efuro:


My oga, you're on point, Energy efficiency is the key to successes in R.E.
However, some of us are discouraged by (not necessarily cheap) fake/poor led bulbs whitewashing Nigerian market. As a matter of fact, I have many energy bulbs waiting to replace unreliable led bulb that goes out. Thus requiring more power to run - more power to harvest.

You are very correct! What I am doing now is that I have bought 3 different types of bulbs (all in 3.3 w). Two are still serving (8 months), one just lasted 6 months. I use them for my security lighting, which stays on for 11 hrs each day. When I conclude on my tests, I will recommend it.

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A battery balancer e.g Victron Battery Balancer will help ensure that each battery in a series connected battery bank gets an equal amount of charge or discharge - it is especially useful in your scenario where you have a few batteries weak out of a larger bank of series connected batteries - while the bank is being charged, the weak batteries will tend to be undercharged and vice versa when the bank is being discharged.

A good balancer will help shuffle power between the batteries such that an eventual state of balance is achieved - balancers are generally not very cheap and represent additional wiring complexity between the batteries.

Pertinent to note, the balancer is not a magic device restoring equality to several batteries which are very far apart in capacity or performance. You will need to first isolate your weak batteries and give them a proper full charge and equalize cycle before adding them back to the main bank and then installing as many balancers as are required between the batteries.

All the balancers I know are set for 12v batteries, you may suffer additional difficulty trying to use them in a 6v bank but you could batch the bad 6v batteries in sets of 2 to make them up to 12v.

For desulphators, I have been using them from day one on several battery banks and batteries have gone bad regardless and even suffered the very sulphation the desulphators were designed to prevent I am firmly convinced now that these desulphators are snake oil.

Because your current bank is 2 years old, if you buy just a few batteries to replace the bad ones you will ultimately end up with a mismatched battery bank - the older ones are likely to fail earlier than the new set you just added and you find yourself keep replacing batteries piecemeal and never really enjoying the full capacity of your battery bank. If you are really unlucky, the older batteries will even put strain on the newers ones making them work harder and wear out faster.

I won't say mixing old and new batteries cannot work but certainly it is something you want to think through thoroughly especially with your huge bank of 16 batteries lest you go down a destructive path.

Your overall best bet is still to try to revive the weak batteries you have. Get a temperature compensated hydrometer and get familiar with SG readings and how they indicate battery state of charge - Given that your batteries seem to have gone bad pretty quickly after you had issues with your mains supply, I have a sneaky feeling you were really not giving your bank a full charge before now or your absorb voltage setpoint was too low.

DBlackCeazer:
pls, does the balancers help revive bad batteries, or is it just basically for monitoring each of the battery in the battery bank?

DBlackCeazer:
initially two batteries at once, but we have more bad batteries in the bank now. Pls how much would each of the battery cost, and do you have up to 16 pieces?

Its like you have not been maintaining your battery bank properly.

To determine the best way to resolve your battery issue, I would like to ask you few questions
1. Are you charging with inverter only, solar only or both?
2. What is the size of your inverter and solar array if any? Your inverter and panel brand?
3. What is you Bulk, Absorb and Float voltage.? What is your absorption time?
4. How often do you equalize the batteries?
5. What is your average house load?

You can reach me on mobile 0803 260 2629 to discuss further.

Solar Depot
www.solardepotng.com

2v 500ah * 6 pieces is 12v 500ah.

A decent battery bank . You need a 12v inverter with high charging amps and also capable of selecting the appropriate charging algorithm for your battery type - I suggest you try the IcellPower series sold by JUO or the MustPower series sold by Zeestone99. They are both sellers on this forum and you can easily find their contact data in their posts and signature.

ryusufu:
Hello guys
Can anyone recommend an inverter for my 600w load, that will be able to charge my batteries using nepa light ??
I have six 2v 500a batteries, i'm also considering deploying six 130w solar panels in the future. Thanks

^^ he needs a 12V inverter that can output a decent 50A or more to get those batteries in good shape . . .

