Need several industrial FLA batts. How to find best deal?

[sunshine_eggo]

So you are saying no lead battery can ever provide more than half its rated power ?

No one said that. Where are you getting that from? No one is talking about power. We're talking about energy. I hope you're aware that power and capacity (energy) are two different things.

That is just dumb.

Agreed. I'm sorry you haven't been able to keep the concepts clear. Please don't beat yourself up.

Its not difficult to arrange a discharge test and measure actual capacity.
While that would not be a good thing to do regularly, even Lithiums will die if over discharged even once.

I have 84 examples of that not being true. I have a bunch of CALB cells that were discharged to 0.6V and remain functional. No, it is not good for them, but it's not an automatic death sentence.

They will also die if overcharged once. They can even die from dendrite formation and go suddenly and unexpectedly dead short if you look after them.

Agreed. That's why they have BMSs.

Also, I don't konw about you, but in all the dozens of FLA batteries I've had, I've NEVER had a FLA cell suddenly go bad.

This is sarcasm. I have had LOTS drop a cell without warning.

Sure lead has its disadvantages, but the difference is slow degradation compared to sudden total failure and death for Lithium.

Uh huh, yeah. Like I said. I've never had a FLA cell fail without warning (sarcasm).

They will take a lot more abuse than Lithiums, and that is a fact.

Right. So you design the system to not abuse the cells. Pretty simple.

Slow charge discharge rates do not cause sulphation as you claim.

Okay. I guess Rolls-Surrette, one of the best battery makers in the world, is wrong:

https://rollsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Rolls_Battery_Manual.pdf

Page 10.

Its only if you run at less than 100% state of charge for any significant periods which can easily be avoided with charging from grid power or a generator.

Corrected.

Cell equalization and watering is just part of routine maintenance and not a problem either.

Until it's not done. Thousands of FLA are murdered every day because someone can't be bothered with proper FLA maintenance.

I have Lithiums now, and will be glad to see the end of them.

You must not have understood the limitations and design requirements. I'm sorry you didn't do enough research. Most who educate themselves and design accordingly are extremely happy with their choice.

 

[Warpspeed]

You are just being sarcastic and not the least bit helpful.
People reading this thread will see you exactly as you are.

 

[minerva]

O/k that is one 3.2v cell 280Ah for $100.
Parallel three of those for 3.2v 840Ah for $300.
We need sixteen of those to reach 48v so $4,800 for 48v 840Ah plus shipping about $5,200 delivered.

At the current exchange rate (x1.4) that would be about $7.28K Aussie dollars.

Fork lift battery of similar assumed capacity I have heard quotes vary from about $4.6K to 5.2K delivered.
I will be buying 48 fork lift cells (96v) of about 340Ah for a similar cost. I expect to pursue that in a very few weeks.
Everything shuts down here this time of year. Its Christmas, New Year, summer vacation time in Australia and most businesses have only just started back up this past week.

Even if I decided to buy those "Ali" Lithium cells, it would still cost almost half as much extra to reach equivalent capacity.
I currently run Lithium with an excellent BMS, and the cells have never been thrashed, but still three of my thirty cells have failed one by one over the last three years. Replacing them is just not economic.
Lead if properly maintained should be far more robust and reliable and forgiving.

With the exception that you will get double the capacity for $7.8K AUD vs $5K for lead-acid.