Brrr, my battery is cold.

[Trukinbear]

We went to the factory and brought this home ourselves. Though the trailer is low, the ramp is pretty steep when you have a 2200# battery on a pallet jack. I had to set up a series of straps like arrestor cables on an aircraft carrier to make sure this sucker didn't shoot down the ramp, thru my building, and out thru the back wall. LOL

Edit, as you can see they didn't know what to do when I asked them to crate my extra tall battery.

 

[Hedges]

Sunny Island has two programmable relays.
One can start a fan if battery temperature sensor exceeds setpoint, 40C default.
A baffled vent would reduce passive circulation.

 

[Trukinbear]

The funny thing about forklift batteries, they are very specific as to size x forklift needs x battery, nothing else will even fit. Some sizes will be more popular than others, and some sizes may be ultimately hard to move. With this in mind, I went to the factory, took the tour, met the owner Kevin and had a discussion with him about the best bang for my buck, and perhaps help him move a hard to move unit too. There, right then with cash in my hand, and my U-haul trailer parked out front. That is why we have that unusually tall 125 series battery, not much call for them, most are the much shorter 85 series batteries... but the size was of no concern to me, so this is what I came home with. A smokin deal, an extended warranty, a great battery, and the friendship of a nice guy.

 

[Trukinbear]

Sunny Island has two programmable relays.
One can start a fan if battery temperature sensor exceeds setpoint, 40C default.
A baffled vent would reduce passive circulation.

View attachment 26913

Yeah, I use one of the relays on one of my MidNite Classic 250's to turn the fan on when 30+ Amps are going to the battery to exhaust outgassing.

 

[Trukinbear]

Well, insulating the metal battery case with 1" foam panels was a MISTAKE! Didn't do a bunch for keeping my battery from getting cold, but caused it to quickly overheat when the rain returned our temps to the 50-60 F range and coincided with a scheduled full charge. I had no idea my Sunny Island would totally shut down, vs just stop charging when the temp hit the max programmed temp - now I do. Back to the drawing board...

 

[Hedges]

That exhaust fan you mentioned needs to vent/cool the insulated battery box as well.
But you don't want the battery to heat all the way to 40C waiting for that. Probably open a vent top & bottom to allow convection once it reaches 20C. It wants to stay at ambient, not be in a slow-cooker.

The insulation might not prevent it from getting cold, but would let you keep it warm with fewer watts required.

Lead-acid batteries are pretty inefficient. I think about 70% typically, but higher or lower depending on various conditions. So charging them will generate considerable heat.

 

[rin67630]

They don't have trouble with operation in the cold per se, but they can't deliver their rated capacity. Another 10°F, and he'll be down to 80%

The colder the battery, the slower the chemical processes but you should not stress a FLA battery anyhow so losing 20% capacity is not that tragic.
By heating the battery electrically, you will lose more.

 

[rin67630]

I could imagine that such evacuated solar collectors, together with a mini radiator and a thermal siphon circuit filled with antifreeze could help to keep the battery at temperature. As soon as the temperature increases one could stop the circulation to avoid heating the batteries above limits.

I have seen these evacuated solar collectors producing heat at freezing outside temperatures and cloudy weather, it was really amazing.

 

[diyernh]

Thanks to a changing climate instead of being rainy and 40-50 degrees, we've been sunny with lows touching freezing every night. I insulated the battery case with 2" foam, but we're still struggling to stay over 60 degrees, every night is a few more degrees lost, we're at 59.9 and dropping. I have no doubt once the battery gets back up to temp it will be able to stay close to there, but before that how does one gently heat 2200# of lead-acid battery? In the rain not only are the ambient temps warmer, but we'd also be running the generator at least an hour which warms the machine shed up even more. My battery is fully charged, just getting colder every day.

Is there any stream/pond, or way to dig a hole? In NH, the farmers have vertical pipes filled with water. The best installations are "artesian" wells where the water is pouring out of the pipe. They add a cover with a floating ball to insulate the water. The cattle can push the ball down to drink. When they leave, the ball floats and seals the well.

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If you can draw water from a well at maybe 50F to heat the battery, and cool the battery. Have the pump allow drain back to keep water from freezing in the lines when the pump is off. Creating heat with battery is energy intensive. Moving heat from another location uses less power.