Too much going in there; less efficiency. If it were to be a 24V setup, only needs about 25A or so

But his battery amount is lacking . . .

That's why i prefer 12V batteries straight up.

By the time you start stacking 2V batteries to make 24V; mehn . . where is the space sef ?

NiyiOmoIyunade:
2v 500ah * 6 pieces is 12v 500ah.

A decent battery bank . You need a 12v inverter with high charging amps and also capable of selecting the appropriate charging algorithm for your battery type - I suggest you try the IcellPower series sold by JUO or the MustPower series sold by Zeestone99. They are both sellers on this forum and you can easily find their contact data in their posts and signature.

thanks. I'll check them out

Very valid points.

But the man has purchased what he was able to and now it's left to derive maximum value from the purchase.

I too do not really like 2v and I'm getting increasingly disillusioned with 6v flooded batteries too. Give me a solid 12v AGM any day and it keeps everything simple.

In this specific case, the OP's bank is equivalent to 2.5 standard 12v 200ah batteries - a decent battery bank and altogether not bad at all as an entry level system.

I can confirm that JUO's 12v ICellPower inverter will do 50amps charging without stress. I recommended it ahead of MustPower because of the lighter footprint and the ICellPower is also at least 10k cheaper - MustPower's have higher idle consumption which will drain the battery unnecessarily.

All in all, the OP will be quite happy with his 2v batteries once he ensures a regular full charge & does not discharge his bank below 50%.

makavele:
^^ he needs a 12V inverter that can output a decent 50A or more to get those batteries in good shape . . .

Too much going in there; less efficiency. If it were to be a 24V setup, only needs about 25A or so

But his battery amount is lacking . . .

That's why i prefer 12V batteries straight up.

By the time you start stacking 2V batteries to make 24V; mehn . . where is the space sef ?

c0ogumo:


Its like you have not been maintaining your battery bank properly.

To determine the best way to resolve your battery issue, I would like to ask you few questions
1. Are you charging with inverter only, solar only or both?
2. What is the size of your inverter and solar array if any? Your inverter and panel brand?
3. What is you Bulk, Absorb and Float voltage.? What is your absorption time?
4. How often do you equalize the batteries?
5. What is your average house load?

You can reach me on mobile 0803 260 2629 to discuss further.

Solar Depot
www.solardepotng.com

thanks for your time
1.both
2. Inverter is 10kva, not sure of solar wattage, 32 nos. of panel. Inverter brand is Prag, again not sure of the panel brand.
3.the batteries quickly jumps to a hundred percent charge as indicated by the inverter whenever power is restored, say in 15 minutes.
4.can't lie, the batteries have never been equalized.
5.the inverter reads 40% load at peak periods. That's roughly 4kva.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Very valid points.

But the man has purchased what he was able to and now it's left to derive maximum value from the purchase.

I too do not really like 2v and I'm getting increasingly disillusioned with 6v flooded batteries too. Give me a solid 12v AGM any day and it keeps everything simple.

In this specific case, the OP's bank is equivalent to 2.5 standard 12v 200ah batteries - a decent battery bank and altogether not bad at all as an entry level system.

I can confirm that JUO's 12v ICellPower inverter will do 50amps charging without stress. I recommended it ahead of MustPower because of the lighter footprint and the ICellPower is also at least 10k cheaper - MustPower's have higher idle consumption which will drain the battery unnecessarily.

All in all, the OP will be quite happy with his 2v batteries once he ensures a regular full charge & does not discharge his bank below 50%.

12v batteries are easier to install, but has limitations as regards the amps per hour. I don't like the idea of looping several batteries to achieve higher Ah.

if l may ask which brand of desulfatator are you using sir?

NiyiOmoIyunade:
A battery balancer e.g Victron Battery Balancer will help ensure that each battery in a series connected battery bank gets an equal amount of charge or discharge - it is especially useful in your scenario where you have a few batteries weak out of a larger bank of series connected batteries - while the bank is being charged, the weak batteries will tend to be undercharged and vice versa when the bank is being discharged.

