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Battery Maintenance |
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Happiness is a fully charged set of batteries in the independent home power system. Keeping batteries healthy is the highest priority in system performance. The health of your batteries dictates the performance of your whole system. If system components are sized and installed properly, there is little battery maintenance required. Periodically checking water levels and your voltmeter is generally enough maintenance especially if you are reaching full charge voltages regularly. A fully charged set of lead-acid batteries at rest (no charging or discharging happening) will have a voltage of around 12.7 for a 12 volt system and 25.4 for a 24 volt system. Most Telephone cells electrolyte have a weaker acid content than other types of lead-acid batteries and therefore have a lower full charge resting voltage--between 12.3 and 12.5 (24.6 and 25.0 for 24 volt systems). Every four to six months a hydrometer reading or voltage reading of each
cell is recommended. A voltage reading of each cell may be taken using a multi-tester.
Some cells will show about the same voltage during rest but when charging a weaker cell will show a considerably lower voltage--10 hundreds or more. This indicates that the weak cell or cells are not fully charged and a mild overcharge or equalizing is necessary. The resting voltages of each cell should not vary more than 3 or 4 hundredths of a volt. A fully charged cell will read 2.10 to 2.12 volts (2.06 or 2.07 for telephone cells). A ni-cad cell a full charge will read around 1.35 volts or 13.5 volts for a 10 cell/12 volt system. Ni-cad cells have the characteristic of maintaining consistent voltage between full and 10% state of charge--between 1.2 and 1.25. For lead-acid batteries, hydrometer readings should be taken in the morning because acid levels have had the extra time to homogenize after a day of charging. If water has recently been added, then the acid level will be weak at the top and a hydrometer reading will read lower than the actual state of charge. To help prevent contamination of the electrolyte, keep the hydrometer in a clean container. Note that telephone batteries, because of a weaker electrolyte will show around 1.220 when full; deep cycle batteries will read between 1.275 and 1.300 when full. Use only distilled water when adding to cells. The tops of the batteries should be kept clean to prevent the cells from discharging through the dirt particle build-up around the terminals. Use massive interconnects between terminals (the equivalent of #4 gauge wire or greater) and annually check the tightness of the terminal bolts. Each terminal and bolt should be liberally greased with petroleum jelly or other suitable anti-corrosive compound. This will help prevent oxidation and corrosion that can happen when battery gassing and humidity mix. CORROSION AT CONNECTIONS TO BATTERY TERMINALS WILL SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISH YOUR SYSTEM'S PERFORMANCE.
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Types of Batteries | Battery Sizing & Location |
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We recommend
investing in a digital multi-tester and learning to use all of its functions.
Standard digital meters will read volts, amps (up to 10) and ohms or resistance.
It will solve a lot of mysteries for you and the digital read-out leaves little
to the imagination. Hydrometers and digital multi-testers are available at
most auto parts, hardware and electronics stores. It is good to take readings
at two different times: (1) in the morning before charging begins and no major
loads are on in the system, and (2) during peak charging. 