Behringer EPA40 Portable PA Kills Batteries

** The unit uses a 12V, 2.6Ah SLA which is being discharged at too high a rate - if played loud I bet the thing only goes for 40 minutes or so.

Try to source a new battery from a wholesaler rather than as a spare part from Behringer - cos they may well be selling ones that are more than a year old and that would explain the short life.

SLA batteries deteriorate from the day they are made and are unfit to sell after 2 years, often less.

... Phil

So an ammeter in series with the battery,amp off, on low vol and on high vol, shows what consumption?

N_Cook wrote in news:me3fok$vgb$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

high

That will be the first test once I have a working battery.

Phil's commented that the SLA is only good for a couple years, and the dead one appears to have a July 2012 date code. I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to get a fresh one. I got this one from an online audio store, and I suspect it had been sitting around quite a while.

That said, I have several UPS's that use somewhat larger SLA's that typically last 5 years. This battery was purchased charged up, used to run the PA briefly once, and when we tried it again in a couple months, it wouldn't take a charge. It's been sitting around for close to a year now. I finally decided it was time to revisit the problem because we have an event in May it would be useful for.

The battery is a 12V 2.6Ah unit, and the one I have is made by Neata. I'd love to get a Yuasa, but I don't think they make this size. There are several other vendors of these, but none that I have heard of (Tempest, Matrix, Jueyi), and the prioces are all over the map. The local battery shop doesn't carry this size, so I can't check for a freshly made one easily.

Doug White

** You were sold a battery that had gone past its use by date.

The first SLAs I ever bought ( in about 1980) were dead flat and would not accept charge - so I returned them to the store and we had a bit of a "deba te" about it. The dealer had no idea that SLA cells are ruined by being lef t uncharged for any length time. He had some more - they were flat too. The y were apparently several years old when got them.

SLAs should all be marked with the date of manufacture - but makers are un willing to do it fearing it will make ones more than six months or a year o ld unsellable.

A new SLA should ideally be near fully charged when purchased - all the one s bought from my local supplier in the last 20 years have been. If ever one required fully charging, I would return it as faulty.

NiCds and NiMH cells are not harmed by being left in a discharged state, bu t I still expect them to be near full charge when purchased.

.... Phil

Doug,

Both Digikey

Mouser (mouser.com) sell SLA batteries. Have the dimensions handy when you look at the listings, and the size of the terminals. I took a quick look at Digikey in the

2.2-3.4A range and there are several. I chose that range because the slight loss in capacity will be made up for with a good quality battery that doesn't fail, and the charge circuit will hopefully tolerate a slightly bigger battery, just make sure it fits.

Lastly I surmise you use this only rarely, like a few times a year, which is not ideal for lead acid batteries. If that is your use, then I'd consider at least adding a battery disconnect switch to the unit.

Regards, Tim

I have found that better-quality SLAs tend to have a date code on them

*somewhere*, but it is always in a cryptic format. If you can find the manufacturer's Web site, you can usually dig around and find a document that explains the date code. This doesn't work for batteries from People's Shining Battery Factory #83, though.

Flooded lead-acid batteries (car batteries) also tend to have a cryptic date code, but it's easier to find explanations on the net. I have also noticed that some distributors or sellers will put a sticker on the battery with the month and year that *they* got it from the manufacturer. I think this is partly so some buyers know they're getting a "fresh" battery, but mostly to serve as a start date for later warranty claims.

Matt Roberds

I don't have much experience on Sony's but, (no, not Holiday Inn) I have 11,000 VHS machine repairs performed. Before I suspect the heads, I would look and see if it has a little brass strip that rubs on the center of the head motor shaft. Also just try flexing the cabinet housing and see if it changes or goes away, and wiggle the rf out connection. You can see the little arm sticking out and rubbing on the cylinder motor shaft here.

Mikek

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Tim Schwartz wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@bristolnj.com:

Neither Digikey nor Mouser carry the right size.

The good news is that it is very easy to slide the battery out of the back of the PA. I had kept it installed and plugged into the charger in the hopes that it would do a decent job of trickle charging the battery, but I suspect the charger circuit isn't that good. In the future, I will pop the battery out when not in use unless I can confirm that there is ZERO drain when it is installed.

I think one of the issues with buying an SLA from other than a battery shop is that they really ought to be kept at least partially charged. I'm sure the audio place I bought this one doesn't bother.

This particular battery seems to be an odd size, which means they may collect dust more than others. I'm trying to decide who might have A) the best storage procedures (i.e. keeping them partially charged), and B) have enough turn-over that they don't start out ancient. At least one battery dealer makes a point that they keep the batteries at least partially charged.

Doug White