A good balancer will help shuffle power between the batteries such that an eventual state of balance is achieved - balancers are generally not very cheap and represent additional wiring complexity between the batteries.

Pertinent to note, the balancer is not a magic device restoring equality to several batteries which are very far apart in capacity or performance. You will need to first isolate your weak batteries and give them a proper full charge and equalize cycle before adding them back to the main bank and then installing as many balancers as are required between the batteries.

All the balancers I know are set for 12v batteries, you may suffer additional difficulty trying to use them in a 6v bank but you could batch the bad 6v batteries in sets of 2 to make them up to 12v.

For desulphators, I have been using them from day one on several battery banks and batteries have gone bad regardless and even suffered the very sulphation the desulphators were designed to prevent I am firmly convinced now that these desulphators are snake oil.

Because your current bank is 2 years old, if you buy just a few batteries to replace the bad ones you will ultimately end up with a mismatched battery bank - the older ones are likely to fail earlier than the new set you just added and you find yourself keep replacing batteries piecemeal and never really enjoying the full capacity of your battery bank. If you are really unlucky, the older batteries will even put strain on the newers ones making them work harder and wear out faster.

I won't say mixing old and new batteries cannot work but certainly it is something you want to think through thoroughly especially with your huge bank of 16 batteries lest you go down a destructive path.

Your overall best bet is still to try to revive the weak batteries you have. Get a temperature compensated hydrometer and get familiar with SG readings and how they indicate battery state of charge - Given that your batteries seem to have gone bad pretty quickly after you had issues with your mains supply, I have a sneaky feeling you were really not giving your bank a full charge before now or your absorb voltage setpoint was too low.

makavele:
^^ he needs a 12V inverter that can output a decent 50A or more to get those batteries in good shape . . .

Too much going in there; less efficiency. If it were to be a 24V setup, only needs about 25A or so

But his battery amount is lacking . . .

That's why i prefer 12V batteries straight up.

By the time you start stacking 2V batteries to make 24V; mehn . . where is the space sef ?

For all those who are unable to fund their solar setup project at the moment..... I recommend Mobile Power Solution for you


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If you are into coding, programing, or works with Autocad, Archicad or work for lengthy hours on laptops.... At the price of 30K.....this is a must have.....


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Cheers!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puMRpTOwnNM

I have used several of the Battery Life Saver (BLS) series as well as the PowerPulse desulphators.

Certainly all of them have an effect but certainly again they are no substitute for proper battery charging and making sure batteries get a daily full charge and are not deeply discharged below 50% of capacity.

If you know other desulphator brands that you believe perform miracles then please suggest them to the house - I am always happy to try out new stuff.

teamman:
if l may ask which brand of desulfatator are you using sir?

I was going to recommend the BLS series. They work well. Regards

NiyiOmoIyunade:
I have used several of the Battery Life Saver (BLS) series as well as the PowerPulse desulphators.

Certainly all of them have an effect but certainly again they are no substitute for proper battery charging and making sure batteries get a daily full charge and are not deeply discharged below 50% of capacity.

If you know other desulphator brands that you believe perform miracles then please suggest them to the house - I am always happy to try out new stuff.

teamman:
I was going to recommend the BLS series. They work well. Regards

i've been using the battery life saver (bls) for several years now and
it definitely has been positive stories for me all the way.

the bls coupled with other maintenance best practices has ensured
my battery bank continues to perform as new even after 5yrs.

Perhaps the BLS just shines that green led light and the heatsink gets warm and it is actually your other maintenance best practices, daily full charge and no deep discharge that has kept your battery bank going these 5 years.

In the end I don't really know. All I know is I won't be buying any more desulphators for now.

GeorgeD1:


i've been using the battery life saver (bls) for several years now and
it definitely has been positive stories for me all the way.

the bls coupled with other maintenance best practices has ensured
my battery bank continues to perform as new even after 5yrs.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
My Oga. You have thrown some serious cash and resources at this problem.

