The Off Grid Project ™ Batteries And Fuses Explained 

Hahaha!!! I want mine !!!

:)

What you said was nice but can you do it without yelling? All capitals are not only hard to read and give many of us headaches, they are considered to be yelling when used in internet communications such as this. Maybe you did not know that. I'm sure you did not mean to yell and don't want to give us headaches either, or make it hard for us to read your comments.

lol

73 SUPERGLIDE Thanks so much.

ok but dont know what i did lol

73 SUPERGLIDE You quit using all capital letters. !!!! Thanks

Yes I will

I am trying a new additive that removes the alcohol from the gas, supposedly.

Yes until they are out of the truck, I keep them there so I can use the truck in a moment's notice if needed. Thanks

These birds will eat an entire 50 lb bag in a single sitting and then lay around choking. I know. Tried it twice.

oh ok glad mine wasnt that way I am able to feed 12 with about 70 lbs a month plus the greens I feed. and that keeps food available most of the time. So hearing you I feel lucky lol

I will never use half of what an average home uses though so I am pretty much hooked up with when I get the new forklift battery. And I will need to connect all my solar panels and wind turbines. Hopefully in January

I will fine tune and pretty things up after I get my large forklift battery bank installed.

They have a lot of cover but I have considered putting a larger roof over an area for feeding

The Do It Yourself World That would be a good idea.

The Do It Yourself World I think they would like that.... Chickens don't like wet feed. You could still use your automatic feeder, just only put so much in it a day, or twice, or three times a day, and the over eating problem is solved. The colder it gets, the more food they will need to keep warm.

Too cold out for worms I think.

Night crawlers don't hibernate like some animals do in the winter. If there is a warm spell during winter, night crawlers will occasionally come back up to the surface for a while until it gets cold again.

***** How could that kill him...everything is already as wet as it can get...the battery has been out in the rain all day!!!!! duh

***** What have I ever done to hurt you? I am not a troll, I am and always have been on Troy's side...and why are you coming onto Alderman Farm's videos and raising hell there?

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he?

dustdevl Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. :)

That was well said and Troy, Barbs is right so listen to her. I had not noticed where you store your feed. I know that you would never do anything to harm those chickens but who would have known that the weather would be as wet as it is at this time of the year...perfect for growing mold on just about anything and grains are exceptionally vulnerable.

I lost my first chicken to unseen mold. Its a common and innocent mistake for sure Vicki. I still wish I had known more, the fat hen-hog was a real favorite of my son. (still feel bad about it :( ...

Barbs Morning Garden I'm just glad you are around to give Troy a heads up about this !!!!! Thanks and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

You too Vicki and Happy New Year!

I will never draw that much current on the DC lines at any given time in here.

I have seen the alum battery projects and am going to be getting back into that but the lead alum batteries have lower voltages which is tough for modern electronics. I do not trust magic chemicals though. Just my opinion.

The Do It Yourself World Troy I see what you are saying about not trusting "magic chemicals" but remember to keep an open mind. If several people have used it and say it works then it is no dif than the bedini motor so many say do not work yet you use them and swear by them to work. Never hurts to try especially since you have so many unused batteries laying around and really what is 12 bucks sure its 2 days worth of food or something but if it works then you could have so much power your videos would be about not having enough things to use the power you have

ok

The Do It Yourself World I'm copying what batteryphil said two posts down to make sure that you see it and that it gets sent directly to your attention. He seems to be an expert at tearing these fork lift batteries apart and what he says makes sense.!!!!!! batteryphil 20 hours ago i have tore down many of these. cells are very hard to get out. cut the case on corner were broke cell is. pull it and the the pressure will be released on the others. these cells swell so when you get them out you will need to bind them. pull the caps and let the hydrogen gas out, then use a torch at the end of each lead strap while prying it up.the round ends are poured lead to bind the strap to the post it will mealt andyou can pry up and away the strap

I haven't seen all Troy's videos but I have watched a few. Never heard him say or show battery voltage over 14 but he has been happy saying the charge controller shows ~13.8 and that they are topped off. If they never get over 14 they're not topped off. Maybe a dead cell and the others are boiling like crazy. I think the 20amp automotive charger should take the two six volts through the bulk charge phase even if sulfated like he says but I haven't seen it. Good information in your post and nice contribution to the cause.

