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Battery Basics: A Layman's Guide to Batteries
If you have done any research on how batteries work or what you should look for when selecting a battery, you are probably
buried in information, some of which is conflicting. At BatteryStuff, we aim to clear that up a bit.You have most likely heard the
term K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). I am going to attempt to explain how lead acid batteries work and what they need
without burying you with a bunch of needless technical data. I have found that battery data will vary somewhat from
manufacturer to manufacturer, so I will do my best to boil that data down. This means I may generalize a bit, while staying true
to purpose.
The commercial use of the lead acid battery is over 100 years old. The same chemical principal that is being used to store
energy is basically the same as our Great Grandparents may have used.
If you can grasp the basics you will have fewer battery problems and will gain greater battery performance, reliability, and
longevity. I suggest you read the entire tutorial, however I have indexed all the information for a quick read and easy reference.
A battery is like a piggy bank. If you keep taking out and putting nothing back you soon will have nothing. Present day chassis
battery power requirements are huge. Consider todays vehicle and all the electrical devices that must be supplied. All these
electronics require a source of reliable power, and poor battery condition can cause expensive electronic component failure.
Did you know that the average auto has 11 pounds of wire in the electrical system? Look at RVs and boats with all the electrical
gadgets that require power. It was not long ago when trailers or motor homes had only a single 12-volt house battery. Today it is
standard to have two or more house batteries powering inverters up to 4000 watts.
Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Life span depends on usage; 6 months to 48
months, yet only 30% of all batteries actually reach the 48-month mark. You can extend your battery life by hooking it up to a
solar charger during the off months.
A Few Basics
The Lead Acid battery is made up of plates, lead, and lead oxide (various other elements are used to change density,
hardness, porosity, etc.) with a 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water solution. This solution is called electrolyte, which causes a
chemical reaction that produce electrons. When you test a battery with a hydrometer, you are measuring the amount of sulfuric
acid in the electrolyte. If your reading is low, that means the chemistry that makes electrons is lacking. So where did the sulfur
go? It is resting on the battery plates and when you recharge the battery, the sulfur returns to the electrolyte.
Safety
Battery types, Deep Cycle and Starting
Wet Cell, Gel-Cell and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)
CCA, CA, AH and RC; what's that all about?
Battery Maintenance
Battery Testing
Selecting and Buying a New Battery
Battery Life and Performance
Battery Charging
Battery Do's
Battery Don'ts
1. We must think safety when we are working around and with batteries. Remove all jewelry. After all you don't want to melt
your watchband while you are wearing the watch. The hydrogen gas that batteries make when charging is very explosive. We
have seen several instances of batteries blowing up and drenching everything in sulfuric acid. That is no fun, and would have
been a good time to use those safety goggles that are hanging on the wall. Heck, just break out your disco outfit. Polyester is not
affected by Sulfuric Acid, but anything with cotton will be eaten up. If you do not feel the need to make a fashion statement
just wear junk clothes, after all Polyester is still out of style. When doing electrical work on vehicles it is best to disconnect the
ground cable. Just remember you are messing with corrosive acid, explosive gases and 100's amps of electrical current.
2. Basically there are two types of lead acid batteries (along with 3 sub categories); The two main types are Starting
(cranking), and Deep Cycle (marine/golf cart). The starting battery (SLI starting lights ignition) is designed to deliver quick
bursts of energy (such as starting engines) and therefore has a greater plate count. The plates are thinner and have somewhat
different material composition. The deep cycle battery has less instant energy, but greater long-term energy delivery. Deep
cycle batteries have thicker plates and can survive a number of discharge cycles. Starting batteries should not be used for deep
cycle applications because the thinner plates are more prone to warping and pitting when discharged. The so-called Dual
Purpose Battery is a compromise between the two types of batteries, though it is better to be more specific if possible.
3. Wet Cell (flooded), Gel Cell, and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) are various versions of the lead acid battery. The Wet cell
comes in two styles; Serviceable and Maintenance free. Both are filled with electrolyte and are basically the same. I prefer one
that I can add water to and check the specific gravity of the electrolyte with a hydrometer. The Gel Cell and the AGM
batteries are specialty batteries that typically cost twice as much as a premium wet cell. However they store very well and do
not tend to sulfate or degrade as easily as wet cell. There is little chance of a hydrogen gas explosion or corrosion when using
these batteries; these are the safest lead acid batteries you can use. Gel Cell and some AGM batteries may require a special
charging rate. If you want the best,most versatile type, consideration should be given to the AGM battery for applications such
as Marine, RV, Solar, Audio, Power Sports and Stand-By Power just to name a few. If you don't use or operate your equipment
daily, AGM batteries will hold their charge better that other types. If you must depend on top-notch battery performance, spend
the extra money. Gel Cell batteries still are being sold but AGM batteries are replacing them in most applications. There is a
some common confusion regarding AGM batteries because different manufactures call them by different names; some of the
more common names are "sealed regulated valve", "dry cell", "non spillable", and "Valve Regulated Lead Acid" batteries. In
most cases AGM batteries will give greater life span and greater cycle life than a wet cell battery.
SPECIAL NOTE about Gel Batteries: It is very common for individuals to use the term GEL CELL when referring to sealed,
maintenance free batteries, much like one would use Kleenex when referring to facial tissue or "Xerox machine" when referring
to a copy machine. Be very careful when specifying a gel cell battery charger, many times we are told by customer they are
requiring a charger for a Gel Cell battery and in fact the battery is not a Gel Cell.
AGM: The Absorbed Glass Matt construction allows the electrolyte to be suspended in close proximity with
the plates active material. In theory, this enhances both the discharge and recharge efficiency. Common manufacturer
applications include high performance engine starting, power sports, deep cycle, solar and storage battery. The larger AGM
batteries we sell are typically good deep cycle batteries and they deliver their best life performance if recharged before allowed
to drop below the 50% discharge rate. The Scorpion motorcycle batteries we carry are a nice upgrade from your stock flooded
battery, and the Odyssey branded batteries are fantastic for holding their static charge over long periods of non use. When Deep
Cycle AGM batteries are discharged to a rate of no less than 60% the cycle life will be 300 plus cycles.
GEL: The Gel Cell is similar to the AGM style because the electrolyte is suspended, but different because technically the AGM
battery is still considered to be a wet cell. The electrolyte in a Gel Cell has a silica additive that causes it to set up or stiffen. The
recharge voltage on this type of cell is lower than the other styles of lead acid battery. This is probably the most sensitive cell in
terms of adverse reactions to over-voltage charging. Gel Batteries are best used in VERY DEEP cycle application and may last
a bit longer in hot weather applications. If the incorrect battery charger is used on a Gel Cell battery poor performance and
premature failure is certain.
4. CCA, CA, AH and RC. What are these all about? These are the standards that most battery companies use to rate the output
and capacity of a battery.
Cold cranking amps (CCA) is a measurement of the number of amps a battery can deliver at 0 F for 30 seconds and not drop
below 7.2 volts. So a high CCA battery rating is especially important in starting battery applications, and in cold weather.This
measurement is not particularly important in Deep cycle batteries, though it is the most commonly 'known' battery
measurement.
CA is cranking amps measured at 32 degrees F. This rating is also called marine cranking amps (MCA). Hot cranking amps
(HCA) is seldom used any longer but is measured at 80 F.
Reserve Capacity (RC) is a very important rating. This is the number of minutes a fully charged battery at 80 F will discharge
25 amps until the battery drops below 10.5 volts.
An amp hour (AH) is a rating usually found on deep cycle batteries. The standard rating is an Amp rating taken for 20 Hours.
What this means, say for a 100 AH rated battery is this: Draw from the battery for 20 hours and it will provide a total of 100
amp-hours. That translates to about 5 amps an hour. 5 x 20 = 100. However, it's very important to know that the total time of
discharge and load applied is not a linear relationship. As your load increases, your realized capacity decreases. This means if
you discharged that same 100 AH battery by a 100 amp load, it will not give you one hour of runtime. On the contrary, the
perceived capacity of the battery will be that of 64 Amp Hours.
5.Battery Maintenance is an important issue. The battery should be cleaned using a baking soda and water solution; a couple of
table spoons to a pint of water. Cable connections need to be cleaned and tightened as battery problems are often caused by
dirty and loose connections. A serviceable battery needs to have the fluid level checked. Use only mineral free water, Distilled
is best as all impurities have been removed, and there is nothing left that could contaminate your cells. Don't overfill battery
cells especially in warmer weather because the natural fluid expansion in hot weather can push excess electrolytes from the
battery. To prevent corrosion of cables on top post batteries use a small bead of silicone sealer at the base of the post and place
a felt battery washer over it. Coat the washer with high temperature grease or petroleum jelly (Vaseline), then place cable on
the post and tighten. Coat the exposed cable end with the grease. Most folks don't know that just the gases from the battery
condensing on metal parts cause most corrosion.
Battery Testing can be done in more than one way. The most accurate method is measurement of specific gravity
6.
and battery voltage. To measure specific gravity buy a temperature compensating hydrometer, to measure voltage use a digital
D.C. Voltmeter. A quality load tester may be a good purchase if you need to test sealed batteries.
For any of these methods, you must first fully charge the battery and then remove the surface charge. If the battery has been
sitting at least several hours (I prefer at least 12 hours) you may begin testing. To remove surface charge the battery must be
discharged for several minutes. Using a headlight (high beam) will do the trick. After turning off the light you are ready to test
the battery.
State of Charge Specific Gravity Voltage
12V 6V
100%
1.265
12.7 6.3
75%
1.225
12.4 6.2
50%
1.190
12.2 6.1
25%
1.155
12.0 6.0
Discharged
1.120
11.9 6.0
Load testing is yet another way of testing a battery. Load test removes amps from a battery much like starting an engine would.
A load tester can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Some battery companies label their battery with the amp load for
testing. This number is usually 1/2 of the CCA rating. For instance, a 500CCA battery would load test at 250 amps for 15
seconds. A load test can only be performed if the battery is near or at full charge.
The results of your testing should be as follows:
Hydrometer readings should not vary more than .05 differences between cells.
Digital Voltmeters should read as the voltage is shown in this document. The sealed AGM and Gel-Cell battery voltage (full
charged) will be slightly higher in the 12.8 to 12.9 ranges. If you have voltage readings in the 10.5 volts range on a charged
battery, that typically indicates a shorted cell.
If you have a maintenance free wet cell, the only ways to test are voltmeter and load test. Any of the maintenance free type
batteries that have a built in hydrometer(black/green window) will tell you the condition of 1 cell of 6. You may get a good
reading from 1 cell but have a problem with other cells in the battery.
When in doubt about battery testing, call the battery manufacturer. Many batteries sold today have a toll free number to call for
help.
7. Selecting a Battery - When buying a new battery I suggest you purchase a battery with the greatest reserve capacity or amp
hour rating possible. Of course the physical size, cable hook up, and terminal type must be a consideration. You may want to
consider a Gel Cell or an Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) rather than a Wet Cell if the application is in a harsher environment or
the battery is not going to receive regular maintenance and charging.
Be sure to purchase the correct type of battery for the job it must do. Remember that engine starting batteries and deep cycle
batteries are different. Freshness of a new battery is very important. The longer a battery sits and is not re-charged the more
damaging sulfation build up there may be on the plates. Most batteries have a date of manufacture code on them. The month is
indicated by a letter 'A' being January and a number '4' being 2004. C4 would tell us the battery was manufactured in March
2004. Remember the fresher the better. The letter "i" is not used because it can be confused with #1.
Battery warranties are figured in the favor of battery manufactures. Let's say you buy a 60-month warranty battery and it
lives 41 months. The warranty is pro-rated so when taking the months used against the full retail price of the battery you end up
paying about the same money as if you purchased the battery at the sale price. This makes the manufacturer happy. What
makes me happy is to exceed the warranty. Let me assure you it can be done.
8. Battery life and performance - Average battery life has become shorter as energy requirements have increased. Two
phrases I hear most often are "my battery won't take a charge, and my battery won't hold a charge". Only 30% of batteries
sold today reach the 48-month mark. In fact 80% of all battery failure is related to sulfation build-up. This build up occurs when
the sulfur molecules in the electrolyte (battery acid) become so deeply discharged that they begin to coat the battery's lead
plates. Before long the plates become so coated that the battery dies. The causes of sulfation are numerous. Let me list some for
you.
Batteries sit too long between charges. As little as 24 hours in hot weather and several days in cooler weather.
Battery is stored without some type of energy input.
"Deep cycling" an engine starting battery. Remember these batteries can't stand deep discharge.
Undercharging of a battery to only 90% of capacity will allow sulfation of the battery using the 10% of battery chemistry not
reactivated by the incompleted charging cycle.
Heat of 100 plus F., increases internal discharge. As temperatures increase so does internal discharge. A new fully charged
battery left sitting 24 hours a day at 110 degrees F for 30 days would most likely not start an engine.
Low electrolyte level - battery plates exposed to air will immediately sulfate.
Incorrect charging levels and settings. Most cheap battery chargers can do more harm than good. See the section on battery
charging.
Cold weather is also hard on the battery. The chemistry does not make the same amount of energy as a warm battery. A deeply
discharged battery can freeze solid in sub zero weather.
Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. More info on parasitic drain will follow in this document.
There are ways to greatly increase battery life and performance. All the products we sell are targeted to improve
performance and battery life.
An example: Let's say you have "toys"; an ATV, classic car, antique car, boat, Harley, etc. You most likely
don't use these toys 365 days a year as you do your car. Many of these toys are seasonal so they are stored. What happens to
the batteries? Most batteries that supply energy to power our toys only last 2 seasons. You must keep these batteries from
sulfating or buy new ones. We sell products to prevent and reverse sulfation. The PulseTech products are patented electronic
devices that reverse and prevent sulfation. Also Battery Equaliser, a chemical battery additive, has proven itself very effective
in improving battery life and performance. Other devices such as Solar Trickle Chargers are a great option for battery
maintenance.
Parasitic drain is a load put on a battery with the key off. Most vehicles have clocks, engine management computers, alarm
systems, etc. In the case of a boat you may have an automatic bilge pump, radio, GPS, etc. These devices may all be operating
without the engine running. You may have parasitic loads caused by a short in the electrical system. If you are always having
dead battery problems most likely the parasitic drain is excessive. The constant low or dead battery caused by excessive
parasitic energy drain will dramatically shorten battery life. If this is a problem you are having, check out the Priority Start and
Marine Priority Start to prevent dead batteries before they happen. This special computer switch will turn off your engine
start battery before all the starting energy is drained. This technology will prevent you from deep cycling your starting battery.
9.
Battery Charging - Remember you must put back the energy you use immediately. If you don't the battery
sulfates and that affects performance and longevity. The alternator is a battery charger. It works well if the battery is not deeply
discharged. The alternator tends to overcharge batteries that are very low and the overcharge can damage batteries. In fact an
engine starting battery on average has only about 10 deep cycles available when recharged by an alternator. Batteries like to be
charged in a certain way, especially when they have been deeply discharged. This type of charging is called 3 step regulated
charging. Please note that only special SMART BATTERY CHARGERS using computer technology can perform 3 step
charging techniques. You don't find these types of chargers in parts stores and Wal-Marts. The first step is bulk charging where
up to 80% of the battery energy capacity is replaced by the charger at the maximum voltage and current amp rating of the
charger. When the battery voltage reaches 14.4 volts this begins the absorption charge step. This is where the voltage is held at
a constant 14.4 volts and the current (amps) declines until the battery is 98% charged. Next comes the Float Step. This is a
regulated voltage of not more than 13.4 volts and usually less than 1 amp of current. This in time will bring the battery to 100%
charged or close to it. The float charge will not boil or heat batteries but will maintain the batteries at 100% readiness and
prevent cycling during long term inactivity. Some Gel Cell and AGM batteries may require special settings or chargers.
10. Battery Do's
Think Safety First.
Do read entire tutorial
Do regular inspection and maintenance especially in hot weather.
Do recharge batteries immediately after discharge.
Do buy the highest RC reserve capacity or AH amp hour battery that will fit your configuration.
11. Battery Don'ts
Don't forget safety first.
Don't add new electrolyte (acid).
Don't use unregulated high output battery chargers to charge batteries.
Don't place your equipment and toys into storage without some type of device to keep the battery charged.
Don't disconnect battery cables while the engine is running (your battery acts as a filter).
Don't put off recharging batteries.
Don't add tap water as it may contain minerals that will contaminate the electrolyte.
Don't discharge a battery any deeper than you possibly have to.
Don't let a battery get hot to the touch and boil violently when charging.
Don't mix size and types of batteries.
There are many points and details I have not written about because I wanted to keep this as short and simple as possible.
Further information can be found at the links below. If you are aware of sites with good battery maintenance information please
let me know.
