Battery powered ocean probe

[ltiu]

http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/How_Argo_Floats.html

The website does not say much about the type of battery used. I heard from a news report that these can run for up to 5 years in the ocean, doing experiments automatically and sending data to satellites.

What type of battery can supply that much power over 5 years?

Can we (YOU experts out there) speculate on the power requirements of such a probe (read the things it does while out in the ocean) and calculate the amount of power needed to supply the probe for 5 years?

 

[VidPro]

approx weight 25 Kg , no solor pannel for gathering during its up times.
hmm good question, i would think Lead acid because of "balast" and things like that arent limited IN weight. but nobody said they didnt need to be maintained.

 

[ltiu]

Would Lead Acid last 5 years? Self discharge alone would render it dead in a year, right?

 

[VidPro]

there are many types of lead acid, the primo rolled ones dont have the same issues of the car type batts. but indeed if it was used up, then left there dead, it would be a one time use.
all of the other types can be "banked" just like car batteries, so even a 50Lb alkaline in the shape of a car battery type thing could exist.

i sort of doubt that they put in $10,000 batts like they might in a sattalite, the item sounds more prone to loss.

i suspect that it is like other "probes" it takes a freaking team of humans to maintain them, it isnt star trek and there are no di-lithium crystals.

 

[Mr Happy]

Most of the Argos use ordinary alkaline batteries, though some of them use lithiums.

It turns out that alkaline batteries are nearly always the most economical power source for things that have to run a long time without recharging. If you limit the discharge rate per cell to a very low value by putting lots of cells in parallel you get high capacity at low cost.

 

[ltiu]

I wonder if the alkyls leak poop into our oceans?

Will Duracell and Energizer replace the probe destroyed by leaky batts?

 

[VidPro]

i cheated, http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...s+Battery&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&lr=lang_en
Mr happy was right on.

 

[ltiu]

Kewl (thanks VidPro for the link):

" ...
How are the floats powered and how long do they work for?
The floats are powered by batteries. Many use manganese/alkali batteries like you can buy in shops. Some floats use higher-powered lithium batteries. The floats are designed to do about 140 cycles and so should last almost 4 years. The life depends on the depth to which they profile and the surface water density in which the float is operating. (If the surface water has low density, more oil must be pumped to drive the float to the surface). To see plots on float lifetimes, go the the Argo Information Centre.
... "


I suppose floats don't float to the poles where they would shut down due to the cold and assuming alkys could not provide enough current at very cold temps.

 

[VidPro]

the time keeps shrinking
in the first documents its UP-TO 5 years, in the deep datasheet, they have been getting 3-4 years actual.

 

[ltiu]

At first, I thought they would have those Swiss watch type mechanisms where the natural movement of the probe up and down the waves would generate enough power to run the thing indefinitely.

 

[VidPro]

yes or BBOBPM batts Biological barnicle organic battery power modules