Topic: battery concern

[DaleReid]

I have a Mark III, LR version with the little 6 volt gel cell in it.

I charged it up well last fall with a trickle/sensor charger so as to not cook it, and before the weather went cold here in Wisconsin put it up on my shed roof, with solar panel maximized for perpendicular to the sun during the winter. I'm at just about 45 latitude.

About two months later it died.  Of course we had near constant clouds for the time, or only sun shine when it was late in the afternoon and only exposure was through the trees to the west of the shed.

During the winter IF it was really sunny I might have gotten a few minutes to an hour's worth of transmissions, and would go quiet until the next day, if it was sunny.

As the sun angle and length of day has increased, the little gizmo is working more like advertised, but with only a little extra juice accumulated to last through the night and into the next day but die if there was no sun that next day.  An improvement, and it is getting some charge built up.

My question is.... should the natural charging action of the solar panel finally recover the battery, or am I guaranteed another trip to the top of the shed before next fall?

Is this a sign of a battery problem?

Is this a sign the panel isn't up to snuff?  What sort of voltage should the diagnostic page be showing when the panel is in bright sun?

Is there more to the circuit to keep the battery up?  In other words, could it be partially functioning but some bad or weak component on board be inhibiting it from doing full charge?

Just curious if anyone else has had a problem with the battery.  This is the first one that has done this.

Dale

[VaJim]

Dale:  I have the MKIII standard range and it has a 6 volt battery.  Not sure or clear on the type of battery you describe.  I've replaced the battery, but I've never recharged it.  You may have a different type of battery.  How old is your station/battery?  Normally the battery should read close to 6 volts.  There are several ways to check this depending about your setup with hardware, software, etc.  If the battery gets too low your display will show 'dashes' instead of the data. 

I believe the MKIII's are rated to last up to 60 days without sun.

I would call Rainwise.

[DaleReid]

Yes, that is a standard battery in all those units.

I think this battery is new two years ago.  I know as I was getting ready to mount it for the winter there had been substantial cloudy time and I 'topped it off' with a charger that works with that kind of battery by taking it out and bringing it up full.

I will see if Lonnie or one of the other guys at Rainwise can advise.  I now have had another wonderful sunny day and the current voltage (hit MIN and then SELECT) is running about 6.2 volts and minimum was just under six over night.

I think it is bringing the battery back on it's own.  Obviously this won't be a problem in the summer with all the energy coming in.

I just don't want to ignore what might have been a warning sign, have it work OK during the bright summer and miss a chance to do some preventative maintenance when it is warm out and the roof isn't slippery.

Thanks, I will give a call.

[Feelgood Ranch]

I also have had battery problems in one instance. The motherboard in the station head unit needs 6 volts to operate flawlessly. Under 6 volts usually causes problems. I replaced the battery with a new one purchased at Batteries Plus and have had no problems in a station located in extreme weather conditions.
Solar panel failure is a rarity.  Solar panel bench tested in front of a 100 watt light bulb would measure approx. 7.2-7.5 volts and approx. 1400 ma. if I remember correctly. The fact that your station seems to operate in sunlight, to me favors solar panel not the problem and a battery with little storage capacity is the root of the problem, FWIW.

[DaleReid]

Well, other than having two feet of snow on the top of the shed plus 4" more and a cold blast on the way today, I think I'll do as you did, head to batteries plus and see if Roger still stocks the batteries and swap it out on a great warm day.

I thank you for the info on the output parameters, and about the board needing a cutoff to operate (obvious, but sometimes the voltage needed is unknown).

I know a little RadioShack indoor/outdoor unit that operates much better when the indoor (warmer) unit has the Lithium AAs in it with their higher voltage. And the outside unit's batteries are just over about .8 when it finally stops transmitting.  Weird how circuit design can be so wide in optimal needs for voltage.

Thanks again.
Dale

[pwdiver]

I have charged my battery on several occasions it does help but I usually go through a battery about every 2 yr's the last time I had a problem my unit was still working with only 5.5 volts showing but then my Barimeteric pressure sensor went crazy. The battery was replaced and have not had another problem