A quick check of some of the batteries in my solar power station. First a test with a Sealey BT102 cold cranking amps checker, then a test with an inverter and 100W incandescent lamp.
By Julian
Youtuber, shed dweller, solar charge controller aficionado
Is there a way to “heal” an agm battery, if a cell has kicked within? Can sealed batteries be fixed, because buying them is an expensive issue
Yes more solar. Thanks
Hello Julian,
Why do not try to recycle the battery with a Bedini SSG or pulse charger?
Could it be worth making a battery desulfator to maintain your batteries? There is a chance that it might even be able to recover that faulty battery if used for a few months. If I remember correctly sulfation usually occurs when the battery doesn't get a fully saturated charge which can be a common problem with solar charging big battery banks. However I agree that 13 years is a decent life span especially if it's been cycled for a few years while in your solar setup. If you can acquire a replacement battery for little or no cost then just do that instead.
hi julian, i meant to say on your last garden/solar set-up video, i would think about changing all the wiring in your set-up for multi strand (as many as possible) copper or copper dipped cable, it makes a huge difference as DC travels on the outside of the strands so mains cable is not good at all as it has very low surface area.
i use very chunky OFC speaker cable for doing longer runs, something like 6mm.
hope this helps.
Take the duff battery to your metal reclaim centre and you'll get approx £5 to spend on eBay goodies!
Speaking from experience,it would be wise to put a fuse between each battery,and the main 'buss bar' wire. If one battery were to develop a shorted cell or something 'wonky',it could draw a whole bunch of current,and,at the least,drain the rest of the bank..Worst case being melted wires and/or fire/explosion.
Trying to disconnect things in a hurry,while the wires are glowing red hot is..challenging. BT,DT,No Thanks. Get some fuses.
The best thing to avoid corrosion is vaseline =) Definitely worth it seeing how they're kept outdoors.
i supposed being used car batteries they are a bit past their best, they cant shove enough amps out to be a decent battery, but for somewhat medium amps use they are probably good for years, heard a good saying recently, batteries die in summer but dont fall over till winter. is that battery worth doing an experiment with? doing a controlled overcharge charge at about 16v for a few hours, and seeing if that perks it up a bit? obv check it has enough water in it