***** WHY EQUALIZE BATTERIES While a battery is being discharged, sulfuric acid in the electrolyte reacts with the lead plates in a chemical reaction which produces electricity and lead sulfate. When the battery is re-charged, electricity flows back into the battery and causes a reverse chemical reaction which turns the lead sulfate back into lead and sulfuric acid. However, with each discharge and recharge cycle, a small amount of lead sulfate will remain on the plates. Using a three stage charger will minimize the amount of residual sulfate left on the plates but some will still accumulate with each discharge and recharge cycle. If this sulfate is left in place for very long, it will harden or crystallize and eventually reduce the batteries capacity, increase its internal resistance and destroy the batteries ability to produce an adequate amount of power. When this occurs, even an equalize charge cannot remove the sulfate and the battery becomes useless except as an item to be recycled to reclaim the lead and prevent contamination of the environment. Also, in batteries that are in a standby condition at float charge for extended periods, the electrolyte tends to stratify into layers with higher concentrations of acid near the bottom of each cell and more diluted electrolyte near the top because the acid is heavier than the water. This causes uneven specific gravity within a cell further reducing its capacity, efficiency and life span. This uneven specific gravity causes the top portion of each cell to accumulate more sulfate on the plates, and the more acidic electrolyte lower in the cells can accelerate corrosion of the plates. THE EQUALIZING PROCESS An equalizing charge is a controlled overcharging cycle which performs several actions within the battery and provides certain benefits. During equalize, the voltage is raised to approximately 2.7 volts per cell, or about 16.2 volts for a 12 volt battery. The current output of the charger should be limited to about 5% of the battery’s capacity. In other words, a 100 amp hour battery should be allowed to accept no more than about 5 amps of current. This will help prevent overheating. The equalize cycle is normally timed to be between 4 and 8 hours, The particular battery manufacturer’s recommendations for equalization time should be followed. The charge cycle should always be terminated early if necessary to prevent problems and hazards mentioned later in this procedure. This elevated voltage results in a vigorous charging action to take place within each cell which has several beneficial effects on the battery. First, much of the residual sulfate is forced to re-combine with the electrolyte in the form of sulfuric acid. Crystallized sulfate which will not re-combine is broken loose from the plates and falls harmlessly to the bottom of the battery. Deep cycle batteries have additional space beneath the plates intended to collect this material as sediment. This action cleans the plates exposing fresh lead to the electrolyte and restores battery capacity. The vigorous bubbling action which occurs during equalize stirs up the electrolyte and restores it to a consistent mixture of acid and water. The equalizing process also causes all cells in a battery to reach their maximum idle potential of 2.113 volts. It also lowers the internal resistance of each cell and makes them more even.

