| Author |
Message |
Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay) (12.77.20.222)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 1:04 pm: | |
__. Thanks for the very helpful info on some basic plumbing questions for my conversion on the double-decker Daimler Fleetline English bus (sorry that this is written in crayon but they won't let us have sharp objects in here). Now, after I've looked through the info on this site, I've noticed that some people are using "golf-cart" batteries for their "bus circuit" batteries.
__. I have a couple of questions -
1) What's the advantage of these batteries? I had assumed that "Ultima 'deep discharge'" batteries were the way to go - why do people use the golf cart batteries rather than these?
2) There are lots of places that will sell you a "multple crossover board with automatic voltage switching and a digital readout" for $$$$hundreds (or more). I'm sure that these setups are useful but I don't mind doing manual switching and checking voltages a couple of times a day with a multimeter if that saves lots of money and is practical. What's the advice here, weighing practicality against cost?
__. Thanks, Bruce Henderson, Wallace NC |
Marc Bourget (209.142.38.81)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 1:57 pm: | |
Dear Bruce,
If Ultima now has two product lines of batts, please consider that fact and maybe excuse portions of the following comment.
I understand that the Ultima line is technically not a pure "deep cycle" battery. The Trojan Golf Carts are.
Used properly, a pure deep cycle will give you much greater performance at much less cost than a start or combo deep/start batt.
Despite the mfg claims about those panels (depending on the mfg), I do not believe you can propely manage a Batt bank with them or just a multimeter. Manage is a specific term with a complex definition and to expand on that I would refer you to David Smead, Ample Power (www.amplepower.com) and his 3 book series on 12Volts and various issues of Home Power Magazine.
The multimeter alone is insufficient as is "checking a couple times a day" since proper, efficient management would require checking voltage, specific gravity, as well as temperature. Also, the batts require a rest so the chemical gradients can equalize and thus allow the Batt's condition to be accurately determined. There are meters, relying on Peukert's equation, that can closely approximate the current state of discharge on the fly, but you'll need to read Smead's books to understand this properly.
On the otherhand, you, like many, can soldier on but your convenience and economy will never reach the optimum. This whole hobby is all about convienence and having fun, not slaving hourly over our batts!
Onward and Upward
Marc Bourget |
FAST FRED (4.245.212.121)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 3:58 pm: | |
To truely get the most out of your house bat set you MUST have a method of keeping track on how charged/discharged they are.
Really simple if you spring for a big Trace and get one of the Link options.
Second choice look up the previous posts on battery monitors .
Yes you can DESTROY a lot of batts before you decide to spring about $200 to just stay out of troubble.
The good news is with a good monitor the usual learning curve can be ignored , and you can go for Trojans or Surettes from the start. rather than usung the Sams club return policy on the first few dozen sets.
Real deep cycles can be regularly discharged 50% of their 20 Hour Rate before needing PROPER recharge (3 steps).
Start batts , even the 8D "combination" should NOT go below 20% discharged for much life.
FAST FRED |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (63.224.197.10)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 4:08 pm: | |
Marc...were you a Starship Engineer in a prior life? He he he. We are very lucky to have you around.
Golf cart batteries such as the tried and true Trojan T-105 or type are popular because they have...
...a good proven track record. They (until recently) are also quite $inexpensive$ and also fairly easy...
...for one individual to lift and move around. Important to me. They also were designed to handle...
...reasonable amounts of heat, cold and vibration. The down side is that they DO REQUIRE frequent...
...fooling with such as constant watering, equalizing, cleaning and goofing with. We used a gadget....
...called an "E" Meter to keep track of them. They also like only to be discharged to about a 50% level.
Yeah...you only get about half what they are rated at. This however, greatly increases their life.
The newer cool sealed gel type batts are neat, but I do not have any direct experience with them. Sorry.
However, they MAY be the wave of the future, sooss please do not discount the gels out of hand. Good luck. |
Bruce Henderson (Oonrahnjay) (12.77.125.234)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 5:38 pm: | |
__. Thanks for the helpful and clear info, Marc. This is just the kind of guidance that I'm looking for. I appreciate it very much.
Bruce Henderson, Wallace NC |
Marc Bourget (209.142.38.81)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 11:02 pm: | |
Thanks, Henry and Bruce.
FYFI, the batts are pretty insensitive (feelings and PC speech wise! rofl) to discharges below 50%, they really don't care, except that the voltage drops too low and the plates irreversibly sulfate up. 50% is the best compromise between amount of power you can use compared to the # of discharge cycles. There are some euro mfg'd batts that you can totally discharge and bring back with very little loss in capacity. These are discussed in detail in the Smead books. Didn't discount the gels, had Bruce said he was using gels, I woulda picked up one of my Smead books and tailored my response to those.
Onward and Upward
Marc Bourget |
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