[Power] Testing A Battery

[Sora Edwards-Thro]

Hello all,

My name's Sora Edwards-Thro, and I've been involved with Adam in Haiti
for a while but this is the first time I've had a reason to post
directly to this list myself. Thank you in advance for your input.

I am working with a school in Lascahobas, Haiti where a large solar
charging system was installed for the XOs back in 2011
(https://ict4dviewsfromthefield.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/new-video-worlds-largest-school-solar-laptop-charging-olpc-deployment-lascahobas-haiti/)

However, the system has not been used for a few years now, partly
because it was implemented specifically to charge the laptops and when
the support for the laptops ended people failed to see another use for
it. (The system is DC, so it didn't come in hand for charging cell
phones...)

Ideally, we would use the system to power a server (approx 750 watts
per day) and 45 XO-1 laptops, although if 45 is not feasible we can
also manage 15.

The original batteries from the system are still there. There are 6
6-volt batteries, wired into a 12V system.They hold 450 AH @ 20Hr, and
they are "Rolls Battery Engineering" by Surrette, a Canadian company.
The batteries have been there since 2011, so we suspect that they
might not be working anymore. However, given that they have not
actually been charged and discharged too many times, we're hopeful
that we might not have to replace them.

The electrician that the school employs claims that they will probably
work if they are given some "service" (add water and clean them up).
He's going to be doing that over the weekend and letting me know the
results. I guess I just want to be able to confirm what he says with
my own testing - it's always good to get a second opinion.

Any tips on how to go about checking? I have a voltmeter handy, and
since the chargers hooked up to them are all working (when the sun is
shining) we should be able to do some longer-term tests where we
actually charge the 45 XOs every day for two weeks or so to make sure
everything is working. I'm just double-checking to see what else can
be measured / inspected that I'm not experienced enough to think of.

Thank you,

Sora