Friday, Dec 03, 2021 at 18:55
.
I would go along with all of that Bazooka..... including the frustration of losing a partly completed response!
There are so many variables occurring in lead-acid
battery usage that make it difficult to predict expectations of life performance. Unquestionably, some factors such as very high sustained discharge and
battery temperature are to be avoided, but yet we are acquainted with accounts of some people's batteries performing for much longer periods than most of us enjoy. There are so many variables in construction, storage, discharge rates and charging practice that it becomes difficult to evaluate sensibly.
Nonetheless, my experiences have reaffirmed the published advice of basic good practice which is not always in accord with common user beliefs. Certainly, don't put batteries on a concrete floor. LOL
I got some experience when at
Woomera long ago. We had about 250 or more diverse lead acids (before AGM) which were used for a variety of duties on the Range. Some were used to drive cameras, supply electronic instrumentation and even for activating launcher functions including firing detonators in missile engines and boosters. Administration of these batteries was in my responsibility and I had two electrical assistants working full-time to ferry them around and recharge them. One benefit of these early batteries was that the interconnection between cells was exposed on the top of the case which permitted applying a
battery tester to each cell in turn to gauge condition. It applied a current of about 50 Amps whilst indicating the voltage. When I arrived on the scene the charging regime was to put the batteries on charge at maximum (about 20 A) and "boil the guts out of them". By that I mean they were left on charge with the caps removed with electrolyte spraying out all over the
battery top. I did institute some changes pronto!
On the matter of "cycling" I would instance that at
Woomera we had several installations of 50v
battery banks to provide uninterruptible supply of vital functions. One of these was dedicated to the Safety System which was employed to disintegrate an out of control missile. The batteries for this system were constantly on-line and on float charge. Soon after arrival I took it upon myself to
test this
battery bank and found it to have almost no capacity at all. Had it been called upon to act it would have undoubtedly fail with drastic consequence. This was my first encounter with batteries being constantly on float charge without any meaningful cycling and I have since experienced several more. This tends to support a case for regular cycling being beneficial for
battery health.
And Bazooka, I especially liked your final paragraph.
FollowupID:
917506