The tips below are excellent, and accurate! The expected life-span of
a gell or lead acid battery is about 2 to 4 years average if the
battery is used under ideal conditions. I have seen some last about 5
to 6, but rarely. Anything more than about 3 years is a free ride.

If you follow the tips below, the batteries will last about the max
you will ever get from them.


Jerry Greenberg

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gothika wrote in message . ..
Thanks for the tips.
I use alot of sealed lead acid batteries for various applications.
Power for photo strobes, handheld spotlights, camcorders etc...
Up till now I've been using wall wart type power supplies for
charging.
The batteries I use are the sealed lead acid type normally used in
emergency lighting etc...
The work very well for the job but tend to die out after 2-3 years
whether used heavy or lightly.
I never knoe if it was simply their usable shelf life or what as I
tend to avoid complete discharge as much as possible.(typically I'll
top charge after battery has reach 50% discharge.)
The wall warts I use match the voltage of the battery(6 or 12) and
have a milliamp output rate no more than 70% of the max allowable
charge rate of the battery.(Most of my batts have a max rate around
800ma, the wall warts 500ma.)
Can you recommend some smart chargers for these types of batteries?
Also, would I be better off switching to sealed gel-pack lead acids or
some other form of battery?(I don't stay up on the latest in battery
technology.)
I gotta stay away from nicad and other forms of "memory" batteries
though.
Thanks again.

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 19:19:51 +0200, Bill Darden
wrote:

Top Ten Deep Cycle Battery Tips

1. Wear glasses when working with a battery, because it might
explode.

2. Recharge your battery as soon as possible after each use. To
prevent permanent sulfation when not in use and especially in hot
weather, keep your battery continuously connected to a "smart" or
maintenance charger or recharge your battery when the State-of-Charge
drops below 80%. Cheap unregulated "trickle" chargers will kill your
battery.

3. Keep your non-sealed battery away from salt water, cool, properly
filled with distilled water, and the top clean. The plates must be
covered at all times.

4. The lower the average Depth-of-Discharge the longer the service
life.

5. Follow the battery manufacturers recommended charging voltages and
procedures. People kill more deep cycle batteries with bad charging
practices than die of old age. Permanent sulfation kills
approximately 85% of all deep cycle batteries.

6. When buying a replacement battery, be sure it matches your
charging system & ampere hour (Ah) requirements and is fresh. Heavier
is better.

7. Keep the battery cable mating surfaces and terminals free from
corrosion.

8. Avoid a shallow (below 10%) discharges or deep discharge below 20%
State-of-Charge of your battery. This could kill it.

9. For longer battery life, do not add acid or additives, keep your
battery securely fastened, and equalize charge it (if recommended by
the battery manufacturer).

10. Use chargers (or settings) that will recharge batteries over
eight to ten hours.

For additional battery information, please go to
http://www.batteryfaq.org.