View Single Post
  #4  
Old March 5th 05, 05:26 PM
Gideon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

LG,

I learned this many years ago, probably because I'm such a cheap SOB.

Sometimes those covers over the cells are extremely difficult to remove,
but I refuse to let a manufacturer convince me that a wet lead-acid battery
is "maintenance free." I know that I once spent considerable time with a
Dremmel tool cutting loose the battery cell covers which had been bonded
to the battery case. I got many more good years of service out of that
"maintenance free battery" by treating it the old-fashioned way.

"Maintenance Free" is often little more than a euphemism for a battery
which is designed to fail prematurely because the manufacturer made it
difficult to add water. Valve-regulated lead-acid technology is a great
theory, but I still trust visual inspection and the addition of distilled water
a few time per year. How much effort is that, really?

As you know, the big rules to get maximum life out of a wet lead-acid
battery a
1) Top off the charge - avoid even modest undercharge states.
2) Avoid deep cycle.
3) Examine and top off the water.
4) Avoid high temperatures (>104 ?), especially during recharging.
Many bad things happen to lead-acid wet cells at high temperatures.
Charging at high temps is particularly bad because it results in
improper battery chemistry which shortens battery life. I can't
remember the particular wrong chemical reactions anymore. Let
me know if you remember.

Isn't it fun defeating planned obsolescence?

Gideon




Ads