Hydro Power Batteries 16 2006 12v 67AH

[wvanative]

Hey guys, I saw these, and thought you guys might want to look into these batteries to see if they could be used in a bus application. $665.00 for sixteen batteries
WVaNative

[oldmansax]

Do you have a link?

Thanks

[wvanative]

Sorry guys I copyed the link but forgot to add it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Solar-Wind-Hydro-Power-Batteries-16-2006-12v-67AH_W0QQitemZ160242122500QQihZ006QQcategoryZ41980QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

WvaNative

[TomC]

That is a good money deal.  But consider this, first they are made in Taiwan (may not be a problem), and you need 16 batteries to total 1072 amp hours @ 12v.  I have 8D Lifeline AGM batteries, and just four will total a very close 1020 amp hours @ 12v.  Granted it will cost about twice that of the 16 batteries, but look at the space 16 batteries will take, all the jumper cables that will have to be used as compared to 4 8D batteries.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

I would stay very far away from this "deal."

1.  These are UPS batteries, not alternative-energy deep cycle batteries.  Those are very different applications with different requirements, and the battery construction is very different.  These are made for float service, not cycle service.

2.  These are private-label for Powerware UPS systems.  You can't buy them new or fresh.  So the reason this guy has them is that they exceeded their allowable shelf life and were off-loaded by Eaton.  He even says right in the listing they are as old as 6/06, and they've probably NOT been on any kind of regular maintenance charge since then.  That's nearly half of the resting life just plain gone.  Likely more if they haven't been cycled or equalized.

3.  The very different charge/discharge characteristics of these mean that you can't combine them with other types of batteries.  You'll need to install and remove them as a matched set.

Lastly, if one were willing to live with all these limitations, why pay money for them?  This type of battery is commonly available for free as take-outs from telecom companies all over the world (although the 2-volt units are more common than 6- or 12-volt models).

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com