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Post by tjwilhelm on Jan 1, 2015 19:38:24 GMT -7
Hey, Marc! My Rolls Surrettes are on their last leg. I'm in need of building a new battery pack. I'm wondering what your advice is for a replacement battery. I'm willing to consider new technologies, if they seem to have a good reputation for reliability and longevity. At the 2014 Solar Power International I saw a " new" product called Aquion; but, I don't know much about them. What do you think of these? www.aquionenergy.com/energy-storage-batteryWhat would you use these days? Thanks, and Happy New Year! |
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Post by tjwilhelm on Jan 4, 2015 8:41:35 GMT -7
BUMP!
Marc? Hello? Hello?
Is Concorde still the best game in town?
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Post by marc on Jan 4, 2015 19:21:26 GMT -7
TJ!
Sorry man - I missed both posts until Thywar sent me a message alerting me about them.
I'm not up on the new technologies because I tend to let others pay their hard earned money to perform Beta testing for the manufacturers. They may be the best thing to come along, but I've been on the "bleeding edge" of technology too many times already....
Our AGM's are best suited for unattended/ignored sites. You can get more lifespan and bang for the buck with high quality flooded batteries with a bit of care and feeding. Rolls was king of the hill for a decade or two IMHO. But now, I think that the Trojan "RE" series is giving them a run for the money. Rolls-Surrette is taking big hits in the customer service department, but I think that they may gotten their recent QC problems licked. In the 900-1500 ah at 48v range, I would buy the Trojan's. If it's twice that size, I would lean back toward Rolls.
How big is your battery bank? I'm assuming that you are at the 12-14 year range?
Marc
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Post by tjwilhelm on Jan 4, 2015 21:58:00 GMT -7
Thanks, Marc!
Depending on discharge rate, I have about 1,200 ah at 48V. They're only ten years old; but, while I was laid up in the hospital for 5 months, and then pretty incapacitated for another 6 months, the electrolyte level in my Surrettes dropped over a gallon per battery. When I was able, I topped them all off with distilled water -- they haven't been the same since.
I heard Trojan had come out with an "improved" line for PV storage; but, I don't know anyone who's tried them, yet. As the resident battery professional, I'll take your advice and give the Trojans a good look.
Happy New Year!
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