Joe F M WHEN TO EQUALIZE It is best to check with the battery manufacturer’s recommendations before equalizing since each manufacturer has slightly different suggestions on how often and how long to equalize their batteries. But, as a general rule, it is a good practice to equalize batteries after every 10 or 12 deep discharge and re-charge cycles. For batteries in constant discharge and recharge usage, this would mean about every two weeks. For periodic users, it would mean about two or three times a year. For seasonal users, this could mean at the beginning and end of the season. For batteries that are normally in a standby application, every 6 months or once a year is a good practice, or when un-even water usage, specific gravity, cell voltages, or cell resistance is detected. When using a battery monitor such as a Link 2000, equalizing should be done when you notice the Charge Efficiency Factor (CEF) of the battery or bank begin to drop. HOW TO EQUALIZE Again, check with the battery manufacturer’s recommendations, but as a general rule, the following steps should be observed: 1. Only attempt to equalize wet cell deep cycle batteries. Never equalize gel batteries or maintenance free wet cell batteries. 2. The batteries should be fully charged and near ambient temperature before beginning an equalize charging cycle. 3. There should be a sufficient amount of electrolyte in each cell to cover the plates, but do not top-off each cell until after equalizing. Since there is some heating of the cells during equalize and some electrolyte will be displaced by the increased bubbling action within the cells, the electrolyte will expand and could overflow the cells if they were topped-off before equalizing. This would not only make a mess, but force you to terminate the equalize cycle too early to gain maximum benefit and would result in diluted electrolyte when water is added to replace the missing electrolyte. 4. Leave the caps on each cell. The caps are vented, and when left in place will prevent splattering of electrolyte onto the top of the battery when the bubbles pop. Caps are designed to capture the droplets and return the electrolyte to the cells. It is a good idea to lay a paper towel over the caps. This makes it easy to spot a cell that may start spitting electrolyte, and will soak up the liquid when this does happen. 5. Since the batteries will give off significant quantities of explosive hydrogen and oxygen gas during equalize, plus produce moisture which will contain some amount of corrosive sulfuric acid, it is imperative that sufficient ventilation be provided. Avoid smoking or generating any sparks or flame near the batteries during this charge cycle. 6. All DC loads on the batteries should be turned OFF and disconnected. Since the battery voltage will be higher then normal during this charge cycle, some DC equipment could be damaged if left ON. Also these loads would draw current from the charger which should be available to the battery instead. 7. Equalize only one bank of batteries at a time. 8. With some chargers, to limit the charging current to 5% of the battery capacity, you may need to manually adjust the current or the voltage output. 9. During the equalize cycle, periodically check the batteries for any spitting cells and if this begins to happen, terminate the equalize cycle early. This is an indication that the battery is going into thermal run-away. Do not start an equalize cycle and then leave the batteries unattended. 10. After equalizing, turn OFF the charging source, and allow the batteries to cool to ambient temperature before resuming normal float charging. After the batteries cool is a good time to check the specific gravity in each cell. They should all be 1.265 +/- .050 at 60 degrees F. 11. Refill each cell with distilled water up to the FULL indicator.

Joe F M That's another great chunk of information about what's going on inside those batteries although the poor fella can't even get through an absorption charge.

***** That's exactly it. These batteries are never getting what they need. It will be the same for any battery he buy's, forklift battery, gulf cart battery, or any flooded lead acid battery. He has a good solar charge controller but if the sun doesn't shine long enough, or the panels and amps aren't right, well this is the result. With any off grid solar system you have to do these cycles to the batteries, or you are just throwing your money in the garbage. He just needs to get a charger that will do what these batteries need. He also needs to get a generator that doesn't put out dirty electric. That generator he has is just over heating the transformer in that automotive charger. I had one of those generators and it blew out the electronics in my fridge, cost me $250 to repair!

Thanks. I will have to watch out for them. Sounds too good to be true though. I wonder how well they hold up

The Do It Yourself World You have Aldi in NY? I have only seen them in Ireland although they are a German company. We don't have that store in California.

MollyDolly We have them in Michigan too.

MollyDolly We also have them in Wisconsin. I did a google search and they are in California. What town are you in....there are many in Los Angeles. I think if you go to the Aldi store search page and put in your town you would find one or even some.

Lansing

Its winter so I dont think so. Might be but not usual in winter

Captain Carl Wright Sorry Troy's life doesn't churn fast enough to hold your interest. If you want to see more interesting and a greater variety of things going on, here is an idea. Add things to your own life.

My life is just fine and dandy how about your own?

