Battery Temperature Sensors

Darkspeed · September 19, 2015, 01:18:48 PM

Quote from: luvrbus on September 19, 2015, 12:52:01 PM
If people read the revision it will change the outlook on where to mount a LifeLine AGM it has me

Do they want the air conditioned and polished daily?

chessie4905 · September 19, 2015, 01:52:40 PM

The stacked inverters aren't doubling down on the charging are they? I think the battery compartment temperature overheat and charging shut down is a good idea for any battery setup in an enclosure. How about installing one of those muffin fans to move fresh air through battery compartment when charging. Use it as a pusher fan to keep fumes out of fan.

eagle19952 · September 19, 2015, 03:06:03 PM

Quote from: luvrbus on September 19, 2015, 12:52:01 PM
If people read the revision it will change the outlook on where to mount a LifeLine AGM it has me

True but if the batteries were bought and installed prior to the revision..well they ought to be a little more amenable to making it "more" right

chessie4905 · September 20, 2015, 04:01:33 AM

Do a search for muffin fans. They are available in 12,24,and 115 volts. They are silent, durable, low cost, and can run for thousands of hours with no complaint. They are used a lot for electronics cooling
If you make the modifications they want, then revisions e,f,g,h,,,,,, wont be met down the road when they fail the next time.
You'll almost need a high temp shut down near each battery for it to work well. If it is placed at one end or middle of bank, it may not see the high temp from two batteries away. If used for lead acid batteries, the copper sensor will corrode and eat away from the fumes over time. Maybe they make non metallic probe styles.

Tony LEE · September 20, 2015, 06:09:15 AM

Quote from: luvrbus on September 19, 2015, 12:35:24 PM
5 roof airs for 1 thing but I am changing to just 1- 4000w,8000w is common on the factory Prevost conversions which mine is not

Sounds like the batteries are just innocent victims of owner-perpetrated batterycide

luvrbus · September 20, 2015, 06:24:48 AM

Quote from: Tony LEE on September 20, 2015, 06:09:15 AM
Sounds like the batteries are just innocent victims of owner-perpetrated batterycide

That could be now do you have any suggestions on how to remedy the problem

eagle19952 · September 20, 2015, 09:57:13 AM

how do you even test an over temp sensor...?

i have one, but i have my doubts as to it's ability to prevent a failure.

luvrbus · September 20, 2015, 10:06:40 AM

They had a little pre set electric pad and took a reading from the leads what it look like to me and they used a meter to read the resistance,I wouldn't know how for sure it didn't take him but a couple of minutes to check those

eagle19952 · September 20, 2015, 10:59:53 AM

Quote from: luvrbus on September 20, 2015, 10:06:40 AM
They had a little pre set electric pad and took a reading from the leads what it look like to me and they used a meter to read the resistance,I wouldn't know how for sure it didn't take him but a couple of minutes to check those

did they bless or condemn the over temp deal ?

pvcces · September 20, 2015, 04:05:58 PM

Hi, Cliff.

Your battery temperature sensor is a thermister, which is a resistor that reduces resistance when heated and increases resistance when cooled. It does not connect electrically to the batteries. That's all it is.

The inverter reads a map to adjust it's charging profile to the the battery type selected in setup. What it doesn't do is get a perfect match between charger and batteries. And the available batteries are not very efficient when it comes to making heat when charging or discharging. Aging complicates the problem, adding to the mismatch.

If you have an easily adjustable voltage regulator, you could make seasonal adjustments to improve your odds, or you could install a remote reading thermometer in your battery compartment. That could work when parked or on the road.

I think that you are right that the battery people are trying to dodge an allowance for early failure. I guess it depends on how much they value their reputation. In any case, the batteries are much too expensive and they are overrated. I have no doubt that they know exactly what they are selling and how you wound up in this fix.

As a comparison, we got some old L16s from NAPA junkpile about 15 years ago and ran them until we sold the boat a couple of years ago. They're still in that boat, as far as I know. They had a design life of 12 years for service in floor buffing machines.

The boat only had a temperature range of 30 to 60 degrees, where you have maybe 30 to 120 degrees. That's a critical difference, especially since AGM's do not like high temperature recharging.

I hope you can make some good of this. I'm sure the people you are meeting were aware before you of the heat dissipation requirements.

Take care.

Tom Caffrey