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Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 3:43 am
by ClockmanFRA
Here we go again, another World-wide project.

I will post some pics on this UK forum, if the Mods allow? at major crossroads as this new project progresses.

What's the World coming to ?

When you end up having to make everything your self.?
To get those important three main TASKS of any product.
SIMPLICITY, ROBUSTNESS and COST EFFECTIVENESS.

The PLANTE battery is not as efficient as the modern battery build process that uses lead oxide paste in a lead plate matrix.

The PLANTE battery forms its own oxide on the surface of the solid lead plates as it ages. So the older the battery gets the better the ah improves.

PLANTE battery has a life expectancy of over 40 years. Then dismantle and repair plates and rebuild.

To give the PLANTE battery a modern twist, we are rolling in the surface of the lead plates 1mm wide 0.5mm and 0.5mm deep groves. This will help the oxides form correctly and give the cell better efficiency.

To form the oxides the PLANTE battery needs to be charged and discharged and reverse charged over 30 times to achieve the correct oxides on the positive and the negative plates.

Image

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 5:00 am
by Fintray
Looks like a really interesting project, better get the kids involved as it will be them that would need to do the dismantling and repair after the 40 years or so.

Keep the pictures coming as your build progresses.

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 6:00 am
by billi
Well CF ,

....That project i will follow with much interest

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 6:13 am
by Stinsy
Cool project. Is it for academic purposes or will the resulting product be economically viable in and of itself? What do you anticipate the round-trip efficiency to be?

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:03 am
by ClockmanFRA
All my projects are all for practical application.

However to get them to the market place in this day and age is a NO NO, just far to many hurdles to jump through. But what i do is to publish my build process and supply all the necessary info in my "How to Make books". We self publish with ISBN numbers in small batches and we seek our costs back only. I do supply auxiliary special equipment as optional extras.

Nowadays, i have to also consider that English may not be the first language of the reader. So lots and lots of photos.

Specialised equipment i try to keep nominal and supply if requested. Here its the 26mm diameter 55mm long stainless steel groove maker that is also polished. And where possibly i endeavour to use materials that are readily available anywhere on this Planet.

Cost effectiveness is the aim here and that may change in time.

Like my Wind turbines, i now say, "don't bother just put up more PV"
Like my low cost PV trackers, I now say, "don't bother just put up a third more static PV".

So cost effectiveness will be real important, especially as for a 48v battery bank you need 24 of these 2v cells, gulp.!

So this will be a real empirical evidence project.

Case design at the top will be something like this.........


Image

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:54 pm
by Stan
I’m sure that this will be very interesting Clockman. With regard to charging, discharging and reverse charging 30 times, this video from Cody’s Lab goes through all the gory details using jamjar cells with the internal resistance falling heavily on each reversal.

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 2:42 am
by billi
Cost effectiveness is the aim here and that may change in time.

Like my Wind turbines, i now say, "don't bother just put up more PV"
Like my low cost PV trackers, I now say, "don't bother just put up a third more static PV".
Well , it was kind-off foreseeable in recent years , that PV will be a no brainer .
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... pacity.png
.... In the need of energy supply , i paid 3 Euro per watt , today its about 1/10 or 30 cents per watt
And i guess it is cheaper than other rooftiles or many other surfaces ....

Anyway , PV made its road , small windturbine and batteries did not ,

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:01 am
by Hermit
Hi Billi,

how's the PV doing this Solstice? it's been exceptionally cloudy and calm with us and one of my hydro turbines has died. Mr Lister is doing overtime at the moment :cry:

You can't have too much PV :D

Happy Solstice and a Merry Christmas to all.

Cheers, Paul

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 2:36 pm
by billi
well Paul .....

mid November to start of March was always a troubled time with only 4 kW of PV off grid , i suppose 10 kw would have dealt with those winter times better for the supply for a single house , but cannot prove it now .... :roll:

For sure PV as the most reliably and cheapest source of renewables , has its limits , she just needs a partner , occasionally

But as we are here more in a battery theme / thread .... overzising Battery or not better overzizing PV ?

Rules changed , ,because now it is cheaper to have more PV than an overzided Battery in my former times, i was told that the battery should be the size of 3 days worth of the household need,... and that is a silly comment , now and then

Its not about a big battery , its about a big generator first and that generator is PV


Billi

Re: Making PLANTE batteries, 550ah 2v cell.

Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 3:35 pm
by Hermit
Aye Billi PV is king for sure, just wondered how you were getting on, like I said, this year it's been exceptionally cloudy and windless around the solstice. I've got records going back ten years or so and never known such a windless, sunless time of year, just wondered if it was the same elsewhere.

Cheers, Paul