Battery life

[AZZA]

Hi Guys and Girls, just after a bit of feed back on what sort of life people are achiving out of there batteries either deep cycle or cranking type and if you could mention if useing a smart charger has it increased battry life.

Thanks

Azza

[fisherjack1394]

Not shure if this helps mate but i use a special battery that can be used in you car, boat, and prittymuch anything else. we run the sounder and trolling motor on it and with both running we get around 6 hour out of it. but if we just run the sounder it will go forever.

not shure if that helped at all.

cheers jacko

[Davo_Dinkum]

average battery life for a lead acid battery is about 3 years .

sometime u get more ,sometimes less.

depends how is used ,charged ,load on it .

whether is sits around and dose nothing for a while ,or sits around flat.

i usually get 3 or more years ,the best i ever gotten was 4 years .

deep cycle , cranking and marine battery's ,i use them all ,just depends what i can get cheap at the time i need 1.

smart chargers are prob the go .

i have never owned 1 .

i used a 2.5 amp and a 6 amp trickle charger .

or they are in or hooked to the car and charged there.

[AZZA]

Thanks Guys yeh just to clarify what I mean by Battery life is like what Davo stated years not hours as that will depend on what is being run at the time ie fridge sounder motor.

Cheers A

[shortie]

the type of use will and how it is charged will vry its life span.

my starting batteries for the boat i chang every 12 months.

im a beliver in having a reliable starting battery. depending on how you charge the battry will depend on its sulphtion rate.

there is so many variables.

[noname]

i treat my batteries with lil respect, i think the secret is to use your boat more offen, last battery changed was for an 8 yr old battery, and same there abouts for the prev battery if you want more details i have them logged.

[dassa]

When I was working in the battery game it would depend on how the batteries were looked after deep cycle batteries should never be stored flat so after every use put them on charge even if you have only use them for a short while.They can last up to 6/8 years.

Cranking batteries could last up to 5 years if mantained proply but in boat if there not being used every month they will need a charge to keep them work longer.Solphation

(i think thats how it's spelt) is the biggest killer of batteries it's caused by batteries being put away flat or lack of use. the best way to deal with this is to keep our batteries on a charge when not using them so buying a good charger will help get the most out of your batteries

cheers dassa

[Dinodadog]

I only get 2 to 3 years from my deep cycle 120 amp batteries, they are well looked after but when you use them 2 or 3 times a week it cuts thier life span down.

[AZZA]

The latest pair of battries are about 20 months old and showing signs of failing ( told the mrs I should be useing the boat more to save money)went out on the weekend and got me a ctek smart charger wasnt really a problem when the boat was getting used every week or so but the last 6 months it hasnt had much use. Time to change that

[AZZA]

Hey Rob what brand have been useing

[AZZA]

Spoke to the guys at Turbo Batteries who said to bring them down as the will just need to charged up properly as the ctek or other small chargers arn't able to charge a Calcium battery fully once they have been heaverly discharged good for maintaining but though. That will be a few hundred saved

[dassa]

Hey azza me again in my opinion trojan batteries are the best on the market but they are a flooded battery.As far as gel or agm batteries go talk to others use and get there opinion as there are a lot imported from china and they can be very hit and miss.As dino said the more you use deep cycle batteries that does shorten the live if you use them 2 or 3 time a week to using them once a month

cheers dassa

[Feral]

One of my battery banks is about 7 years old and going strong, the other is about 4 years old and ok (have not had them long, but they seem ok). I have another bank spare in the shed that is about 3 years old, those are all flooded battteries, as well as 3 individual Gel batteries I use for camping and the young blokes boat, ranging from about 1 year old to 4 years old.

I keep them on smart chargers most of the time, never discharge them below 30%, if I can help it no less than 50%.(All are obviously deep cycle units).

With deep cycles it is a combination of how many times you cycle them, as well as how far down you take them. (Assuming you are looking after them correctly).

[Davo_Dinkum]

ok whats a flooded battery ?

a Calcium battery ?

[Feral]

Standard lead acid, - has free acid in it.

[rayke1938]

pinched this from another site.

Looks like the tables didnt come across in the original form so you will have to work it out yourself.

www.energymatters.com.au/.../batteries/battery-voltage-discharge.php

Cheers

Ray

Deep cycle battery voltage & state of charge

If you're the owner of a mobile or off grid solar power system, one of the most obsessive pastimes is determining how much charge you have left in your deep cycle battery bank. This is also known as "state of charge".

View our deep cycle battery range

Check out Energy Matters' heavily discounted deep cycle battery range!

While not totally accurate, the easiest way to determine this is with a multimeter if your solar regulator or charge controller doesn't have a voltage readout. State of charge does vary a little between a sealed lead acid, flooded, gel and AGM deep cycle battery types and also between brands. Even the weather can play a role

The table below shows the voltage and approximate state of charge for each type of battery.

Note: The figures are based on open circuit readings; i.e. when the deep cycle battery isn't under load and hasn't been under load for a few hours. This scenario may not occur very often in a battery based system that's continually being used; so the best time to take the reading is early in the morning before the sun hits your panels, in the evening as the sun is setting, or when it's very overcast. If if you take a reading while the battery is receiving charge, it could read anything up to 14.5 volts.

If you take the reading when the panels aren't exposed to the sun, as there will likely be power being drawn at the time, you can assume that whatever the voltage reading, it's a conservative estimate. Once all load is removed from a battery, voltage can bounce back up substantially.

State of Charge

Sealed or Flooded Lead Acid

Gel battery

AGM battery

100%

12.70+

12.85+

12.80+

75%

12.40

12.65

12.60

50%

12.20

12.35

12.30

25%

12.00

12.00

12.00

0%

11.80

11.80

11.80

Battery depth of discharge

General rule of thumb: the less your deep cycle battery is discharged before being properly recharged again, the longer it will last.