+Captain Carl Wright if his videos bore you, then do not watch. Not all of his videos are of interest to me either, so I do not watch or comment

He never get anything done with it, I don't get this channel,

Kevin Waters If you 'don't get this channel' then why do you watch? And as he is honest enough to admit a lot of what he does is to learn something. He has done a good job on the tiny house. A lot better than some local tiny house folks have done. Heck even some local tiny house folks who bought ready made new tiny houses on wheels made here in California, realized the layout wasn't the best for their needs, or the solar set up was below par. Live and learn, but learn as much from other peoples mistakes can save a person a LOT of grief and money.

Yes I am going to get one of those meters

Sidney Boudro Look at how you spelled upstairs and then look at how you spelled up and down those thingydos that you climb on to get from one floor to another. You were right the first time. Trying to be helpful. You will probably get it right from now on.

Yes good point. I was not thinking when I put in the 80 amp fuse but I was thinking when I put in the fuse for the 12 ga wire.

SSanf Thank you for checking my spelling and typing.

Why are you so negative? Sit back, relax, wait and see.

***** I believe he was saying the cells will crack, not the steel housing. That might be a reasonable concern. Unless, those babies are already out. (I hope! )

***** I sure hope it can't crack. I am very excited to watch the work with that new FL battery. I haven't spoken with Troy either, owing to the U.N. delegation of 14 meeting at my house. LOL!

***** hmm yes it will the frozen water will expand and crack the 2v cells as they are made from plastic as they are contained in a metal box

Paul Walker Well, hopefully there's enough expansion room for the water in each cell. (Fingers crossed)

Thanks. I have an automatic chicken feeder and the birds devoured an entire 50 lb bag of food in a day. I thought they would die due to choking afterward. They nearly killed themselves each time I tried to use it.

LOL ok thats not a good thing.. figure with a DIY pvc you could regulate how much they eat and less waist on the ground during wet weather.. might save you a little.. just a thought sent you a PM

There is no way water is going to splash up under the counter and reach 3 feet high. The sink is about 6 feet away from there. I will nicely tie up and neaten up the wires when I get the forklift battery installed.

What in the world was that last paragraph all about? Why should what you said in the first sentence and the second sentence of the paragraph offend Troy or any one else for that matter, unless it is the trolls it might offend. Saying what you said in the third sentence was both unnecessary and uncalled for. "If that offends you, You offend Me !!!!!" Give me a break !!!! Peace out yourself.

The part that would or could offend is Merry Christmas, Do not understand the whole religious right or left killing Christmas while promoting Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Was never meant to offend Troy!! Was All About the Christmas Issue. Thank You.

Honestly, I think it is worthwhile for me to use it as an electronics shop for now. It is not bothering anyone right where it is. Next year I will think about how to give/sell/trade it away. But for now its a useful tool.

Hmm figured you had the Christian Camper for that. With all the wood, figured you would end up with a new frame and start a trailer project by next year. Nothing you have ever expressed doing but figured you would be able to knock it out with the supplies on hand during a summer.

ThePatriotsChoice The Christian camper is loaded with tools and power equipment. I prefer to keep my electronics in a cleaner environment.

offgridin appalachia He still has the small laundry stove which if plumbed properly can be sufficient for the RV.

They are not made for mix and match..no chance of him doing that in the first place.

Vicki Olson I sure hop not he has a real good chance of a good battery with that fork lift battery.

He has already said that the fork lift batteries are for the tiny house and if he can fix the golf cart batteries he will use them in his RV for his electronics experiments.

Vicki Olson I know he said that in on of this last videos. Witch is cool if he can get the golf cart batteries to work. but I fell they are pretty much toast. I said before I wish I had his address to send him a desulfator for his battery's it will help.

McCuneWindandSolar Send him a pm and ask for it. If he knows you and knows that you are not a troll he will give it to you.

On grid is always cheaper. The question is what if you want to live where there is no grid reasonably available? Or what if we have a massive grid failure? The price of grid power is then irrelevant. But, it is certainly worth noting the price of fuel for the back up generators and how long they will run on that fuel.

Bah!!