Lead Acid battery question???

[Lasernerd]

I use very large high capacity lead acid batts.I am close
to 8000amp hours!
well the deal is when these batterys sit they build up gas on the bottom,,,so I rock all the batterys once a month..
Can this normal build up be a problem if not released?
Auto truck batterys are moving all the time so no gas build up!
And on a good note I just changed the batterys,I got ten years out of my last set!
yeah my back is still sore!

 

[zmoz]

What the heck do you need so many amps for?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[LED_ASAP]

My best guess would be those super heavy batteries are part of a UPS system used mainly to keep the key electronics running in the event of a power outage---like in millitary command centres and server computer stations.

Those lead-acid batteries are trickle-charged all the time to keep them topped up. The gas build-up is normal, and the only side-effect is that you lose some water over a long period. If you don't rock the batteries, the surface covered by the bubbles will not be in contact with the acid electrolyte, therefore you will lose some capacity. Eventually when the bubbles are big enough, they may rise to the surface by themselves, but in millitary-grade batteries there might not be enough gap to allow big bubbles to move around. So part of the routine maintenance is to rock the batteries to let the bubbles out when they are still small.

 

[Brock]

I clean and check water on my bank at least every six months and when I do I rock the batteries. I don't think it really matters because if the bubbles get big enough they will raise on their own. As I am sure you know keeping them topped off is important and the voltage they float at. I keep mine at 13.4v floating and at least once a week I get them up to 14.6v This seems to be keeping the bank in much better shape then my last one, I floated them at 13v and rarely got them above 14v. The downside is adding more water over time, but again after 6 months they are never more than about 1/2 way to the plates. My bank is a puny little 8 T125’s or about 1000 amps at 12v My next bank will be 10 L16’s, but that is probably 3 to 5 years off.

 

[Willmore]

Once the bank starts to discharge, the gas will quickly dissolve back into the electrolyte, so no big harm will be done. At most this build-up provides a dangerous quantity of H2 gas, so with proper ventilation of the battey storage are, you have little to fear--without it, geesh! H2 explosions are nasty.

 

[Lasernerd]

zmoz,these are for my home which is solar/wind powered,
I am grid tied because of my huge demand of current to operate my equipment(Lasers)
240V 90 amps for 10watts of light!
Here is a little trick I learned from Lectro an electric tug
company for fighter planes,
On each of the fill caps I drilled than inserted a silicon nipple than attached a silicon hose than I connected them to a 6 way splitter than to a plastic drain cup mounted higher than the batterys.
I lose very little liquid this way, the gas bubbles up the tubes and leaves the liquid which just drains back into the Batterys.