Looking After Your Leisure Battery - Solar Chat Plus

Message from discussion Looking After Your Leisure Battery
From:  market...@coffeetimeonline.com
To:  Solar Chat Plus <solar-plus@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Looking After Your Leisure Battery
Date: Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:12:50 -0800
Message-ID: <1194455570.994437.195620@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>
In-Reply-To: <1194349022.372570.115610@z9g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>
References: <1194349022.372570.115610@z9g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>
User-Agent: G2/1.0
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Correction made to the battery discharged voltage from 11.8v to 10.5
this can sometimes be disputable but it would be safe to assume that a
voltage somewhere in between would be safest, although it is not to be
recommended to take a battery near to the bottom of the range.



On 6 Nov, 11:37, market...@coffeetimeonline.com wrote:
> Looking After Your Leisure Battery
>
> First of all, what is a leisure battery!
>
> There are two main types of battery:-
>
> 1. Standard car battery
>
> 2. Leisure battery for marine, caravan or such things as solar power
>
> Although it is not impossible to use either battery in any of the
> above situations, the leisure battery has been designed to supply
> power over a long period of Time, whereas the standard car battery is
> designed to produce a high power over a very short time.
>
> The leisure battery also has the greater ability to constantly
> discharge and recharge compared to the standard car battery. This is
> known as deep cycling, although the battery shapes are similar they
> should not be interchanged on a permanent basis.
>
> Battery Construction
>
> The two battery types are similar in construction, they mainly have
> six cells filled with sulphuric acid which is topped up with distilled
> water. The main construction material is Polypropylene for the casing.
> The cells each have a set of lead plates and during the recharging and
> discharging process each plate expands and contracts. Unlike the car
> battery has good cell separation which helps contain the active
> materials and prolongs the battery life.
>
> Sulphuric acid fills the voids in each of the cells and is used as a
> conductor between the cell plates. As the cells discharge the density
> of the acid decreases reducing the ability of the plates to produce
> electricity. Obviously the recharging process reverses the condition.
>
> Battery Life
>
> The predicted life of a battery very much depends on it's use, by
> regularly inspecting for electrolyte levels (top up with distilled
> water if not a maintenance free type) and state of charge. It is also
> worth cleaning the battery around the terminals and ensuring that the
> area is grease free, clean any white deposits from the terminals with
> warm water and coat the terminals with a petroleum jelly such as
> Vaseline or a better product specifically for the purpose. ALWAYS WEAR
> PROTECTIVE CLOTHING - BATTERIES CONTAIN ACID AND ANY SPILLAGE WILL
> DAMAGE YOUR CLOTHES AND BURN YOUR SKIN. Never totally discharge a
> battery as it is unlikely to be able to recharge it back to it's
> original state. In practice it is best not to let the battery
> discharge to less than 85% of it's capacity. Using a direct current
> voltmeter check the state of charge. 12.7 volts or above indicates a
> fully charged 12v battery, 12.3 volts means it is approximately half
> charged and anything less than 10.5 volts means it is very flat and
> may not recover.
>
> Another way of checking the battery condition is to test the
> electrolyte in the cells using a hydrometer. A reading of less than
> 1.1 indicates a discharged battery, at 1.28 the battery is fully
> charged. During a long lay up period store the battery in a dry place
> (not on the garage concrete floor) but on a strong suitable bench and
> charge up at least once a month.
>
> Safety and Care Check List
>
> Avoid naked lights or electric sparks when inspecting or topping up
>
> Remove the negative terminal first
>
> Ensure the battery is securely fixed
>
> Use gloves, protective clothing and goggles when cleaning and topping
> up
>
> Never smoke near a battery or when maintaining
>
> Turn off battery charger and disconnect mains electricity before
> moving battery
>
> Always use proper clamping clips on battery terminals
>
> Ensure battery venting is clear and properly positioned if a pipe is
> supplied
>
> If you have any additional information to add to this article please
> post your information here - thanks
>
> For other information please visit websitewww.solaratlas.com
>
> =A9 SolarAtlas.com