Here's an example:

A Sonnenschein Solar Bloc 100 AH Gel Battery discharged to a depth of 70%, i.e. with only 30% or 30 AH (amp hours) remaining, will have a lifespan of around 1200 cycles, which is quite impressive. However, if it's only discharged to 50%, the expected number of cycles skyrockets to around 1700! If a cycle is a day, that adds over 1.25 years to the life of the battery.

Depth of discharge, also known as DOD, shouldn't be any more than 50% in most deep cycle batteries in order to get the best value for money. So if you have a 100 AH battery, consider the cut-off discharge depth being 50 AH.

Depth of discharge is a very important calculation you should make when choosing the size of a deep cycle battery.

Here's another example: If you want to power a laptop computer, check the amps rating on the adaptor. It's likely to be somewhere between the 3 and 5 amp mark. This translates to probably around 2 - 4 amps an hour under normal usage as your laptop won't be using the full amount at all times. So, based on the lower end:

100 AH battery = 50 AH available capacity/2 amp draw = 25 hours usage.

As mentioned, there's 4 main types of deep cycle battery - sealed lead acid, flooded lead acid, gel and AGM. To learn more about the difference between them, view our deep cycle battery guide.

Energy Matters offers one of the widest deep cycle battery ranges in Australia - and at the best prices! If you'd like some expert, obligation-free advice on deep cycle battery selection, contact our friendly team. You can also use our Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS) system calculator to determine your off grid solar energy system requirements and suitable components.

Need a battery charger? We have a guide on those as well! We also offer a great range of battery chargers at discount prices!

Cheers

Ray

[rayke1938]

Bit more.

Words of caution: Lead-acid batteries contain a diluted sulfuric acid electrolyte, which is a highly corrosive poison and will produce flammable and toxic gasses when recharged and explode if ignited. According to PREVENT BLINDNESS AMERICA, in 2003 nearly 6,000 U.S. motorists suffered serious eye injuries from working around car batteries. The U.S. Eye Injury Registry reports that it is the third leading cause of eye injuries at home. When working with batteries, you need to wear glasses (or preferably Z-87 rated safety goggles), have plenty of ventilation, remove your jewelry, and exercise caution. Do NOT allow battery electrolyte to mix with salt water. Even small quantities of this combination will produce chlorine gas that can KILL you! If available, please always follow the manufacturer's instructions for testing, jumping, installing, discharging, charging, equalizing and maintaining batteries.

Do not connect /disconnect charger or anything else that is turned on as the hydrogen gas produced in the battery is very explosive.

Be very carefull when working near your batteries.An exploding battery is like a handgrenade if the acid doesnt get yoy particles of the case will.

Cheers

Ray

[noname]

AZZA wrote:

Hey Rob what brand have been useing

i'll have a look when in the boat next, i do know they are a good quality battery. i'll pm you the brand when i find out ok.

[dassa]

Hey davo a flooded battery is any battery that requires looking after with standed lead plate's to crate the power.calicum batteries have as the name sugests has calicum in the plates,it's a more attive material and alows for a longer shelf life and they are very good in marine industry or for people who could'nt be bothered the maintaine there batteries in cars.And they have just standard 1260 acid in them like flooded batteries and only need filling with tank or distilled water.

cheers dassa

[Davo_Dinkum]

ah

cheers

[mick fillet]

hey dassa you seem a pretty switched on sort of a bloke that has worked in the battery industry yeah? was wondering say if someone was to buy a battery is there a code or numbers of some sort that tells the buyer when the battery was made so the buyer isnt purchasing a 10 month old battery?

[Davo_Dinkum]

the ones i know have a stamp on a terminal and case .

sometimes both or 1 depends who makes them i guess.

a 2 to 5 letters /numbers .

something like C9 or 27H7C

C = 3rd month 9 = year 2009

H = the 8th month ,7 = year 2007

its a manufacture date.

century ,excite ,g force batterys use the 5 letter /number 1 .27H7C.

as far as i know or they used to

that's about all i know .

me and dad get dry battery's sometimes ,that way they not active till u wet them down .

[dassa]

Hey mick there are on the top of batteries (this is going to get me shot)there should be numbers and letters they go something like this 9H09 but depending on the manufacture the number is the date the letter is month the last two numbers are the year so that date is the 9th august 2009.

Abit more for you

A january,B febuary,C march but there is no I so there use abcdefghjkl

hope this helps mate

cheers dassa

ps if you got any more questions give me a call 0439 297 748 tomorrow

[AZZA]

Dropped all three of my Batteries down to Turbo batteries this morning two from the boat and one from the 4b as they all need a good charge up will find out on sat when I get back from Cairns if they have been saved.

[Yoodles82]

Hey guys, do any of you use a meter to tell how low your batteries are when your running a leccy motor?

If so, what type cuase i think i should get one.

I was told running them over half way discharged was better for the battery...to stop "battery memory" from becoming a problem.

Cheers

Nat

[Bommie]

Nat I use the battery charge indicator(low battery warning on some) on the depth sounder while running the elec. motor and it is accurate

[AZZA]

I picked up a digital volt display from Battery World for twenty bucks they are designed to go inline for fridges and the like but i fitted mine to the dash of the boat and it has been wet a few times with no problems

[AZZA]

Well it looks like I am in the market for new boat Batteries tossing up weather to go like befor with two macthing batteries which are good for starting and deep cycle combined, or a dedacated crancking bat and a dedacated deep cycle with a electronic isolatator. Any surgestions on way to go or Battery brands.

Cheers Azza