Battery replacement quandaries.

softdown
softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Not many will muscle through this, maybe three. Here goes:
Bunch of old batteries (think 8 years) that read approx. "54% good". I recently replaced two such 2011 batteries and one failed a month later - bad cell. So that was a pretty decent call. Replacing solar bank batteries is best done before failure.

Just replaced two more old batteries reading approx. "54% good" -  made in 2012:
1) One for the generator - could be pretty important in a crunch.
2) One for truck that occasionally had a real hard time spinning a warm engine when starting. Figured it was the battery. It was not. The new battery also struggles on occasion with a warm engine. I changed the oil yesterday - it was due anyway.

Well money is tight - it usually is. Playing with the idea of returning both new battery purchases. The old batteries are testing better than they had before - probably because they are much warmer. Then again - "54% good" might last another year. But not much longer than that.

Battery replacement - pros and cons for sure. If we have a catastrophic economic failure - who knows what parts of the supply chain are effected. Hyper inflation is a possibility with all the fiat money being printed so freely.
First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Vehicle batteries lasting more than 5 years are rare, or way oversized.  I'd get new, if you are concerned.    If they were younger than 5 years, I'd try a desulfator on them for a couple days.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • Ralph Day
    Ralph Day Solar Expert Posts: 1,022 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    With so much less vehicle usage I've taken to putting a Battery Tender (Tm) on my Tacoma and Pilot...alternating between them.  There's always BT's on my tractor, mower, generator and never any problems with starting or longevity.  I thought, with all the computer driven doo dads on late model vehicles it would be wise to keep their batteries at full state of charge.

    Ralph
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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Keeping them charged is instrumental. Eight years is eight years no matter what we do. Would they last nine years? Probably. But what if it fails at a bad time or spot. Very old cells can go bad quite quickly.
    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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