Additional Battery Tutorial jgdarden.com
32
Written on February 11, 2015 a 6:41 pm

Tagged with batteries, AGM, flooded, Wet, gel,
Email This cell, tutorial, charging, sulfation
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What is the connection to the battery tocharge a 24volt system
Jimmy
NO SPAM. WE PROMISE
January 22, 2012 a 8:06 am
Reply
If you have 2 batteries in series, the voltage increases. The most common form of 24 volt systems involves two 12 volt batteries
connected together, a wire from the positive terminal of one battery to the negative on the other. For more information about
constructing battery banks, read this helpful article.
http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-articles/battery-bank-tutorial.html
If you have a 24 volt charger, you must treat your two 12 volt batteries as if they were a single battery. The open terminals on
both ends would be the required positive and negative access points.
James
January 23, 2012 a 8:50 am
Reply
This is just what I need to give me confidence in dealing with a battery issue. Much appreciated.
Desmond
January 18, 2012 a 2:04 pm
Reply
Just to let you know that your battery basics piece was well written and useful. I appreciate your hard work and your passion
for your subject.
Keith Clemens
January 23, 2012 a 7:38 am
Reply
Love it!! Once I read, K.I.S.S. I knew I would understand you! Thanks!
Wendy
October 27, 2013 a 10:35 am
Reply
Over the last 40 years I have puchased endless numbers of leisure batteries for my caravans none have ever lasted more than 12
mounths althouth I have charged them regularly.My latest one has just failed after 6 mounths and the manufacturers stamp 15
indicates January 2005 surerly this must be one of the reasons they do not last the coarse.I have found out more about batteries
since reading Battery Stuff.Com although I am a retired motor engineer,Well Done.
John Hackney
January 26, 2012 a 11:03 am
Reply
hi this is a common problem, many battery manufacturers make batteries that they claim are leisure batteries. the advice i will
give is that you should buy a battery with the largest amps as possible that will fit in the space that you have, in my opinion you
should buy an AGM battery as this will discharge and recover better after use, they are more expensive but should last much
longer. thanks eric roberts www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk
Eric Roberts
March 7, 2012 a 11:41 pm
Reply
AGM batteries do not last much longer than lead acid batteries, if they last an longer at all.
Jamie
June 14, 2012 a 6:01 pm
Reply
AGM technology is essentially the same as a lead acid battery. The only difference is the electrolyte is not free to spill, but
absorbed. This eliminates the need to maintain fluid levels, thus preventing a lot of premature failure caused by reflectance. But
maintenance free does not mean the freedom from having to charge regularly. All lead acid batteries self discharge, and the best
way to see longest life is to keep fully charged as often as possible. Maybe youve had some bad experiences with AGM
batteries. Thats unfortunate.
Tech
June 15, 2012 a 8:43 am
Reply
Agreed, if properly maintained, a wet battery will last just about as long as an AGM battery. BUT, very few people actually do
the proper maintenance. Because AGM batteries are valve-regulated, have a slower self-discharge rate, recharg faster, etc, etc,
they are more resilient than wet batteries and therefore, in real world use DO last much longer than wet batteries.
Sergio
August 27, 2012 a 12:32 pm
Reply
Is it possible to have 12 volts from a battery and low or weak cca ? Also tell me if im thinking wrong , but I have theory , that a
battery is allot like your arm , you arm has the 12 volts and the muscles in your arm potentially are your amps , you can with
stand holding weight for a certain amount of time until you become weak and need to relax for a few moments before you can
crank again , would you say that would be a good example if i were to try and explain how a battery functions to people who
dont speak english ?
Larry
January 27, 2012 a 7:15 am
Reply
That is a good example, yes. Some arms have less muscle mass and others have more. But all the same number of muscles in
the arm. 12 volt batteries all have 6 cells. Each cell is 2 volts. 2 6 = 12. But the cells have plates inside of them. The more
plates, the more current can run through, thus more CCA. Large and small batteries all have 6 cells, but the size and number of
plates can vary greatly. I hope this helps.
James
January 27, 2012 a 9:23 am
Reply
if i could rate your article out of ten, i would give it ten.
very informative alas i did not solve my problem
what is the method of getting a rechargable battery to hold charge,
will short overcharging periods do the trick?

John
January 30, 2012 a 9:31 pm
Reply
If youre referring to a rechargeable lead acid battery, then there could be many reasons why a battery does not hold a
charge. There could be a parasitic drain. There could be a short or open cell. There could be an internal defect such as a weak
weld. Or the battery could simply be deeply discharged, and if youre using a smart charger, find that the charger simply will not
charge the dead battery. This is primarily due to the low voltage safety disconnect found in most microprocessor controlled
chargers.
James
January 31, 2012 a 7:44 am
Reply
Very important article on rechargeable batteries.
We are planning to install Lead Gel batteries in our AS/RS equipments. Shall we go for Lead Gel or AGM type of batteries ?
Why ? Give us advantages in terms of cost & safety while selecting the type of battery.
Pls help us to decide.
thanks
JAYANTI
February 2, 2012 a 3:31 am
Reply
Hello,
Gel and AGM batteries are both nice because of the maintenance free nature and sealed case. The Gels are able to deep
discharge better (well, with less negative effects than the AGM). However, the Gel battery requires a compatible
charger/regulator. Normal wet cels and AGM batteries effectively charge at 14.6 volts or higher. But the Gel battery should be
no more than 14.2 volts. It really does make a difference. They are more fragile and can be damaged easier when charging.
For more information, please read GEL Vs. AGM.
http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/battery-articles/gel-vs-agm.html
James Ville
Reply
Hi, I have an older 4 4 truck with no electronics. However, I have an inverter to power (mainly laptops, gadgets), two external
lights but no winch. My current alternator is rated at 75amps and my current battery at 80ams / CCA 780 / CR 120. I want to
install a split batteyr system (solenoid+monitor) along with another batter (same power or slightly higher). Do I need to upgrade
my alternator.. say to a 100 amps? Can a 75amp alternator comfortably charge both batteries..given than Im using a smart
split battery charging system? or am I asking for trouble.ie: a dead alternator? Thanks
Bert
February 4, 2012 a 5:19 pm
Reply
You would be best off going with the larger alternator. 75 amps may be enough, but upgrading to the 100 amp system would
make sense.
Jeremy
Reply
Two weeks ago I purchased a new car Buick Enclave that had been on the lot for an extended period of time. Everything
seemed to be fine until I took a long trip (10hrs). The next morning I used the remote start to warm up the car then turned it off
and continued to load the car using the remote hatch lift several times. About ten minutes later I got in the car and didnt have
enough battery to start it. I was able to get a boost to start the engine and return home (10hrs). I took the car to the dealer the
next morning to have it checked out and was told the battery was good as it checked out at 12.3 volts. Doesnt that show a
discharged battery? Should the charging system maintain the battery at 12.6 to 12.8 volts? The next step is to have the electrical
output checked. I would appreciate your input as to what I should have them check next. Thanks
Bob G
Reply
Hello Bob,
You are correct. The battery should be reading more than 12.3 volts. If the battery cannot reach over 12.6 volts, then there is
likely a sulfation problem. the more sulfation on the plates, the less surface area. in turn, that results to less power and
pre-mature failure.
James Ville
Reply
Optimum battery voltage is 12.6 volts at 70 farenheit. Specific gravity and voltage will drop with temperature. 12.3 is a good
voltage. What the battery loads down to is more important.
Lester Cheeks
November 10, 2014 a 10:07 pm
Reply
hi I am extremely interested in the subject and would like to thank you for clearing up a few things that i had previously not
known.
Denise Keilholtz
Reply
hey, i am trying to charge 2 deep cycles in parallel with a 6 amp charger (12v) is this any diffrent than charging a single?
Kris F
Reply
When you charge 2 deep cycle batteries in parallel, youve essentially doubled your capacity. The charger will recognize your
battery bank as a single battery. If your 6 amp charger took 4 hours to charge one battery, it will now take 8 to charge both. The
resistance has increased with the increase in capacity, so it will take longer to charge. As for the connections, you can hook
your charger to the positive and negative terminal from one battery or both. For a 2 battery system, it doesnt make a
difference.
James
Reply
The resistance has increased with the increase in capacity, Not so, resistances in parallel decrease. It takes longer to charge
because you are charging two batteries at the same time instead of one.
Paul
April 15, 2012 a 8:49 am
Reply
Resistance is based on the internal battery chemistry. Its not constant, but it relates to the strength of the charge rate versus the
state of charge in the batteries. Two batteries in parallel will indeed lower the resistance. The charge time may not be quicker,
but it will be more efficient.
Tech
April 16, 2012 a 11:03 am
Reply
I have a few questions about sulfation removal.
1. How can a person determine how much sulfation has occurred inside a battery?
2. Which de-sulfation device do you most highly recommend to remove sulfation from battery plates?
3. How much time is required to fully de-desulfate a battery? If the de-sulfation device isnt capable of fully de-sulfating a
battery, can you let me know how much de-sulfation such a device can provide.
Thx, Z
Z
Reply
1)There is no exact way to determine the amount of sulfation, but a hydrometer is helpful. By telling the specific gravity, you
can determine the strength of the electrolyte. Typically, the more sulfation on the plates, the weaker the strength of electrolyte.
If you have sealed batteries, a hydrometer will not work.
2)If you have a flooded battery, I recommend using Battery Equalizer in conjunction with a pulsing charging, such as Battery
MINDer or PulseTech. Exact model will depend on the capacity of your battery.
3)Youll see the most dramatic results after about 2 weeks of continuous pulsing. The harder, crystallized sulfate which took a
long time to build up may take an additional 2 months before reaching a another restore point. On average, a de-sulfated battery
may be restored up to 80% of its original factory capacity.
James
Reply
I am purchasing a 125 watt solar panel and want to purchase two 12 volt RV batteries.I dry camp alot and want to be able to
maximize my reserve capacity using the solar charging to replenish the drain on the batteries. My question is what size battery
re the 20 hr amp rating would you recommend using two twelves and AGM or Gel? I do not winter camp so majority of use is
April to Oct. Apprecite your expertise.
Thanks TP
Todd
Reply
If want to size the batteries, you will need to know your load amount. If you have this, please use our Sizing a 12 Volt Battery to
a Load Calculator found here:
http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/calculator-sizing-a-battery-to-a-load.html
If your solar controller has a gel profile, then having a gel battery is not a problem. They can deep discharge better than AGM,
but are more expensive.
James Ville
February 23, 2012 a 12:01 pm
Reply
Great informative article. Just wondered if you or any of your readers have experienced or heard of problems with BMW
automobile batteries? This is a well know and documented issue by many BMW owners and dealers? Due to the inordinate
number of battery life failures BMW no longer honors their new car battery warranty. By downloading historical information
from the automobiles computer the dealer will look for any excuse for blaming the problem on the car owner, e.g., leaving the
door open, leaving the key in the car, or not driving the car for several weeks. It seems to me that BMW has a problem with
parasitic drain on their cars from about the time that the 2008 models came out. The car computer remains active when the
engine is off, still controlling functions that I cannot explain. BMW has not compensated for this parasitic drain by installing a
heaver duty (more Amp Hours) battery. I cant believe their engineers are this ignorant. An easy saluting would be to parallel
two batteries but this would increase the cost of the vehicle by several hundred dollars. That is probably why BMW has taken
no action to correct the problem. It is possible that other automobile manufacturers have similar problems. My opinion is that if
new batteries cannot be designed to compensate for the heavy parasitic drain then the manufactures need to install two parallel
batteries or come up with procedures to connect an external battery trickle changer when the car is parked overnight.
John C
Reply
Thats a good suggestion. A Trickle Charger is the best step to take in extending the life of the battery. Its less expensive than a
new battery, thats for sure.
James Ville
Reply
BMW cars and some Mercedes Benz have had issues with on board computers,after disconnecting the engine heater wiring and
computer reset the problem was solved. Disconnect the battery,disconnect the heater wiring at engine, reconnect battery, turn
on ignition 20 seconds, turn off. Then start engine, if no startyou have to reconnect the wiring on some models warning fault
light will stay on for some time. Our workshop solved most problems.
Over sophisticated temp (seats, engine) and security sensors and free radical computer connections can create the power use
problem. If you can find a reset button/or code it helps.
Keith Vanderee
June 25, 2014 a 1:29 am
Reply
Good advice, thanks!
Tech
June 25, 2014 a 9:00 am
Reply
Im shopping for a couple of off-grid batteries , Im curious when purchasing a new battery, what is the typical warranty length,
in case you bought a dud that was sitting in the heat in storage for 12 months. Thanks, great info BTW
Yancy
February 24, 2012 a 11:33 am
Reply
All of our batteries have their warranties listed on the product pages. Typical warranties start at 1 year for most of our
powersports batteries. Shorai and Odyssey high performance batteries have 2 year warranties.
James Ville
February 24, 2012 a 11:56 am
Reply
I have an interesting battery question for AGM battery charging. I recently purchased a 12 volt 7 amp battery for my roboduck,
I used my older 1/2 amp charger adn about two hours later, I noticed the battery had a puddle of clear water around its base. It
was acid! How on earth could a glass matt battery generate that much fluid (about 1/4 cup). I did nto even think there was that
much fluid in the battery! What is going on?
Tom Z
Reply
AGM batteries are sealed. If there is a large pool of electrolyte, there must be an opening in the case. If the liquid is not coming
from the ventilation holes on the top, there must be physical damage elsewhere, possible near the base.
The electrolyte in the battery is absorbed, but it can be forced out if there is enough pressure in the case or if it hasnt had time
to fully absorb (for instance, it if was a freshly activated battery).
James Ville
February 29, 2012 a 10:04 am
Reply
I have a Sportster scooter which is seven years old and has two 12V deep cell GEL type batteries. It has been used very little.
These batteries wont take a charge. When I disconnect them to read the voltage I get 11 volts on one and 13 volts on the other.
Gel types (80AH) for this unit are super expensive.
(1)Could I try to replace the 11 volt battery only, presuming its a dead cell?
(2)Would you recommend that I replace these batteries with two AGM batteries with a comparable AH rating? Can I use the
same charger on these batteries?
(3) Any other way out of this dilemma, such as using a maintenance-free lead acid battery with a comparable AH?
Thanks very much, John
Thanks very much
John Paciorek
March 2, 2012 a 6:07 am
Reply
1) If youre reading 11 volts, there is no short or dead cell. Its much less expensive purchasing a de-sulfator unit to restore the
battery than to buy a new one. If the batteries are still holding a charge, they can be restored.
2) If you do decide to upgrade to AGM, your Gel charger will work. Commonly, AGM batteries charge best at a higher voltage,
but those chargers would damage the Gel.
3) When creating a battery bank, its recommended to use batteries of the same voltage, AH rating, and type. 80AH AGM
batteries will work for your system just fine, but good battery maintenance is still recommended, regardless of the battery
chemistry type.
James Ville
March 2, 2012 a 9:29 am
Reply
How is that one would determine that an 11 volt reading is not associated with a shorted cell?
Ranger
June 19, 2012 a 11:20 am
Reply
11 volts cannot be a short cell, as each cell can read 2 volts or more. Therefore, a battery with a short cell typically reads 10.5
volts or less. But an open cell is different. This has to do with a weld piece disconnecting under the load, and voltage usually
drops significantly or sometimes flatlines when this happens.
Tech
June 20, 2012 a 12:41 pm
Reply
Hi, I have four 6 volt house batteries for my RV. We do some warm weather dry camping. How low should I let the voltage drop
before recharging with the generator? Thanks, Rick
Rick Echols
March 2, 2012 a 9:06 am
Reply
Lead Acid Batteries, doesnt matter the voltage, should never be left to drop in voltage. That is only common practice with
NiCD batteries. Discharging your batteries severely before recharging them will cause sulfation and early battery failure. The
healthiest thing to do is keep them fully charged as often as possible.
James Ville
March 2, 2012 a 9:11 am
Reply
So how can I expect to be able to use my house batteries for dry camping without losing any voltage? I would think that I
should be able to use my lights inside and radio without runnung my generator. I dont want to have to run my generator all the
time.
Rick Echols
March 2, 2012 a 9:25 am
Reply
Losing voltage is normal. Good battery maintenance is as follows: Re-charge battery at the soonest possible after using the
battery. When drawing from the battery, avoid discharging below 50% capacity. This is the danger of having a battery sit in
storage for months at a time. You will see early battery failure. Charging regularly or keeping a trickle charger is the best
solution.
Surely batteries are meant to be used. But the myth of battery memory does not apply to lead acid batteries. It is not healthy,
and unnecessary, to discharge all the way and recharge again.
James Ville
March 2, 2012 a 9:35 am
Reply
Thank you James, for all the great information!
Ive got an electric scooter (xtreme xb-600) and need to replace the 12v22ah SLA. Ive looked around and was told that the
EVX12200 or EVH12240 Deep Cycle Battery would be the way to go.
Your opinion would be muched valued and appreciated!
Eagleye
March 5, 2012 a 5:33 pm
Reply
Yes, those batteries will work as they are the same dimensions as any 12 volt 22 AH SLA Battery. The difference between the
EVX12200 and the EVH12240 is AH rating. The higher the AH, the more runtime youll have.
James Ville
March 6, 2012 a 8:46 am
Reply
James, this is a great site! Maybe you can help me: I have 3 8D AGM marine batteries on my boat with a xantrex charging
system. The boatyard said they would plug the boat in over the winter in the warehouse but did not. Nor did they shut the
breakers off. So, the batteries were depleted to zero over the last 5 months. How can I tell what damage was done? How can I
calculate the liability the boatyard has?
