My batteries just arrived!

Re: My batteries just arrived!

From Rolls
When a bank is first put into service the electrolyte levels and specific gravities should be check and recorded. As a battery is charged, water is electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Original electrolyte levels should be noted and replacement water should be added back to this level.
The battery bank should be placed on a bulk / absorption charge and voltage settings should be set at the maximum level of the above table. (15/30/60v) This voltage should be held for 6 hours and final current, if monitored, should be 2% of the 20 hour capacity rating. If not the bulk / absorption charge should be continued.

And to put that onto practice (well at least how I do it)
Install batteries remembering to fit temp sensor before bat leads, gently break silicon round poles and lift off lid, re-seal after, (fit temp sens halfway down on INTERNAL bat casing, where if you live in a hot climate the warmest place, cold , the coldest)
Only if seriously low, add water,
Commence charge @ rolls V`s, After about 3 hours check battery temp`s if they are nice and warm, add water to approx 5 mm below black tube, What I am looking for finally is warm batteries ( electrolyte/internals expand when warm) all to the same level, that I can use for a reference point in the future, Give them another hours charge to mix, Then check & record SG`s & temps of all cells, The amps drawn should be coming down, If it starts to go back up, you need to back off your charge voltage to temp compensate, The more charged the more slowly, I do not go by Rolls on the 2% end of charge, I have found they go well below that, I prefer to use SG`s at this point, ( bat`s need 50>75 ish cycles to "Run in" end of charge amps will shift more until then) another hour check SG`s & temp`s , record, It helps if you use a spreadsheet type method to record, you want to be able to compare the numbers side by side, Another hour, Sg`s & temps,
What you are looking for across the three time readings;
The temps should all be similar and resonably stable in relation to each other, one rising fast points to a problem cell, If you get to 45c, shut down and rest bank,
SG`s, If more charge required the SG`s will still be rising in numbers as a whole bank or in relation to each other, repeat in an hour,
The final point you are looking for is when the numbers stop rising (you may even see them start to fall as temp increases) as a whole and in relation to each other, Note you water levels, which with a bit of luck will all be spot on the bottom of the tube, :roll: ( if not close enough, add water and give them anther hr to stir) Re-Set voltages to preferred, tidy up and go for a pint
A month ish later EQ to roll`s instructions, You can cross reference the results from the EQ to your initial results "just to make sure"nothing nasty is happening, The SG number is not that important, It is what they are doing in relation to each other and over time, A month later EQ, As you hit their "end of run in period" 70 ish cycles, you will notice an increase in performance after EQ, This is also a good time to get as close as poss to your original conditions, temp / level/ all SG`s stable for a future reference point and record end of charge amps,
I then EQ when I see around a 10 point shift in SG`s relative to each other (between 1>3 months Max)
Keep em watered, Charge em properly,Use a temp sensor, 50% DOD & service them, They should last 3500 cycle`s +

Have a good one
Tim


The cables & SS nut`s bolts & washers are Rolls supplied FOC

Re: My batteries just arrived!

Hi czyhorse,

Fine on those Rolls batteries.

Will add my 3c. In working with three sets of Surrette 4KS25s. The incoming water levels varied quite a lot, AND there was a lot of acid on the battery cases, on the film wrap and many dark brown spots on the pallets. Plus, there was a very strong aroma of acid. These were drop-shipped from NS to CA via Roadway Freight. Each case was the same -- strong indications of quite a lot of acid escaped in transit, and indications of A VERY ROUGH RIDE.

In speaking with Surrette they counciled that in this speicfic case it was OK to add 1.265 electrolyte to the lowest cells, Charge + EQ, and place in service.

On one of the battery pallets, the batteries had slid off the center of the pallet by a few inches.

If, in your case, there was indication that perhaps some of the acid was spilled (or levitated) from the cells, adding electrolyte would not be totally out of the question, but think in your case, a dealer received the shipment, and has made a judgment on this.

AND I would never add Electrolyte to any battery without advice from the manufacturer. Just my personal experience. Good luck with the new batteries. Vic