid batteries, and will be very safe and reliable to operate.

    Here is there website: http://www.aquionenergy.com/

    You can email them for more technical information about the batteries performance and an update on the manufacturing progress. Sounds promising!
  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    I'd still stick with lead acid, low SG OPzS with recombination caps. Hoppecke has a good reputation, but not cheap:

    http://www.hoppecke.com/content/view/full/140

    http://www.hoppecke.com/products/accessories/aquagen_r_premium_top
  • northerner
    northerner Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    stephendv wrote: »
    I'd still stick with lead acid, low SG OPzS with recombination caps. Hoppecke has a good reputation, but not cheap:

    http://www.hoppecke.com/content/view/full/140

    http://www.hoppecke.com/products/accessories/aquagen_r_premium_top

    Do you have a list of pricing for these? This sounds like a new product. Are they currently available?
  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    northerner wrote: »
    Do you have a list of pricing for these? This sounds like a new product. Are they currently available?

    Hoppecke the company has been around since 1927, but I'm not sure that their products are available in the americas. The OPzS is a type of battery construction and doesn't belong to any one manufacturer, it's a German acronym meaning something like: stationary, armour plated, tubular plates. Many different manufacturers make OPzS batts; AFAIK only hoppecke offer the recombination caps with theirs.

    Retail pricing here: http://www.solarshop-europe.net/index.php?cPath=139_231_166
  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    stephendv wrote: »
    Hoppecke the company has been around since 1927, but I'm not sure that their products are available in the americas. The OPzS is a type of battery construction and doesn't belong to any one manufacturer, it's a German acronym meaning something like: stationary, armour plated, tubular plates. Many different manufacturers make OPzS batts; AFAIK only hoppecke offer the recombination caps with theirs.

    I looked at the specs and they have an optional electrolyte recirculation system, which means that it won't stratify and therefore could go longer between absorptions. Looks very neat. But they still have all the undesirable lead-acid qualities - slow charge acceptance rate at higher SoCs and necessity to do the absorptions. This greatly reduces the efficiency of the system.
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    I think these are pretty much the same type batteries. I priced a 2V 300 amp hr and they were $268 each + shipping from Wisconsin . I think they were filled with 1.265 electrolyte, I guess you could specify what you want.

    http://www.sbsbattery.com/products-services/by-product/batteries/batteries-flooded-wet-cell-batteries/flooded-wet-cell-batteries-stt-series-flooded-2v-cell.html?gclid=CLmZoJKAsroCFadFMgodDX4Acg
  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    I think these are pretty much the same type batteries. I priced a 2V 300 amp hr and they were $268 each + shipping from Wisconsin . I think they were filled with 1.265 electrolyte, I guess you could specify what you want.

    Looks the same, but, based on your quote, much more expensive. And no electrolyte recirculation system :(
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    NorthGuy wrote: »
    Looks the same, but, based on your quote, much more expensive. And no electrolyte recirculation system :(
    lol....yeah they are more expensive. I am not sure I want to pay $40-$60 for a battery cap. I saw where someone was trying to equalize a set, hope he took the caps off.
  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    I think these are pretty much the same type batteries. I priced a 2V 300 amp hr and they were $268 each + shipping from Wisconsin . I think they were filled with 1.265 electrolyte, I guess you could specify what you want.

    http://www.sbsbattery.com/products-services/by-product/batteries/batteries-flooded-wet-cell-batteries/flooded-wet-cell-batteries-stt-series-flooded-2v-cell.html?gclid=CLmZoJKAsroCFadFMgodDX4Acg

    Yeah they look very similar. Rated life is a bit less 1200 cycles, whereas the hoppeckes are 1500. Interesting info on their brochure about the tubular design lasting 30% longer than flat plate (taken with a grain of salt- I'm sure trojan/surrette say the same about flat plate ;) )
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    Enersys makes a 2 volt forklift cell that is 16 " high in their " Load Hog " line. It has Square Tube Plates. I looked at them once, but they would not sell them without a Steel case for each one and that drove the price up to around $500 + each. I thought since they weren't tall case they might be a good battery to test with a good long life.
  • fca1
    fca1 Solar Expert Posts: 124 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    hi i now have OPzv cells forklift "gel" from exide ... 1 year old and still good ...
    But I only have 255ah at c5 so maybe 300ah at c20 ..
  • SandyP
    SandyP Solar Expert Posts: 65 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    We are two years into using the Hoppecke OPzV GEL 600ah batteries and no issues so far (albeit on a holiday cabin).
    In fact they are only now settling into their average volts per cell range (as outlined in the manual).
  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    fca1 wrote: »
    hi i now have OPzv cells forklift "gel" from exide ... 1 year old and still good ...
    But I only have 255ah at c5 so maybe 300ah at c20 ..

    Warning, pedantry ahead: If they have an "O" in the name then they're stationary cells, not forklift. The forklift version would be called PzV for gel, and PzS for flooded. Not sure on the cycle life of the PzV vs. PzS...

    Browsing the hoppecke site, they also have a LiOn solution for industrial applications: http://www.hoppecke.com/content/view/full/1951 2500 cycles at 80% DoD!
  • northerner
    northerner Solar Expert Posts: 492 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    The Aquion S10 battery stack has a cycle life > 3000 cycles, useable SOC window to 100 %, self discharge rate is < 2% per month, and they have a round trip efficiency at C/20 rate of >85%! And they won't cost nearly as much as lithium batteries.

    In fact, test cells have shown no degradation in capacity in the 3000 + cycles that these cells have been put through.
  • keyturbocars
    keyturbocars Solar Expert Posts: 375 ✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...
    northerner wrote: »
    The Aquion S10 battery stack has a cycle life > 3000 cycles, useable SOC window to 100 %, self discharge rate is < 2% per month, and they have a round trip efficiency at C/20 rate of >85%! And they won't cost nearly as much as lithium batteries.

    In fact, test cells have shown no degradation in capacity in the 3000 + cycles that these cells have been put through.

    Thanks for sharing about those Aquion batteries. I just did some reading about them and they look very impressive. I'll be interested to see pricing when they are released.
  • newl
    newl Solar Expert Posts: 53 ✭✭✭✭
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    Re: Best batteries that money can buy...

    http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/water-and-salt-based-batteries-could-be-energy-storage-breakthrough-32051

    The above article suggests an initial hopeful price of $300/kWh. I'd be keen to know where they end up price wise as well when they begin full production and they're available to the general public.