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  1. #1
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    Default Wanted: vented large Nickel Cadmium Cells

    I'm looking for at least 5 large 625Ah or so Nickel Cadmium Cells. These have liquid electrolyte, not dry cells!
    They are used in large stand- y power setups by telcos, hospitals and airports.
    They are 1.2V nominal cell voltage, about the size of two car batteries on top of each other and heavy.
    I have 5 of them and want to build a 12V battery.
    Does anyone here have a good idea where to start looking, knocking on doors or have a contact in Telstra or !othe telcos?
    Please post suggestions here or PM me.
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  2. #2
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    In 2015 when the Mens shed had access to a close down hospital site we scored 24 of those cells and took them back to the shed but no one had any idea of what to do with them. In the end we gave them to a shed member who had a gold lease out the back of Kalgoorlie. He took them to his mining camp where he used them in a 24V setup as far as I know then are still going strong.

  3. #3
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    I met someone who used a 50 year old NiFe battery in his Land Rover - just for fun I think.
    He seemed to know a lot about batteries, and told me that NiCd with liquid electrolyte can last 100 years.
    That is, with occasional "rebuilding". I asked him what that entailed, and his reply was, "pour out the old electrolyte and replace it with new".
    The electrolyte is a mix of two different alkalis, nothing exotic he said.
    I don't have any experience of wet Nicads, but if the above is true it's surprising we don't hear more about them.

  4. #4
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    Revesby - Sydney Australia
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    Joe, I was in Telstra for 23 years (until 2019), and never saw NiCd used anywhere.

    All exchanges had lead acid. Usually SLA.
    Mostly strings of four 12V batteries, occasionally eight of 6V, very occasionally 24x2V cells.
    Nigel, from a cave FULL of unfinished projects and lost tools.

  5. #5
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    Healesville
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    Quote Originally Posted by jhovel View Post
    I'm looking for at least 5 large 625Ah or so Nickel Cadmium Cells. These have liquid electrolyte, not dry cells!
    They are used in large stand- y power setups by telcos, hospitals and airports.
    They are 1.2V nominal cell voltage, about the size of two car batteries on top of each other and heavy.
    I have 5 of them and want to build a 12V battery.
    Does anyone here have a good idea where to start looking, knocking on doors or have a contact in Telstra or !othe telcos?
    Please post suggestions here or PM me.

    All prices are in AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS. https://www.ironcorebatteries.com.au/page2.php

  6. #6
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    Mar 2011
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    Default

    I installed a lot of NiCad working for the same Telco as Nigel, the whole of northern SA and NT was powered by them in the late 90’s early 2000’s
    They all came from Saft Nife

    They weren’t particularly good though, better off adjusting your regulator voltages and converting the system to Lead Acid chemistry if possible

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by racingtadpole View Post
    I installed a lot of NiCad working for the same Telco as Nigel, the whole of northern SA and NT was powered by them in the late 90’s early 2000’s
    They all came from Saft Nife

    They weren’t particularly good though, better off adjusting your regulator voltages and converting the system to Lead Acid chemistry if possible
    Hi. Thanks for the info. I had heard that the Telstra used them, but like Nigel, I've never seen them used anywhere before. So maybe the info I got was from SA or NT.
    What were they never particularly good at? And did they ever find out why?
    Mine are Saft, Made in Australia.

    Going to lead acid is way too expensive at 625Ah, especially when you consider that I would need 1300Ah capacity (50% usable capacity) to match my 625Ah NiCds (100% useable capacity)...
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by shedhappens View Post
    All prices are in AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS. https://www.ironcorebatteries.com.au/page2.php
    I will need 5 of them. $2675 plus freight (nobody will freight 150kg of batteries with electrolyte in them, btw).... not going to happen.

    I got a quote from Saft, by the way: $1800 each cell x 5 plus freight......
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  9. #9
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    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
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    Quote Originally Posted by nadroj View Post
    I met someone who used a 50 year old NiFe battery in his Land Rover - just for fun I think.
    He seemed to know a lot about batteries, and told me that NiCd with liquid electrolyte can last 100 years.
    That is, with occasional "rebuilding". I asked him what that entailed, and his reply was, "pour out the old electrolyte and replace it with new".
    The electrolyte is a mix of two different alkalis, nothing exotic he said.
    I don't have any experience of wet Nicads, but if the above is true it's surprising we don't hear more about them.
    That person knew what he was talking about. The batteries in Voyager 2 are still working and are now 50 years in space....
    Mine are guaranteed by Saft for 20 years. And "reconditioning" is in fact replacing the electrolyte after rinsing with deionised water. The surface of the cadmium electrode carbonises from dissolved C02 out of the atmosphere. That salt deposit is water soluable. Then the next 20+ years cycle starts....

    The reason we don't hear about them is the cost. My 48V house battery (40 cells) would cost $72,000 to replace. It has the capacity of 3 Tesla batteries at $45,000.... The second reason is that cadmium is highly toxic and nobody will recycle it. Not a problem as long as you don't eat batteries, of course...
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  10. #10
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    Aug 2010
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    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    In 2015 when the Mens shed had access to a closed down hospital site we scored 24 of those cells and took them back to the shed but no one had any idea of what to do with them. In the end we gave them to a shed member who had a gold lease out the back of Kalgoorlie. He took them to his mining camp where he used them in a 24V setup as far as I know then are still going strong.
    The Kalgoorlie person hasn't got any spares that you could find out about? He would be using 20 of them for 24 V.... no idea how I would get them back here, except coming to get them (not out of the question, btw - I might come and visit you and BobL again too!)
    At lease then I would only have to find ONE more
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  11. #11
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by jhovel View Post
    The Kalgoorlie person hasn't got any spares that you could find out about? He would be using 20 of them for 24 V.... no idea how I would get them back here, except coming to get them (not out of the question, btw - I might come and visit you and BobL again too!)
    At lease then I would only have to find ONE more
    I haven't been attending that mens shed since about 2018 and don't recall seeing him there for the last few years before that.. I don't even remember the said members name. I will ask one of the ex supervisors when I next catch up with him at a monthly coffee meeting, currently I think he is in the UK watching cricket ATM.

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