12V Lead Acid

[astroboyy]

would like to know what is the full charge Voltage of a lead Acid battery. The reason is i am charging it using my triton and the voltage shown on the LED shows 14.28V and rising and then it goes down and after a while goes back up. Is this normal. Is the Voltage supposed to fall back to 12V when its fully charged or otherwise. Any advise greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[X34]

would like to know what is the full charge Voltage of a lead Acid battery. The reason is i am charging it using my triton and the voltage shown on the LED shows 14.28V and rising and then it goes down and after a while goes back up. Is this normal. Is the Voltage supposed to fall back to 12V when its fully charged or otherwise. Any advise greatly appreciated. Thanks.

For 6 cell SLA batt fullcharge about 13.2v. Don't discharge the batt below 11.8v.

14.28V indicates the plates are not in the best of health. As the voltage reduces, did the charging amps reduces as well? What charge rate did u use? Recommended charging is =< 0.5C.

[astroboyy]

hi x34, the charging amps as of now when the charging V is at 14.28 is 0.0A.

The A set is 1 as of default from triton.

Plates not in good health, does that mean the Batt is dying soon.

The charging was done in separate timing. 1st charging didnt notice the LED data.

Today continue to charge it and realised the V is going up to 14.28-14.44V then went back to 13+V. The A is at 0.0a as reflected in the triton.

[X34]

Looks like the batt is going south to me. To confirm it, do a discharge to check the capacity.

Some tips on normal SLA,

Always maintain the batt at full-charge.
Recharge the batt ASAP after use.

Cheers

[Art]

aiyoh

my SLA 2 years in my box...no maintenance and still going strong...

think I better change b4 it dies

[astroboyy]

Looks like the batt is going south to me. To confirm it, do a discharge to check the capacity.

Some tips on normal SLA,

Always maintain the batt at full-charge.
Recharge the batt ASAP after use.

Cheers

ok will do a discharge. what to look out for then. The Batt is a 12V 8Ah sealed batt.

[X34]

Astroboyy,

Use the triton to do the discharge, it will show the capacity in mah. If the capacity is say 5000mah, It would only be good for charging 2 x 3s 2000mah lipo. Or use it in the field box for starters and fuel pump.

Art,

For u, the batt can last a long time, especially if u are using it for starter and fuel pump.

The real SLA batt killer is charging motor batt. It draws a constant current from the batt and really drains it. And most SLA we use are not deep discharge type. It cannot tahan this type of treatment. Must quickly recharge it after use. Otherwise, a irreversable chemical reaction call sulfation will take place and reduce the capacity permanently.

[astroboyy]

another thing i want to know is how do i know if the charge is full. will the triton beep as like other batts as this is the 1st time i'm using it to charge PB batt. The charging seems to go on.

[Shark]

12V lead acid batt full chrg above 14V mean the batt is faulty, normal full chrg will be around 13.x V

[9VDXN]

best way to determine if a SLA is fully charged is by voltage...

If your batt health is good, it should linger in the range of 12.6v to 13.2v.

Like James had explained, SLA gassing takes place above 13.8v, so it is technically a bit damaging to the cells to be charging above 13.8v for extended period of time.

If I recall correctly, there are a few steps to charging a SLA...almost similar to lipo charging...

COnstant Current to let battery hit the desired voltage (13.8v)
Then it goes into Constant VOlatge to maintain at 13.8v...
the the top off trickle chargings to maintain the cell saturation.

[9VDXN]

When I was playing with high current PV panels for boating use previously, I used to experiment with lots of SLA batts, standard hydro cells, SLA, deepcycle marine cells, etc....some cells however, are rated to be able to handle up to 14.4v, being 6x 2.4v/cell at maximum charging voltage.

Do read the specs of the cell manufacturer to get a better idea of how u should charge your SLA.....best & safest way is to follow the regular method, ie not to go above 13.8v, which is 2.3v/cell.

[X34]

another thing i want to know is how do i know if the charge is full. will the triton beep as like other batts as this is the 1st time i'm using it to charge PB batt. The charging seems to go on.

Best to check the manual regarding end of charge.

Unlike ordinary batt charger, our smart charger(triton, orbit, schulze) charges lead acid differently as compared to wall chargers. The wall chargers typically charges the batt to 80% capacity only. Whereas the smart chargers can charge up to 100% capacity.

There are 3 steps to charge SLA to 100%.

1, Bulk charging -upto 80% (wall charger can do this only)
2, Constant voltage - 6 cells is 14.4v, it will maintain the voltage and reduces the current till 0, 98% capacity
3, Float charge. The charger will regulate the voltage to 13.4V and trickle the batt to 100%.

I normally leave my SLA connected to the charger till I next use it.
If u do what I do,
Don't switch off the charger. otherwise it acts as a discharger!

[kennyc]

Best to check the manual regarding end of charge.



I normally leave my SLA connected to the charger till I next use it.
If u do what I do,
Don't switch off the charger. otherwise it acts as a discharger!

yes yes...
Normal lead acid battery charger (the made in Taiwan/china ones)should have trickle charge mode. so if you leave it over a day or two, it should peak.

[kennyc]

Astroboyy,

. Otherwise, a irreversable chemical reaction call sulfation will take place and reduce the capacity permanently.

sulphation, that is one word i have not heard in a long time...ehhee

[Mad Armour]

Hi,

I've just gotten myself a spotlight with rechargable batt (2mil candle power type).

Specs: SLA 6V 4Ah

Comes with AC wall charger. Label states Adapter, Output 12V 500mA. Also comes with cig lighter plug for in-car charging.

My question is whether it's OK to charge a 6V SLA with 12V.