₦airaland Forum

So many questions have been asked both online and offline about my 16 units of T105RE Trojan batteries.
Yes I have had some bad days with them. I had to retire 2 units when they were reading as low as 4v each.
I then connected 2 panels in parallel (200w/24v panel) to the batteries for almost 3 weeks. The highest I got was 14.7v.
Remember that I reconfigured my system to 42v which made my inverter cry low voltage all night.
Problem now started afresh when I noticed my Batts were low on distllied water and decided to top it. The whole system just start to misbehave. I almost gave up on them.
I then reunited the 2 units back to the system.
I was depressed by the whorible performance of the whole system. Imagine a battery bank you charge to 59v and absorbs for 2hrs+. Under a load of 1 fan, 1 TV , 1 fridge (less than 200w)...you will discover that by 8pm the battery is reading 49.5v. Before 49v was my battery voltage by 6am following day under same load. By 6am now, my battery reads 48v and most times less. All these events were recorded after topping up the water.
I just took k heart and began to use all I can generate per day.. That was d reason for my increased daily harvest I posted Few days ago.
Out of frustration I then read a post on an online forum where some one wrote that we (flooded users) we're mislead by the battery manufacturers with respect to charging algorithm especially for off grid applications.
The guy recommend higher absorb voltage and time. He never stated what voltage setting to adopt. But in my own case, I adopted 62.5v absorption voltage for 5 hrs( which means it's going to Gas all day).
After 4 days of using this setting I began to observe improvement since yestday that I had the courage of adding a small chest freezer to my load. In short the performance is encouraging.
Note: the 62.5v absorption voltage is a temporary setting which shall be reverted to 59v (Trojan recommended) when I achieve satisfactory performance and then hope to repeat this for 5 days in every 30 days to serve as equalisation.


This long story is to give every other silent Trojan user hope just like sir Chris AWPS always say. He said all you need to do is equalise them. But honestly I have been equalising with no result.

Maybe my new method might work for others too.

Pls remember to share your thoughts on this as well.
Cheers.

NB. When is the best time to top up with water. Trojans are known to drop in performance after topping but in few days (usually less than a week) it gets back to full performance.

Empiree:
I need some guidelines to go about this please. THE COST

Kindly take time to study this thread.
You have a lot to learn.
Then u can now ask about the cost.
Except if you want to give it out as a contract.
We can help with that as well.

KolaShangOne:
Oga Abu.. congrats on your house..

Thanks very much brother. Your counsel contributed positively to my house. I appreciate your support during the early days.
I still have a long way to go. Been able to tile only a room.
But I thank God for everything. It's just like Magic.
Thanks to Abdulwastecx, Rotech77 and many others too.

mavverick:
I know you have written extensively over this, do you have a thread/blog with everything from A - Z, that goes to the point about incorporating this in a design from day 1 and some prerequisites that needs to have been done.

I know I said i will write a blog about building from diaspora, but your own about renewable energy I feel is more important and everyone can relate to.

A dedicated room to house all the gadgets is the first step. Bearing in mind good ventilation.
Make provision for 2 units of distribution boards (Phcn and inverter) . Your electrician should be well skilled in this aspect so he can separate loads based on your preference. The wiring design should be flexible (according to standard ~the use of MCB per final sub-circuit) so that any modification can be easily done with less stress.
Identify where you want the panels to sit on. Car park is my favorite. My cars are parked under the solar wooden stand.
Discuss it in detail with your architects or engineer for robust ideas.
You will never regret going solar.

I don't have a blog.
You can easily refer to the general solar thread for more information.
https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta

ice4u999:
What is your average power consumption in day? Total number of air conditioners running during the day and night? Total wattage of your panels and bateries? Thanks

My instateanous power at all times is 500w average.
I also pump (0.5hp) for 2hrs average daily bcoz of neighbors water needs.
When the sun is extra bright and batteries are full, I use my 1000w hot plate to cook lunch at home.
I don't use AC. even though I own a unit of 1hp which drains my battery in 7hrs approx.

My total PV strength is 4000w. Battery is 48v450ah Trojan T105RE. I use a classic 150 mppt controller for efficient charge management. State of the art surge protection devices are also in place to reduce the probability of stories that touch the heart.

I have not been a PHCN subscriber for over a year now.
I bought my batteries in June 2014. Experienced some ups and downs too. But it worth it mehn.

Learn more at
https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta

amanikondo:
I am interested. How can one starts?

Even though I run an energy company in Ilorin, I suggest you get more info by visiting
https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta
You will learn a lot and get answers.

Empiree:
How did you achieve this?. IS this same solar system we have been talking about here?. This is great man

Yes it is.
Very efficient.
Kindly visit the solar thread for more info.

https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta

This is where it all began.

