Good Housekeeping will help you maintain Good Battery Life

How to help maintain Good Battery Life

One of the up and coming trends these days is that people are starting to build battery banks for the storage of power from their solar panels and wind turbines. But in my opinion it does not just start there, a good system of maintenance is essential to keep your batteries in good condition.

We have noticed that one of the recent trends is for people to buy Cheap Leisure Batteries for this purpose and one of the reasons is because the internet has driven down the prices of these batteries and they being used more and more for battery storage and also for the battery banks that are used on canal boats and other river craft.

A few years ago the main batteries used these boats were in reality Truck Batteries. The change came when companies like Johnson Controls started to make similar size batteries that came with thicker plates, for increased storage capacity. These batteries were really Starter Batteries, but will now double up as storage batteries. The most popular one is  110 amp Leisure Battery, that is marketed by Numax and a couple of other battery companies.

These batteries sort of double up as a starter and storage battery, but must not be mistaken for a genuine storage battery, which is an AGM (Absorbed Glass Matting) that is a deep cycle battery. These batteries now cost about twice the price as a Leisure Battery, but are solely made for the storage of electricity. These are in fact the correct batteries for the job of the energy storing of solar power, but they are more expensive and do not need as much looking after as the 12 volt lead acid batteries that are now more commonly used. One important thing to remember is that you must not dis-charge your leisure below 80%, because this will damage your batteries. AGM batteries can be totally discharged and will make a full recovery, this is one of the reasons that they cost more money, they have much more plate capacity and storage than a lead-acid battery.

A couple of battery facts

The leisure battery is a flooded lead-acid battery and does require some looking after to keep them in tip-top condition. The main ones now come in a sealed casing with a blow off valve that will go off if the battery gets overheated for some reason, letting the built up pressure escape. Some leisure batteries especially the smaller 75 amp Leisure Batteries do have screw tops similar to some car batteries; these must be looked after as follows.

Adding Water to the battery

If you have a screw top battery or batteries, it is important to check the fluid levels (electrolyte) on a regular basis. This is because the battery gives off some gasses while in operation (oxygen and hydrogen), this depletes the amount of liquid in the battery and will need topping up with distilled water. You can buy this at your local auto store, or use the water that is produced from a certain type of electric dryer. The electrolyte Car batteries, but most car batteries are now sealed similar to the sealed leisure batteries.

Typical 110 amp leisure battery now in common use

needs to cover the tops of the plates, there is usually a marker to guide you to the correct level. Older people amongst us will remember having to do this with their

In hot weather the batteries with screw caps also loose the liquid due to evaporation, but here in the UK the effects of weather are minimal. It is also a good idea to be methodical and make a note of when you had to top the battery up, this is because it is the first sign of a battery cell problem if the cell keeps on needing fresh water.

Keep you battery bank clean and dirt free

This applies to the Battery terminals; we have all seen the corrosion that can take place wherever battery acid is present, and this is no different on a battery bank. It is important to watch out for this and a good battery terminals.

battery bank for solar storage

preventative measure is to smear the terminals with petroleum jelly. A good trade name for this in the UK is (Vaseline), this will protest the battery terminals from corroding and develop the nasty white powder that forms around

Also inspect your connecting wires, a corroded or terminal could form a high resistance on a system that is connected in series and will prevent the batteries from charging and dis-charging correctly and creating an imbalance in the battery bank, with a possibility of reducing the battery banks performance and lowering the life of the batteries in the entire bank.

To conclude the article you are better of using AGM Batteries for any type of storage in a bank or indeed in two’s or three’s .and use a reputable make ,such as Trojan batteries that are on sale on www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk  and they will last you up to four times longer than a leisure battery. I also know though that people do use free flow lead acid batteries that are on sale as leisure batteries, but do not let them drain completely and look after your batteries no matter what type they are and they will last longer.

Trojan Batteries use’ Smart Carbon' technology to improve their battery performances

Trojan Batteries use’ Smart Carbon' technology 

To the readers that follow my battery blog, they will not be surprised at my admiration for the Trojan battery products and this latest delve into technology is just a re-enforcement to my beliefs.

