TECH TIPS................................ Gel batteries have the advantage of being completely
charge, don’t react very well to fast charging techniques and are very expensive compared to other types.
batteries and provide similar performance to wet lead acid batteries with the safety benefits of gel. Also, because of the way they are constructed, they should last a lot longer
subjected to continual charging and discharging, especially
Power from your Battery will supply. For example, a 100Ah battery discharging at 2
leak-proof as well as maintenance-free. This makes them amps per hour should, in theory, deliver power for ideal for use in situations where there's a risk of them being approximately 50 hours. The same battery, when turned over or where it's important to avoid the gas discharged at 50 amps per hour, may only supply power for produced by wet lead-acid batteries when being charged. They also give a much higher number of cycles than
approx. 1 hour instead of 2 as you might expect. (These figures are theoretical and only for illustration).
flooded types. However, gel batteries take longer to Amount of discharge: The more a battery is discharged, the less efficient it becomes and the harder it is to charge it
are the best buy not only because of their performance but also as, over their lifetime, they should work out cheaper than
standard wet lead-acid batteries. But, their initial purchase price is a lot higher. Whether they’re right for your vehicle really does depend on how you plan to use them.
AGM batteries are also the only type of battery that can genuinely be called “dual-purpose” and are also suitable for engine starting applications.
Battery performance:
if they are discharged to 50% or even less of their Ah damaging a battery is to leave it in a discharged state for a capacity. For this reason, for some people, AGM batteries few weeks or months. This is almost guaranteed to damage the internal plates and, if they’re badly damaged, the only remedy is to buy a new battery.
Simple 2.1V cell in a lead-acid battery
Temperature: both voltage and Amp/hour capacity will decrease significantly during both cold and very hot weather. At freezing point or 40°C a battery's capacity is reduced by approx. 25%. The optimum operating temperature for a lead-acid battery is 25°C / 77°F. As a rule, assume that, for every 1°C
drop below 25°C / 77°F, the battery will lose approximately 1% of its capacity.
significant effect on a battery's voltage and its ability to take and hold a charge.
Bear in mind too that, even if the voltage at a battery is voltage drop. including:
battery with a voltage of approx. 12.3V is only 50% charged dependent entirely on how it’s used. Mistreat even the best and one reading less than 12V is, to all intents and and most expensive battery and it can be “dead” within purposes, fully discharged. Terminal voltages can be weeks or even days. As described above, discharging a affected by various factors however, including the ambient battery below 50% will quickly damage a battery that’s not temperature and both cold and hot weather will have a designed to do that. On the other hand, a cheap battery in a vehicle which is always on mains hook-up will probably
12.6V for example, the reading at the end of the wire or at caused by faulty design or construction or do they also take the socket where appliances will be plugged in may be into consideration that a battery can be made unusable substantially less. See page 31 for more information on simply by not being charged?
Rate of discharge: All lead-acid batteries are rated in
A battery's performance is dependent on several factors may find that the supplier simply states that any fault has been caused by incorrect usage and then a five-year warranty is no better than a 12-month one. The best way to
Ampere/hours, Ah for short. You might think that a battery ensure long life for your batteries is not to rely on a rated at 100Ah would, in theory, be able to supply 100 Amps warranty at all but to make sure that: for one hour or 10 Amps for ten hours. It's not quite that simple of course: with leisure batteries this quoted figure is normally calculated at the “20-hour rate”. In other words,
the battery will supply 100 Amps over a period of 20 hours possible with an “intelligent” battery charger. The faster a battery is discharged, the less the power that it and last a lot longer - guaranteed!
i.e. 5 Amps per hour down to 10.5V - fully discharged.
! You get good quality batteries to start off with. ! You use them carefully and avoid deep-discharging ! You keep your batteries charged up as much as
Do these three things and your batteries will work better
Prices and models can change. For up to date prices, to find a dealer near you or for further information on any of our products, please phone us on 01327 312233 or visit our website:
www.roadpro.co.uk 5
People who try to claim against a warranty on a battery
described as 12-volt, in reality a fully charged battery should measure 12.6V - 12.8V after 24 hours of rest. A The length of time that a lead-acid battery lasts is
It's important to understand that, although batteries are Battery life expectancy:
than ordinary wet batteries and recover much better when appliances might not work at all - it could be damaged internally if done repeatedly. An even more certain way of
AGM batteries are the most sophisticated domestic 50% or so of their rated capacity. So, if you have a 100Ah battery, you should not discharge it below 50Ah. If you do, not only will the battery not work as it should - with voltage dropping to a point where some lights dim and some
back up to its full capacity. Battery manufacturers recommend that you should not discharge batteries below
never be discharged more than 10% or 20% and can last for five years or even more. This is why battery warranties should be treated with caution. Do they cover defects
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