Hi. I've been off grid here for about 20 years and I've always used wet cell Nicads. You're right about the disposal, you have to throw yourself on the mercy of the manufacturers. Also, without a 'proper' charger, you won't get the rated capacity. However, if you've got a lot of them and they were cheap enough you get a very robust battery system that will charge 'adequately' if you treat them like lead acids. I've got them configured in strings of 19 for my 24 volt system and 38 for my (separate building) 48v system. The good news is that I haven't watered my main bank for about the last 5 - 10 years and they're still showing above the low mark. Also I can take the bank down to c 19 volts without any apparent damage. They're of varying ages but I'd be surprised if they didn't last 50 years or so, the ones I started with were about 40 years old when I got them and they were still working 10 years later when I swapped them for newer ones. I use an SMA Sunny Island inverter to charge the main battery bank on my 24 volt system. I've turned off the battery management system and just check the voltage. This works well enough for me. I only really run the generator if they get really low, generally in the three main winter months. For the rest of the year my solar panels suffice.
I have just purchased 36 of these Saft Ni-Cd batteries unused, SLM850. I am looking to use as a home battery bank. I am also having issue sourcing a suitable inverter/charger
I have a total of 16 cells (Alcad)...12 of them are giving 1.2v each whilst 4 are giving zero volts..if by any means you can tell me a method to revive them. One question more ...what charger/inverter would ypu recommend charging a 12 volt arrangement of 10 cells each rated 476 ah. Waiting for your reply..
Were you asking me? If they’re very low I’d try charging 8 first with a 12v charger for 24 hours or so and then try the individual cell voltages again. If some won’t charge them try the electrolyte for alkali with litmus paper (to make sure it’s not acid).
