elect lasted till 3 30 not good; new batts in future, drat!
Now that you have brought in a new battery do you have to do the equalizing that was mentioned in another post a month or so ago? I'm sure there is a way to tell which batteries aren't holding up..... is a volt meter used to check them or is it built in the array set-up?
You are between a Rock and a Hard place here. Batteries age over a period of 6 to 10 years or so for Lead Batteries. All things being perfect, they age evenly. In your case, things were not perfect. My kind of Luck. I am assuming multiple batteries. The battery you bought is now at 100% of it's power potential. The rest of your batteries are not. You have a Mis Match !Your new addition will be required to pull more than it's fair share which will age it faster. If that is all your budget can do, live with it. The alternative is to split off all the old batteries to a set of their own. The New Battery can be used for a Single Must have Item and charged as a single. The next way is to put together a new set and run both back and forth. Money and Space is the name of the game here. Art
Thanks Art that was a good description of the problem.
This can become an expensive thing in a hurry.
One thing that every one should think on is putting Critical items on their own batteries with a Battery Isolator connecting them to the system. Then if the main batteries went dead, this set would not. If in the prior case he were to purchase a New Set, the Old Set could be used to power that TV and other non critical items and an Isolator would let them go dead with out shutting the main system down. Art
I'm visualizing an energy priority flow chart. That is the place to start with thinking of a system at all, isn't it?
My number one priority where I currently live is making sure I can run my furnace fan in extremely bad weather. The gas doesn't need power, but the fan does.
A Sump Pump is another. You can actually buy 12 volt Pump with a battery included. A Phone with electronics and not the Rotary Type is also a canidate. Art
Ok, finally broke down and replaced 22 batts. cost about 5300.00 after extensive online searching. Paid a local handyman 140 to switch them out. Doesn't anyone work for 10 bucks an hour any more?
New batts are working, well, like new batts. No genset start ups in the middle of the night. Have resolved to really not abuse this set, by:
1. super vigilance of water level
2. not overfilling
3. Vaseline on connectors and posts
4. inspecting cables for deterioration
5. replacing all cables, say every two years
6. taking specific gravity readings more often.
I am 70; perhaps I can make these last until a visit by the Grim Reaper; (^_^)
Tell your brother-in-law he needs a battery operated TV when he comes to visit, too.
Reading the specific gravity uses one of those little turkey baster looking things with balls inside that you get at the auto parts store, doesn't it?
I remember having to keep Vaseline on the posts of the battery in my old beater cars.
yes, now the sg testers have a dial-like reader.
the Vaseline prevents the sulfuric acid fumes from eating the posts and connectors;
