Re: (ET) battery drainage question

[Tim Humphrey <hump evgrin com>]

David,

I agree mostly with what you said. 

I have a suggestion though;

Taking into consideration the rise in popularity of non-lead acid battery 
chemistries, I think you should probably include the term lead-acid when 
suggesting those tips on long term storage.

I believe *all* of the other chemistries would rather be left partially 
discharged (lithium based) or fully discharged (nickel based) for long 
term storage.

For an ET this probably won't be important... and you could probably say 
that someone using another chemistry would already know how to treat them. 
But, you'd be suprised to find out how many people on the BB600 list (as 
only one example) want to treat their NiCads like lead-acids.   


--
Stay Charged!
Hump
"If you don't "believe" you'll make a difference, than you probably never 
will!" -- Jim Husted



> -----Original Message-----
> From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
> [mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu] On Behalf Of David Roden
> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 11:50 AM
> To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
> Subject: Re: (ET) battery drainage question
> 
> Uh-oh, here comes the sermon. ;-)
> 
> I've said before on this list that I think battery maintainers do more
> harm
> than good, and this is an example.  A regulated, temperature-compensated
> 
> float charger is better for this purpose than the Landis controller,
> IMO,
> but it will still cause some water loss and grid corrosion.
> 
> If you're not checking a flooded battery regularly, you shouldn't leave
> it
> connected to a charger.  And if you're checking regularly, it there's no
> 
> need to leave it connected, because you can charge it when it really
> needs
> it.
> 
> That's less frequently than you think, certainly not daily or weekly.
> Unlike an automobile, nothing on an ET draws current when the main
> switch is
> off.  Self discharge is not that huge, perhaps 5-10% per month for
> flooded
> golf car batteries.  I've used some that had much less than that; it
> depends
> on how much antimony they use in the grids.
> 
> How much harm will that cause?  Well, let me ask you, how long do you
> suppose that battery sat on the shelf at the manufacturer, warehouse,
> and
> dealer before you bought it? Yes, it's best to use a battery regularly,
> and
> charge it fully, but leaving it idle is not as bad as some people
> believe.
> 
> Keep your batteries clean, cool, and dry, and they can sit for a month
> or
> two without serious loss of charge.  Check them with a hydrometer
> monthly.
> When (if) it says they're at 75-80% SOC or so, just turn on the charger
> for
> a few hours.
> 
> 
> David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
> 
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