Greg White
March 8, 2012 a 4:21 pm
Reply
While its difficult to quantify the damage, I have some recommendations.
First, you should take a voltage reading from the batteries. If indeed youre reading 0 volts (which is unlikely) then I would try
to charge them with a low voltage start charger ASAP. Most automatic chargers have a cut-off voltage of 6.5 volts before they
will start. This prevents you from bringing back severely discharged batteries. Interacter makes a charger that starts charging
with a reading as low a 1-2 volts.
Second, sulfation has most definitely occurred, so I would also advise putting a de-sulfator unit on the batteries as well, such as
the OBD12V. If these do not bring the battery back to working condition, then I would suggest the batteries have passed the
point of no return.
James Ville
March 9, 2012 a 9:30 am
Reply
hi all i bought a AGM battery for my kawasaki vn 1500, great more ca,s no probs with it until i went overseas to work and made
the mistake of leaving the ignition switch turned to park!, THIS in turn left the rear lamp illuminated, returned back home 6
weeks later ZILCH,visited my local bike guru in redcar he put slow charges, then fast charges into it over a period of two days,
its gone from an initial reading of 0.3 v to a steady 12.9, hope this helps the guy with the boat.
Knobby Ions
May 8, 2012 a 8:53 am
Reply
Hey, thats great that your batteries came back! 12.9 is very good voltage. Thanks for sharing!
Tech
May 8, 2012 a 9:59 am
Reply
Wonderful article. Just had a question though.
How does one test SMF batteries on-site for e.g. Server UPS batteries. ? The test-gig should be portable though.
Phyleus
March 12, 2012 a 3:30 am
Reply
What do you need to test for? Voltage readings with a volt meter is always helpful. This gives you a good idea of the state of
charge of the batteries. A Load tester is good for measuring CCA and durability under a load. Even our comprehensive digital
battery conductance analyzer is portable. All of our testing units are located in the Battery Accessories category on our website.
See for yourself. :)
James Ville
March 12, 2012 a 11:58 am
Reply
hello Jamie, I am currently working on a research about Solar- hybrid off-grid instalations,
I have my battery amp hour for 20hrs discharge but i need the battery to store enuf cahrge for 3 days, so ut is trippled, do i still
use the C20 rating or do i use the C72hrs rating for it? i am confused. and the needed Current is about 6000Amp-hour
Jummy
March 13, 2012 a 2:49 am
Reply
If you parallel your batteries, the capacity (AH) will increase. The rating will still be at 20 hrs, but the number will triple.
If you have your batteries and draw amount, please use our battery calculators to help you figure out how long they will last, or
if you need another battery based on your load.
http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/
James Ville
March 13, 2012 a 9:14 am
Reply
Next time simple is enough..
Deron
March 12, 2012 a 10:16 am
Reply
Very good overview of lead-acid batteries. How do I submit a question? What type of sealed lead-acid battery would a
handicap scooter likely have: AGM or Gel? I need to know in order to select the right charging mode for a Schauer automatic
charger.
Mel Schallot
March 12, 2012 a 10:46 am
Reply
Mobility Scooters use both AGM and Gel batteries. I cannot verify what you have. However, if youre unsure, I recommend
using the Gel setting. This is a lower voltage that is safe for gel, but the AGM will accept it also. Its the other way around that
is not recommended.
James Ville
March 13, 2012 a 11:56 am
Reply
Fantastic information. Thanks so much for your service to those of us struggling to understand through all the hype. My
question is for a marine application. I have a bank of 4 Trojan lead acid batteries for my house bank and another lead acid
starter battery. My starter battery died and Id like to replace it with a maintanence-free option but have heard not to mix
battery types. Im not ready to replace the Trojans, so should I just buy another lead-acid starter to tide me over until my
Trojans die? Thanks for any suggestions you can give.
Toni Roddey
March 13, 2012 a 2:19 pm
Reply
If your starter battery is not connected to the house bank, then its fine to upgrade it to a sealed type. You can even use the
same charger if you go with an AGM. Within a battery bank its recommended to use the same battery type. Because your boat
draws from the house bank and the starting batteries separately, then youre okay.
James Ville
March 13, 2012 a 3:28 pm
Reply
have a 6 volt dry cell batt. in a old bike. is there a way of protecting the batt. from being over charged? thank you for your
time..
Gary
March 17, 2012 a 6:33 am
Reply
The best method to preventing battery from being overcharged is to use a micro-proccessor controlled smart automatic
battery charger. If the bike itself is over-charging, then there is a problem with the bikes charging system, the stator.
James Ville
March 19, 2012 a 11:06 am
Reply
Thank you for the excellent article and taking the time to answer everyones questions. I want to install a dual battery system in
a small car that has an 80 amp alternator. The 2nd battery will be dedicated to one appliance that has a low current draw. A
small deep cycle AGM like those used in mobility scooters will do the trick (about 35 Ah). I dont want to upgrade the
alternator but I also dont want to overly stress the one Ive got by having it regularly recharge a battery that is often going to
be drained close to max (50 percent). Is there a way that I can limit the current to the second battery so that it charges at 10 to
15 amps? That would be equivalent to driving with lights on and so I know it would not have a big negative effect on the
alternator as long as I am not using the lights.
Bill Smith
March 18, 2012 a 12:40 am
Reply
If you want to charge your vehicles starting battery as well as a separate auxiliary battery, I recommend using the Battery
Isolator Switch (Bi303303). Having a 35 AH spare battery should not be too much for your 80 amp alternator. Its an automatic
device, there is no preset amperage setting. The charge allocated to the batteries really depends on the status of each one.
With the rise in resistance in one battery, charge will be directed to the other until they are both stable and full.
James Ville
March 20, 2012 a 11:46 am
Reply
Hi,
I only use my car on weekends. My question is: Can I use a Smart Charger whenever the car is stopped? This will not
overcharge the battery?
My car has an AGM battery.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Cain
March 18, 2012 a 11:55 am
Reply
If you use an AC charger, parking the car and turning off the engine is fine. If you are refereing to a solar charger, its also
designed to charge the battery, not only when the car is stopped, but the engine is off as well. Plugging a smart charger on the
car during the weekdays is very healthy for the battery. No overcharging if you make sure the charger is fully automatic. Our
chargers are. :)
James Ville
March 19, 2012 a 11:30 am
Reply
The article above suggests you know what youre talking about. I dont know jack, but have read a little online and am trying to
use a deep-cycle battery to power a projector for a public art project. Any chance youre available to help me trouble-shoot? I
borrowed a neighbors charger and charged a brand new battery up for about 15 hours. I then hooked up a 1000watt inverter
and plugged the projector in. It worked great, for about 25 minutes, but then just died with a Low Voltage error message. Does
this mean the battery wasnt charged all the way or am I doing something else wrong? According to the projector specs, the
max wattage it uses is 288. Would really appreciate any input youve got. Im out of my league here.
Shawn
March 19, 2012 a 12:04 pm
Reply
Based on the information you provided, youre drawing around 23 amps from a 12 volt battery. Thats a lot of juice since its a
constant draw, not a quick burst. Without any information about the battey itself, or the charger, I cannot determine what the
problem was.
If the battery did not have the capacity to handle the load, you may need something with more AH (Amp Hours). It might be
helpful if you run your numbers through our calculators.
Or give our tech guys a call at 541-474-4421
James Ville
March 19, 2012 a 12:58 pm
Reply
Awesome article thanks. I have a question.
I have a YP17-12 (12V17AH) Maintenance Free Lead Acid battery in my Bushranger Power Tank (for jump starting). Its was
showing over 12 volts after about 10 hours at 1 amp. I tried to load test (it failed) and its now just under 12 volts. It has a
plastic strip which when I popped it off with a screwdriver there were little caps on each filling hole. Can I add distilled water to
it even if it had gel. I up-ended it with caps off over a container and not a single drop of liquid came out making me think it is
not a wet acid type. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Andrew D-H
March 20, 2012 a 5:22 am
Reply
If the battery is indeed maintenance free, it is not designed to be opened and water added. Low voltage is not a result of low
fluid levels, in this case. A fully charged battery should read 13.2-12.8 volts. If you read 12.0 or 12.2 volts, thats severely
discharged. If you load test at this poin, youll only further discharge the battery. I recommend putting the battery on a charger
immediately and load testing once its fully charged.
If the battery is draining rapidly in 10 hours at 1 amp, I recommend you use our online tools to calculate if thats a good size
battery for that amount of draw, or if the draw time should be shortened for the sake of the battery.
James Ville
March 20, 2012 a 10:54 am
Reply
Thank you for that info. Well meaning folks online were driving me nuts telling me that a deep cycle battery that is often
discharged to 50 percent will greatly shorten the life of a small alternator. But I couldnt find any info like that at a reputable
web site and Im glad to hear it isnt really true. I had been looking at a VSR (voltage sensitive relay) for the part of the wiring
you mentioned. These (I guess they are all the same) charge the starting battery first and then switch the charging current to the
auxiliary battery. Does the isolator you mentioned work that way? If not, which method do you think is best. I know the
companies that make the VSR devices are always touting the fact that there is no voltage drop with their devices which I gather
there is with a device that uses a solenoid.
Bill Smith
March 23, 2012 a 11:27 am
Reply
James,
I have a boat with 2 cyl diesel engine and currently 2 series 27 wet batteries set as two banks. I would like to add another 2
batteries because the engine does not start easily when cold. The question is whether it is advisable to mix AGMs as one bank
with wet cells as the other. I would like to change to AGMs, but hate to lose the investment already made in the two wet
batteries. For starting, I do have a standard A/B or BOTH as a switching option for the banks.
Rich
March 28, 2012 a 7:23 am
Reply
When constructing battery banks, its highly recommened to use batteries of the same type (Flooded, AGM, Gel), voltage, AH
rating, and even age. Although you can technically build your banks by adding AGM batteries, having these differences will
cause an inbalance of discharge and recharging.
James Ville
March 28, 2012 a 8:01 am
Reply
A very useful site, and highly informative well done!
I have two flooded lead acid for my domestic bank, and have added a small AGM for the engine start. The mains charger can
be configured for one type or the other in my situation would it be better to set the charger to AGM type?
bob
Bobby
March 31, 2012 a 6:46 am
Reply
From our experience, Flooded and AGM batteries can be charged at the same charge voltages. It should be safe either way.
Tech
April 2, 2012 a 8:16 am
Reply
Excellent information. Thanks.
Just bought a DieHard Platinum Marine Group 31 for my boat. The reviews on this battery are excellent and I plan to use it for
both starting the boat and running the trolling motor. You mentioned needing a special charger for AGM batteries. I have a
Stanley BC4009 40 amp 3 stage charger. Is this charger OK to use with the AGM battery? Do I have to disconnect the battery
from the power cables to charge it? Thanks for your help!
Chad
April 7, 2012 a 1:16 pm
Reply
AGM Batteries can be charged with most standard chargers. Its the Gel batteries that require a special charge profile. If you
charge your battery, you dont have to disconnect the power cables as long as the battery isnt being used while you charge it,
unless your charger is also a power supply. If you draw on the battery while the charger is turned on, the charger will attempt to
supply the demand.
Tech
April 9, 2012 a 9:23 am
Reply
Well then, if a modern automobile with all its current drawing electronics is to be charged using a smart charger, are you
suggesting that the cables be disconnected while charging the battery? What difference would it make if cables were left on
during the charging process? Thanx
John
August 17, 2012 a 2:03 pm
Reply
Having the battery connected to the vehicle will cause a slight discharge as a result of the electronics. But normally its not
much. A charger will stil charge just fine but if the draw amount of the car is excessive, it can cause the charger to become less
efficient.
Tech
August 17, 2012 a 2:20 pm
Reply
Lots of good stuff here-and well written so that weekend mechanics like me can understand it. I have a 36v Western Golf
Car with 2 year old batteries. The charger came with the car and I recharge after every use. None-the-less, two cells have failed
on each of two of the batteries. Your article recommended that I should not mix and match batteries, but I would like to
replace the two failing batteries with new ones to get another year or so out of the remaining 4 old batteries. They cost about
$125 each so my fix would invest $250 now to stave off a $750 pay out for another year. Bottom line: If I follow your advice, I
replace all batteries at the same time and chuck 4 fairly good batteries (with no resale value). Is there a middle ground-such
as using some of your products to bring the two batteries back to service??
Tom
April 9, 2012 a 4:38 am
Reply
The choice is yours. The reason we recommend using batteries of the same age is because you will see overall better
performance and lifespan of the whole bank if you do this. But if you feel its not practical, you buying 2 new batteries will
make your bank work and it might be just fine for you. Its not optimal, but it makes more sense. If your old batteries have shot
cells, there is no product that can reverse that.
Tech
April 9, 2012 a 9:35 am
Reply
I have a 12 volt portable battery (Sears Diehard Portable Power 1150) that I use for car camping trips and the occasional
jumpstart. I wasnt keeping it charged all the time and the battery finally wouldnt take a charge anymore. So I was convinced
to replaced it with a deep cycle agm battery. After reading your article, it seems apparent that I should not have used a deep
cycle because its not appropriate for jumpstarts. However, I have also found that after the first time I used the battery for a
weekend of camping, I had drained it down to 10% and now it will not charge. Is it possible that the unit is not compatible with
deep cycle batteries, or is it more likely that I overdrained it and the unit isnt registering a battery to charge? I was told that I
can connect this unit to my car battery (or any other charged 12 volt battery) and that should trick the unit into charging the
battery. What do you think?
Budge
April 10, 2012 a 12:27 pm
Reply
Deep Cycle batteries have CCA ratings as well. However, for the same physical size battery, if you compare it to a starting
battery, the CCA will be much less. But a deep cycle battery is fairly common in jumpstarts because they are also used as 12
volt power sources and some even have built in inverters for AC power. The batteries in the units are large enough where the
CCA can jump start a car. In doing so, 25% of the batterys capacity can be drained just like that. If batteries read severely low
voltage, most automatic chargers have trouble charging. Connecting another battery in parallel with the drained battery is a
good method of bypassing the low voltage disconnect filter of the charger.
Tech
April 10, 2012 a 2:06 pm
Reply
Virgin lead vs. recycled lead?
Is there a life span difference between batteries constructed with virgin lead compared to one made with recycled batteries,
assuming that all other conditions are equal? If there is a difference, is it a noticeable one?
Frank
April 16, 2012 a 9:30 am
Reply
Yes. Batteries made from virgin-lead perform better and will last longer. High performance batteries, such as Odyssey, also have
2 year warranties.
Tech
April 16, 2012 a 11:19 am
Reply
Hello,
I asked a question a few weeks ago and have been looking for a reply. My question is about running LED lights on a 12v vs a
24 volt system. I have 17 lights that are 27 watts each and want to get the maximum runtime. I have seen your calculators but
do not have all the imput parameters. The batteries I am thinking about are deep cycle with 210 reserve capacity. Thanks.
Bill
April 16, 2012 a 1:15 pm
Reply
My question is this: what voltage are those lights rated for? If it doesnt say on the lights, you should find out by calling the
maker. Its important to keep the voltage the same. Running a 12 volt rated LED light bulb will blow up if you use 24 volts (2
batteries in series). Maximum runtime is ensured not my increasing the volatge amount, but the capacity (Amp Hours).
Tech
April 16, 2012 a 2:34 pm
Reply
I have a question. I purchased a Minn Kota Endura 50 trolling motor 2nd hand. Its for an aluminum fishing boat I have access
to once a year for a week. Im a casual fisherman who takes the boat out maybe for an hour a day. I bought a deep cycle AGM
12 Volt 12 amp hour with a charger for agm and gel batteries. I had trouble finding what kind of draw the trolling motor places
on the battery at the Minn Kota site. Did I buy an undersized battery for my causal usage?
Dave
April 20, 2012 a 3:29 pm
Reply
Speaking from experience with other customers with trolling motors, I cant imagine the motor pulling anything less than 15
amps/hour from the battery. A 12 AH battery would not be able to supply more than 1/2 hour of power to the motor, if even
that much. A larger capacity deep cycle battery would be highly recommened.
Tech
April 20, 2012 a 4:10 pm
Reply
I was afraid of that. Any suggestions as to what would fill my needs but would not be overbuying for what I do? I see some of
the deep cycles run $400 or more. I don\t think I need that much power. Thanks for your reply. Obviously I\m new to making
these calculations and a little leery of just walking into a store and having them sell me something.
Dave
April 21, 2012 a 4:42 am
Reply
If the motor drew at a rate of 15 amps an hour, I recommend using a group size 24 marine battery. This 12 volt, ~75 Amp Hour
battery should give you 2 hours of uninterrupted runtime, and only discharge the battery to the safe 50% capacity remaining.
We sell these batteries for $200-250.
