If you want a really heavy* duty battery for your laptop, mobile phone, tablet or similar feel free to give me a call -pickup only. These will run your device for months.*
(http://www.australian-coins.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10055/Battery.jpg)
*Notes;
•This reclaimed lot was a tad over 1 tonne.
•If you use your standard charger it will also take months to recharge.
•Trolley extra.
Those would go well with a solar set up, The panels are getting cheaper But the batteries are still the most expensive component. :good:
So true.
When I started doing solar work (quite a few years ago) the cost of batteries and solar module for a stand alone installation were about equal. Now it is about a 4:1 ration.
That lot of old clunkers came from one place where I have just installed a new battery set. Obviously they never got rid of a worn out set -just stuck it in the shed with the other old ones.
Lithium ion batteries, which have some significant advantages, may make a big difference when they hit the general market. Tesla gets all the publicity but plenty of big manufacturers have them close to mass production.
At present the most cost effective batteries for the long term use Edison cells (named after you know who, the inventor) or their close cousins the nickel cadmium (wet) cell. Much more expensive than lead acid but last many times longer and can be reconditioned when they start dying after 40 years , or so. Some 100 year old ones are still working in a veteran electric car.
Why are they virtually impossible to obtain? I don't know.
Why are they virtually impossible to obtain?
Because it's like everything else these days Jeff, if it's too good they can't make money (that's the excuse for making everything so shitty) and they also say the consumer what's to buy the rubbish as it's cheaper but I prefer to pay extra if something is going to last for me.
I heard somewhere that you can revitalise a lead acid battery with Epsom salts if you really had to, any truth in that ?
Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='89749' dateline='1464780982'if it's too good they can't make money (that's the excuse for making everything so shitty)
Funny you should say that. I just read an article today about how we've gone back to the 60's and 70's with unreliable 'stuff'. The 80's and '90's produced some awesome gear, mostly out of Japan, but now we've gone full circle it seems. :(
Now.. to more important matters.. how do we get Jeff to come for a drive down to Melbourne and drag that ton of energy out of the backwoods? ;)
Epsom salts can give a dying lead acid battery a very temporary lift. Not enough to be worth bothering about.
Best thing to do with an ailing battery is a long (days or weeks) slow trickle charge to reverse as much plate sulphating s possible. A dose of cadmium sulphate can help there. Any improvement with a battery near the end of its life will only be short term.
K Mart used to sell Cadmium sulphate solution (I think it was called "Projecta Battery Fluid) at a reasonable price. Last time I looked I could not find it. It is best used with a new battery and then a small annual dose thereafter.
Of course the best way to get maximum life from a lead acid battery is to look after it;
•Try not to deeply discharge it to much or too often. The deeper the depth of discharge and the more often it occurs, the shorter the life of the battery.
•Try to keep the rate of discharge as low as possible. Higher discharge rate = shorter overall battery life.
•The sooner you can recharge a battery after use the more it will reward you. Be careful with very high rate chargers not to overheat the battery. Modern three or four stage chargers will give a slow, "topping" charge followed by a trickle "equalisation" charge (see my note above re. trickle charge).
•Keep the fluid level above the plates at all times. Only ever top up with distilled or demineralised water. Don't use water from a rainwater tank -contact with metal roofing and/or guttering will pick up traces of zinc, which is quickly fatal to a battery.
•Extremes of temperature should be avoided. Likewise extreme vibration.
•Never add extra acid. It achieves nothing other than lightening your hip pocket.
•If a battery is not being used for an extended period give it a regular charge. A battery just sitting will internally discharge and die after a few months, especially so in cold weather.
The best indicator of battery condition is specific gravity, measured with a hydrometer. Unfortunately most hydrometers sold by auto parts store and hardware stores are cheap rubbish (cue indignant response from Triggersmob) and won't give an accurate reading. If the scale on the float is not longer than 50mm then forget it for obtaining an accurate reading. Ignore any green/white/red colour coding on the scale but find out what the correct gravity range is for your particular battery -deep cycle batteries can have quite different acid concentrations to starter batteries and the coloured zones on hydrometers usually relate to starter applications.
Quotehow do we get Jeff to come for a drive down to Melbourne
A big monetary bribe is always a good starting point.