Outback Power Systems EnergyCell RE Battery Owners Manual - Manual (Page 13)

EnergyCell Batteries
900-0127-01-00 Rev D 13
Commissioning
Before commissioning batteries:
1. Measure and record inter-battery connection resistances and open circuit voltages. These measurements
should be used as a reference for future maintenance requirements.
2. Perform a visual inspection of all terminals, components, and connections.
3. Verify that the charger’s set points are adjusted to the correct values for the battery and the application.
To commission batteries before initial use:
1. Send the batteries through a complete charge cycle (see next section) according to these instructions:
∼ The batteries should be held at the specified absorption voltage for 24 hours.
∼ Following this stage, the batteries should be held at the specified float voltage for three to seven days.
2. Clean all battery terminals to ensure reliable electrical connections.
3. Install a DC load which draws a continuous 25 Adc. This allows the results to be correlated to the specified
capacity. The load may be used on either a single battery or a full string.
4. The load test unit wires must be sized correctly. For load testing all wiring should have a minimum ampacity
of 150% of the load current.
5. With this load, discharge the batteries until they have reached 10.5 Vdc per battery (1.75 Vdc per cell).
6. Monitor the elapsed time. At the same time, monitor the battery’s temperature.
7. Record the temperature at the end of the test. Use the equation below to adjust the results for temperature.
M
c
= M
r
(1 – 0.009 [T – 26.7])
where M
r
= actual elapsed minutes
T = temperature at end of run time
M
c
= minutes corrected for temperature with a baseline of 80°F (26.7°C).
8. Compare M
c
with the appropriate value in Table 1. The batteries should deliver greater than 90% of their
rated run time.
Table 1 Rated Values for M
c
EnergyCell
model
Expected M
c EnergyCell
model
Expected M
c
Minutes Hours Minutes Hours
34RE 50.1 < 1 170RE 300 5
52RE 78.3 1 hr 18 min 200RE 347 5 hr 47 min
78RE 123.8 2 hr 4 min 200GH 348 5 hr 48 min
95RE 139.8 2 hr 20 min 220GH 460 7 hr 40 min
106RE 153.2 2 hr 33 min
Charging (EnergyCell GH)
EnergyCell GH batteries are usually charged using a constant-voltage or float charger. OutBack
inverter/chargers and charge controllers do not have this function as their default setting. They can be made to
perform a constant float charge by skipping the absorption stage or setting the absorption voltage equal to the
float voltage. Other adjustments may be necessary.
Float Charge
A float charger gradually charges the batteries by maintaining them at a fixed voltage. In backup applications,
it is common for this voltage to be maintained continuously by the charger until the batteries are needed.
However, if the charger is not in regular operation, the batteries should be given an occasional freshening