One dead cell on battery.
Submitted: Monday, Oct 28, 2002 at 01:00
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Janset
Hi all.
About 2 years ago I replaced my 2 batteries on my Troopie with the second battery being a Deep Cycle USA made. I think it is called a Gold Top. In under 6 months I had it replaced with a new one under warranty as it was not holding a charge.......Now about 18 months further down the track I found out by accident that the replacement battery (same brand as before) has one complete dead cell and out of warranty). Doesn't say much for that brand of battery. At $160 plus replacement it is an expensive exercise. Never again with that brand though.
Due to my finances that will have to wait. My question is does anyone know, or is there a way of putting some life into that dead Cell to give me some breathing time until I can replace it.
Regards
Reply By: Member - Nigel - Tuesday, Oct 29, 2002 at 01:00
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2002 at 01:00
Most battery manufacturers recommend never flattening batteries beyond 50% if you want maximum life.
The biggest cause of battery failure is sulphation, which is a symptom of undercharging. There is a product called a Megapulse that claims to be able to reverse and/or prevent sulphation. Most solar
places recommend these devices.
What most people don't realise is that an alternator can only charge a battery to around 70-80% of it's capacity, and a standard transformer charger might get it to 90%.
A decent 3 stage battery charger rated at 8 amps will cost more than $300 but if you rely on batteries then you will save more than that over the life of the charger by not having dead batteries.
If you regularly totally flatten your batteries then you need a 5 stage charger that has a soft start stage to prevent damaging your battery during initial recharge (the other extra stage is the equalisation stage), but these type of chargers are very expensive. Otherwise just don't flatten them as deeply or replace them regularly.
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