The importance of cool batteries

softdown
softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,812 ✭✭✭✭
A picture is worth a thousand words?
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

Comments

  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    Might be a good overall view, but........

    I'm in the red part of Texas. My cheap auto parts store branded battery is 6.5 years old and starts my daily driver '99 Chevy truck engine great. The battery in my wife's February 2011 SUV hasn't been replaced yet and seems to crank at full speed.


    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,812 ✭✭✭✭
    It is way oversimplified for sure. Sometimes the best way to teach?

    Perhaps your vehicles have light colored paint jobs? Perhaps you garage them or tend to keep them in the shade?

    The lesson is that heat kills batteries. That is a good lesson to be sure.

    I'm in the blue part of Colorado. My batteries also tend to do well.
    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
  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    yes The lesson is that heat kills batteries. That is a good lesson to be sure.

    And COLD, read anything below freezing, weather tells you VERY quickly that you better replace that battery in your vehicle despite its age, cause otherwise you will be parked and the car will be towed or jumped... Sept/Oct is new battery season here.

    Mind you I got over 12 years on the factory original Ford battery in my 78 P/U and then another 8 years powering my first camper... after we woke up July 1 to 6 inches of fresh SNOW  at a remote lake....  thank goodness we were not there alone!
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,812 ✭✭✭✭
    My understanding is that being cold prolongs the life of batteries. Even being very cold. The problem in truly cold environs is that batteries lose so much power when they are well below freezing temperatures. The battery would be fine at ~26C/75F. Yet the owner decides to replace it because it didn't crank so fast when it was 30 degrees below freezing.

    Plus people in the north just don't want to deal with a dead battery in January when there is a meter/yard of snow on the ground. So they replace the battery in Sept/Oct.
    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
  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2017 #6
    you are so right...  well, almost, for me, now,....
    out come the tools, meters, etc a check of the cells SG etc, top off H2O and a hard charge overnight, etc ....replace as needed..or,......  just suspect ?>..  next fail back it goes.. last time I had problems it was a 2 yr old jobber, that was accepting charge, but wife's stop and go on a Friday shopping, |I had to phone my neighbour to come give me a jump..  it was the heavy startup draw with max 5 min. between stops and near Zero F temps...came alive for s week then same old same old... similar to going to 30% SoC and thinking 'ah, 20 min of full sun will get em through'...! No es Nada!
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    softdown said:
    It is way oversimplified for sure. Sometimes the best way to teach?
    Perhaps your vehicles have light colored paint jobs? Perhaps you garage them or tend to keep them in the shade?
    The lesson is that heat kills batteries. That is a good lesson to be sure.
    I'm in the blue part of Colorado. My batteries also tend to do well.
    Yes of course and your graphic does a great job of making people think.
    You were active in previous threads where I have pointed out that heat is often the primary enemy - sometimes more that excess deep cycles.

    Marc

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • dennis461
    dennis461 Registered Users Posts: 109 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2017 #8
    Copied chart from Interstate batteries?
    I do not see any references (on Interstate  website) to backup the data.  
    Reasonable estimates I suppose.
    http://www.interstatedealers.com/informing-the-customer.asp
    Camden County, NJ, USA
    19 SW285 panels
    SE5000 inverter
    grid tied
  • mcgivor
    mcgivor Solar Expert Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2017 #9
    Keeping batteries/cells fresh is an old trick, store your D, AA, AAA,C,9v, or whatever you have  in the freezer, puts them to sleep and extends their shelf life by lowering self discharge.
    1500W, 6× Schutten 250W Poly panels , Schneider MPPT 60 150 CC, Schneider SW 2524 inverter, 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Battery Bodyguard BMS 
    Second system 1890W  3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.  
    5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.