DUNKA:
Great. How did you deal with the failing Trojans?

The batteries were equalised. Then I decided to manage them like that.
Never discharge below 48.5V daily.

sayyid:
My Name is out,
Technical Instructor II,
Ministry of Education ,
from kwara state.

Kindly upload the list.
Kwara list is not coming up on my browser.
Thanks.

Darkness everywhere thanks to PHCN.

My best solar energy harvest in 2017.
I recorded 17.6KWH harvest today.
Fridge and freezer all frozen.
Renewable Energy rules.
Let's all include this in our building design.
Fell free to ask questions.
My house is the only one with light tonight in the hood.

Demerciful, congratulations on the arrival of your new batteries.
RE rules brother.

17.6KWH harvest today from my set up.
RE rules.
My house is the only one with light in the street.

bigrovar:
1700va and 1190w just means the inverter has a power factor of about 0.7 (The difference between VA and W is represented by power factor. VA is used with AC appliance were sometimes volt and amps go out of phase this is caused by how AC appliance load shifts the phase of the current compared to the phase of the voltage. The closer the power factor of a device is to 1 the more efficient that device is at power consumption. hence 0.9 PF is better than 0.8. You can get the PF of a device by dividing w by va in your case 1190 / 1700.

Crest factor is another term for surge capability of an inverter. 1.5 means the inverter can surge up to 5 times its rated power. In this case your inverter is 1190w (its rated power) but it can surge up to 1190 x 5. Inverter makers often exaggerate their crest factor. even if an inverter can do 5 times its rated power (highly improbable) it often can only do this for about a second which might not be enough to start devices where such power is needed.
Crest factor allows an inverter or generator to start devices which requires 3 to 5 times their running power when starting (usually not more than 3 secords)

I hereby award you a PhD.
On behalf of all senior members in the house, congratulations.

DUNKA:
Oga Chris Goodmorning watched your YouTube videos and needed clarification on the issue if Generator set when offgrid. If one has sufficient panels will one still need a gen set? Abi had large array so why would he still a genset since he is in imploring and sunlight is not a problem? It seems the Trojans are not what they used to be or we have a specific problem with those been supplied. Have you been able to recover the faulty cell you tried rejuvenating? Is the US battery in your bank ever had the same issue that you are experiencing with the Trojans ?

Thanks for your response.

You have a point.

koolengrtimmy:
hello everyone, Architects in the house kindly assist me with soft copies of a 5-storey building plan for my assignment. I need to do a complete manual structural design from roof to foundation to be submitted on tuesday- NB- am a msc structural engrn student. quote me to give you my email. Thank you guys.

Your presentation manner suggests otherwise.
Anyways, do you think you can get answers just like that?.
Msc is no joke. You must have passed tru several hurdles like AutoCAD etc.
Bros Abeg enter studio Joor and make sure you come out in flying colors

I was very lucky to meet very good artisans during my building project .
Some other factors contributed to the success as well. The good experiences shared on this platform .

So I want to encourage everyone to first of learn about what and how to avoid stories during these period.

I was on the phone with w nairalander yesterday morning. I was shocked when he told me about the sudden death of 3 of 16 units of his flooded L16 Batteries.
Is it that we are doing something wrong.
Sir Chris, I appreciate your feedback. Let's see the video once it's ready.
I just feel we need to identify what we are doing wrong so we can improve on our past error.

Anyway, if those batteries were sold for the prices we got them in 2014, one would have replaced them all without hesitation.
Na recession cause all these talk talk.

DMerciful:
Yes o....LiFeO4 ti take over

Show some mercy. Ejawasi oooo.

For over a week now.
Ilorin sun has been smiling at me. My daily harvest is now 14 to 15.5kwh daily with my 4kw @250w poly panels.
2 weeks ago, I will shout if I hit 12kwh. I almost felt my panels are going down.

Saipro how far ur side?

Finally ve united my Trojans. Back to 48v set up now.
So I now discharge gently.
Since I am 100% off grid. Saving for additional 1kw to hit 5kw PV strength.
After then start saving for battery replacement.
Not sure if I would love to have a repeated flooded experience.
What about you?

mufutau55:
I have a gated Generator Room built. Can that also be used to harbor the batteries and all other gadget or not recommended? Thx.

Hajji M.

Oh I'm sorry. I just observed the question mark.
Yes the gen house can be used.
But we prefer to install somewhere very close to the house and panels to reduce the cost of wires and eliminate power loss due to distance as much as possible.
Again, batteries Release explosive gasses during charging.
So the gen house can be partitioned to reduce this risk.