I salute your determination and I'm happy at the outcome you have achieved - 14kwh yield out of a 4.5kw solar array is a decent result considering the harmattan haze that is just now lifting off.

Once we get into the times of good sun, you should be able to achieve 17kwh to 23kwh daily average if your power consumption stays as it is currently.

I have a sneaky feeling you already got good results once you ported to the Magnum PT100 CC and all you lacked was a means to measure your solar yield because the Magnum monitoring interface required you to also have a Magnum inverter. Regardless, you can not go wrong with the choices you have made - the Magnum Inverter and CC lines are well respected products and with good reason too.

Please observe battery DoD rules (no more than 30-50% of battery AH capacity consumed daily) and ensure your batteries get a full charge and move into 'float' daily and you should get many good years of service from them.

Thanks Niyi.

I still have challenges achieving full charge everyday. In most cases, i get past bulk charging to Absorption phase around 4pm everyday except yesterday that i got to floating stage because we had grid supply BY MISTAKE!!!

I try to ensure i don't go below 55% DOD as I am practically living off grid. We only get power supply whenever there is a major fault

A quick question, i am planning to increase my panels so as to cover for my day use and also enough to fully charge the battery for the night. What brand of panel are you using? I am considering 300w Joysolar or may be Sunshine. Is there any other reasonably priced panels i could explore?

Thanks

olagunju2000:


Thanks Niyi.

I still have challenges achieving full charge everyday. In most cases, i get past bulk charging to Absorption phase around 4pm everyday except yesterday that i got to floating stage because we had grid supply BY MISTAKE!!!

I try to ensure i don't go below 55% DOD as I am practically living off grid. We only get power supply whenever there is a major fault

A quick question, i am planning to increase my panels so as to cover for my day use and also enough to fully charge the battery for the night. What brand of panel are you using? I am considering 300w Joysolar or may be Sunshine. Is there any other reasonably priced panels i could explore?

Thanks

Sunshine not bad
But I got more results from Flames as against sunshine !!
zee; take note

Sunshine gave me just about 55% panel power;
Flames gave me about 80% power . . same installation environment; same weather !!

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Yachi solar panels

MONO-
310w. N60,000
260w. N55,000
150w. N30,000
140w. N29,000
100w. N24,000
80w. N19,000

POLY-
150w. N27,000
100w. N22,000
80w. N17,000

JOYSOLAR panels:
320w mono. N55,000
260w mono. N45,000
200w mono. N35,000

CANADIAN 340w Mono panels
340w. N81,000


Must Powerstar inverters (VIL series)

1000w 12v. N85,000
1500w 12v. N95,000
2000w 12v N110,000
3000w 24v. N150,000
4000w 48v. N220,000
5000w 48v. N250,000
6000w 48v. N280,000

EP ever 40a 12-24v mppt with MT50 ...N
EP Solar (i-tracer) 60amps mppt..... ....... N127,000

Pro solar roof mount set .....N35,000

DC voltage led meters .........N5,000

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makavele:


Sunshine not bad
But I got more results from Flames as against sunshine !!
zee; take note

Sunshine gave me just about 55% panel power;
Flames gave me about 80% power . . same installation environment; same weather !!

Does anyone sell Flames PV on this forum? Please whatsapp me on 08171374768.

Go lithium and forget about strict charging and discharging rules, DOD, uncharged state,high current drain etc..just use, lool. Still cheaper even in the medium term

@Makavele
Was the test done about same time? Cos Sun angle is important as well as SOC of battery. I use sunshine and I get up-to 80% sometimes

olagunju2000:


Does anyone sell Flames PV on this forum? Please whatsapp me on 08171374768.

I use Flames 300w Mono Panels (21 units) to make up my 6.3kw array - sourced through Zeestone99 on this forum. Flames is a chinese product but I have found it to be good bang for the buck.

But please don't rush to buy more panels yet. What brand of panels are you using currently? You want to be sure to either keep the same exact panel brand and specs (VoC,VmP,Rated Current) or match them very closely. If you mix panels anyhow you may get suboptimal results especially when they are all connected to one CC.