Tech
April 23, 2012 a 8:46 am
Reply
i might have missed this in the article but, why is it not recommended to mix battery sizes, and not to mix battery types?
cheers
Trev
April 23, 2012 a 9:51 pm
Reply
Batteries of different types and sizes will charge and discharge unevenly. When batteries are configured in parallel or series (or
both) they behave as a single unit. If there is an imbalance it could mean a shortening of overall battery life, as well as potential
harm in recharging.
Tech
April 24, 2012 a 11:49 am
Reply
Great info, my battery died today, so, the AAA guy said that my old battery was below 12.5 volts and that it wouldnt have or
hold the amps?? what does this mean
Jack Gilbert
May 5, 2012 a 8:09 pm
Reply
12.5 volts is partially discharged, 70% capacity remaining. When a battery is put under a load and there are no amps going
through, its usually a result of an open cell. The intense heat of a load can cause a separation in a cell connector, and this will
cause current to decline or cease entirely. But when the load if taken off, the metal cools enough to touch and give a false
voltage reading. Its very misleading and a result of poor construction at the factory level.
Tech
May 7, 2012 a 12:36 pm
Reply
Off the beaten track but several years ago my Dad bought me a 16V Craftsman drill. I used it a couple times and put it in the
garage. Recently I was cleaning up and found that drill but the battery was dead and refused to take a charge no matter what. A
new battery (when they can be found) is $55 plus. Do you know of any way to get this battery working again? Thanks.
Jim
May 8, 2012 a 11:48 am
Reply
We sell a variety of power tool replacement batteries. You can view our selection at http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries
/power-tool-batteries/
Rebuilding a power tool battery pack will run around $30-35 and up. We will be offering battery rebuilding in the near future.
Tech
May 8, 2012 a 12:02 pm
Reply
My husband just added acid instead of distilled water to my motorcycle battery after it had been sitting all winter. Is it ruined?
S.
May 9, 2012 a 4:09 pm
Reply
Possibly. The sulfuric acid never leaves the battery, its only the water that evaporates and needs replenishment. If more acid
was put in, the pH levels are probably out of balance. The battery may still work, you should test it before going on the road
with it.
Tech
May 9, 2012 a 4:17 pm
Reply
I have been charging my dead battery for 4 months using pulsetech smart charger. This dead battery has been leaving there for
1 year.
I got back my voltage of 13.7v and the smart charger is pulsing without mass charging for 1 week.
However the battery still unable to start my car. The battery can supply headlight, horn and etc.
Should i give up this battery or any other way to try it out?
I notice 1 of the electrolyte\s in a cell is not drying up even after a long charge. the other cells always keep drying up and
require to top up with battery water. Is the cell dead and cannot be revive anymore?
thanks.
Yloon
May 14, 2012 a 10:35 pm
Reply
Please refer to our article about Battery Troubleshooting. As far as battery water goes, as long as its distilled water, thats fine.
Tech
May 16, 2012 a 10:53 am
Reply
When we use two batteries 12V each in a 24V system connected in parallel. There will be a possibility of unbalancing if both
the batteries have different manufacturing date or batch. The charger only knows to charge 24V even if one battery is at 14 and
other one is at 10. So it is thumb rule always connect same batch batteries in series and never replace one battery in a series.
Replace the whole bank to avoid unbalancing. Unbalancing can damage one battery earlier than expected life.
Kamran Jabbar
May 16, 2012 a 4:23 am
Reply
Well said. Thank you for contributing.
Tech
May 16, 2012 a 2:44 pm
Reply
The best ever. Your tutorials were written for dummies like myself.
Bob
May 17, 2012 a 6:46 pm
Reply
Thank you for the feedback. :)
Tech
May 18, 2012 a 9:22 am
Reply
i have a 12 volt trolling motor and i just purchased an optima bluetop battery. These batteries are marketed as being dual
purpose (deep cycle and cranking). is it possible to connect two 12 volt batteries to power my trolling motor (i want to be on the
water as long as possible) and if so could i than use one of those 12 volt optima blue top dual purpose batteries as my cranking
battery for my engine? if any of this sounds dumb im sorry im very new to boating and im trying to figure all this out .
Justin
May 20, 2012 a 3:37 pm
Reply
Deep Cycle batteries have a CCA rating as well. If you have a starting battery and a deep cycle battery of the same physical
size, the starting battery will have far more CCA. It has to do the the thickness and number of the plates per cell. But if you
have a large marine battery, theres a good chance there will be enough CCA to turn over your engine. Its not unheard of.
Theres no harm in trying it out. It will either work or it wont.
Tech
May 22, 2012 a 10:27 am
Reply
I have a cpep that uses 2.2 amp I need to run it of a deep cell and a inverter for 8 hour for camping what what size inverter and
deep cell battery would I need?
Vince
May 21, 2012 a 11:20 am
Reply
Please use our online calculators to find the answer. They are located at http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/ and they are
very easy to use.
Tech
May 22, 2012 a 9:46 am
Reply
is it possible to charge a 12 V battery with less than 12v?
Mat
May 21, 2012 a 1:00 pm
Reply
Yes, but not fully. Proper charging requires inputting a higher voltage in order to bring up the battery voltage. For example, if
your 12 volt battery is reading less than 6 volts, you can use a 6 volt charger to bring it up to 6.6 volts. At this point you may
use an 8 volt charger. But a 12 volt battery reading less than 10 volts is still EXTREMEMLY discharged, and should be brought
back ASAP to avoid sulfation and decreased battery life. Please use a 12 volt charger, or make sure the charging system in your
application is strong enough, usually 14.6 volts is normal.
Tech
May 22, 2012 a 9:58 am
Reply
I have a 12V marine deep cycle battery which is marked 875 marine cranking amps, 675 cold cranking amps, and 125 amp
hours. I have been using the battery on my boat for about two years since I purchased it. It was charged every couple of months
by either running the engine (a 9.9 HP outboard with an alternator which puts out less than 10 amps at full throttle) or by using
a regular car battery charger with a pulsating charge of 10 amps(duty cycle= 10 sec. on, 140 sec. off). It only serves the bilge
pump when the boat is not in use, and the pump only runs a few times a day for a few seconds. After not checking it for about
two months, I found that my battery was not working (boat bilge was flooded) so I brought the battery out of the boat to my
house. Prior to charging, it read about 6 volts on the meter, and it was low on water. Each cell had about 1/4 in. of the cell
showing, and I added about 4 oz. of distilled water to each cell. I charged it for about 50 hours with the 10 amp charger, and
after reading your article, I changed to a 1 amp charger. I now have access to a hydrometer, and I will stop the 1 amp charge
tomorrow morning, and let the battery set for a while before checking with volt meter and hydrometer. The 10 amp charger still
reads about 9 amps on its meter when charging, and immediately after I disconnected it, the voltmeter showed 12.46 volts. All
cells were bubbling, and the battery was warm, about 100 F. What have I done wrong so far? Could I have damaged the
battery? Do you think it will recover from the deep discharge?
Timothy Lee
May 26, 2012 a 7:27 am
Reply
12.46 volts is good progress. You probably wont be able to see a full charge because of sulfation build up. Its like trying to
wash your hands while wearing gloves. I dont believe the battery is beyond repair, but I strongly recommend a desulfator or
charger with desulfation pulse mode (not voltage pulse, like some chargers do). Try a Battery MINDer or Pulse Tech unit.
Tech
May 29, 2012 a 8:18 am
Reply
I have four 110AH leisure batteries for my small hybrid solar system. The batteries are all 2yrs old and are not holding their
charge like they once did. I read somewhere that I could empty and wash them out then replace with a mixture of sulphuric
acid(96%) with distilled water to the correct gravity, put them on a trickle charge for 36hrs and then they will be better than
new Is this true? And if so, how can I be sure my mixture is correct? I do have a basic hydrometer. Many thanks!
Carlos
May 28, 2012 a 12:16 pm
Reply
We strongly advise against emptying out the electrolyte. Bad batteries are not a result of the electrolyte being bad, but usually
there is a build up of sulfation on the plates in the cells. When exposed to oxygen, the sulfation will rapidly increase. Putting
new acid sounds nice, but heres the problem. Sulfation is like trying to wash your hands while wearing gloves. You still wont
see a full charge. On top of that, if you remove the sulfation from the plates using a pulse charger/unit, then it will become
electrolyte and throw off your pH levels again when mixed with the new stuff.
Its safer to simply use a de-sulfation unit like Battery MINDer or Pulse Tech for an extended period of time. Thats what we
do.
Tech
May 29, 2012 a 8:56 am
Reply
I have recently purchased four new US Battery 12V Deep Cycle golf cart batteries for my 2006 Club Car, which has a 48V
motor. I don\\\t drive the cart more than 1-2 miles on a given day but always recharge the batteries every day of use. The Club
Car charger is left plugged into the cart at all times the cart is not in use. I am getting an awful smell after the meter on the
charger drops to about 4 ampson its way to zero on the charging cycle. I can hear the electrolyte bubbling inside the batteries
and they do not get hot whatsoever. Once the meter reads zero amps and the charging cycle has ended, the smell stops. Is this
normal? Factory personnel tell me they will always smell when recharging..but I have never experienced this with former
Trojan (Club Car) batteries. The local dealer says the smell should stop shortlyotherwise there may be a problem with one of
the new batteries. My voltmeter shows 12.7v in each of the four batteries after charging.
Gary Mack
June 3, 2012 a 9:14 pm
Reply
Some bubbling and smell of sulfur is normal for large flooded batteries. 12.7 volts is good voltage. As long as you monitor the
water levels, it sounds like everything else is fine. If the electrolyte boils over, or completely evaporates, thats a problem.
Tech
June 5, 2012 a 11:30 am
Reply
I have two deep cycle dp24 12 volt batteries. One is rated 685 CA 32degrees and the other is 505 ca 32 degrees, the
first is rated at 140 minutes and the other is 120 minutes. Can these be connected in parallel without problems? Can they also
be charged in parallel using one charger?
Art
June 5, 2012 a 5:08 am
Reply
Yes, they can be paralleled together, but its not advised. It will technically work. But charging and discharging will be un-even.
Theres no way around that. If you desperately need it, I say go ahead. But in the long term there may be some issues and
maybe shortened battery life as a result.
Tech
June 5, 2012 a 11:32 am
Reply
Sounds like a similar problem we have had with one of our vehicles. It is an F350 Truck with a box that has a communications
package. The truck has two batteries under the hood with green eyes. There is a third and much larger battery in the box that
powers the inverters for the comms. Twice over the past 3.5 years the charging system has overheated the large battery until it
failed. Last time the battery boiled over and we had a mess to clean up. The charging system is powered by a shore line that
plugs into 125v wall receptacle. There has been some modifications to the systems and there is not sufficient info with the
vehicle from the manufacturer that explains the 12 vots systems, but from what I understand the shore power charges all three
batteries. I assume I need to check if all three are charged by the same charger. What happens to MFLA batteries if they are
mixed like this?
Jim
March 27, 2013 a 4:32 am
Reply
Great article, Learned much, but, and there is always a but, started looking at batteries and found the amp hour rating listed in
different ways examples:
20 amp hour rate:55
35 Amp Hour
32 Min @ 10 Amp
So I am again confused about the true meaning of the amp hour.
I think this is what I need to look for as I am looking for batteries for a trolling motor.
Fred Harris
June 9, 2012 a 7:13 am
Reply
Amp ratings are tricky. They really depend on two things: Draw amount, (Amps) and time. The first rating, 55 AH at 20 hours
means that during a 20 hour load time, it takes 55 amps to discharge the battery completely. I do not know what time frame the
second rating is for, possible taken at 10 hours?. The third rating tells you if you draw a steady amount of 10 amps, the battery
should last you 32 minutes. The first rating, 55 AH, is equivalent of 2.75 amps an hour. But if you bump it up to a rate of 10
amps per hour, your duration is drastically cut to 32 minutes.
Check out our battery load run time calculator to figure out what length of time a battery would give you under a load of your
choice. Plus, theres also an article about Pukerts Law, which explains all about Battery Capacity. You should find that very
informational.
Tech
June 12, 2012 a 12:10 pm
Reply
I live in a 3rd world country. Distilled water is not available here. Can I safely use the water out of my Katydyn Filter to add
back water to my starter battery? The water going in is either rain water or river water; it is not treated chemically. If it is not
acceptable for the battery, what are my options for adding water to the battery? Thanks in advance!
Tim
June 10, 2012 a 1:06 pm
Reply
Distilled water is best because there are no impurities. Using other water will technically work, but the battery will not perform
or last we long as it would otherwise. Having foreign contaminants and minerals will throw off the delicate chemistry of the
electrolyte, and throw of the pH levels, too. Filtered water will work better than rain water. But anything more than pure H20
will negatively affect the battery.
Tech
June 12, 2012 a 12:18 pm
Reply
Distilled water is just captured steam. If you boil water and capture/cool the stream back into water, thats distilled water. You
can pretty easily make your own with household supplies or even camping supplies. There are several methods out there.
Google How to distill water.
Sam
July 11, 2012 a 5:14 pm
Reply
Thats a very good idea. Thank you for sharing.
Tech
July 12, 2012 a 8:47 am
Reply
My question is,do you keep a 12volt battery(used for a golf trolley)constantly on charge,or remove from charge when fully
charged?.thanks.
Graham Bennett
June 12, 2012 a 3:14 am
Reply
It really depends on the charger you use. If it is a manual constant current charger, then I would remove the batteries after
theyre fully charged. If the unit is a smart charger, like the 3-stage microprocessor controlled chargers we sell, then its safe to
leave on the battery forever. Keeping the battery in the float mode will ensure full charge at all times, which is the healthiest
thing you can do for a battery.
Tech
June 12, 2012 a 1:31 pm
Reply
Dear Sir,What is the best/correct proceedure when charging a 12v battery,used for a golf trolley.When fully charged,is best to
keep it on charge,or remove it from the power supply?. Thanks.
Graham Bennett
June 14, 2012 a 1:28 am
Reply
The best thing you can do for batteries is keep them in a fully charged state whenever possible. If your charging system will not
overcharge, but will adjust and trickle down to a float charge, then its safe to leave on indefinitely. If not, please remove after
its done charging.
Tech
June 14, 2012 a 8:54 am
Reply
in a 24 volt system, batteries connected in series, if one battery happens to fail, should both batteries be changed regardless of
whether or not the 2nd battery tests out fine? also, in the same system, if one would be required to boost the 24volt system from
a another source being a 12 volt source does one connect battery positive from boosting source to battery positive of battery
require boosting, negative to negative of only one battery?
This seems like it could cause a problem as battery 1 is connected to battery 2 in series which means, battery + of one is
connected to battery of the second, wouldnt boosting cause problems?? how does one go about doing this safely to himself
and the machine being boosted.
Josh
June 15, 2012 a 10:36 am
Reply
If one battery fails, its recommended to replace both because battery banks composed of batteries of different ages will charge
and discharge unevenly. With the 12 volt boost, it looks like one battery is being discharged more than another. This is a
problem. The second battery, even though connected in series with the first, is untouched by the boost because the connections
are only attached to the first battery. But having a 24 volt system, both batteries act as one single unit. Uneven charge levels
will cause early battery failure and poor performance. I would use the boost option as sparingly as possible.
Tech
June 15, 2012 a 2:57 pm
Reply
I have a question about battery charging from a solar panel. The solar charge controller uses a mosfet to act as a switch. If the
voltage on the battery increases to a certain level, then the mosfet opens and disconnects the solar panel. What happens if my
solar panel puts out 24 volts instead of 15-16 volts? Will the higher voltage but lower current of the panel cause any charging
problems?
Steve Tannenbaum
June 22, 2012 a 4:18 pm
Reply
12 volt solar panels can reach as high as 21-24 volts if the sunlight is direct. The controller should have specs regarding the
maximum voltage input it can handle. Even though the controller is, like you said, a switch, it also lowers the charge voltage,
too. Most of our controllers lower the voltage to a safe 14.4-14.8 volts. Therefore, 24 volts incoming from the panel is no
problem for the battery.
Tech
June 25, 2012 a 8:39 am
Reply
I BOUGHT A LIKE NEW HOVEROUND FOR 3.00 ON A GARAGE SALE. IT WASNOT USED MUCH AND THE
BATTERIES WILL NOT CHARGE WITH ON BOARD CHARGER. I DID GET ONE TO CHARGE WILL ANOTHER
LEAD ACID CHARGER ON 2 AMPS OVER NIGHT THE OTHER BATTERY SHOWS ONLY 7-8 VOLTS AND IS STILL
CHARGING NOW 2 DAYS.
CAN I DO ANYTHING TO BRING BACK THIS BATTERY? OR DO I NEED TO BY A NEW ON. I ADDED A LITTLE
WATER TO THIS BATTERY EVEN THOUGH I KNEW IT DOESNT TAKE WATER WILL THIS HURT IT IT DOESNT
CHARGE COMPLETELY ANYWAY.
can i use lead acid batterys in this hoveround to get it going to test it?
LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP
THANKS
MARV
Marv
June 26, 2012 a 7:20 am
Reply
7-8 volts is extremely discharged. The batteries are probably beyond repair due to sulfation. If they cannot reach 12 volts,
theyre no use for them. I recommend replacing them. As far as which batteries to use, I suggest deep cycle batteries, not car
batteries. They can be floodedbut for mobility scooters its best to use sealed batteries like AGM or Gel.