One of the problems facing the battery makers was how they can improve the batteries performance when it is operating in a partial state of charge or (PSOC) for short. Trojan have come up with a formula that enhances the use of Smart Carbon, this helps to stabilize the batteries that are under charged on a regular basis, say in a telecom and inverter applications. It has taken Trojan five long years to develop the addition of carbon for use in deep-cycle flooded batteries used on off grid stationary systems. The original research was done to improve the life of the AGM and stop/start batteries that are used on so many different application and of course the stop/start is now used on many cars.

Batteries that are always operating on a partial state of charge, have a shorter life span, this includes the ones that are used for solar storage systems. This makes these types of batteries less popular because of the expense of constantly replacing them. This cost will be partially reduced due to the addition of the carbon technology and therefor reducing the cost of replacing the battery storage 

Trojan batteries are incorporated into the Old Fort Village resort in Ann, Jamaica

The Old Fort Village is now self-sufficient in its own power supply that is generated by the Sun and independent of the rest of Jamaica’s power supply. The holiday paradise is totally self-sufficient and the power comes from solar panels that are managed by a computerised energy management system. The development also brags about its solar hot water system and a septic tank sewage system with clear water irrigation. More reading at …http://oldfortvillage.com/greendev.php  

the reason I have brought up this Caribbean village is the fact that part of the total system was the inclusion of a deep-cycle battery electric storage system and are using Trojan batteries for this purpose. The bank consists of 144 Trojan IND 33 2 volt smart carbon batteries, which along with the solar panels are controlled by the energy management system.

As we all know this part of the World is blessed with many sunny days, but the storage system comes into its own and aids in the supply of electricity to power the entire units electrical needs, including luxuries like pool heaters and air conditioning units. The smart carbon helps the batteries to perform better when they are not in a fully charged state.

Independent studies have shown that the use of carbon in the negative plates of lead acid batteries reduce the process of sulphating and greatly increase the life of the lead acid battery. The life expectancy of the smart carbon deep-cycle batteries is likely to be increased by as much as 15%, compared to a normal lead acid deep-cycle storage battery. ..See more at: http://www.solarnovus.com/battery-update-carbon-resolves-partial-state-of-charge_N7641.html#sthash.FbgCgzLS.dpuf

The on grid electricity in the rest of Jamaica is very spasmodic and the system often generates surges and power-outs, especially in the hurricane season, it is also very expensive as compared with the Old Fort Village project. The cost is less than 70% when the storage and battery banks are used, instead of the islands grid system. Deep-cycle flooded batteries are still the most widely used battery technology due to their widespread availability and more economical price point. Smart Carbon batteries help to enhance the overall battery life in an application where the batteries are not fully recharged on a regular basis due to their usage.

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

Batteries for Ariel Lifts and Industrial Pick and Carry Cranes (Cherry Pickers)

Batteries for Ariel Lifts and  (Cherry Pickers)

I decided to do an article about this type of industrial equipment, because (A) I know nothing about them apart from you see them working on building sites, lifting men and equipment up and down. (B) I am a Trojan battery dealer for Yorkshire UK and therefore should know about these machines.

Another reason that I am interested in, is the growing change over to Lithium-Ion battery technology and the

Cherry Picker in action

affect that it will have on the years old lead acid battery industry, including the field of lifting equipment. I discovered that this was going to be a good time to do this because some manufacturers of this equipment were in fact starting to use Lithium-ion battery systems onto their new equipment. At the same time as Trojan and US Batteries were also improving their own deep cycle battery products.

Ariel lifts and pick and carry cranes also operate on semi-traction and full-traction batteries, which are of course the same lead acid batteries that we have been using for almost 100 years. This I one of the reasons that I wanted to delve into the technology aspect of this industry, because there has been huge advances in battery development in other industries, mainly as I have stated the Lithium-Ion (li-On) battery technology that has come on in leaps and bounds over the past five years.

The introduction on the Li-On battery will have a major impact on the 150,000 scissor lifts across Europe, never mind the companies such as Trojan batteries, who will probably have to make radical changes, although I cannot believe that manufacturing the new technologies will not be on their minds. The market is also seen a rise in the use of improved GEL battery products as well as LI-On batteries.

The change in battery types is not expected to change radically over the next fifteen years, mainly because things have improved with the introduction of new motor controls and electric circuitry that help to prolong the batteries life span. A big leap forward the machine development over the past two years has been the introduction of the direct electric AC drive motors. These are now used by most of the manufacturing companies such as Snorkel, Skyjack and Upright, using this technology that helps extend the life of the batteries.

