Forklift battery

[Top of the Hill]

Hi  

Found a old Forklift battery 36 volt not sure of the Amh rating yet but would this maybe be a good idea for the 48 volt stator on a 10 ft wind turbine ?  

My main question is what kind of Amh rating would a 48 volt wind turbine need .

I know the volts are wrong. But maybe a new stator could be made for 36 volt if need be.

Battery is in town and he can get it to my house so he only is asking scrap rate for me.  Maybe it is a waste of time but worth a try.  Battery has not been used for some time. Can you get them to hold a charge again ?

http://hobbiezones.com/page9.php

Thanks for any helpfull ideas.

[tanner0441]

Hi

I would think the best way to go would be to check all the cells individually with a hydrometer, and a volt meter with a load across it to have a comparason between the cells before talking of rewinding the PMA.  You could check these conditions in his yard.

Brian.

[Shadow]

If it is indeed good, You might want to look at using it as a 24 volt. I'm just wondering what you would use 36  volts for? Inverters etc are usually 12, 24 or 48.

[Flux]

Yes I see the same problem, there is no problem changing the winding to 36v to charge a 36v battery but there is no common inverter available. In the old days there were a load of 32v appliances which would most likely have coped with 36v but those days are long gone.

I also agree with testing the battery on site with a hydrometer and voltmeter. If the sg readings are all low or very variable then it will be at the end of its life. If the cells have been below 1.8v for many weeks it will have sulphated and may never recover. If Sg is over 1.200 and each cell is over 2v then you are probably on a winner.

Another thing to look for is the signs of lifting the tops on the positive side of the covers. This happens when the positive plates start to expand and things are near the end of life. Badly bulging cases also indicate problems from plate growth.

Most are replaced when they no longer handle a days work. If all cells are equal it may still be useful to you for a few years. if there are a few cells bad you may get enough for 24v. If there already many bad cells the end may not be far away. still worth a try if cheap enough but it may be more trouble than its worth.

Flux

[mgtd]

Give it a check out as previously described.  I brought home two 36v forklift batteries--one was completely shot and the other was great. I waited for a year to find 6 additional cells to make a 48 volt pack, and then sold the good 36 volt to someone who was going to reconfigure it for a 12 volt system.  Originally a 685 amp/hour, 36volt, he should have been close to 1600/1800 amp hour, re-strapped for 12 volts.   Didn't do me any good on my 48 volt system.  Good luck.

[Top of the Hill]

I after thinking about it. It may not be worth the time to mess with the old one will save up and look about getting a good used one.

Thanks

[Tink]

Sorry, I got this posted under 'Mechanical' somehow, don't know how that happened. But any way here it is:

I've installed 3 big Crown forklift batteries in three different locations for solar use and they are the only way to go. I have only used new ones but have considered getting a 'remanufactured' one from this link:

http://www.burkhandling.com/remanufactured%20batteries%20and%20chargers.htm

I've talked to these people on the phone and they sound very ligit. They offer a 6 month warranty. Their prices are like a 1/3 of wholesale. They tell me they replace any bad cells before they offer them for sale. Most of these were only in service for 2 years. The Crown 12-125-13 I use are 24 volt and 935amp hour at the 20 hour rating. They have a 7 year warranty when new. Remanufactured is $1,343 and new wholesale is $3,307.

For what it is worth:

Tink