Unique battery situation - how to use them safely?

mvas

There is no doubt.
There jury has reached a verdict...
Windurance states, "These are AGM Batteries"
There is no requirement to print "AGM" on the case.
Windurance is Wind Turbine company, not a battery company.



 

mcgivor

Out of curiosity, where do they, Windurance, state that? Again can you provide a link as I am unable to find anything, one way or the other, thanks.

mcgivor

Thought  this may be of intrest to javid, taken from Morningstar controller manual.

mcgivor

Some more helpful information, see page 22

javid

mcgivor said:

javid said:

OP here - I am not sure what kind of battery this is, but from what I know about AGM (which is from 15 minutes of reading just now), it seems likely.  

These are used in the hub of a utility scale wind turbine.  They are in a metal box (18 to a box, with about 30K of circuit boards), spinning 360 degrees 15x/minute 24/7 if the wind is blowing.  They would need to be very leakproof and stable.

Will these fail within a year with my intended use?

It is impossible to predict how long they will last, they are used, so the best bet would be as other have said, weed out the weakest and hope for the best.

Could you elaborate a little on the, 30 K is that 30K $? And the spinning  360 degrees..........., just curious as this would give some indication of the type of battery. 

Generally speaking a battery that is a deep cycle AGM would state that on the side, these batteries  are most likely  not manufactured by Windurance, so for now the jury is out on that one as doubt has been cast, personally I can't find any information on their site orelsewhere, to indicate exactly what they are.

Sorry I wasn't more clear...Yup - around $30K in boards.  

As for the spinning 360 degrees - picture a wind turbine (large industrial model) and where the 3 blades all meet is the hub (this is like a small round room with approx 12' diameter).  As the blades turn, this hub goes around and around (360 degrees on a single axis).  Inside the hub are (3) of these boxes (among other things) - each containing 18 batteries and expensive electronics.  Each of these boxes will power the pitch system of one of the blades in case of power outage.

Thanks for all the replies and help.  I am not sure, but I think I am going to give them a try and see how it goes.

mcgivor

Regarding the application and the cost of the equipment involved the batteries should be of higher quality, one would expect, assuming they are AGM although not labeled as such, my opinion would be not to attempt an equalization as you would on a flooded bank but a boost charge should be fine. The Midnight Kid controller is a good quality unit and has a setting in the basic setup menu for both AGM  and GEL. The reputed good customer service quality of Midnight Solar would be of assistance should you have any questions regarding your controller.

To be sure of the construction of the battery you could open one up and check if it has glass matt material between the plates or not. Although mvas claims Windurance states they are AGM and I am not disputing that, it's just that personally I have not seen such a claim, despite contacting them directly. 

Good luck on your endeavors.

mcgivor said:

javid said:

OP here - I am not sure what kind of battery this is, but from what I know about AGM (which is from 15 minutes of reading just now), it seems likely.  

These are used in the hub of a utility scale wind turbine.  They are in a metal box (18 to a box, with about 30K of circuit boards), spinning 360 degrees 15x/minute 24/7 if the wind is blowing.  They would need to be very leakproof and stable.

Will these fail within a year with my intended use?

It is impossible to predict how long they will last, they are used, so the best bet would be as other have said, weed out the weakest and hope for the best.

Could you elaborate a little on the, 30 K is that 30K $? And the spinning  360 degrees..........., just curious as this would give some indication of the type of battery. 

Generally speaking a battery that is a deep cycle AGM would state that on the side, these batteries  are most likely  not manufactured by Windurance, so for now the jury is out on that one as doubt has been cast, personally I can't find any information on their site orelsewhere, to indicate exactly what they are.

Sorry I wasn't more clear...Yup - around $30K in boards.  

As for the spinning 360 degrees - picture a wind turbine (large industrial model) and where the 3 blades all meet is the hub (this is like a small round room with approx 12' diameter).  As the blades turn, this hub goes around and around (360 degrees on a single axis).  Inside the hub are (3) of these boxes (among other things) - each containing 18 batteries and expensive electronics.  Each of these boxes will power the pitch system of one of the blades in case of power outage.

Thanks for all the replies and help.  I am not sure, but I think I am going to give them a try and see how it goes.