Lithium-Ion batteries not yet cost effective

As I have previously stated the machine manufacturers are reluctant to try out new batteries such as Li-On batteries because of the extra cost that would be involved in an upgrade. However a machine manufacturer has started to use Li-on batteries, these are Hinowa – Goldlift tracked machine.

Hinowa were started in 1987 and started to build machines for the building industry. The company set out making tracked vehicles for different industries including construction and agriculture. Hinowa sell primarily to the European market, with 80% of their sales being in this market. The company has its base in the province of Verona in Italy and it was from here that they designed and made a tracked lift that was battery operated.

Trojan battery

The problem that was associated with tracked vehicles was that the tracks created a drag and the machines were only a narrow size and so it was difficult to build a suitable battery pack that would work. However enter the Li-On battery? These type of batteries suit this type of machine very, without me going into technical jargon you should read the follow description from the Hinowa web site… http://www.hinowa.com/scheda.asp?idprod=527&idpadrerif=18&selflang=en

I think that it will be closer than some experts think before Li-On batteries are used in more applications, including these “Cherry picker” machines.

One company that is still relying on the older technology Trojan batteries have indeed brought out a new GEL battery. This new GEL battery is heavy duty deep cell battery giving 210 amps per hour. The new battery contains a new GEL electrolyte sulphuric acid, silica and uses pure de-mineralised water, de-ionised water and phosphoric acid which Trojan say gives the battery a more consistent performance and also gives the battery a longer life.

For more information about this battery please see…http://www.trojanbattery.com/products/deep-cycle-gel/ 

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

  

 

Types of Batteries for Solar Power Storage

Different types of Batteries for your Solar Power Storage

As we probably all know the storage of solar energy will become more and more of a factor in the coming years ahead as more and more consumers realize the savings that are to be made by investing in solar panels, and it thought that the photovoltaic storage systems are going to reach very high levels of demand.

Europe’s largest country, Germany is expecting that the capacity from solar energy will increase from eight megawatts to a massive 4900 megawatts from now (2014) to 2017. This will also include a storage system with an estimated lifespan of about 20 years.

This 20 years lifespan also includes the ability to be able to store any excess solar power in a battery storage system. This is for when the sun is not shining and the solar panels are not putting

in any power to the system, then the backup batteries that have stored the energy will be able to supply the stored power to the household.

The traditional batteries that are used at present are the old favorites, lead acid batteries, AGM batteries (absorbed glass matting), and GEL sealed batteries, golf cart batteries which are the same as the AGM and GEL and can also be classed as deep cycle batteries. These batteries are all priced differently and in my opinion you pay for what you get. An excellent web site to explain each type of battery is…http://www.freesunpower.com/batteries.php

The new kid on the block is the Lithium-Ion batteries that are now been used by many solar panels manufacturers. In fact I have noticed that they are now making a complete unit which includes an inverter and a lithium battery as an integral part of the package. The Lithium batteries are usually more expensive but are promised to have a longer life span than the lead acid battery types, although at the moment I do not think that this has been proven.

The most popular types used in the USA are the deep cycle batteries used at the moment as leisure batteries and marine batteries on canal boats many other types of water craft. These types of batteries are able to take a large discharge and then recover when being charged back up, either by solar panels or another type of charging system. Special types of these batteries have now been developed by the large battery manufacturers. Trojan batteries now make a battery that is specific to storing solar energy and wind power. This type of battery is also used in backup systems for large installations such as hospitals where a backup system is needed in case of a mains power outage.

These types of batteries are the more expensive ones amongst the lead acid type batteries, but they are cheaper than the Lithium batteries. But I guess you get what you pay for, because a lead acid type battery will start to lose its capacity after about 3000 cycles of being charged and discharged, where as a lithium-Ion battery is capable of completing 7000 full cycles.

How does the Lithium-Ion battery work for solar power storage?

The development of the Li-Ion battery, has not yet been finalised, and at the moment the battery industry are working on development of a more robust material, for a higher performance electrode. Today’s Li-Ion batteries are using a graphite material for the anode and lithium metal for the anode, this serves as a chemical reactant for the graphite. It is expected though to use a newer material for the anodes, made from lithium-titanium. This change will bring down the price of these batteries to the level of the lead acid batteries, but this is in the future and at the moment the deep cycle AGM batteries are the favorite choice for the majority of solar power storage units, whether large or small.

Eric Roberts 

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

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