Poll

How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?

None
8 (22.2%)
Every Week
1 (2.8%)
Every 2 Weeks
0 (0%)
Every Month
8 (22.2%)
2 Months
2 (5.6%)
3 Months
2 (5.6%)
4 Months
3 (8.3%)
5 Months
0 (0%)
6 months
2 (5.6%)
9 months
0 (0%)
Once a Year
3 (8.3%)
Longer than a Year
2 (5.6%)
I don't have a system
5 (13.9%)

Total Members Voted: 35

Author Topic: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?  (Read 12836 times)

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wooferhound

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How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« on: June 21, 2010, 01:53:56 PM »
Equalization is a Higher voltage of 15.5 to 16 volts for 2 or 3 hours, Usually on a regular schedule.
This helps to remove sulfation and revive the battery.

TomW

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2010, 09:51:27 PM »
Missing option:

When the RE System has enough incoming to do it.

Tom

DamonHD

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2010, 02:00:43 AM »
I selected none because I have SLA...

Rgds

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Bruce S

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2010, 08:33:14 AM »
I selected none because I have NiCds, the soild chemical ones :).
Bruce S
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PaulJ

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2010, 08:45:56 AM »
"I selected none because I have SLA..."

Same here

Cheers,
Paul.

dnix71

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2010, 10:35:22 PM »
I have three sla's in the string so I don't take mine over 14.5, esp. considering the heat here. Even the flooded batteries I have shouldn't be taken that high in the summer.

I would also have to bypass my MMPT to do it and run a generator or high powered battery charger to get my string that high.

SteveCH

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2010, 11:17:19 AM »
I put once a year as I didn't do it for the first sixteen years of my battery bank, which consists of C/D forklift type batteries, 1860 ah. I knew we were supposed to be doing it but I didn't understand much about it til I began hanging around this forum and a couple others the past couple yr. Now I've begun doing it, though any damage I've caused is, by now, perhaps permanent. On the other hand, my batteries are now 17 yr. old, not as good as they were but still working ok for now. Meanwhile, my nearest neighbor, a mile up the road, is on his second set of a well-known "solar" battery set in seven years, and he paid more money for his and they are half the storage capacity of mine. The deal is, he is religious about checking and eq'ing his set and has a more modest elec. useage than I do in his cabin. I have a few other friends who have about the same experience he does, buying pricey "solar/pv" brands/models of batteries, messing with them all the time, and getting less [or far less] life from them than ten years. I don't know why this is, and why people don't buy forklift sets, or how much damage I've done to mine in the past, if any, but I have begun eq'ing mine now and plan to do it more often than once a year. Note that I am not promoting the idea of not equilizing, I simply was ignorant when it came to the technicalities of it until recently. Actually, I am still ignorant but learning, and we've been pv and off-grid since '85. Slow learner, yes. But for whatever reason, my batteries have been great with almost no work from me. I have the recombinant caps and thus have to add water once a year, at most. [For eq'ing, those caps must be removed or they'll overheat and melt, as I discovered the hard way.]

dnix71

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2010, 08:56:58 PM »
Flooded forklift batteries are made to take industrial abuse, but the are heavy. They also probably have more space at the bottom so broken pieces of plate don't short out that cell. If there was simple way to R & R the two volt cells, I might build one for myself. Even a "small" 24 volt cell in a steel case weighs about 400 pounds, so I have no simple, safe way of moving a complete unit.

Photowhit

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2010, 03:44:21 PM »
I think you should add "by manufacturers instructions"

Lots of different instuctions,

Trojan - As needed

Rolls every 6 months

Crown - monthly

Most for lift every month

AGM, Gell, NiCd none or slight
Home system- 20 - 200W Evergreen blems, 2 Classic Lites, E-Panel up! 14 Suntech 185W in spare room.
Cabin system- 8-115watt 12V, 6 - 170-5watt 24v, Pulse/Trace PC250 Power Center, 800AH 24V forklift Batt, ProSine 1800 watt (24v) inverter.
Odds and extras, Rouge CC, 80-4/5watt 6v panels

Gin83

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2022, 08:00:32 AM »
If anyone aligns, what method is used?

Rob Beckers

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Re: How Often do you Equalize your Batteries ?
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2022, 08:40:15 AM »
Just wanted to add my 2cts, for what it's worth...
I don't live off-grid, but have been in the off-grid business for a very long time now. We used to install systems, many of them off-grid. These days the business limits itself to designing systems and supplying parts. The 'long time' part means I get to see how well, or not, customers manage their batteries.

My observations are that there's no real need to equalize flooded lead-acid batteries on a regular basis. The same is said by the battery reps when I talk to them. Even the ones that do prescribe period equalizing (it's a choice between two evils). Equalizing is hard on batteries, you are (to some extend) trying to shed lead-sulphate by mechanically bubbling the plates, freeing up new lead to participate in the reaction. You're losing some plate material. The advise I give people these days is to track specific gravity and equalize when needed.

If your batteries bounce back regularly (every couple weeks) to an SG of 1.265 - 1.270 then what would equalize do for you? The lead-sulphate is already reverting back to lead and lead-oxide, or you wouldn't reach that SG value. Equalizing isn't going to add anything to that, it's just going to be rough on the plates.

Now, if you see SG values after a full charge declining and inching up the bulk Voltage and absorb time isn't remedying the situation, by all means, equalize! This is often needed after winter (not a lot of sun this far north in winter), in particular when people were reluctant to run their generator due to fuel cost.

The parameters I give people asking when to equalize are when cells drift apart (after a full charge) by more than 0.025, or when cells no longer reach 1.250 - 1.255 (for the common brands, fork-lift batteries run a little 'hotter' at higher SG values). For a 12V system equalize would constitute about 15.8 Volt for 2.5 hours (if you can). After that measure SG and see where things are at. If multiple equalize sessions are needed space them apart by a week or so, let the cells get back into the swing of things before kicking them again. For most people/systems solar alone won't cut it to equalize, not enough oomphf (highly technical term!), and a generator is needed (with a charger, or inverter-charger).

If you find yourself equalizing batteries every couple of months because they need it, have a hard look at things. Something else is wrong. Those that get 15 years out of 12-year design-life batteries consistently have a setup where there's enough solar PV (or other charging sources) that they see a full charge regularly, they're cycled not too deep most of the time (20% - 30%, though there's an argument to be made that you're spending too much on batteries if that's all you do with them), and they have long absorb times. That last part is very misunderstood by many; Even if you you charge batteries at 15% of their Ah-rating (and that's about as high as I would go for flooded lead-acid due to heat), it will require just about 3 hours of absorb time! Most systems can't charge consistently at that rate, and essentially need all day (or as long as the sun shines) to do a proper absorb charge....

-RoB-