Tech
June 26, 2012 a 10:55 am
Reply
If you have a bunch of 12V deep cycle batteries paralleled (or groups of series 6s then paralleled to make 12V) is it best to
isolate each group so that at night the batteries are not fighting each other. I mean isolation as in commercial heavy duty battery
isolators. Is this much more necessary if the bank is not typically receiving a daily charge top up (i.e. solar)?
Kyle
June 30, 2012 a 12:29 am
Reply
If the batteries in the bank are charging and discharging together, and they are of the same type, size, and age, then there is no
need to disconnect them. They act together as a single batery unit. But if the batteries are unevenly charged and/or different
capacity, they will try to equalize and balance. This is can harm a small battery if connected to a large battery, which is not
recommended. Different age and type of the batteries can also cause inbalance.
Tech
July 2, 2012 a 10:24 am
Reply
Shouldnt this battery be dead? Why is it working?
I just bought a 12v 7.2ah Valve regulated Lead acid battery for $5.00 I tested the volts and its at 12.75 a sticker reads Top
Charge Date 4/26/2007
I ran a motor from it for 2 minutes and it held up. I charged it and it took a charge. Should I run a cordless drill motor from it for
as long as I can to see how long it last? Or should I leave well enough a lone?
Thanks Trevor
Trevor
July 8, 2012 a 2:12 pm
Reply
12.75 is good voltage. If the battery was kept maintained fully charged, theres no reason not to use it as long as theres nothing
physically wrong with the battery. Draining it down with lights, drills, motors is good, you should measure the voltage under the
load to see if it holds up and doesnt crash. When youre done testing it, its good to recharge it ASAP and keep it charged
when youre not using it.
Tech
July 9, 2012 a 10:19 am
Reply
Hi
Can I charge a wet lead acid battery SLI in paralel whit a AGM deep cycle whit only one alternator?
A relay disconnect de paralel when the motor is off.
Thanks
Francisco
July 10, 2012 a 11:37 am
Reply
For a situation like yours, I recommend using a battery isolator switch, which can be used on up to 120 amp alternators to
conveniently allow for adding a spare battery in your car, boat, or RV. The unit is a fully automatic switch that allows the engine
alternator to charge 2 batteries, while keeping them electrically isolated from each other. This will prevent current flow from
one battery to another, thus allowing each battery to be an independent power source.
You can see it here: http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-products/switches/Bi303303.html
Tech
July 10, 2012 a 12:17 pm
Reply
I just bought a JL 50 scooter and the battery it came with is a12. Battery which came with the liquid which instructed me to put
liquid into the cells and then cap it with the plastic cap plate that came with it and then charge fully before using. I filled it with
the liquid two days ago but have not been able to go buy the charger which I Plan on buying at wall art tomorrow. Last night
and one time today the battery cell cap has popped open on only one cell (the last one) loud enough for me to here it ( it is in
the same room with me). I am worried something is wrong, should I be concerned? Is this normal ? Is it because I squeezed the
bottles when adding the liquid?
Marissa
July 13, 2012 a 6:49 pm
Reply
Congratulations on the new scooter!
Squeezing the battery would not be a problem. It usually takes hours for the acid to become fully absorbed. The only cause I
can think of for the caps popping off is overheating. Is the battery in the garage? Did you install the vent tube that comes off the
side?
Something is causing the battery to build pressure, and its not venting fast enough. If the liquid levels decrease, please add
distilled water. But other than that, everything else should be fine. Venting is normal, but caps popping off is not. You definitely
dont want that happening while on the road.
Tech
July 16, 2012 a 10:00 am
Reply
May I charge a 6v auto battery using a 12v (rated) solar panel?
Bill
July 14, 2012 a 9:40 am
Reply
No. This will be like trying to run a gasoline car on diesel. You can either use a 6 volt panel for the car battery, or series the
battery with another of identical specs to create 12 volts.
Tech
July 16, 2012 a 10:09 am
Reply
A really helpful, first rate site. Thanks! My question relates to appropriate charging of an AGM (or alternatively, a Gel) battery
on a vintage, generator equipped car. The generator and standard regulator setup are inadequate to operating the car with
headlights AND, say, windshield wipers or heater blower. The set-point of the regulator has to be raised to 16 volts to avoid
battery drain whilst driving, and so after starting, and within about 5 minutes, as the voltage reaches 16, I switch on the
headlights to load the generator down to about 14.5 volts. After several hours drive, or when other loads are added, this voltage
will fall below 14 volts. Is this procedure good enough to maximize the life of an AGM or Gel battery? An alternator conversion
is being considered. Comparing say a Delco 10Si with a Mitsubishi that might be used for tractor or marine purposes, what
should I be careful about? I am thinking of the different battery applications, tractor, marine, etc, versus the Delco regulator of
14.4 volts. Thanks.
Roger
July 22, 2012 a 9:07 am
Reply
16 volts is too high and will damage a gel battery. 14.6 -14.8 volts for an AGM is just right. If you need to charge a gel battery, a
regulator will be needed to keep the voltage from exceeding 14.2. An alternator would be a good idea. Regularly pumping 16
volts in a battery will cause the internal resistance in the battery to spike and heat up. Its not recommended for the long run.
Tech
July 23, 2012 a 4:07 pm
Reply
Thank you for your great information. It always helps to read it rather than using guess work!
I do have a question for you that I hope you can help with please.
I have had our motorhome for nearly 2 years and it came with a couple of solar panels one of which is rather large. However
we have had a couple of problems with cooked batteries! Basically, we discovered our battery was being cooked by one of our
solar panels as the regulator was not working. We got that sorted and replaced the very smelly leisure battery. But just recently
the same thing happened again and we discovered that our very large solar panel didnt have a regulator on it at all. We realised
very quickly and disconnected the battery which was beginning to sulphar up and smell. We have since added a regulator and
although the battery was able to be cleaned up we are finding that it now will take a decent charge but is only holding that
charge for about 45 minutes. So we have 2 great solar panels and no holding charge. Do you think that this is due to the
damaged battery or could it be something else? It is a sealed battery and so we cannot tell what state it is in internally. Thank
you.
Steve
July 25, 2012 a 2:18 pm
Reply
If the issue was sulfation, then the solution would be to try to restore the battery with an on-board pulse de-sulfator. But if the
batteries have been over-charged, and they drain very quickly, then there really is nothing else you can do. Overcharging can
dramatically age a battery rapidly.
Can you provide some voltage readings? Say, one at rest. While on the charger. And finally, a reading 45 minutes after off the
charger. With these numbers, I can more accurately diagnose the battery.
Tech
July 26, 2012 a 8:35 am
Reply
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE! WOW! I have been working with batteries for years, yet never really
understood their differences, much less how to match them with various applications. Here I have been buying based on the
highest amp/hr AND CCA, when I should be looking harder at one or the other. And now theres an AGM???
Okay, .a question:
The GPS/Fish Finder on our boat uses around one-third of an amp. My typical day of ocean fishing is between 8 and 10 hours. I
do not like it on the starting battery and am looking for options.
The first question is AGM or a small gel cell? I am looking to understand the balance between them, in particularly, the lesser
chance/lower cost of replacing it in the event I trash it, which I am convinced is destiny or the higher cost of a gel that I will
not trash. (While I think I am very easy on batteries, evidence shows they do not seem to like me.) So, is it just math, or are
there other considerations I should be looking at?
If using an AGM, the YT4L-BS will give me 9 hours of GPS. Correct? Or should I be looking at double that size, like the
YT6.5L 12v AGM? I just cannot see spending $140 for something a 41 battery will do just as well for.
Prior to reading your pages, I had heard of AGMs, but the information was skewed. I was told they are just like gel cells, which
I now know is only a half-truth. I can clearly see the differences over wet and gel, but I am most attracted to the low
replacement cost if I, indeed, trash it.
Which one do you recommend?
Again, thank you for the site, and I welcome your sagacity.
Cpt Crunch
July 30, 2012 a 12:42 am
Reply
AGM batteries can be recharged with any battery charger. Gels are more fragile, and they need a charger with a safe voltage
profile for charging. Gel batteries can be discharged further without the damage it would cause an AGM. We recommend no
more than 50% for AGM. The Gel can go as much as 80% discharged.
For your GPS/Fish Finder, I recommend a deep cycle battery. The YT4L and YT6.5L are motorcycle starting batteries. I
recommend a sealed lead acid deep cycle battery. Having one at least 8 AH in capacity should give you 10 hour of safe runtime
given the 300 mAh draw. This is what I recommend:
http://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/upc-telecom/sla-1280.html
Tech
July 30, 2012 a 3:17 pm
Reply
I have an old (85) Honda ATV. After some reading (obviously not enough)I purchased a gel cell battery that was advertized as
appropriate for my ATV. It did not take long for the battery to reach a point where it would light lights but not turn over the
electric starter. After more reading, it would seem that the alternater would need some adjusting to keep this battery charged.
I can find many references to external chargers, however I have, so far, been unable to find any information on what needs to
be done to upgrade the charging system of the ATV for gel. Any help here?
Bill
August 3, 2012 a 2:01 pm
Reply
We do not sell anything that would regulate an alternator to a safe voltage for Gel batteries (no more than 14.2 volts). I imagine
it would be costly. Its easier to simply purchase an AGM battery for the ATV and not have to worry about charging
differences.
Tech
August 3, 2012 a 4:07 pm
Reply
Hi, First of all I want to say that your tutorials have been very useful for me and I have learned very much.
I have an off grid house that I power with four 12V 245AH 8D AGM batteries wired in Parallel which are connected to a
xantrex 3000W sine wave inverter/charger. I have a xantrex link pro battery monitor that has a programable alarm relay that I
have set to start the generator when the batteries get down to 55% state of charge and to turn off again at 85%. occasionally I
turn the generator on manually to bring the batteries up to 100% charge to synchronize the monitor. I just set the system up a
few weeks ago and it is working very well so far. I am not there very often but whenever I check on it, the batteries are within
range and the generator runs for 4 or 5 hours a week. The only thing running while I am gone is the refrigerator and a half dozen
7w led lights that I have come on after dark. I dont have any other source to charge the batteries yet (solar or wind).
I have a couple of questions:
Do you think this system will work well in terms of longevity? Is there something I should be doing differently, such as setting
up the monitor to keep the batteries at a different state of charge (more or less discharge)? The reason I dont bring them to
100% every time is that the generator needs to run for quite a long time to get the extra 10-15% into the batteries and it seems
like a waste of fuel.
Second, if I had an always on wireless internet connection, do you know of a way that I could monitor the battery condition
from far away via the internet? So that I would know if there was a problem with the generator not coming on. I dont know if
there is a battery monitor available set up to do that. Any ideas you might have would be geatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Bob
August 11, 2012 a 7:17 pm
Reply
hi,
i have a solar system & i am using a device that measures the voltage of the batteries and send it through a serial port to the
computer, that can show me the health at anytime of the day.
i have 8 batteries connected in parallel, and the problem that i am trying to think of a solution is that the measuring device is
treating the 8 batteries as one, and gives me a single reading. But in order for my monitoring project to work, i want to be able
to measure each battery alone, even when they are connected in parallel together
I know this sounds impossible, but I still need to think of all possibilities.
Anyone with any clues would be very helpful.
Thanks.
Bob
August 14, 2012 a 8:16 pm
Reply
Any technical questions can be emailed directly to Tech@batterystuff.com for the fastest response.
To answer, at least the best I can, I would personally hook up the tester that you are using to an 8 point switch, where each of
the 8 modes were connected to one of the batteries directly. You could then switch the connection on the monitor to each
battery individually, even though they are all hooked up together. The only real downside to this would be that if your device is
one of the more accurate types, then it will be thrown off by resetting it on each battery and will cease to be as accurate. On the
other hand, if it is not a super accurate one, then I wouldnt bother setting it up this way anyways. So while its not completely
impossible, its a bit of a catch 22. The accurate one will cease to be so, and the not as accurate one falls in the why bother
catergory. Hope that helps! :)
Jeremy Fear
August 15, 2012 a 11:16 am
Reply
Hi
I have (8) x 6V x 125AH deep cycle batteries producing 24V in a series/parallel config
charged by a 250W x 24V solar panel,powering a 24V fridge/freezer 24/7 drawing 2A when running.
Am i correct in assuming my total stored AH capacity should be sufficient to run the fridge
with minimal sunlight for a few weeks.
Cheers
Max
Max Williams
August 16, 2012 a 2:52 am
Reply
As long as you rpanels recieve at least 5.5 hours of direct sunlight on the panel then you should be good. If you have any
further technical questions, please email them to Tech@batterystuff.com
Jeremy Fear
August 16, 2012 a 9:43 am
Reply
hello i have 8 deep cycle battery 12v 200Ah connected series/parallel to supply a ups system and it charged by acostant charger
52.5 V 35A its working abot 18 month every day about 6hr on the UPS and now begin loose its capacity when i check the
voltage for each battery while the charger working some of them give 13,4v and other 12.66 and 12.9 so it the sulfated or need
for reacharging with a smart charger .
thanks
Qusay
August 19, 2012 a 6:52 pm
Reply
I dont know what the load is, but for a 48 volt system the charger seems a little too low if its charging at 52.5 V. It should be
56 V or so under the bulk charge mode. For float, 52.5 is okay. Im not sure what your question is about.
If the batteries are individually reading different voltages, thats not good for the system. Are the batteries the same age? 13.4 v
is a little high but good full charge, while 12.9 v sounds just about right. 12.66 v could use more charge. If its not able to reach
any higher voltage, sulfation is a good cause of that. An onboard de-sulfator like the Power Pulse or ODB from Battery
MINDer would be recommended to fix that battery. No need to disconnect it from the others or change your system.
Tech
August 20, 2012 a 11:47 am
Reply
thanks alot for your assistant
1- my battery have the same age
2- i cant increase the charger voltage because its max volt is 52.5 also till now i dont try another charger or charge each battery
individually
3- these readings for each battery but while they connected to the charger and for example when im add all the reading (
13.4+12.66+12.9+13.54) its equal to 52.5 which is the charger voltage and when im disconnect the charger and after 1 hr
battery reading is ( 12.7 , 12.5 , 12.7 , 12.6 ) i think battery No 1 and 4 prevent the voltage to rais in battery 2 and 3 so they
cannot charge fully , also at the first 8 month all the battery have the same reading when charging .
do recommend individually charging for each battery to force it reach to 13.6 v and accept current , like using 48 v charger with
4 bank or its no problem to use 48 v charger with one bank also if i want to desulfate it it is better to use obd-12 for each on or
use obd 48 for each 4 batteries
also what is the recomended methode to charge and maintain this system to get maximum life for the batteries .
thanks & best regard
Qusay
August 20, 2012 a 2:35 pm
Reply
A 4 bank 48 volt charger would charge the batteries individually, which may solve the problem. 52.5 volts is good if the
batteries are fully charged. But since they are not all charged, I recommend the charge rate should be higher for the two to
charge up. If you use the OBD-12, youll need one for each battery. Otherwise, you can use a single OBD-48 for all four
batteries in series.
Tech
August 21, 2012 a 7:50 am
Reply
thanks to helping me to solve the problem and thanks for the site which give this amount of data for users , really great site and
great staff
thanks again with my best regards
Qusay
August 21, 2012 a 11:01 am
Reply
Hi, just got a new kirkland battery and it has the 6 cells under the cap. Not all of the cells have liquid in them to the top. is this
normal for some cells to have more liquid than others, should they all be filled to the top? I could not see any fill lines as to
where the level should be. thanks
Jeff
August 27, 2012 a 5:01 pm
Reply
Yes, the cells should be balanced, even as far as liquid levels. Please only use distilled water. They do not need to be filled to
the rim, but definitely the plates should never be exposed. If this happens, the plates react with the oxygen in the air and form
sulfation rapidly. I hope this answers your question.
Tech
August 28, 2012 a 10:24 am
Reply
I have new replacement 4 12v 18 ah deep cycle agm batteries wired in series for an e-bike, the 48 v charger charges the bank
at around 54-55 v, Now,the original batteries performed the last 2 years as expected for 300- 400 cycles with good range , but
these new replacement batteries are failing within weeks, less than 30% range than originals. When testing the charging voltage
going to each individual battery in series , it varies from 14.1 V- 15.9 V from one battery to the next. and under a timed load test
on each charged battery, they range from 2 min to 55 min before dropping below 11.5 /cell. Are the batteries poorly constructed
or is it a charger issue? Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Will Helbich
August 31, 2012 a 3:38 pm
Reply
How much was the load amount for the test? 15.9 volts is on the high side as far as charging goes.
Tech
September 4, 2012 a 3:10 pm
Reply
This is a philosophical comment. Lead-acid batteries suffer from self discharge. Batteries actually spend overwhelmingly most
of the time not on charge but doing absolutely nothing at all. This is what causes sulfation. So what do the experts recommend
battery users do? Treat the sulfation. A hundred year old cure! How about treating the battery with something that stops the self
discharge?
John Fetter
September 6, 2012 a 12:52 am
Reply
Keeping a battery on a trickle charger will prevent self discharge. Beyond that, asking a battery not to self discharge is like
asking a person not to age. Its a chemical issue, and healthy batteries will self discharge at a lower rate than older batterie or
cheap batteries made from lesser quality materials.
Tech
Reply
When using a deep cycle battery in a Solar system, using DC 12 volt lights. Is there a way to automatically shut off the lights
before it discharges the battery too far?
Bob
Reply
Yes, you would need a battery disconnect or a power switch. Priority Start and Battery Guard are two brands that will do this
automatically. We sell these in our battery accessories category.
Tech
Reply
I have an electric 2-wheel scooter that my wife uses. It has 3-batteries linked together. How do I hook-up the cables on my
battery charger to charge this bank of 3-batteries?
Charles Wehland
Reply
It depends entirely if the batteries are suppose to be in series or parallel. The answer to this question depends if the scooter runs
off 12 volts, or 36 volts. But the surest place to connect your charger to are the same terminals that the scooters motor is
connected to in order to run.
Tech
Reply
Hi James, thank you for the information and excellent explanations! How can I figure out what type of battery in my car (2007
BMW X3)? The battery is a sealed maintenance free battery. Its the original battery. The part number is S: 61 21 8 385 398,
and the label says its 90 AH and 720 CCA, but no manufacture name on it though. I called couple of BMW dealers, but they
didnt know. Hopefully you can help me out. Thanks in advance!
Bo
Reply
Sounds like an AGM or a VRLA battery. Both are different types of lead acid batteries, the sealed ones as apposed to the
conventional flooded type. Its not going to be a gel, I can almost guarantee that. Gel batteries are completely sealed. If there
any ventilation or even vent slits on the top of the case, then its not a gel. Thats good too, because gel batteries dont make
good starting batteries. Theyre fragile.
Tech
Reply
Thank you very much for your answer. I have a battery charger, and I need to choose one of Standard, AGM, and GEL battery
type. Which type should I select?
Bo
Reply
Gel is the safest, because it uses the lowest charging voltage of the three. If you are not sure, the gel setting is always a safe
option. Otherwise, if you think its an AGM (check to make sure there are ventilation slots to confirm its not a gel) then use the
AGM setting.
Tech
Reply
this rlly helped me in my auto electrical class
Austin
Reply
it helped me alot but googles better
Mark
Reply
What did you find that more helpful? Lease share it with us.
Tech
Reply
Hi all,
Current setup:
1) Two UPSs. Both are independent systems.
2) Both are identical; Manufacturer: Delta; Model:J-Series 7 KVA. Each capacity: 5000 Watt, 230 Volt AC.
3) Each has 20 numbers of 12 Volt 26 AH batteries connected in series for a 240 Volt DC, 26 AH battery bank.
Objective:
a)Design a battery bank in such a way that even if one battery fails, the bank would still be operational and keep the UPS
running until the failed battery is replaced.
b)Try reconfiguring existing battery bank so that cost is minimized.
Proposed setup:
1)Instead of two identical but separate battery banks as configured now, reconfigure the 40 batteries in one battery bank.
2)Batteries will be connected in series and also in parallel as listed in the diagram.
3)Two batteries will be connected in parallel to form one 12 Volt 52 AH parallel battery bank pair. Twenty such pairs will be
linked in series to form one 240 Volt DC 52 AH bank.
4)Connect both UPSs to this one battery bank.
5)The 230 Volt AC Output of the UPSs would remain independent as they are now.
Attached Diagram:
Both the current setup as well as the proposed setup are illustrated.
(No change in the independent Outputs of the two UPSs. The 230 Volt AC Output of the two UPSs would remain the same
(as independent outputs) in the proposed setup as they are now in the existing setup.)
Advantages:
1)When any one battery fails, the entire bank would still be operational. (Hence, the UPSs will not fail.)
2)So long as both batteries connected in any parallel pair do not fail, the bank would still be operational.
Question:
1)Would the battery charging circuits in each UPS somehow interfere with each other?
2)Are there other issues and/or disadvantages in the proposed system that are overlooked?
When electrical power is On, would the battery charging systems in each UPS interfere with each other when charging the
single battery bank? In other words, currently just as one UPS charges its own battery bank, would the two UPSs charge the
single common battery bank without issues?
We would be very thankful to you if you can please give us your valuable feedback on our proposed battery bank set up.
Selvan Albert.
Selvan Albert
Reply
I want to increase the voltage of 2 batteries from 24V to 180V. Is it possible?
Ameya Pawar
Reply
There are some step up converters to increase voltages, but we do not sell them. Additionally, I think it may be hard to find one
that will step up to 180 volts.
Tech
Reply
Thank you for your opinion.I would like to use an electric golf cart for in-town transportation in a small town in the San Juan
Mountains of Colorado, year around. I am a teacher and typically only drive it back and forth once or twice a day, about one
mile each way. 1st question: It can be very cold here on winter mornings, (-20 degrees and more),but then warm-up to 30
degrees on the same day, is there a battery that can handle the temperature range, and still have a reasonable life length? 2nd
question: I have a solar panel that I could place on the roof, get a charge controller, and have the batteries always trickle
charging, how will that effect the battery life? I have a 36 volt charger that came with the cart. The cart is perhaps 20 years old.
The batteries it came with were all exhausted, I took them to a recycler. I was thinking of spending the 150.00 each ( including
core fee) for 6 batteries, and stop driving my gas vehicle. Id appreciate some advice.
Adam Johnson
Reply
For the greatest range of operating temperature, the gel batteries would work the best. For a solar panel, you would either need
a single 36 volt panel, or 3 12 volt panels in series. Thats a good idea if you want to see the longest lifespan from the batteries.
The charge controller, make sure its safe for gel batteries, which require a slightly lower voltage charge than most other
batteries need. We sell Trojan T-105 6 volt batteries for $139 each. No core needed.
Tech
Reply
Great article. I learned more than Ive ever known about batteries, but I still dont know much.
I am wondering, I recently purchased a year round ice fishing house / camper. Im looking at batteries now and am leaning
towards an AGM. Is that what you would recommend? Again, this battery will be used year round. Freezing cold when it sits
for 4-5 days at a time without being used, then it will be used on the weekends when I go fishing. Then during the summer it
will be used in the heat.
Ive also seen a couple mentions of solar chargers. I do have a generator that i plan to use to recharge the battery when
necessary, but am wondering if it would make sense to leave a solar charger hooked up to the battery constantly. The location
of the battery in the house would make it very simple to hook a solar charger up and have it mounted either directly in the
window, or just outside attached to the side of the camper/fish house. Then even when in use, the battery would be charging,
right?
Thanks in advance for any response.
Matt
October 9, 2012 a 4:31 pm
Reply
For extreme temperatures, the Gel batteries are the best. They also have the slowest discharge rate. Having a solar panel is a
great idea, and perfectly safe even if a generator is on or you are using the batteries, if you are also using a solar controller
(which regulate safe charge voltage levels, and prevents back feed into the panel). But yes, if a solar panel is receiving sunlight,
the battery will also be charging as well.
Tech
October 11, 2012 a 9:28 am
Reply
Great Article !
For what its worth. I use NorthStar pure lead AGM batteries. They have the widest operating temperature range (-40 deg F to
+ 149 deg F) and have a two year shelf life. Never saw a gel battery with that type of operating temperatures. I have one in in
my truck. Never a minutes worth of problem.
Tim
January 15, 2013 a 12:10 pm
Reply
Pure lead vs recycled lead does make a difference in performance. NorthStar batteries sounds like good batteries.
Tech
January 15, 2013 a 1:19 pm
Reply
Thank you for your great work! I have learned a lot.
I have a Die Hard 1150: 20ah AGM power pack. As per your explanations, I leave it plugged in because it has an integrated
smart charger that is supposed to provide a safe float charge to maintain the batterys health. I have two questions relative to
this:
1. Is it normal that the battery is slightly warm to the touch when it is plugged, has reached 100% and is receiving a
maintenance charge?
2. Are dangerous gases given off while the battery is plugged in and receiving a trickle charge? My battery is plugged in in the
basement workshop in a fairly large house.
Thanks for any information you can provide and take care.
Peter
Peter
October 14, 2012 a 3:22 pm
Reply
If the battery is warm, its because there is more resistance in the battery internally than normal. There is probably a good
amount of sulfate crystals on the plates in the cells, which would cause the charger to work harder to maintain the float mode.
Sulfation robs the battery of power, but can be reserved with de-sulfation units and chargers.
Gassing should not be an issue if the battery is healthy. Only significant over-charging should cause an AGM to vent
excessively.
Tech
October 15, 2012 a 1:14 pm
Reply
I have a Toyota Coaster bus which is fitted out as a motor-home. The vehicle was manufactured with a 24 volt electrical
system, which uses two batteries in series, of 12 volts each. I have outlined a description of the auxiliary electrical system
below, but my basic question is, how can I know how depleted my auxiliary batteries are at the end of a day in which the
refrigerator has been working for a long time?
I think the basic rule is that the batteries should not be discharged below 50% of their capacity, but what reliable method can I
use to determine when they have reached this point? There are two auxiliary 12 volt batteries in series, each 120 amp-hour, to
provide power for the house system namely refrigerator, lights, water-pump, and various 12 volt power outlets. The
refrigerator is the major user of battery power, because it is a compressor fridge which uses the equivalent of 12 volts 8amps
(i.e.96 watts) while it is running, and it runs for approximately 8 to 12 hours in each 24 hour period depending on how hot the
weather is. The auxiliary batteries are charged by two solar panels of 80 watts each, and receive additional charging from the
vehicle alternator when the engine is running. There is a battery isolator which automatically disconnects the auxiliary batteries
from the vehicle electrical system when the engine is not running. The voltage regulator for the solar panel charging system
provides a constant display for the auxiliary system, including the auxiliary battery voltage. I have been in the habit of checking
the voltage last thing at night, and first thing in the morning, to find how much power the fridge has taken from the batteries. If
the night time voltage is below 24.8volts, then the morning reading is below 24.0 volts. The problem is that if we have not done
much driving on a particular day, and the solar panels have not done much charging because of cloudy weather, the night-time
voltage may only be 24.2 volts, and the morning voltage not much above 23 volts. If the battery is at 24.2 volts when the fridge
is not running, then when the fridge starts running the voltage reading drops down to about 23.5 volts. And so my question
remains, what is the lowest acceptable voltage for my auxiliary battery system, so that the batteries are not damaged by being
discharged too much. Thank you for reading through a long and detailed letter, but I wanted to provide sufficient background
information.
Wilfred Kube
October 22, 2012 a 4:35 pm
Reply
Resting voltage of 24.4 volts is 50%. When you reach this point, stop using the batteries until you can recharge them again.
Tech
October 23, 2012 a 10:50 am
Reply
Thank you very much for your helpful site,and for your prompt reply to my query.
Wilfred Kube
October 24, 2012 a 2:13 pm
Reply
I do have the same system as Wilfred, although I use a Tripp Lite to invert current from 12V to 110V (2,400 Watts)
I have always used 3 cheap regular truck size batteries, charged by the alternator and, with the almost every WE driving, had
no problem running everything for 3 years without having to charge the batteries with an external charger
Recently, to lower the weight, I bought 2 trojan deep cycle batteries 225 that almost totalled the same Amp as the 3 previous
ones
To my surprise, these batteries have gone dead last week after 6 months of use, although well maintained as far as water and
regular charging through the alternator
The Tripp Lite works fine and we always avoid to use the battery lower than the yellow and red lights which indicate a battery
load of 50 %
We did have a 2 minutes run on red light 2 weeks ago (as much as 80% discharge) and to prevent any further problem I
recharged the batteries with an external charger together for 20 hours (for the first time in the last 10 years); the charger
indicated 14V at the end of the charging process.
Unfortunately, on a trip last week I lost power faster then ever and ended up having to only use the refrigerator while driving,
forgetting about the water pump or the coffee maker; I tried to recharge the batteries since then but the charger wont go over 10
volts and goes down to 8 and 7 after 10 hours
My question: since these trojan batteries are very expensive where I live (Peru) should I invest in a charger, what kind, and
should I charge the batteries everyday from my house? The car is in the street and I cant go check every 2 hours what the
voltage is, so is there a charging process that is safe, guaranteed on the long term for these batteries?
Once again this is the full description of my configuration:
bus sprinter with alternator of 100 Amp
starter battery of 120 Amp
2 trojan deep cycle 225 130 amp each output 12V
one tripp lite inverter 12-120V 2,400 Watts
Thank you so much for your answer which should interest many people like me who just want to understand how to run a
simple 3 or 4 devices in their camper
Yves Van Damme
Reply
It sounds to me like your current charger is probably fine but the batteries may be defective or had their life significantly
reduced when they were overly discharged those 2 weeks ago.
Tech
February 11, 2013 a 11:13 am
Reply
Thank you for your article, I have a question. I bought a 2 month old (STICKER ON IT) battery from junkyard, outside cell was
punctured in a crash, looked inside all electrolyte was gone from the one cell. I repaired the plastic casing,it could now hold
liquid safely. Could i add electrolite from an old battery or would that have too many sulfites , it would be better to get a
motorcycles worth at autozone? I am going to turn in my old battery anyway as it is a core charge What do you think?
David Cuneo
October 26, 2012 a 12:36 am
Reply
The moment oxygen hits activated plates in a cell, sulfation will form rapidly. My opinion is that it's not worth the effort or the
risk. I recommend buying a new battery. Even if you were able to restore this one a bit, I doubt it will last very long and it
would not be safe as the internal resistance when charging will be greater than a healthy battery, which you will risk the battery
overheating as a result.
Tech
October 26, 2012 a 8:33 am
Reply
An amp hour (AH) is a rating usually found on deep cycle batteries. The standard rating is an Amp rating taken for 20
Hours. What this means, say for a 100 AH rated battery is this: Draw from the battery for 20 hours and it will provide a total of
100 amps
Should say
and it will provide a total of 100 amp-hours
Greg
October 28, 2012 a 6:22 pm
Reply
Thank you for the suggestion. We will make the change.
Tech
October 29, 2012 a 9:21 am
Reply
My AGM 100amps battery for UPS is acting strange it gains full charge with 30-50 mins while it also discharges with 30-40
mins, my UPS is charging the battery on 10-12 amps. Any Help
Fawad
November 19, 2012 a 12:09 am
Reply
What is the amount of draw (load) on the battery when its in use?
Tech
November 19, 2012 a 2:42 pm
Reply
I don know exactly but its has a Samsung 42 Plasma Tv and and small Satellite receiver, thats all. And with the same load it
gave me a Backup time of almost 2 to three hours.
Fawad
November 20, 2012 a 3:25 am
Reply
If I understand you correctly, your battery isnt lasting as long as it used to, and it charges quickly, too? Short charge/discharge
periods? Sounds like the battery has sulfate crystal buildup on the plates. Sulfation causes batteries to age quickly. Refer to our
other technical articles about how to remove sulfation.
Tech
Reply
i bought a 12Volt battery 22months back with inverter for my desktop computer only. It reads GT-2100 C20 210AH. Its a lead
acid battery. The dealer told me that i can use it for 10 and half hours for to power my computer only. from internet i came to
know that one should not fully discharge a battery. i till date only once i used it up to 9 1/2 hours. never seen battery low
blinking any time till date. I always carefully kept the water level full by regularly checking the level indicators. On an average i
use the battery up to 7 to 9 hrs these days because of big power cuts here and see it charged fully immediately when power
comes. One problem is that if i use the battery for 9 hours then there has to be continuous power supply for at least up to 8
hours(+minutes) to get fully recharged. but here they are supplying power only on alternate hours. i.e, one hour power supply
one hour power cut one hour power supply. and that too during the night only. during day time only for four hours power in
given- morning 8to10 and evening 4to6. rest all day power cut. only in the past 3 months power supply became like this. i have
been forced to use my battery very carefully and judiciously. My questions is will it affect my battery life by leaving it to be
charged in alternate hours?.(i dont use it during night while being charged). i am really worried. we have abundant sunshine
here. so i am willing to explore the possibilities to charge it using a solar panel. i want to know the maximum wattage or voltage
should i supply to charge it in the minimum amount of time possible. tell me this much wattage up to this much hour. here we
have 10~ hours of bright sunshine. please help.
Murugan
November 19, 2012 a 11:09 pm
Reply
Its okay if the battery is receiving charge during irregular intervals. Its not the best situation, but its not going to destroy the
battery immediately. The truth is, the battery is going to build sulfation when its in a discharged state. Re-charging it will reverse
this. Thats good practice, but I understand if your situation prevents you from doing that in the best way possible.
If youre looking for solar charging, the largest panel I recommend you can use to safely recharge the battery in the quickest
time is a 900 Watt solar panel. This will charge at a rate of 73 amps per hour (35% of battery capacity). Less is fine, but no
more for safe re-charging.
Tech
November 20, 2012 a 11:58 am
Reply
thank you very much indeed. Have a nice day back there.
