Your last generator Maintenance Run

   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #6,111  
Living in the shaky isles (Seeing the ground rolling like the ocean is quite something) I like to use flexible conductor jumpers with crimped and heat shrunk lugs. This allows for more ground rock n roll without damage. Lug in direct contact with the post, flat and a spring washer on top. From what I read in the data sheet the posts are M10 internal thread.
I agree!!
I have 4/0 copper cable & lugs to make up connections but I need to look at the terminals more closely there may be a slight taper.
Can't take chances and improvise with the current these can produce.

If anyone out there in generator land would like some of these I would be happy to help with shipping arrangements. Just keep in mind no guarantees on performance.
I checked all the batteries and all were 2.04 v or above..
90cummins
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #6,112  
The charge characteristics of tubular positive plates with the lead selenium - antimony alloy in the SST2V420 battery leads to a battery that needs to be fully charge to 100% SOC (state of charge) and placed in float and mantained in float after each discharge cycle or battery life will be shortened.
The Trojan only needs to be brought minimum 70% SOC threshhold to not shorten the battery life. So is much better suited to partial state of charge in my opinion.

SST2V has a 30% of the Ah capacity as a max. charge rate.
The trojan has a 13% of the Ah capacity as a max charge rate.

I am not as well versed on the subject as @Patrick Herd, but I did have experience maintaining Industrial traction batteries during my carreer.
See attached doc's with added notes.

Dean

Edit: With the attached documents you can compare the 20 hour discharge rate given for both batteries. Hope this h

The charge characteristics of tubular positive plates with the lead selenium - antimony alloy in the SST2V420 battery leads to a battery that needs to be fully charge to 100% SOC (state of charge) and placed in float and mantained in float after each discharge cycle or battery life will be shortened.
The Trojan only needs to be brought minimum 70% SOC threshhold to not shorten the battery life. So is much better suited to partial state of charge in my opinion.

SST2V has a 30% of the Ah capacity as a max. charge rate.
The trojan has a 13% of the Ah capacity as a max charge rate.

I am not as well versed on the subject as @Patrick Herd, but I did have experience maintaining Industrial traction batteries during my carreer.
See attached doc's with added notes.

Dean

Edit: With the attached documents you can compare the 20 hour discharge rate given for both batteries. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the file I'm starting to make sense of AH's again!!!
90cummins
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #6,113  
Snip
Good point about Quake Central living Patrick..... after a big-one, you probably have a long-list of Things Needing Attention.... rebuilding Bus-bars on a critical generator is probably (time-wise) one thing you don't want on that list.

Sounds like ^ you should be consulting out in California (realizing, the whole Pac Rim is affected....) Patrick. I've been in substations here, and am used to solid bus-bars everywhere..... I wonder if they have similar flex-"standards" out in Cali etc......

Rgds, D.
The joys of competing design criteria: The high fault currents available in substations and big generator areas mean that solid busbars are necessary due to the magnetic attraction and repulsion between conductors. It's a calculation I haven't done in quite a while but the forces can be hundreds of kg per metre of busbar. The last thing you want is a live conductor flailing around in a small space like an angry multi megawatt snake :)

Re: Consulting, I did a thread over on twitter about disaster response stuff related to the issues we're having over here: Have a read if you're interested, for context NEMA is our National Emergency Management Agency
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#6,114  
The joys of competing design criteria: The high fault currents available in substations and big generator areas mean that solid busbars are necessary due to the magnetic attraction and repulsion between conductors. It's a calculation I haven't done in quite a while but the forces can be hundreds of kg per metre of busbar. The last thing you want is a live conductor flailing around in a small space like an angry multi megawatt snake :)

Re: Consulting, I did a thread over on twitter about disaster response stuff related to the issues we're having over here: Have a read if you're interested, for context NEMA is our National Emergency Management Agency
It's difficult for avg people to grok the power-levels involved..... even lower than main-station level....

At a lesser level, I've seen pics of what arc-flash damage can do to people...... if you showed those pics randomly to someone, they'd think it was a special-effect from a sci-fi battle scene....

Good point about the magnetic issue. I was thinking about sub-station battery banks (for the controls/switchgear)..... cabled vs. bars...... depending on the alloy, in copper, there may be a bit of flex available in a bar, but nothing like a typ. cable.

Thanks for posting up your TW comment..... I don't do any of the "socials" myself, but anyone interested in major-disaster contingencies should find that interesting.

Rgds, D.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #6,115  
My wife helped me sort the SBS batteries recording rest voltage & specific gravity which were 40 degrees. I picked the best 12 out of 30 batteries.
I decided to use 1/4 by 1-3/4 copper buss bar for my connections because I have it on hand.
Had to buy a 23/32 drill bit for a close fit on the terminal.
Now I need to find 24 M10 screws.
I need to build a battery box next.

