Interberg - Model SNF Series - Solar Ni-Iron Batteries
From Nickel-Cadmium (Alkaline) Batteries
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells can last well over 30 years in robust service if properly maintained, while Lead-Acid cells are lucky to last 15 years in light duty. Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells are not affected by deep and frequent charge/discharge cycles unlike Lead-Acid batteries. Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells wont sulphate if left in a discharged state, unlike Lead-Acid cells.
If a Nickel-Iron cell in an ageing battery bank is...
If a Nickel-Iron cell in an ageing battery bank is found to be faulty it can be replaced with a brand new cell of the same capacity without adverse consequences. But it is not recommended you do this with individual LeadAcid cells once the battery bank has been in use for more than 6 months.
The usual recommendation is for complete replacement of the entire Lead-Acid battery bank with brand new cells. The reason is that over their lifetime Lead-Acid batteries internal resistance increases at a steady rate while Nickel-Iron batteries internal resistance stabilizes. If you mix Lead-Acid batteries with different internal resistances they will charge and discharge at different rates which will accelerate ageing in both the older and newer batteries.
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells have a much wider operating temperature range than Lead-Acid cells.
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells have a higher self discharge rate of up to 40% a month compared to that of Lead-Acid batteries (some 5% a month) or to the self-discharge rate of the Nickel-Cadmium batteries (between 2 and 20% a month). Although theoretically disadvantageous, this is, nevertheless, not a problem in a Renewable Energy Application (solar or wind power system) or, in general, where there is regular recharging of the battery bank or the battery is equipped with an automatic re-filling system, although it will need to be taken into account in the rare case that the Nickel-Iron battery will be left uncharged for long periods.
Over-Charging will not cause damage to Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells. Unlike Lead-Acid cells.
Repeatedly under charging will not cause permanent damage to Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells - it may reduce their capacity but this can be restored by performing a couple of full depth charge/discharge cycles. Lead-Acid cells will suffer a permanent loss of capacity if repeatedly undercharged.
Amp-hour capacity for Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells is rated over 5 hours rather than 100 or 120 hours for Lead-Acid cells. If Nickel-Iron cells are rated over 100 hours they would measure around a 20% increase in capacity.
If any battery type is discharged slowly it gives up more amps than if it is discharged quickly.
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells can be fully charged in 5 to 7 hours without harm - unlike Lead-Acid cells.
If a generator is used to charge the batteries, this can mean less running time.
Battery capacities change over time. Brand new Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron batteries put straight to hard work in deep discharges have a 20% lower capacity than their rating, increasing rapidly to 100% or better (in a month or so) then gradually reduce in capacity over the years to stabilize at over 70% of rated capacity. LeadAcid batteries tend to have a lower capacity when new, increase for a few months then decrease slowly but continuously for the rest of their life.
With Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells the full available capacity can be utilised when calculating battery size for solar systems. After years of use, available capacity should stabilise at about 70-80% of rated capacity. Lead-Acid batteries are always over sized in solar systems usually by 2 to 5 times to avoid deep discharging.
The charge pattern of solar panels matches perfectly with the charge pattern of Nickel-Iron cells. Because of this Nickel-Iron cells can be used in a solar system without a charge regulator. All Lead-Acid cells used in a solar system should be charged through a charge regulator to avoid damage through over charging.
The alkaline vapours given off by Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells during use are not corrosive to steel. The alkaline vapour is a steel preservative. The acid vapour emitted by Lead Acid cells corrodes steel. This may be an issue in boats.
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells are extremely robust and tolerant to vibrations and physical shocks. More so than Lead-Acid cells. Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron batteries can be rejuvenated by changing or cleaning the electrolyte and reconditioning the electrodes. Lead-Acid batteries have little scope for rejuvenation.
Interberg SNF range Nickel-Iron cells are ‘wet and vented’. This means they have a liquid electrolyte (the electrolyte isn't jelled or constrained by a glass fibre mat) and the gasses produced during charging and discharging can escape through small vent holes in the cap - the pressure inside the cell is the same as the atmospheric pressure outside the cell. Wet and vented cells require the electrolyte to be topped up with distilled or demineralised water, the amount depending on the usage. ‘Sealed’ rechargeable batteries, whether small torch type, computer batteries or large amp hour heavy duty sealed Lead-Acid cells usually employ some mechanism (glass fibre, cloth, gelling agent etc) to restrict the movement of the electrolyte and to capture any gasses released during charging and discharging plus a pressure release valve. If charged within the recommended range, the gasses generated during charging/discharging are contained under pressure within the cell. If overcharged or overdischarged or excessively heated the pressure release valve will open and electrolyte will vent. The loss of electrolyte can leave the positive and negative electrodes partially exposed which can lead to arcing between the positive and negative plates causing the hydrogen and oxygen created during charging/discharging to explode.
Hundreds of people suffer acid burns from exploding car batteries every year. With all types of sealed batteries you have no idea of how much electrolyte is still in the cell and no way of adding more electrolyte if you could tell. With wet and vented cells whether Nickel-Iron, Nickel-Cadmium or Lead-Acid you can always remove the filler cap and see if the plates are dry and in a potentially explosive state.
A hazard with all wet vented cells whether Nickel-Iron, Nickel-Cadmium or Lead-Acid is that a flame or spark close to the vent cap can ignite the explosive hydrogen/oxygen gas vented through the cap vent holes during charging/discharging and quickly propagate down through the vent holes into the battery causing a destructive battery explosion.
Hydrogen is extremely explosive and fire travels or propagates faster in a hydrogen/oxygen mix than any other fuel. Vent caps on wet vented cells often incorporate some design features that attempt to prevent flame entering the interior of the cell.
There are a number of automatic wet vented cell watering systems being sold that allow for filling of all the battery cells in a few simple operations. They require the replacement of the original cell cap with caps that usually consist of a float mechanism and/or valve built in and a network of feeder tubes connected to a central container of distilled/demineralised water. Some require the water to be pressurised mechanically others by gravity feed. None of them allow you to simply fill the central container and leave it unattended - they all require you to disconnect the central container from the filler tubes once the electrolyte has reached the correct level - presumably the valves in the caps must leak a little which could cause the cells to be overfilled.
Another alternative is caps that incorporate an array of small plastic balls that the venting gas has to pass through. These caps can reduce the loss of electrolyte by between 50 to 80% or if you don’t use them you will use between 2 to 5 times more distilled water. If they are not recombining the generated hydrogen and oxygen then it appears that a lot of the gas vented by vented wet cells must be water vapour that is being trapped and condensed by the small plastic balls.
Applications and Uses
Nickel-Iron cells are currently found or have been used around the world in a multitude of industrial and private uses such as:
Railways (for locomotives, for carriages, for buffet-cars, signal lanterns, substations power supply, feeding for different auxiliary systems, power supply of control and lighting circuits).
Mining industry (for traction transport, electric locomotives, electric motors, power supply equipment, instruments, devices, mining cap lamps and portable lights, mining lanterns).
Industrial enterprises (wide range of application, for example, storage batteries and batteries for trackless electric vehicles, lifters, forklifts and as part of backup power supply equipment).
Various equipment (lighting and alarm systems, instruments, electric equipment, electric transportation vehicles (trolley-bus, tram), portable communication radio set devices and control instruments).
Electrical Vehicles (Full electrical vehicles, hybrid vehicles and electrical bikes)
Renewable Energy (Off-Grid – Stand-alone - Solar and Wind power installations)
Submarines
Water transport (barges, yachts, boats lighting and systems feeding).
Customer reviews
No reviews were found for Interberg - Model SNF Series - Solar Ni-Iron Batteries. Be the first to review!