FLA battery wiring / config ?'s

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  • lamplight
    lamplight Solar Expert Posts: 368 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: FLA battery wiring / config ?'s

    they came in yersterdfay. when i unwrapped them on the pallet one of them went bang, flipped over and fell flat sideways on the pavement. boards on the pallet had been broken, i tipped it up right away, there was no spillage.

    anyhow... i got the batteries in place myswlf (!) using a wooden sled i built on a heavy duty extension ladder, worked like a charm.

    it looks to me like these batteries can be tilted quite a bit , theres only a pinhle in the caps for venting it looks like.

    going to invest in the hydrocaps like i had for my t-105's , was hoping they'd fit but they look different.

    mikeo wrote: »
    You could build a simple wooden sled with a pitch corrected for the angle of your stairwell I suppose. This way you wouldn't have to tip the batterys. Just drop an extension ladder section for it to slide on on top of the stairs. I would add a rope to the sled so you can lower it down from the top just in case one gets away.
  • lamplight
    lamplight Solar Expert Posts: 368 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: FLA battery wiring / config ?'s

    just to add some more to this topic. reading one of the rolls manuals on charging they have the following to say about banks that are large in relation to the PV:
    "If the battery bank is large in relation to the PV array (C/20 min) and loads are large then the batteries will require a higher voltage setting. Also the battery should be cycled deeply (i.e. to 50%) before starting an auxiliary charge source such as a generator. Once every three months the bank should be discharged to the low voltage set point before starting the generator. This is usually dependent on the cut-off of the inverter which is usually 11 volts on a 12V system. The batteries are designed to be cycled and a deeper discharge forces electrolyte deeper into the active plate material and helps open up fresh reaction sites. With large battery to PV systems, it is imperative that the battery bank is returned to 100% SOC once every 30 days. Full charge can be determined by charge acceptance, which is ~2% of capacity at 100% SOC.

    Charge Stage Volts per Cell (VPC)
    12V
    Min – Mean – Max
    Absorption / Bulk 14.4 – 14.7 – 15.0
    Equalization 15.0 – 15.8 - 16.0
    Float 13.2 – 13.3 - 13.4

    so what they are saying is if im on the lower side of charge rate (c/5) then i should use the upper end (MAX) of their charge ranges. so, i switched to one of the tristar controllers presets which uses 14.7 absorb, 13.5 float, 15.4 eq. Sometime soon ill setup custom rates for the max values exactly as listed above. actually think im going to do it right now :) the only thing that stinks is that my inverter shuts off at 15v (not at 14.7) which is why im using the 14.7 setting right now. does anyones actual experiences contradict from this advise about using the higher end of the charge range? it makes sense to me.


    has anyone ever seen this advise about deeply discharging every few months?

    oh, and what does the "C/20 min" in the above quote mean? I thought typical carge rate ranges were c/5 to c/13.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: FLA battery wiring / config ?'s

    C/20 = C * 1/20 = C * 0.05 = C * 5%

    So, we are talking about the same thing...

    C * 13% ~ C * 1/8 = C * 0.125 = C/8

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset