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re: battery charging question
19 jun 2000
wrote:
>again, i say you do not understand.
true, but i'm learning. i just spoke with trojan ap engineer jim at
800 423 6569, who said the main effect of equalizing was (you were
right) to destratify the electrolyte, when the acid tends to settle
down to the bottom and water floats up to the top. it also removes
mild sulfation. jim said it's needed when there's a difference of
0.015 in sg between the batteries in a system (their nominal full-
charge sg is 1.277.)
he said it may never need to be done in a system with regular battery
charges and discharges, but may need doing once a month or more in a
system without any regular use. the usual technique is to overcharge
for about 2 hours at a low current, less than 5 amps. this does make
h2 and o2, but (jim says) trojan t-105 caps have large enough holes
that explosive buildup within the battery shouldn't be a problem.
he said there is no release of hydrogen during discharge.
he thought cross-links would help in series-parallel arrays, but doubted
the value of shunt zeners, and thought there's not enough room between
the tightly-packed plates and separators to slip in an air tube. he also
recommended against heating the batteries from the bottom, as well as
shaking them (which some people have tried.)
nick
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