Mainesteader
New Member
I have a 4KW solar setup with 3 of the batteries listed, in server rack style. They are housed in a cabin in Maine which we are prepping to be a full time residence but for now is seasonal.
We closed the cabin down and winterized it, since we won't be back until April. I shut down all breakers and switches and shut each battery down so they won't get any charge from the solar panels. I generator charged all of the batteries to 94% before I shut everything down.
Given the length of time will everything be ok with the batteries? I heard in normal conditions lifepo4 batteries drain at about 2% a month when not used but don't know how cold affects this rate but I've read some say it slows it down even more. The newer LL version 2 batteries state starage temps of -4 to 100+ degrees F, but the manual for my batteries state a higher temperature range suggested for storage. What is the typical discharge rate for a battery in storage? By some estimates that I found (saying they discharge at 2-3% per month) I should still have some charge left in April, but I don't know how dependable those numbers are or if they apply to my batteries. Some people I spoke to said they have the same batteries as mine and did the same thing as me, and they were dead in a similar amount of time (although they said they charged them right back up and they worked just fine).
I'm just making sure the batteries will be ok til April. I estimate they'll have plenty of charge left in them, I'm thinking in terms of integrity and longevity.
Any help/input/wisdom is appreciated
EDIT:
Also, if they do happen to be dead by the time I get up there again, will there be something special I need to do before I turn everything on and plug them in to generator charge? I have this Chargeverter hooked up to the system, and I usually just plug it into my generator when everything is on, and it charges the batteries to full in 2-3 hours. But if the batteries are dead, the chargeverter might not recognize them to start supplying them power, and they might not have any juice to turn on (the batteries themselves) to display stats and other information. Will I have to "jump" the system before I charge them?
We closed the cabin down and winterized it, since we won't be back until April. I shut down all breakers and switches and shut each battery down so they won't get any charge from the solar panels. I generator charged all of the batteries to 94% before I shut everything down.
Given the length of time will everything be ok with the batteries? I heard in normal conditions lifepo4 batteries drain at about 2% a month when not used but don't know how cold affects this rate but I've read some say it slows it down even more. The newer LL version 2 batteries state starage temps of -4 to 100+ degrees F, but the manual for my batteries state a higher temperature range suggested for storage. What is the typical discharge rate for a battery in storage? By some estimates that I found (saying they discharge at 2-3% per month) I should still have some charge left in April, but I don't know how dependable those numbers are or if they apply to my batteries. Some people I spoke to said they have the same batteries as mine and did the same thing as me, and they were dead in a similar amount of time (although they said they charged them right back up and they worked just fine).
I'm just making sure the batteries will be ok til April. I estimate they'll have plenty of charge left in them, I'm thinking in terms of integrity and longevity.
Any help/input/wisdom is appreciated
EDIT:
Also, if they do happen to be dead by the time I get up there again, will there be something special I need to do before I turn everything on and plug them in to generator charge? I have this Chargeverter hooked up to the system, and I usually just plug it into my generator when everything is on, and it charges the batteries to full in 2-3 hours. But if the batteries are dead, the chargeverter might not recognize them to start supplying them power, and they might not have any juice to turn on (the batteries themselves) to display stats and other information. Will I have to "jump" the system before I charge them?