That’s the latest.

90cummins
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run #6,116  
The joys of competing design criteria: The high fault currents available in substations and big generator areas mean that solid busbars are necessary due to the magnetic attraction and repulsion between conductors. It's a calculation I haven't done in quite a while but the forces can be hundreds of kg per metre of busbar. The last thing you want is a live conductor flailing around in a small space like an angry multi megawatt snake :)

Re: Consulting, I did a thread over on twitter about disaster response stuff related to the issues we're having over here: Have a read if you're interested, for context NEMA is our National Emergency Management Agency
At a trade school we used to do an electrical demonstration for apprentices with a 200 foot loop of #10 wire ran across a shop floor, each end was connected to a 2 pole 20 amp breaker. A direct short when the breaker was turned on.
The magnetic repulsion would cuase the wires to whip around pretty good for the whole length of the wire as the current built, when the breaker tripped the current would subside and the wires would then attrack and go back together in the same manner.
It was all good until we tripped the main breaker at the service doing this. We were asked not to do that again by the new admin people.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#6,117  
My wife helped me sort the SBS batteries recording rest voltage & specific gravity which were 40 degrees. I picked the best 12 out of 30 batteries.
I decided to use 1/4 by 1-3/4 copper buss bar for my connections because I have it on hand.
Had to buy a 23/32 drill bit for a close fit on the terminal.
Now I need to find 24 M10 screws.
I need to build a battery box next.

That’s the latest.

90cummins
You have a bit of building to do...... I look forward to hearing what your test-run data will be with that new monster-bank (y).

Rgds, D.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#6,118  
At a trade school we used to do an electrical demonstration for apprentices with a 200 foot loop of #10 wire ran across a shop floor, each end was connected to a 2 pole 20 amp breaker. A direct short when the breaker was turned on.
The magnetic repulsion would cuase the wires to whip around pretty good for the whole length of the wire as the current built, when the breaker tripped the current would subside and the wires would then attrack and go back together in the same manner.
It was all good until we tripped the main breaker at the service doing this. We were asked not to do that again by the new admin people.
Good teachers push the limits..... one of the best teachers I had, ended up with some 'splainin' to do....... emptied out the Science-wing of my HS, with all the smoke he created from one of his demos..... it was a habit with him :cool: .

Standard-demo for him (grade 11 or so) Chem class - combine the right ratio (2 guesses, 2 don't count) of Hydrogen and Oxygen gas in a HD sealed vertical column with a terminal on top, then hit it with high-voltage. Had us do he calculations ahead of time..... so that we predicted the height of the resulting water in the see-through column. Very cool to see happen right in front of you.....

Pretty sure none of our demos would make it past Legal, today...... Pushing The Limits as a general lesson, IMO, is a key part of what true Science is about...... and They Wonder..... why STEM enrollment is down......

Rgds, D..
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#6,119  
Added a new vehicle to the fleet this year (my first FI MC), so while I was in a spending mood, added a new MTCE charger to my collection too.... (NB - this is for Lead-Acid only. I expect their other models deal with other chemistries.....)

OptiMate 4 Dual Program - OptiMate

Optimate 4, if for some reason that link doesn't work. It was one model that was on a Kawasaki Recommended List.

Had the dealer order it in (just under a week, not bad for Canada). Many people would look at the $ and current rating (1A), and pass it on a Retail shelf.

Starting to use it now, on one vehicle needing a top-up. So far I like the design - fully Auto, and just LEDs for status. LCD would be nice for info, but expensive to make reliable in a garage environment, so I grok the LED use....

Would work fine just the unit itself, and it does come with a set of clip leads, and one SAE wire-on plug.

But, I like that you can add some off-board toys, that sit AT the unit under charge:

One example I picked up:

OptiMate MONITOR O-126 - OptiMate

Fired it ^ up last night on one vehicle. Basic voltage status, then part-way into charge the O126 went into cycling all LEDs. Things look normal today (top voltage green indicator), but I emailed Optimate for a better explanation of what the cycling LEDs meant. Guessing something like "charging in-process", but documentation is thin/none on that, other than a reference to "arrow mode" I found somewhere on the 'net.

Liking so far, will try to remember to post again as usage rolls forward, and will almost certainly post any bad outcomes....

Don't get distracted by the Dual Program description..... it's just a turn-key way to allow BMW riders to charge via the CAN port on their bikes. I haven't used the Optimate line before, but they've been around something like 30 years, based out of Belgium, and seemingly big in the euro-MC community.

Charge On !

Rgds, D.
 
   / Your last generator Maintenance Run
  • Thread Starter
#6,120  
At the other end of the scale..... heard about one of these from Noraly....

What is Karadeniz Powership?

Powers an African country, amongst others.

Rgds, D.
 
 
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