Problem with Acid-Free Batteries

Hi Mike:

Yes, you are quite close. I reside "almost" on the county line, between Marion and Alachua. I live on a farm, and because I do, there is no cable available and the phone lines and equipment is antiquated -- therefore, there is no fiber-optic capabilities. So, I use the old "phone line" for all of my computer Internet access. The "several Dish companies" (we have Direct TV) want at least $1000.00 "up front to install a new dish that will be capable for ISDN. Not a chance.

I do, however, have just one more question (and this is for the entire group to chime in) concerning the use and re-charging of the lead, acid-free batteries. I was once told by someone that if I don't permit the scooter battery to run down to the point that the "red idiot light" that indicates "low battery power" before I go to re-charge, I will essentially "1/2" the battery. He elaborated, telling me that, in essence, I will create a situation where the battery will hold only 1/2 of the original (designed) charge. One person on this group told me that I should set the re-charger on every time I am not using it; but when I talked with the people from whom I first bought the scooter as well as the people on-line (from where I bought the "same batteries -- I knew they were the same because they had the exact markings, right down to the name of the company that manufactures the batteries), all of them told me that I "should not re-charge until such time that it is deemed appropriate," as indicated by the power of the scooter (such as, for instance, the light illuminating, obvious slowing of the scooter, etc.).

So -- my question is -- what is the "right thing to do?" Is there such a thing as "1/2'ing" the batteries? Is it harmful to keep the units (there are two batteries in the scooter) on a charger every time it is not being used? I ask these questions because I have been through the process of purchasing three (3) sets of batteries to date, and I would rather know exactly what to do and when.

Thanks,

Mark

This sounds like the NiCad battery "memory" myth. It doesn't apply to lead-acid batteries (and only applied to NiCads in very special situations).

The usual recommendations I've seen for lead-acid batteries used in boats and RVs is that they should not be regularly discharged below

50%. Frequent deep discharges are hard on the battery, even for "deep cycle" batteries.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI  
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca  
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Peter is right. With a proper charger, a lead-acid (I think "acid-free" just means "sealed") can sit on float charge indefinitely - this is what happens in a car.

So, don't have any qualms about charging your scooter batteries any time you have the opportunity. They don't have "memory", and "prefer" to be fully-charged whenever they can.

Good Luck! Rich