Inverters and the Hype Part 2

At the end of my last post on inverter and the hype, I commented about the fact that I did not understand why my batteries failed on my way before the recommended end of life advertised.

Well, between then and now, I had to review my batteries and the arrangement I had again and I realized that there is way much more to understand about the inverter arrangement.

Using my old setup as example, I will again explain what I discovered and how to make sure it does not happen to you.

When I got the system setup, I read through the attached materials as many times as I could hoping to pick out one interesting tip or trick that will give me an extended experience with my inverter but I found nothing. I read that I should charge my batteries that I will get an alarm when my battery is low and once I recharge, the battery will be ready to discharge again. Simple!

So I thought, with batteries and with a lot of other things, the more you discharge or overload the battery or the system, the faster you deplete its ability to deliver at the optimum capability.

One assumption I made when I read the manual is what really killed my batteries.

I read that the alarm came up when the battery charge was low and the inverter is shut down to protect the batteries. I assumed that the shutdown point was safe for the batteries but I was very wrong.

You see, with battery especially 12V types, you really don't want to consistently deplete your battery below the 12V threshold. That may sound strange but that in my opinion is the difference between long life and short life for your batteries.

When your battery is fully charged, it may retain voltage levels up to 13.6V which is not easily depleted. When this is used in conjunction with other batteries in a series or parallel systems, there is a nominal voltage value that is higher than the typical value when not fully charged. As an example, if there are 2 batteries in series and both are charged to 13.6V, it means the sum of the available voltage will be 27.2V against 24V.

This means that you can deplete your battery from 27V to 24V then start the recharge.

This ensures that the battery cells are not overwhelmed and can function for longer giving you a better battery experience.

What I discovered is that my inverter was set to deplete my reserve to 10V before the system is shutdown. This means I was flogging the battery badly and it failed when the cells could no longer survive the torture.

If the recharge is done with value at 12V minimum, the batteries most likely will last longer.

Have a wonderful time enjoying your inverter system.