In my own case, I designed a 14X5ft room which will be my power room/workshop/study and is well ventilated.

EgunMogaji:
I have a dedicated 2X4 feet space (external for batteries) and a 5X5 feet space (internal for electronics like inverters) in my gateman accessory building that is dedicated to power.

Very nice sir.
Don't forget to trunk, I assume you will be doing underground wiring. Include extra trunking pipes. You may need to redesign so no need of breaking your interlocks etc.
I also recommend a solar car port since u have enough space in front.

topsy23:
Congrats boss... you must have spent some money to get the solar panel installed. I could remember in November last year when I make an inquiry about the solar panels that can take care of lighting and some socket that powered the TVs in my house, I was given 980k for 1kva.. All the electrical cabling has been done with a separate DB.

The second advice is very important when doing electrical installations, Electrical room is very important, all the batteries, solar/equipment is very important and also to have a separate Distribution board for solar/inverter even though you are not ready to install them now. Bye-pass can be use to have those lighting and socket powered.

I normally tell all my client to have those things in place even though they don't have the money presently to buy the equipment.

Lastly, Extractor fan must be install in the electrical room to extract the battery fumes because it is dangerous to health.

CONGRATS ONCE AGAIN...

Correct sir.
Thanks for your kind words.
Quality 1kva is around that price.
2 batteries
1500w solar panels.. ..etc.

About the extractor fan, a low wattage is highly encouraged and should be automated ( temperature sensor) .

topsy23:
Wow!!!! 3million naira......Pls how many KVA did u install Sir... Can it power AC?

Thanks

Yes it can power 2 units of 1hp AC though you need to put them on one after the other.

Now the maths:
To power 1Hp AC for 10hrs, that's 750w*10hrs= 7500wh or 7.5Kwh.
My batteries can only store 21600wh or 21.6kwh.
To ensure my batteries serve me for a long time, I need to observe 50% dod which means I can only dream 50% of 21.6kwh that's approx 10.5kwh.
In 10 hrs, I would have drained more than 7.5kwh(no system is 100% efficient) . Tats why we discourage the use of AC on my system. By the time I start enjoying the thing, you will hear Low Battery alarm.
The secret to enjoying this redoing your loads to minimum.
My running load is usually 200w during day and around 500w in d night. My fridge runs for 24hrs ( thermostat @position 4....which means it runs for 12 to 15hrs in a day).

My inverter is 5kva.

My cars are parked under the solar wooden stand. I would have used galvanised pipes but due to cash constraints. Something like this can be done too. This can be improved too... I welcome ideas.

Just like it was mentioned few pages back, we need to encourage each other. Going green is very good.
Note: you have to do your home work properly b4 buying inverter or solar panels else you will be dissapointed.
To buy my current set up today, you need nothing less than 3 million Naira. So you need to plan well.
Even as a person who has installed several units in Nigeria (www.facebook.com/apexsolarnigeria), I can't boast that I know all. We keep learning everyday. I've made several mistakes in the past. Client education is very important and the first step. But most clients don't have time to listen and in few months they will start crying solar is bad.
In solar, I used to say 1+1 is not always equals to 2. Sometimes it's equal to half. Lol

I want to encourage every builder to include power room In Their design.
This is intended to accommodate your inverter and batteries.
Also include it in your wiring plans.
You may also design your roof to face south so u can easily mount your panels.

Enjoying 24/7 power in my house since i moved in December last year.
I have a total of 4kw in solar panels. A 5kva inverter, 16 units of 6v225ah Trojan batteries and a classic 150 mppt solar controller all protected by state of the art surge protection devices.

I am grateful to God for His blessings.

KolaShangOne:
Photo of the day...

This is probably a concrete ladder. Lol [b][/b]

URGENTLY NEEDED #
Fairly used Trojan J185 in good condition.
Any info is highly appreciated.

Installed 8 units of J185 Trojans in August 2014, yesterday had to retire 4 of them. 3 were reading below 10v on on load. Despite regular maintenance and equalisation.
How is it on the other side?.
This flooded whaala Don dey pass my power Oo.

Time to review the performance of Trojan batteries. Installed mine in June 2014. I just retired 2 units out of 16.
I now run a 42v system. Had to tweak my cc to effectively work at this level (thanks to Saipro).
My inverter now beeps Low Battery alarm for almost 24hrs.
Considering all I have read about Trojans especially about maintenance, I feel it's too early (abi na recession cause am).
Brothers in d house, let's see how well your Trojans have served or is serving you.

Good evening everyone here.
Kindly post pictures of how I can install my 90cm dish for mbc action without using a long pole from d ground.
I intend to make use of only the short pole that came with d new dish.
Location is Ilorin.
Thanks.