Lithium batteries and solar panel winterizing

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Westcoast Jim

What were the cases made out of before plastic, this boomer doesn’t remember anything but plastic for lead batteries.

Before they were made of modern polymers (plastic), and before our time, battery cases were rubber and had leakage issues that were problematic on concrete. Before that, wooden cases held glass cells, and apparently storage on a wet floor could cause the wood to swell and crack cells. All of this is now ancient history.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Before they were made of modern polymers ... battery cases were rubber ..... All of this is now ancient history.

With long-lingering after effects ...

Among the less-than-ideal properties of those old hard 'rubber' battery cases was that they absorbed some of the battery acid they contained (unlike later polymer cases).

In the late 1990's (history, but not so ancient) this boomer was involved in the remediation of a long-abandoned 'battery cracker facility' (what we would now call a recycling facility) which operated before, during, and after WWII.

As was the common practice at the time, those cases were run through a 'chipper' to reduce their bulk and the many hundreds of tons of resultant 'rubber' battery case chips were accumulated in huge piles and eventually buried in an even more huge un-lined landfill. Rain water migrating through the piles and landfill leached the acid from the chips resulting in a massive groundwater contamination plume affecting drinking water sources in the area many decades later.

Remediation (conducted under the USEPA's Superfund Program) using technologies well-developed by that time was a costly affair, requiring among other things an extensive groundwater extraction, treatment, and re-injection system operated over a number of years to prevent further migration of the contaminated groundwater plume and eventually restore the affected aquifer to safe drinking water standards.

There's more than one reason to be thankful for the development of better polymer battery cases (and better battery recycling practices incited by laws pertaining to management of hazardous wastes / industrial byproducts).

Just FYI, perhaps of interest to a few, back to topic ....

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by Centex

With long-lingering after effects ...

Among the less-than-ideal properties of those old hard 'rubber' battery cases was that they absorbed some of the battery acid they contained (unlike later polymer cases).

In the late 1990's (history, but not so ancient) this boomer was involved in the remediation of a long-abandoned 'battery cracker facility' (what we would now call a recycling facility) which operated before, during, and after WWII.

As was the common practice at the time, those cases were run through a 'chipper' to reduce their bulk and the many hundreds of tons of resultant 'rubber' battery case chips were accumulated in huge piles and eventually buried in an even more huge un-lined landfill. Rain water migrating through the piles and landfill leached the acid from the chips resulting in a massive groundwater contamination plume affecting drinking water sources in the area many decades later.

Remediation (conducted under the USEPA's Superfund Program) using technologies well-developed by that time was a costly affair, requiring among other things an extensive groundwater extraction, treatment, and re-injection system operated over a number of years to prevent further migration of the contaminated groundwater plume and eventually restore the affected aquifer to safe drinking water standards.

There's more than one reason to be thankful for the development of better polymer battery cases (and better battery recycling practices incited by laws pertaining to management of hazardous wastes / industrial byproducts).

Just FYI, perhaps of interest to a few, back to topic ....

Over the 30 years I worked for the National Park Service, 10 years was at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. In that Park was the Krejicce dump which was right on the banks of the Cuyhoga River. In that dump was similar waste and PCBs from transformers etc. It took millions of dollars and 15 years to clean up. A genius though up a hazardous waste dump right above a major water source. Im glad for the EPA

[Akfishman]

Do you disconnect the panel on the roof, or at the controller? Does escape install a disconnect between the panels and controller when you order the solar package?

[kathytony1985]

Originally Posted by Akfishman

Do you disconnect the panel on the roof, or at the controller? Does escape install a disconnect between the panels and controller when you order the solar package?

At the time we received our trailer, Sept 2021, Escape did not install any type of disconnect for the solar panels. We ordered the solar package with 2 solar panels.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Akfishman

Do you disconnect the panel on the roof, or at the controller? Does escape install a disconnect between the panels and controller when you order the solar package?

Our 2018 5.0 had no disconnect from ETI for the panels. Just about everyone puts the disconnect within one foot of the controller.

Pulling a MC4 connector is easy and relatively safe, but reconnecting can cause problems. Besides MC4 connectors were not made for constantly disconnecting/connecting frequently.

Enjoy,

Perry

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by JeffreyG

I also put a breaker between the solar controller and the battery (all of that is not tied in to the regular battery shut off).

The only one I'm thinking of now, and it isn't a big deal so far, is the ETI installed DC-DC convertor on the line from the tow vehicle. If I ever want to hook up and tow in winter, that thing is going to try and charge my battery. No quick shut off, other than the main, which I cannot have 'off' while towing. Hmmm.

Jeffrey: Might take some minor wiring changes but when I upgraded the wiring in the 19 I made sure the breakaway switch is wired always hot (battery side of disconnect switch). The DC-DC charger I installed is isolated with the main battery cutoff switch. That would likely solve your problem if keeping the breakaway switch live is your only concern. This post has the schematic of how I'm wired:
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post380809

[daniel108]

Not really sure I'm am following why the need for the solar disconnect that ETI chose not to provide. I have a stock system with 2 FLA batteries and the standard solar package (21C). Can someone explain what problem the disconnect is addressing?

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by daniel108

Not really sure I'm am following why the need for the solar disconnect that ETI chose not to provide. I have a stock system with 2 FLA batteries and the standard solar package (21C). Can someone explain what problem the disconnect is addressing?

You are fine with flooded lead acid batteries being on constant charge so no need to disconnect solar. The topic at hand is for those with lithium batteries that want to store at recommended state of charge (SOC). My Bestgo LiFePo states 40-60% for long term storage but that varies depending on manufacturer. The bottom line is lithium batteries do not like to be kept at 100% SOC for long periods of time. There is a bit of a learning curve on how to properly treat lithium batteries in operation and storage as it is different than lead acid.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by daniel108

Not really sure I'm am following why the need for the solar disconnect that ETI chose not to provide. I have a stock system with 2 FLA batteries and the standard solar package (21C). Can someone explain what problem the disconnect is addressing?

A disconnect between the solar panel & the solar controller is desirable if you ever plan to disconnect your batteries while sun is on the panels. Most solar controller manufacturers (including GoPower) recommend never having the controller connected to active panels without the output connected to your battery.

Covering the panels will do the same as a switch, but the switch is easier...