Battery life

[SolarGary]

Hi,
I have a set of 6 Trojan T105's for my ElecTrak and backup emergency PV power. I'd like to get maximum life out of them.

They don't get very many cycles on them -- mostly they just sit around.
I put them on the charger about once every couple weeks just to bring them back up to full charge. Check the water levels once in a while.

My question is whether its worth using any of the gizmos they sell for extending battery life -- desulfators and the like?
Do any of you use them? Which ones? Are they worthwhile?

Any other ideas to keep the batteries healthy would be appreciated. This is my first set of batteries and I'm trying not to kill them early.

Gary

[Jim-mi]

After looking at the great stuff you have on your web site about your ElecTrak I am hoping next summer to get a new set of batteries for my ElecTrak......thanks..........

Good question . .
First thought was to leave it 'sit around' with one of those tiny trickle chargers . . to keep it in a "float" condition.......
But then I have never seen a 36 volt "trickle" charger.

LOL . . .push to shove you could use three of them to get that 36 volts

My point is keeping the batteries in a *float* condition will do more for 'longevity' of your bats

[wy_white_wolf]

You could put your charger on a timer to cycle for 1/2 an hour every couple of days.

[haley1]

Just get a 6 volt charger with built in desulftator and just charger each battery seperatley once a month with it, no need to unhook pack.
Gary

[SolarGary]

Thanks all.

Any opinions on whether the desulfators are worthwhile?

Gary

[wy_white_wolf]

Not worth it if you keep the batteries properly charged.

Only work if you let the batteries sit parial charged for an extended time or if you don't fully charge them.

Doing an equalizing charge on them on a 1 to 6 month (dependant on usage) would do more than a desulfators. Less they are used the less often you would need to do one.

WWW

[Darren]

I've experimented with two charger brands that have desulphation cycles. One is a Vector which was bought by Black and Decker and the other is Battery Minder. They do restore automotive batteries. Over time if a battery isn't abused the lead on the surface of the battery turns into lead sulphate. By not abused I mean the battery just deteriorates as a condition of age and doesn't have a dead cell/s.

The detrioration is the conversion of the lead plates to lead sulphate on the surface. What I've found is that on a battery without dead cells and with all cells not able to be brought up to the voltage as when new, a desulphator will over time reconvert the lead sulphate back to lead and the acid will also strengthen as the sulfur goes back into solution.

I've got two batteries that are both over five years old. They're still new as far as capacity and voltage. I remove one and desulphate it over the winter while the other goes to work. I've accidently drained both of them a few times. I use a hydrometer and a load tester on the batteries as I desulphate them to check them.

I've come to the conclusion that the battery cycle life is an estimate of how long until the lead is sulphated to the point they can't be charged. Restoring a battery is not a fast process. I've worked on batteries over three months to restore them to new condition. I do not add acid.

I've found that using the two chargers alternatively seems to speed up the process. The Vector/ Black & Decker has built in voltage display capability so you can check the amount of charge.

I'm sold on desulphating batteries. It's a longer, more involved process than's generally known. I think the amount of time required is why some that have tried it have given up and simply bought a new battery.

AFAIK, there's may be no limit to how long a lead acid battery can last.

[Darren]

So far so good. I've started desulphating the truck battery that I used during the summer months. As the battery cycles between desulphating and charging I'm seeing the final battery voltage increase. Originally the battery charged to 12.6 volts. Now it charges to 12.9. I try to get the battery to hold a charge near 13V when finished.

[Darren]

Both batteries now hold a charge around 13.5V. What I have noticed is that the first time around when the batteries have degraded/sulphated in service, it takes longer to restore them. The first time I tried, it took a few months. Now that I've started doing this yearly, it just takes a few weeks to restore the battery.

[ralph perrello]

They need to be charged up to 14.8 volts and floated @ 13.4 volts. They need to be charged up to 15 volts and held at that voltage for an hour monthly to equalize them. This will give maximum life.

[WisJim]

I use a Landis charger controller with the stock battery charger on my E15 Electrak and it works fine. Keeps the batteries well charged by turning the stock charger on/off according to battery voltage and the voltage set point is adjustable on the Landis, but adjustment does require a bit of fiddling and use of an accurate digital voltmeter. I use a desulphater on my house batteries but they are only 14 or 15 years old so I am not sure, yet, if the desulphater is helping or not. A search with Google for "landis charger" will get you to sites with info about it.

[haley1]

http://www.FreeRangeElectric.com/

Ran across this guy that sells electrak parts
Gary