Murugan
Reply
(continued)
I am using a 17 inch CRT monitor which consumes 80W power. Here in India we use 220V Ac for our appliances.
Murugan
Reply
Is it possible a Low maintanance Lead Acid can charge and discharge Simultanously ?
Nand
December 4, 2012 a 1:36 am
Reply
No. If you are charging a battery and then you use it at the same time, the charger will attempt to supply the load. Depending
what the load amount is, and if the charger can supply it, the battery may be charged at a lower rate or not at all and start
discharging instead.
Tech
Reply
I purchased a used boat in 2009, it has 2 identical West Marine starter batteries 650 CCA with a Perko 3 way switch, 1, 2 both
or off). Ive never charged these batteries other than while running my boat, which is probably less than 50 hours per year. The
engine is a 175HP Suzuki, with a 44 amp alternator. I feel like Im running on borrowed time and want to replace these batteries
with AGMs. Should I go with 2 starter type batteries or 1 starter and 1 house? While boat is running is the alt charging both
battery at the same time or does it follow the path of the Perko switch? Thanks, great site.
Andy
December 16, 2012 a 2:09 pm
Reply
Since the batteries will be connected together via switch, I recommend using two of the same battery types and sizes.
Therefore, if the batteries are used to start the engine I recommend two starting batteries. I recommend a deep cycle battery if
you need 12v power while the engine is off.
Tech
December 17, 2012 a 10:19 am
Reply
I use 4 12 volt dcm0035 interstate batteries hooked up to 48 volt configuration to power my pedicab. I have 2 sets-8 batteries
total. They have had 11 months of being drained to approx 12 volts on the meter 3+ times a week. I use 2 noco gen 4 chargers.
Mostly in the 10 amp mode.but sometimes doubled up on one battery set. Weather conditions from 35 110 F. How can I
determine how much life is left? Besides the obvious based on how long they run before being drained. It seems they are at
about 50% of new. Alsodoes my charger do a real 100% charge
Mike
Reply
There is no magical formula to predict the length of life remaining in a battery. Yes, the Gen 4 charger should bring the batteries
to full charge before entering the gentle float mode on/off cycle. 12.0v on the meter is more than 50% discharge, which is more
than we recommend for optimal performance.
Tech
Reply
i have 4 batteries ps 1272 fs 12 volt 7.2 amp batteries were stolen how can i wire theser my bike?
Ed
Reply
Is your bike a 12v, 24v, or 48v electric motor?
Tech
Reply
i have 3 sb 12100-s 12 volt 10 amp batteries for my bike which were stolen how do i wire the new ones?
Ed
Reply
Is your bike have a 12v or 36v electric motor?
Tech
Reply
Hi,
Very informative article, thank you. I have a problem with my camper van, 24 volt system for the truck, 25 amp alternator,
fridge in the house on the truck that draws current from the 2 12 volt in series truck batteries. When ignition is off, the fridge
stop drawing current. However, the truck batteries constantly run flat during driving, all well while I drive (diesel truck), but
next morning the truck batteries are almost flat. The camper van house has its own 12 volt battery, charged from solar, it
performs OK. Currently the 12 volt fridge element draws amps from the second 12 volt truck battery, this implies that the fridge
uses the power from the battery, not directly from the alternator. Is it possible that the power outflow from the battery is more
than the charge inflow into the battery?. How many Amps can a battery continuously take while charging?. I now think I must
tap the 24 volt directly from the alternator, then put it through a rectifier to get 12 volt, and then onwards to the fridge. This will
leave the truck batteries free to charge at will without being drained by the fridge. If the truck batteries can only charge at say 6
amps, while the fridge draws 10 amps, the current set up will always discharge and leave me with flat batteries. Am I correct in
my reasoning?. Please advise asap, Many thanks, Louw
Louw Penni Ng
January 5, 2013 a 1:18 pm
Reply
There is no limit to what a battery can or cannot accept. A battery cannot say no to charge. However, there is a safe range, up
to 25% of the battery capacity, should be the max amperage charge rate. For a 50 AH battery, that would be a max of 12.5
amps per hour. Alternators usually dont have problems with overcharging, because of the electronic control unit.
It sounds to me like you have a 24 volt battery system, but a 12 volt alternator. It seems like the fridge only takes 12 volts to
run. What part of your system actually draws from 24 volts?
Tech
January 7, 2013 a 9:02 am
Reply
RE; Can anyone please help? Scooter battery problem, will not take a charge.
It appears that there may not be anything wrong with my batteries. I was told that the batteries must be charged every month or
two or sulfation would set in. But the batteries not excepting a charge after 4 months was concerning. With no answers I
decided to drain the batteries of two scooters by running the motors with the throttle on full and turning the lights on. However
after 5 hours of constant running the scooters meters were still showing full and the volts where at 48.7 and my volt meter was
showing 48.6 volts. After 5 hour only dropped 2 volts while protection shutoff is 42 volt. The next day I charged the batteries
and yes they took a good charge, 7 hours and still taking a charge when I left for the day (I have them on a 12 hour timer).
These Chaowei deep cycle gel batteries must be very good with little self discharge to not except a charge for 4 months.
Garry Mcdonald
January 6, 2013 a 2:43 pm
Reply
Im glad your batteries are fine now. But for the future, its not necessary to discharge these batteries down. They are not like
NiCD batteries, there is no memory effect or need to cycle charges. Batteries that are fully charged for a 48v system should
give you 51.2 volts or more.
Tech
January 7, 2013 a 9:08 am
Reply
Very Informative! (I assume 1 to be the highest rating). I have an 85 Ford class C motorhome with 2-12v batteries. Not sure if
theyre connected in series or parallel. It has a single alternator and a separate voltage regulator. With the engine running, one
battery reads 12.4v, the other reads 16v. I assume this means the alternator is trying to charge this battery more? I first thought
the regulator was bad & replaced it. At that time, one battery was reading 16.4v & the other 16.2. I discovered I had bought the
wrong regulator, so I bought a second one. It read 16v and 17v. I put the original regulator back in, leading to my assumption
that one battery wont hold a charge and the alternator/regulator is trying harder to charge it. The batteries were in it when I
bought it, but theyre different brands & I have no way of telling when either was purchased. Would my assumption be correct,
and should I replace the battery with the higher voltage reading (or both)? What started this was when I bought the rv, before
driving home I turned on the headlights and one went out immediately. I turned them off & the seller turned them back on &
the second headlight went out. I left it for him to fix. He replaced both headlights. The first time I used them the new ones went
out together. I switched to high beam & after about 10 seconds they both went out. I knew something was wrong & suspected
the regulator first.
Mike Smith
January 12, 2013 a 4:48 pm
Reply
They do make 16 volt batteries and alternators. They are commonly found in race cars. 16 volts is too high for a 12 volt system.
You could be overcharging your batteries.
Tech
January 14, 2013 a 10:36 am
Reply
I found the article SUPER helpful, because the guys at the auto parts store we talked with did a few confusing things. One guy
called a battery looking like a 6-pack of soda cans a gel battery, where as the guy he called in for more info called it AGM,
which it probably actually is. However, the guy who actually did know it was an AGM battery told us specifically that it
wouldnt have any problems if it was completely dischargedwhich sounded quite attractive. Were still planning on
purchasing the AGM batteries, but if I hadnt found the web page and wised up on the great info and tips you folks provided,
we might have blithely followed his information and totally killed our battery (sucksville!). Thanks for a great website!!!!!!!!
Adda Lamon
January 16, 2013 a 8:41 am
Reply
Sir I will be very thankful if you guide me to build a charger of a 4 volt Li ion battery(which I have dismantled from my old
laptop battery)Thank You.
Silas
January 17, 2013 a 8:42 am
Reply
We are unable to provide you the information you need. We are a reseller. We do not build or manufacture any chargers.
Tech
January 17, 2013 a 9:14 am
Reply
THANK YOU!!!! The information on this page was GREAT!!! It is now my Go-To reference for batteries!!!!
Ms. Safety
January 18, 2013 a 12:05 pm
Reply
Thanks for the compliment! :)
Tech
January 18, 2013 a 12:06 pm
Reply
Sir, I want to know a matter. When a 12V, 7.2AH rating battery is fully charged, is there any current flow to the battery where
the charger is still plug in? and what is the actual voltage when the battery is fully charged? Please ans. to me.
Thanks in advance.
Mizanur Rahaman
January 25, 2013 a 11:17 am
Reply
Whether or not current is going into the battery after being fully charges is entirely dependant on the model charger you use and
therefore I cannot answer your question. Micro processor controlled chargers will float a battery after full charge. This is
usually ~13.4 volts with little to no current. However, if you want to know what resting voltage (off charger) on the battery
itself is considered full charge, please refer to this article for the answer.
Tech
January 25, 2013 a 1:06 pm
Reply
Hi,
my husbands 650cc motorcycle wasnt turning over so we figured it was the 12v battery. In order the check that it wasnt
anything else we hooked up my new smaller scooter 12v battery to his bike and got it running. Now the scooter battery wont
even turn the lights on the scooter even though the voltage meter says its fully charged. Could we have damaged the battery by
using it in a different machine? The bikes take different size batteries with different amps but both 12 volts.
thanks.
Nicki
Reply
There should be no issue using a smaller 12 volt starting battery for the motorcycle. Im surprised if the bike was able to start
with a smaller battery. If the battery is truly fully charged, can you provide a resting voltage reading (bike off)?
Tech
Reply
Sir, Thanks for the article. I Have a yacht with 4 Trojan T105s(6v 2 in series- paralleled X 2) as one bank and a truck and
tractor battery as the other bank. These are constantly charged by both solar panel and wind generator ( through a regulator)
and also charged when the motor is running by alternator.
My question;- Can I replace these wet cells with AGM batteries without changing any charging facilities? and if this is OK, do I
replace them all with dual purpose AGMs or do I have 2 different banks, 1 starting , 1 deep cycle. I have a manual(idiot)
switch, for selecting each battery bank or both. My motor is a Ford Lees 85 HP deisel. Thanks in advance.
Reg Rayner
Reply
Most AGM batteries require no special charging accommodations. I recommend using deep cycle and starting batteries for their
respective purpose. That way, youre getting the best performance based on the demand.
Tech
Reply
I have a Yamaha golf cart I purchased 4 yrs ago. Last winter I parked the cart in my heated garage and did not recharge the
batteries during the 3 1/2 month period. By spring the batteries were so discharged thatmy cart charger would not work. I used a
car battery charger to charge the 4 12V batteries separately. I limped through last summer having to charge to cart every 18
holes. I haave recently read about de sulfating the batteris. I was thinking about trying this before I spring for new batteries.
Can you recommend a product to do this and if I can use the cart charger when doing this or would I have to charge the
batteries individually. Thanks for the great article.
Jerry Anderson
Reply
I recommend using the liquid additive called BATTERY EQUALIZER and also the PP48L ON-BOARD DESULFATOR by
Pulse Tech.
Tech
Reply
Do you recommend a 2 battery solution for a boat? 1 for starting and 1 for deep cycle? Or would a dual purpose battery be
sufficient? The engine is a 90 hp outboard.
Donny
March 4, 2013 a 1:44 pm
Reply
We recommend using a dual battery setup versus the dual purpose batteries. You get better performance for your needs this
way (starting the engine and running your electrical system).
Tech
March 5, 2013 a 9:14 am
Reply
Great Article. If I have a 80 Amp Hour battery and use a winch that is drawing 435 Amps under load with a 90 Amp alternator
on the vehicle, how many minutes can I winch before I fully drain the battery or cause the vehicle to turn off? What formula
are you using?
Tim
March 16, 2013 a 6:54 am
Reply
Question, i have access to some lead acid batteries with much more life left in them..more than i need at any one time. I want
to put some in extremely long storage (5to10) yrs) Can i remove the electrolyte, flush then store? I read somewhere after flush
to refill with ph neutral water and storing worked well. Another that after flushing used inert gas argon and sealed battery vents.
Not concerned with losing a little capacity as these are very robust batterys. what would you recommend. I would charge these
fully then remove electrlolyte and store it properly until redeployment.
Sean
March 17, 2013 a 12:16 am
Reply
I have a 12v 100 amp hour wet cell battery at work. It was taken out in the fall and put on a smart charger. Now I was going to
reinstall it back into our equipment. I noticed that the end with the negative post is swollen. With a load test it passes at 9.5vs.
no other physical damage is found on the case. Could the one cell have pressured up and not vented?
John
March 19, 2013 a 9:50 am
Reply
It could have had some gassing at some point without actually damaging the cell, as may be indicated by the continued
performance.
Jeremy Fear
March 19, 2013 a 3:45 pm
Reply
Is it possible for a AGM battery to test 100% on a load test and still be bad? My battery shows 12.8v unconnected. In the
motorcycle it shows 12.6v and with the key on it drops to 12.1 and wont start the bike.
David
April 12, 2013 a 4:36 pm
Reply
Yes, it i s possible for it to have an internal open in the cell. This happens when a weld point begins to come loose in the
battery and it is unable to pass any significant current along the now thin connecting point.
Jeremy Fear
April 15, 2013 a 8:01 am
Reply
I need a battery for a lighting setup for artfair booth (outdoors).
I want to use 6 LED lights (14-watt Par30 bulb 3500K).
also use of a fan for cooling the booth.
which type of battery do you recommend.
Donna
April 30, 2013 a 5:55 am
Reply
I would recommend an AGM battery for this type of useage.
Jeremy Fear
May 6, 2013 a 7:48 am
Reply
I am battery deficient. I am charging a battery on trickle charge, I know that much, but how do I know what the red and black
bits on the charger mean? And how long til it charges? My hubby used to do all this but alas he is no longer here.
Thanks for input
Sandie
May 9, 2013 a 4:35 pm
Reply
I appologize, but Im not quite sure what you are reffering to by the red and black bits. If you want to send me a photograph
of the charger in question, my email is tech@batterystuff.com, then I will be more than happy to assist you from there.
Jeremy Fear
May 20, 2013 a 8:01 am
Reply
Hi.
I have 2 12 Volt batteries and want to use them both/ But i still want to use them for 12 volts. I just want extra backup.
Please reply me anyone ASAP.
Pulkit
June 25, 2013 a 10:39 pm
Reply
Here is an article that explains the answer to your question. Should you have any further questions please feel free to email our
tech guys at tech@batterystuff.com.
www.batterystuff.com/kb/aricles/battery-articles/battery-bank-tutorial.html
Robin Brokaw
June 26, 2013 a 9:04 am
Reply
Brilliant article. Has really explained the internal working of various makes of batteries, better than anything I have come
across here in the U.K.
John
Reply
What a well written article. Thank you!
My interest in the topic comes from wanting to maintain our trailers 12v AGM battery over the winter. We brought it home and
put it in the basement workshop, but I discovered tonight that it was down to 10 volts.
Id like to put it in the cold room where theres an unused plug but was worried about the well ventilated area instructions.
The article says AGM batteries are the safest type, so would it be safe to charge it in the cold room? (10 4 7 feet, with top
and bottom 4 pipe vents)
Larry
Reply
Thanks for a very informative article. I own an older Honda Goldwing with lots of electrical gizmos. I have replaced the battery
twice in last year. My dealer replaced the last under warranty about three months ago. The new battery worked fine when I was
driving the bike frequently. But after letting the bike set for about two weeks I now have another dead battery. I hooked up my
trickle charger, it only has a light that tells me it is charging, I left in on for about a week it did not recharge. I then hooked up
my battery charger, it tells me it the battery is fully charged at 6 volts. Does this mean I have three bad cells? This is the second
time this has happened, the first new battery lasted about six months this one about three. Do you think I got bad batteries. One
I think maybe, but two in a row.
Harold
January 19, 2014 a 6:03 am
Reply
What are the electrodes and the electrolyte of an AGM battery????
Feterom Adolfo
March 10, 2014 a 3:19 am
Reply
During periodic check when I observe that water level is low, I add distilled water to cells of lead acid battery. After a short
time the fluid starts oozing out from the caps. It continues for about 12 -15 hours. What is the cause of this problem and how it
can be rectified?
Athar
March 17, 2014 a 5:15 am
Reply
Best written, most through article I have read regarding batteries, thank you!
I have a BMW with AGM battery that was just replaced. I purchased a CTEK multi us 4.3 smart charger to lengthen the life of
this new battery. I attempted to charge 3 days after installation, but became concerned as the charger was hot to the touch after
2 hours and still in the bulk charging state. Should I be concerned by the heat? There was no indication of anything awry other
than the charger itself being hot.
Interestingly, the old battery never remained in the bulk charging state this long and I never experienced the charger ever being
warm.
Anders D
March 18, 2014 a 9:02 am
Reply
I would not be concerned if it is hot after 2 hours, but if it has not entered into maintenance mode after 12 hours, I would check
the battery to ensure it is good.
Jeremy
May 12, 2014 a 11:56 am
Reply
Can you use a AGM battery by laying it on its side or must it be in the upright position? If so, does it make any difference what
side it lies on (battery posts toward the top vs toward the bottom)
Dave M
April 5, 2014 a 7:34 pm
Reply
Dave, you can use an AGM in any position, except directly upside down.
