Batteries truly are the heart of any renewable energy system… In this introduction to batteries we will show you how to care for your batteries, introduce you to battery reconditioning and recommend sources where you can learn how to build a professional battery desulfator to turn old and discarded batteries into new (or almost new).
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Let's start with safety first. Your batteries can withstand rather high temperature ranges, but will show reduced charging capacity in very cold or very hot conditions.
For that reason we recommend keeping your batteries in a box indoors so that temperature swings are kept to a minimum. For the most part batteries like about the same room temperature that we do so this is rather convenient. But they can be an eye sore if you leave them out in the open.
What our family has done is incorporate our largest battery box into our entry way. It doubles as a seat for putting on boots, and is pretty convenient. Once the top is installed it covers up all of those wires and batteries and keeps those temptations away from little fingers as well. Children and batteries should not play together.
You cannot see it in this photo but the box is also vented to the outside with a small piece of PVC pipe. This is a must. If the batteries become over charged or in any way fail they can exhaust harmful and dangerous hydrogen gas fumes. You do not want that in your house. As an extra safety precaution we also installed some plastic flooring under the batteries inside the box.
Thankfully we have never had an accident, and we consider the batteries really safe when monitored properly. That is another reason why we mounted the box in the entry way where we walk by it all the time. The digital charge monitor is set outside the box and monitors the charging of the batteries and the charge controller. It is now a simple habit to glance at the monitor each time we pass through the door. Any problems can be quickly detected. Does all of this sound expensive?
Well, it can be, but does not have to be. Do those batteries look new to you? We hope by the photo that it is obvious that they are not. In the beginning when we set out to make our own renewable energy system we were determined to build everything ourselves and recycle all of the parts that were possible to recycle.
Why not batteries?
We read up on a process called battery reconditioning and set to work to find a source of batteries and a way to recondition them. Some people call it a battery desulfator. Some people call it battery reconditioning. But it is all the same process. You take old batteries, deep cycle batteries that is, and you hook them up to a simple machine that is very similar to a battery charger that you can purchase anywhere and it revitalizes the old batteries.
Contrary to a battery charger this device sends a pulse of electricity into the battery at predetermined time intervals and literally cleans the inside of the battery and returns the battery to very near its new state. This was an absolute treasure to us as new deep cycle batteries cost well over $100 apiece, and we figured we needed over 20 of them. The math did not equal what was in our wallets at the time, so we set to work to build our own battery desulfator.
The plans that we found worked great, and we have even been approached by friends who wanted to turn the idea into a business by recycling old batteries. A very real possibility if you have a source of deep cycle batteries. Where do you find these batteries anyways? One of the best sources of deep cycle batteries to run your renewable energy system is golf cart batteries. Strangely enough (even living off the grid) we live within 2 miles of two golf courses. Another source is marinas. Boats use deep cycle batteries, although they are not quite as good as the golf cart ones.
We happen to live in a region called 'Land of Lakes', a tourist region really, and well… there are a ton of marinas here. We asked and got all of their old batteries, for free…All we had to do was put them through the battery reconditioning process. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of it, but after a while you will get it. We are not experts in the field of battery reconditioning or building a battery desulfator (we try and specialize in the wind generators, and solar panel construction), but we know some folks who do specialize in this field who can help you learn more about it.
If you want to get started with your own battery reconditioning, building a battery desulfator or just want to learn more about the subject, you can find out at the following website.
Battery Reconditioning (for yourself, or to start your own business)
We hope you had fun with this introduction to batteries, and battery reconditioning. To learn more just click the link above.
