Nickel Iron batteries tested.

[Lee Rust]

Thanks, Tom. I'll take a look at the Iron-Edison manual.

I am starting to get a handle on the NiFe essentials, and have just received a very useful 'compendium' of many years worth of Edison battery information. Perhaps you already have it, but here's a link to the 2022 edition:

https://www.amazon.com/Collectors-Alkaline-Cyclopedia-Advertisement-Compilation/dp/B09PW4TXY3

[Tom Smith]

Lee,

Thanks for the Link!

[Tom Smith]

Quick update, lost another 11 year old (original electrolyte) over the weekend. Sun has been dismal and have been partial charging with small generator and 10 amp power supply.

Voltage collapses under 750 watt discharge. As soon as weather permits I am going to start changing electrolyte on 11 year old batteries. I will report back if it works as advertised or not.

[Lee Rust]

Tom,

Not much sun here in western NY either. If your cells are Iron-Edison, 11 years doesn't seem like a very long life. Assuming that the electrolyte replacement revives it, what does that suggest about an optimal real-life changing interval?

I've picked up some KOH from the supplier you suggested. Now I'm looking for a relatively small quantity of LiOH. I've found a source for "Lithium-7Li Hydroxide Monohydrate". Do you know if that's the same stuff or similar? It's very expensive! These days it seems that anything with Lithium in the formula is caught up in a new kind of 'gold rush'.

Lee Rust

[Tom Smith]

Lee,

The 11 year old batteries are BeutiltyFree Chanhong batteries. Pretty much the same manufacturer as Iron Edison. In Iron Edison's manual they state electrolyte changes at 7-10 year interval, so I am not too surprised that some of the cells have started to fail.

I received a bulk quantity of potassium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide with the BeutiltyFree cells, it is packed in a plastic drum, hopefully it is still good. I will probably change one cell at a time to verify if the chemicals are any good.

[Tom Smith]

Lee,

Living energy farm use small NIFE battery banks and that is where I read about the vendor that I suggested. As far as the lithium hydroxide you are looking at, I have no idea if it is suitable or not. I have read that some NIFE users only mix potassium hydroxide and distilled water for their electrolyte.

[Lee Rust]

Tom,

I've been thinking about Ni-Fe batteries for several years and BeUtilityFree was one name I considered, even though all the brands seem to actually be made by ChangHong. Is BeUtilityFree still around? I recently came across a listing on eBay that seems to be a direct sale offer for new Ni-Fe cells from them. Meanwhile, Iron Edison is de-emphasizing their Ni-Fe cells in favor of LiFePO4.

The LiOH in the electrolyte seems to be more of a performance enhancement than a foundation like the KOH. It is mentioned in the old Edison literature though, so I'll include it.

To me, the Living Energy Farm approach to alternative power generation, storage and usage seems very sensible. Power the big machines directly whenever the sun shines and use the storage batteries just for the lights and electronics. It's rather like the old days in the Netherlands when the windmills could only grind grain when the wind blew. The rest of the time the millers did other work.

Lee Rust

[Hans Zurne]

hello I have been thinking of the edison batteries , but the latest is the salt battery , made in Switserland and they seem to be the bees knees , Google ; FZSoNick
I think they are still very expensive but they might be the future
Have fun and good luck
Hans

[Tom Smith]

Iron Edison out of business! The last company selling NIFE batteries in the US. I guess a sign of the times.

Their website provides links for electrolyte replacement and other support related material.

Mine are still humming along and finally getting the charge they deserve with some new solar panels and a permanent install on the 48 volt system.

I wonder if the OP's system is still running?

[Tom Herman]

So sorry to hear that Iron Edison went out of business.
It looks like NiFe batteries are now a "buy it direct from China only" proposition.
Last year, I picked up an NOS case of 10 100 AH Iron Edison batteries (2017 production, the guy never used them!).
I'll 100% document everything when I get around to uncrating them: Videos of the crate contents, measuring voltages, electrolyte specific gravity, checking for electrolyte Carbonates, and seeing how they perform.
A quick peek at the Victron 100/30 & 100/50 controllers looks like I can custom set them to go up to 17.4 Volts, which should be just about right to equalize the cells.
They will be fun to play with when I have a bit of time.
I'm currently busy writing White Papers on solar power/battery storage for use in the Wildland Fire community, and WF has priority over fun research.
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread: I've enjoyed binge reading it over the weekend. There is a LOT of information here! And I also appreciate the civility and helpfulness.
Any updates from Brian or any of the other NiFe users?

Respectfully, -Tom

[Tom Smith]

I just recently had to join the LiFeP04 group.

I had 3 cells with cracked jars that were slowly getting worse so I cleaned the cracks with rubbing alcohol, let dry and applied some adhesive. This did not go well as the cracks expanded and one cell started leaking!

Long story short, the 48 volt 200 amp hour bank was replaced with 51.2 volt 200 amp hour LiFeP04 bank.

I tried finding replacement jars, emailed the contact from Iron Edison, no response, emailed another US battery parts supplier, said they don't make jars and also contacted a distributor out of Australia who did get back to me, but then went cold.

I just sold off a good chunk of my collection last weekend with replacement chemicals for the electrolyte. He needed a 24 volt bank which I could supply the cells for.

After about 3 years of use this is my observation:

I would still be using them if I had not had physical cell failure (the product I used to make the repair was recommended by the previous owner)
After using FLA batteries for 8 years I would pick NIFE over FLA any day.

My use of LiFeP04 is too short to give a opinion on, but some observations:
They charge very fast, they are energy dense and take up much less room.
Most equipment is compatible with them and they are readily available.

It would be nice to know if the OP's set is still going strong?

[Tom Herman]

Hi Tom,

Bummer on the battery containers. Sorry that ended your NiFe battery adventure.
I think anything is better than Lead Acid... I'm slowly eliminating it here as well, and replacing Lead with LiFePO4.
It would be nice to play with some of the nanoCarbon SLA's: They are supposed to be partial State of Charge batteries, and sulfation is largely eliminated.
I'm using the LiFePO4's for portable power (along with solar charging) out on Wildfires: They are working great in camp, and out in the field and on mountaintops, as long as the temperatures are above freezing.
With the large voltage swings in NiFe, I don't think they will work well directly powering 12 VDC equipment due to the high voltages present (16.5 Volts) when charging a battery. For me, it will strictly be used with an inverter to power stuff.