How much effort is involved in maintaining a Battery set.

 

Our estimates indicate that we would need about 70kwHours of capacity
from a battery inverter set.

How much maintenance is required if we install high quality charge and
inverter systems?

 

wrote:


I have wind/PV and a backup fossil-fueled (propane) generator.

I have a pair of SW5548 inverter/chargers and about 78kW Surrette batteries
(12 8CS25P's)

Maintenance consists of:
    Ensure batteries reach full charge at least every two weeks as
recommended by Surrette -- so the state of charge needs to be periodically
monitored.

    Equalize as required -- this can be done from either the renewable
or non-renewable sources.

    In my usage, with ordinary battery caps, I need to add water about
every five months.
--ron

 

wrote:


I check electrolyte levels every 4 months on our 30kWh bank. We get a
full charge most days, but during periods of low sun and wind when we
might not get to 100% for several days, I occasionally check SG in one
or two cells to verify that SOC matches the battery monitor.

You'll most likely have twice as many cells, so your topping-up
routine will take longer. Still, you can probably figure less than 2
hours per year for that including a little cleaning as needed.

You'll also have to allocate some time for equalizing. A good
inverter-charger makes it simple and the process can even be
automated. Follow the battery maker's advice.

Early on you should probably check SG perhaps once a week until you're
confident that everything is working correctly.

The inverter and battery monitor (recommended, #8
http://www.survivalunlimited.com/batteries/batteryblunders.htm ) don't
need any maintanance, but you may have to spend some time tweaking
settings in the beginning.

Wayne