Let us evaluate your loads and battery consumption vs. solar yield. Since you are ground mounted, have you washed off the harmattan dust from your panels? What kind of yield are you getting now? Your yield should be getting better as the year progresses except you have other issues e.g shading/shadows on your panels

If I assume you consume 50% of your 600ah 48v capacity between 6pm and 8am everyday that is 300ah @ 48v or roughly 14.4kwh overnight - this is a lot - do you run ACs off your batteries overnight? Have you put a timer on your freezer/fridge e.t.c. Do you have a meter to measure your overall household consumption per time e.g via the inverter monitoring interface?.

We should tackle this issue holistically because even if you get enough panels now to ensure a daily full charge, 50% DoD will give you a 2 to 3 year battery life and you can easily do better with a few tweaks.

olagunju2000:


Thanks Niyi.

I still have challenges achieving full charge everyday. In most cases, i get past bulk charging to Absorption phase around 4pm everyday except yesterday that i got to floating stage because we had grid supply BY MISTAKE!!!

I try to ensure i don't go below 55% DOD as I am practically living off grid. We only get power supply whenever there is a major fault

A quick question, i am planning to increase my panels so as to cover for my day use and also enough to fully charge the battery for the night. What brand of panel are you using? I am considering 300w Joysolar or may be Sunshine. Is there any other reasonably priced panels i could explore?

Thanks

DMerciful:
@Makavele
Was the test done about same time? Cos Sun angle is important as well as SOC of battery. I use sunshine and I get up-to 80% sometimes

Yes sir, the test were done at the same time . . .
I had to borrow the same charge controller from a friend, identical to me, in age and specs.
And test was carried out on the same battery bank; same load
Same panel configuration . . and I was monitoring . .
Even if there were to be a disparity; it should be within plus or minus 10% . .
But 55% to about 80% margin was too wide . . .
Trust me, I repeated the tests again some other day; and i got about 55% to 70%
No matter what I did, the Sunshine panels would not output past 55% of its peak power
What a shame !!!

olagunju2000:


Does anyone sell Flames PV on this forum? Please whatsapp me on 08171374768.

CC: zeestone99

Brand new products for sale
Fangusun flexmax 12v-60v,60A,3600w, 150v PV input @ 135k(3qty available)
EPSOLAR 12/24v 40A, 100V PV input @ 60k
Wi-Fi Ebox for EPSOLAR controller for monitoring on Android phone@ 12k
6 months used sulkam agm battery in very good condition 2qty@ 65k each

See my signature for contact

DMerciful:
Go lithium and forget about strict charging and discharging rules, DOD, uncharged state,high current drain etc..just use, lool. Still cheaper even in the medium term

You still haven't given us a geek's review of the Lithium config.
it's what has been keeping most of us off it for some time . .; especially me . .
I'd love to see it working 1st hand . . for the cost involved, i need to cross all t's and dots all the i's

DMerciful:
Brand new products for sale
Fangusun flexmax 12v-60v,60A,3600w, 150v PV input @ 135k(3qty available)
EPSOLAR 12/24v 40A, 100V PV input @ 60k
Bluetooth Ebox for EPSOLAR controller for monitoring on Android phone@ 12k
6 months used sulkam agm battery in very good condition 2qty@ 65k each

See my signature for contact

I'm interested in the emboldened . . Contacting you now.
Just a quick question though; how far does the bluetooth range go?

Sorry Wi-Fi ebox. Bluetooth is finished.
Goes about 50meters

makavele:


I'm interested in the emboldened . . Contacting you now.
Just a quick question though; how far does the bluetooth range go?

DMerciful:
Sorry Wi-Fi ebox. Bluetooth is finished.
Goes about 50meters

Let me know when you have the bluetooth again ..
i already have a dedicated wifi at home;
using the wifi ebox requires me disconnecting from the home server just to check the stats
and connecting back

too much wahala lol