Check out my new battery!

[C4Ranch]

What's the expected life of the batteries you all are using?

 

[k0ua]

What's the expected life of the batteries you all are using?

A lot depends on how they are treated.. Deep discharge is always a no no.

 

[dragoneggs]

What's the expected life of the batteries you all are using?

I think this is the big question on what the eventual ROI will be. How he uses/maintains the batteries is very important.

 

[greenmojo]

Just kind of guessing here, but it looks like your ROI will be about 10 years or even a little less? Nice setup and it sounds like you have learned a lot.

Thanks! I've learned a lot and still there is an unbelievable amount of knowledge I wish I had.

I wasn't concerned with ROI, mostly with just simply creating a modular system that was capable of generating as much power as we could possibly use up here. No doubt over the next 20 years, we'll be upgrading and replacing components as well go.

What's the expected life of the batteries you all are using?

At a minimum we should get a few thousand cycles from them before they really begin to degrade in performance. Our anticipation with these AGMs is we will only be bringing them down 20% to 30% per cycle rather than the usual 50% that is common when sizing a bank. This means we should get as many as 4000 cycles give-or-take and could even be more if we are gentle on our charging voltages.

~Moses

 

[dragoneggs]

Any idea on how often you will recycle/charge the batteries... every day? twice a week?

 

[greenmojo]

Any idea on how often you will recycle/charge the batteries... every day? twice a week?

During the summer, the panels will keep the battery floated during the day, and we'll only use on average 5% to 10% during the night. We'd do the math for a "cycle" every 2 or more days during good sun summer days and in the winter the system would be cycling each day.

Although wind is much less efficient and requires more maintenance, my plan this year is to get up two wind turbines to get a few hundred watts each hour throughout the night and that will extend our cycle time as well and increase longevity of the battery.

Wind doesn't excite me as much as solar, only because wind is a maintenance monster and solar is passive and will outlast me. But it is still relevant, until someone invents a darkness power panel. ;-)

~Moses

 

[k0ua]

I don't suppose you have a source of running water on the place?

 

[greenmojo]

I don't suppose you have a source of running water on the place?

Just the garden hose. ;-)

 

[dickfoster]

Thanks! I've learned a lot and still there is an unbelievable amount of knowledge I wish I had.

I wasn't concerned with ROI, mostly with just simply creating a modular system that was capable of generating as much power as we could possibly use up here. No doubt over the next 20 years, we'll be upgrading and replacing components as well go.



At a minimum we should get a few thousand cycles from them before they really begin to degrade in performance. Our anticipation with these AGMs is we will only be bringing them down 20% to 30% per cycle rather than the usual 50% that is common when sizing a bank. This means we should get as many as 4000 cycles give-or-take and could even be more if we are gentle on our charging voltages.

~Moses

Not too gentle with the recharge voltage on AGMs. The Odysseys I use like 14.7V until the current uptake drops off. Then a 13.6V float charge to keep it topped up. Go to the Odyssey site and read their tech info about the preferred charge profiles. Too much voltage and they'll vent which will ruin your battery and make you really mad. I had one overvolted from a bad regulator and it swelled up like a toad turning it into a door stop.

 

[greenmojo]

Not too gentle with the recharge voltage on AGMs. The Odysseys I use like 14.7V until the current uptake drops off. Then a 13.6V float charge to keep it topped up. Go to the Odyssey site and read their tech info about the preferred charge profiles. Too much voltage and they'll vent which will ruin your battery and make you really mad. I had one overvolted from a bad regulator and it swelled up like a toad turning it into a door stop.

Outback and Enersys want my absorb voltage set at 56v for generator charging and 56.4v for the solar charge controllers. In comparison to your 12v numbers that would be 14v.

I am going to see if they (Outback) will connect in to my system and go over all of the settings and make sure they are all good.

~Moses