Jeremy
May 12, 2014 a 12:21 pm
Reply
Sir Good day! i need with my newly bought gel battery, i dont know if i have to add sulfuric acid i used it with my u.p.s. and
it cant five any power to my computer when i unplug the power cable of the u.p.s.when i read the power rating 12.5V i dont
know the ampere since i dont have amp meter. but in the battery it says 7Ah/10H. i thought it is better than my old VRLA with
12V 4.5Ah rating
Marie
April 5, 2014 a 8:50 pm
Reply
Sounds like you should talk to the manufacturer. If its gell, then you wouldnt add any acid, and most cases if its AGM it would
come prefilled. The 7AH will last longer than the older 4.5AH one.
Jeremy
May 12, 2014 a 12:22 pm
Reply
With a BS in Chemical Technology and eperience with batteries, I congratulate you for this article where expertise and general
public understanding are mixed in a state of the art level. Talking for shalow cycle batteries where Ah has no sense because
CCA matters people has to be aware that this battery has to be fully charged, and if discharges only 20% i.e below 12.6 V
affects the life of the car battery. The status of battery has to be checked every weak, while you check the cold inflation
pressure of the tire. To have a optimal inflated tire, means an optimal tire foot print i.e an optimal tire grip. So at this time check
the battery voltage in your car parked overnight, start engine check again and youl get 13.5 to 14.5 i.e. this is the status of
alternator and voltage regulator in your car. If not using a vehicle use a battery tender that start charging at 12.6 V and stops at
14.2 14.5 V. Not hapy with comercial battery tenders, I made my own using a NE555 timer as precission comparator an more
component. I can adjust ON at 12.6 12.7V and of at 14.2 to 14.5 volts according to the status (age ) of the battery. Increasing
the battery voltage above 13.2 V, starts equilizing process. The weak cealls continue to charge and the strong start boiling. I do
this proces at 250mA untill battery saturated, and after turns OFf to let battery to relax. I never buy a maintenance free battery,
because I must check the electrolyte, level, top with H2O, and if necessary check the density.
Sam
April 29, 2014 a 5:58 am
Reply
I have n ABM 12volts, 120AH battery and a Wet Cell 12volts ,120AH battery can I connect both of them to my solar system in
parallel
Frank Tucker
May 2, 2014 a 11:36 pm
Reply
We only recommend connecting batteries of same type, size, and age together in a system.
Jeremy
May 12, 2014 a 11:58 am
Reply
But why are there no tech replies in 2014?
Jim Bigger
May 12, 2014 a 2:49 am
Reply
Jim,
Technical questions can be submitted using the contact us tab at the top of the website. The comments for articles are not
always reviewed by Techs, so the best way to get an expedient answer to a question, is to contact the correct department
directly. Thanks
Jeremy
May 12, 2014 a 12:00 pm
Reply
We have a few 10 tonne dump trailers that are towed behind a few chev 2500 3/4 ton trucks (1 alternator)1 battery. Also towed
by 2 ford 1 tons which have dual batteries in them.
We are using deep cell wet batteries 175AH (D27s) one battery in each trailer. The batteries in the trailers only get a 1/2-1 hour
charge from the 7 way trailer plug when they are ran to site and dumped. I dont have the amp draw of the Dyna-Pack)
electric/hydraulic motor/pump unit yet. It takes 15-30 seconds to fully dump the trailer. The batteries don't
seem to last too long to these guys. The charge from the tow vehicle may be to low as the voltage drop
in the 12 or 14 ga. wire used in the typical trailer tow package. I was thinking about wiring in #4
ga. from the font to the rear trailer with a battery isolator so the trailer battery could receive a
better charge rate., specially if being dumped every hour or two and only getting 1/2 or little more
charge in between. Is it worth it $150 + isolator. I can install and get reasonable pricing on wire & terminals etc. Also
what is the best battery to use as the trucks have different batteries in each of them?? Good site for info I must add.
Randy
May 21, 2014 a 9:58 am
Reply
Randy, using an isolator will get better results. Thanks
Tech
May 21, 2014 a 12:37 pm
Reply
I had solar system, Know I want to add new set of batteries with old one for charging purpose, both pared as 24V sets. 24V old
set and 24v new set. is this work or any problem, i will face during charging for solar panels.
or should i charge separtly and use dual purpose. Once charge new and than Old.
In house for electric city,Should i combine both sets, or I use old to discharge than switch to new for use.
Zareef
June 14, 2014 a 11:37 am
Reply
I would recommend charging separately. Mixing old and new batteries is asking for trouble.
Tech
June 16, 2014 a 11:04 am
Reply
I have installed a few advanced GPS devices on a fleet of vehicles. The manufactures paperwork says they should be wired into
an output capable of at least 13 volts. I have not had any problems with the devices on vehicles with a normal 12 volt car
battery and wonder if there would be any possible problems if I wanted to install them on a recreational vehicle like a Polaris
ATV/Quad or a Side X Side with a 12 volt battery?
Tracy
June 26, 2014 a 12:50 pm
Reply
It should work fine, but always check with the manufacturer for a hard answer.
Tech
June 27, 2014 a 8:48 am
Reply
I have a few questions on battery reconditioning, based on reading of various How To and DIY sites, and hope that you are able
to help: 1 The powder that everyone seems to suggest is Epsom salts, is that correct? 2 Is there a specific type of these
Epsom salts that is appropriate? 3- What are the mixing specs for the solution? Thanks a lot!
We would require more information about your situation. Please contact one of our techs at tech@batterystuff.com.
ArieS
July 8, 2014 a 2:50 pm
Reply
I have a boat with a normal marine 12v lead acid battery I would also like to add a second battery to provide for lets say a 12v
access port for accessories. Unfortunately I have limited space for a second full sized battery. Could I use a smaller lets say
ATV type twelve volt battery connected through a dual battery charger relay isolator so that both would charge when the motor
is running but both would not drain when the motor is not running.
GarthJ
July 15, 2014 a 9:58 am
Reply
I have two 12v 100AH battery it is connected with IPS recently I see the battery is very HOT & IPS Full Charge indicator not
showing full charge. I check Battery Water Level ok. Then I disconnect all battery from IPS 2 days take time to cool the battery
& after battery fully cold I connect it to IPS but again the battery is very HOT. What is just happening Can you tell me please.
My battery Name Lucas AP 100 12V 100AH 21 Plate made by Rahimafrooz Bangladesh. Please give me the repply. Thanks
Saiful Haque Khan
Bangladesh
saiful6848@gmail.com
+8801716579824
We would require more information about your situation. Please contact one of our techs at tech@batterystuff.com
Md. Saiful Haque Khan
July 18, 2014 a 1:06 pm
Reply
We have a John Deer Gator (riding toy)for our Granddaughter. The connection for the battery has corroded down inside. Is
there a safe way to clean it out? It is a very tight area.
Laura Hargis
July 23, 2014 a 12:35 pm
Reply
Baking soda and water, but not in the battery!, just for the terminals and connections.
Admin
August 15, 2014 a 2:14 pm
Reply
Thank you for some great info. We have a travel trailer that we have parked at a camp area on the back the farm. It hasnt
moved since we bought it 5 years ago. We charge the battery with a Honda 3000 generator. After many years of frustration
using a flood cell deep cycle battery we just installed a AGM battery. (I believe we brought the charge down on the batteries
too far, too often). Anyway we just bought the AGM battery because we understand it will charge much quicker than a flood
cell. My question is using this type generator on a trailer, will that work for a AGM or should we do anything different for
charging?
Thanks again.
T-Man
August 16, 2014 a 11:39 am
Reply
If AGM batteries arent damaged by a cars alternator charger why do they need a special charger?
Maurice
August 23, 2014 a 6:45 pm
Reply
They really only need a specific charger if they are being maintained long term with a constant charger. The exception is
specialty AGMs such as Odyssey batteries or aircraft batteries.
Tech
August 25, 2014 a 2:36 pm
Reply
Hi, I bought a sailboat with 2 batteries and a selector which reads off/1/both/2
My question is about what you say about batteries being the same size, rating and type. Of the 2 that came with the boat, #1 is a
reg. acid starting battery and #2 is a deep cycle used as a house battery. Is that bad? should I avoid the both position of the
selector?
Joel
Reply
Good Question! The selector switch is designed to get the boat out of a bad situation, say for instance you were unable to start
the boat. This enables you to bank the other battery together in such situation to get the boat going again. You do want to avoid
tying them toghether unless your are in a problematic situation.
Tech
Reply
Great article, easy to understand and informative. I have a few questions about my RV battery cables. I was about to replace
the 2 12v marine batteries on my RV with 2 6v deep cycles, when I realized the cable situation seems strange and possibly
scary.
- The ends of the cables, for about a foot before the terminal connectors, are all taped up and homemade. Should I be
concerned about that? How do I know if theyre an appropriate size for the battery size? There is a thin black ground wire
coming from the taped up part of the + cable, which is bolted to the trailer frame. Why would the + cable be grounded? Isnt
that what the cable is for?!
The 2 cables that were used to connect the 12v batteries in parallel are also of this taped-up homemade variety. I was going to
use one of them to connect the 6v in series, but now am unsure whether I should use ANY of these cables at all. Wiring in new
cables seems really daunting because I cant see an obvious way to access where they run up into the bottom of the trailer. But
I dont want to be unsafe, so
Thanks in advance :)
Kyla
Reply
I would talk to your local RV Service Center if you feel the homemade cables are questionable. If you plan on rewiring the the
connections to replace the existing cables we recommend staying with the same gauge wire that originally came with your RV.
Obviously the last foot or so you said is homemade, so you would want to look further up to see what size the original cable is.
If your changing charger, converter, or inverter (or an all in one) then we recommend you look to that manufacturer for
recommendation.
TECH
Reply
A BMW 128i w/AGM BATTERY-CAN IT BE REPLACED W A QUALITY WET CELL BATTERY?
THANKS
WILLIE
Reply
If your existing battery is a WET cell then you can use an AGM. However if your original battery was a GEL then you would
have to contact BMW to verify that your charging system will charge and AGM as they charge at a higher rate.
TECH
Reply
Wowthankyou for existing. We are beginning to get a solar set up organised for free camping and I have a plethora of
questions that hopefully you can answer for me. We intend to run a 12v52 litre fridge and strips of led lights. What do I need to
know about these applicances when planning the battery set up. We are looking at a 12v 260 AH AGM battery using a 140W
solar panel to charge. Would one battery be enough or should we look at two the fridge needs to run most of the time but the
led lights would be just at night. If we did get two what is the difference between wiring in series and in parallel .is one way
better than the other?? And I need reminding In paralel is it positive to posiive and neg to neg.. Thank you so much for your
time and expertisecheers Suz from Oz
Suz
Reply
Suz I would suggest reading our article: Solar Systems the Right Way. This will help you gather the proper information to
determine if your panel and battery setup would be sufficient. As far a series vs parallel I suggest looking at our article: Battery
Bank Tutorial Series and Parallel. This article will show you possibilities of creating different type of battery banks, and
maybe the possibility of going to two 6 volts batteries for less than two 12 volts batteries would be for the same Amp/Hr
capacity.
TECH
Reply
Fantastic article though I admit even the laymans terms seems to go over my head. I live in the UK and have a QUICKIE Jive
Midwheel drive wheelchair made by Sunrise Medical which uses 2 12volt 70 amp sonneschein GEL Batteries I Have a 8amp
Gel battery charger but in the 27 months I have owned the chair Ive had to have 4 sets of replacement batteries as they fail
after 6 months apparently ( according to the manufacturer) because of a faulty Cell. I have followed the manufacturers
guidelines with charging the battery, which states as soon as youve finished using the chair put it on charge. . Though I often
wait about 5 hours to put the chair on charge. I do this and then leave it. So the chair gets between 13 & 18 hours charge even if
I have done only 5 miles, which is my about my average daily use. Should I put the chair on charge straight away the leave it
alone even If I need it? I have my manual wheelchair to get about in inside my house. Any help to prolong the battery life is
greatly appreciated. I have repeatedly asked both Sunrise medical & sonneschein for help over the past 2 years with n how to
alleviate this problem but have had no reply.
Mike Coshan
Reply
I would definitely not leave the batteries sitting in a discharged state, plus it is never recommended to discharge a battery more
than 50% so if your 5 mile run does this then that could be affecting the batteries life. If you are not running them below 50%
then I would look to the charger, and be sure it is at least a 3 stage charger, anything less is not recommended for those size
batteries. Feel free to contact our Tech Department for assistance.
Tech
Reply
Hi, I have been getting a headache with all the conflicting advice on my current and planned dual battery setup. I have a 105
Landcruiser with 4.2 diesel and standard 110 amp alternator. I have a dual battery system with a Delkor 27HR-70 Calcium and
a brand new Optima Blue Top D27M AGM (replaced the other Delkor which died) as the secondary battery for running utilities
(fridge etc). They are parallel connected through a RedArc 100 amp isolator. I also have a RedArc 120W portable solar setup to
assist with powering for extended camping etc.
Firstly, is this current setup likely to damage Optima through lack of charging output. And if so would an in car BC/DC charger
resolve the issue.
Secondly, as I am not sure of the age / condition of the Delkor I am thinking of replacing it with a new Optima Yellow Top
D27F. Would this make my current setup sufficient? Or is the standard 110 amp alternator still not up to fully charging the
AGMs?
Would really appreciate some feedback and guidance
Cheers
Darren
October 3, 2014 a 7:56 pm
Reply
Thank you so much for writing this. I am certainly going to give to my husband to read and for reference. I just purchased a
yamaha 36v golf cart that needs new batteries. There are 6 each, 6 volts batteries, which would you suggest?
thank you !
Stella
October 14, 2014 a 8:09 am
Reply
We carry some of the best Golf Cart batteries available. Any of the batteries listed in our Golf Cart Section would be
recommended.
Tech
November 18, 2014 a 10:39 am
Reply
The rating reflects how many amps you can pull from that battery over a specific period of time. In general the ratings goes
down the quicker you pull a load out of a battery, so a 200AH 10 Hr rated battery will have a higher capacity than a 200AH 20
Hr rated battery.
Tech
November 18, 2014 a 11:30 am
Reply
please, am a little confused. whats the difference between a 200ah 20hr rated battery and a 200ah 10hr rated battery. am trying
to buy a deep cycle battery and i see 10hr on one and 20hr on the other. which one is better?
Earthrealm
October 16, 2014 a 2:46 am
Reply
Great article. However, it seems that no matter how many articles I read on batteries, I cant seem to grasp a full understanding
of how it all works. And I say that because 6 years ago I purchased a highly modified EZ-GO golf cart that I use to get around
the woods of southwestern Pa. year round. Our temps run in the high 80s in the summer to the mid teens in the winter, and at
times lower. I have a 48-volt system using 8 six volt T-105s and a smart charger for the cart, and for my headlights and winch a
separate vehicle 12-volt battery. Now, Ive read that I should not discharge my flooded T-105s below 50%, but in all honesty,
that is at times impossible to do. The woods are not that short in places, and at timeswell mud is mud and you cant predict it.
However, I always check my water levelsthey seem to remain a constantand I always clean my terminals monthly, even if
they dont seem to need it. Your suggestions of using grease is great and I will do that on my next cleaning session. Now, I have
installed a new Warn winch and I winch my cart on and off my truck. I currently have one 12-V auto battery in the cart, but I
am concerned that I may be out there and the 12-V simply run out of charge. So, what I have been thinking of is replacing the
one 12-V with two 12-volts and wiring them to still have a 12-volt output, but have a longer output time if you understand
what Im saying. I have enough room under the cart seat for the average width of a car battery, and about 24 in length. What
type of batteries would you suggest would work the best in my situation?
DaveT
October 18, 2014 a 10:18 am
Reply
Dave I would recommend our Calculator | Sizing a 12 Volt Battery to a Load to really determine your need. If you have further
questions I would suggest contacting our Tech Department.
Tech
November 18, 2014 a 11:53 am
Reply
Im a designer/installer and have read literally hundreds of guides and tutorials over the years and none are a patch on this hats
off, youre brilliant and crazy helpful to have provided answers to every question posted here individually, for free, despite
you having already answered 99% of them in your other excellent articles!
People, dont be lazy, sure this guy has a life so read ALL the FREE guides provided for you here before asking. Big respects
Dean
November 20, 2014 a 11:09 am
Reply
I am in the process of upgrading my solar electricity in my house and need information regarding what electrical appliances 8
AGM batteries will be able to power. I already have a solar panel array in place that is powering a solar water pump very
effectively. I suppose I need to tell you the amount of watts the panel produces but do not have that info. at this time. Is it likely
that I can replace my propane frig. with an electric refrigerator, run power tools without the generator on, etc.?
Thank you!
Sandra
Kanzi
Reply
As solar is basically a math problem I would suggest reading our article Solar Systems The Right Way as a start, or Contact Our
TECH Department for further assistance. Please be aware that we are not home solar experts, and it might be best to contact a
local home solar expert.
Tech
November 19, 2014 a 11:58 am
Reply
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Battery Basics: A Layman's Guide to Batteries

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