Sonnenschein Solar batteries

[Bigwheel]

Hi to all the fellow builders.  I just came into this and wanted to get some input from you guys on this and any experiences with them.  I have the opportunity to get a skid of 24 2v 1200ah Sonnenschein solar batteries for free.  The current condition is unknown at this time till I go and check them out.  They were pulled out of service and replaced with a grid tied setup.  I am hoping to find out a date on the casing when I go look at them.  My current hi-lo battery is about shot and thought what the heck in looking into these.  Do any of you guys use them and do you like them?  Or should I just pass on them.  I was told a couple of the tops had some cracks in them and at least 18 of them look good.  I just need 12 to run my 24v setup.  Let me know that you think.  Also can these be taken to a normal battery recycler if they are shot??  

Update:  Mertok slip ring that I used on my genny have worked flawlessly and would recomend them.  Pricy, but never had a service problem in a full year in the environment.  Also the protective boot that came with them to cover the connections look great also.  Hope this helps ya out.  Thanks again for your input.  Chad

[wpowokal]

I don't use them but know nothing bad about them, anyway for free, don't get knocked over in the rush.

allan

[PaulJ]

   My off-grid battery bank is made up of about a hundred used 12V Sonnenschein wheelchair batteries - each one 12V at about 38Ah I think, in a series/ parallel configuration to give me about 950Ah(nominal) @48V. Obviously not the same as what you're looking at, but the internal chemistry will be similar.

   As long as they've been reasonably well charged when taken out of service (and haven't been abused/ worn out) you should have a chance, the self discharge rate is  low enough that they can hold a useful charge for months if not longer. Load test them if you can.

 If they've been sitting for an extended period at less than 2V (no load) they're probably not worth the effort.

   I like their low maintenance, but not being able to equalise them like flooded cells is a bit of a pain as they age, you'll have to monitor variations between the cells from time to time. Mine are still going after more than 5 years.

   Paul.

[ruddycrazy]

I run a bank of 12 600ah sonnenscheins on my house array for a 24 volt system. There 6 years old now and still in very good nic. I run my 80 amp Staff & Stanbury charger ( basically a modified fork truck battery charger) atleast once a month to equalize them. I was told early on to equalize at 28.8 volts and never take above 29.3 volts. As far as dis charge goes if they hit 23 volts the inverter beeps then switch's off to let us know.

Now I have a FM60 online with them it does take care of the equalization which I set for 2 week periods. The log history when looked thru does tell me if it has done the job or not so i can keep a record of everything.

hopefully for your sake those free ones will be in good condition and if looked after they should still give you a few if not more years of service.

Cheers Bryan

[Bigwheel]

Hey, thanks for the info on the batteries. I am planning on looking at them later today. It would be nice to be able to pull out with 12 good ones. It should be fun moving them around at the tune of 180 lbs a piece. If the still have a charge in them I'm going to give them a go ahead. Cheaper than a new battery bank. Thanks again.

[Ronnn]

It is not my intent to hijack this thread but I'm having an issue with a fairly new FM60, that's Flex Max right? The problem is [ I have two of these one is and FX 60 ] the newer one, the FM, is the first to go into float mode and the FX is still charging away. A few times I have been able to tell the FM to go into eq mode and it did so. This usually comes about two p.m., or some times a little earlier, and I know the batteries could be getting full by now but I trust the other charger more because I've had it several years and it doesn't think the batteries are full yet. But the issue is, the last few times I've done this the FM goes into Eq mode but for just a few seconds then drops the out put voltage to zero.

 I am still in absorb mode when I do this usually. Tho I've tried it from float mode with the same failure to maintain the eq mode. AM I missing something? I thought I should be able to assign eq mode or force bulk [ force means force doesn't it? ] but I get the same return to zero amps output with either. Can you go into eq mode when ever you choose? How about force bulk? Have you checked to see that they stay there for the assigned time?

Ron