Sealed lead acid batteries

"Ted Pillinger"

...... Phil

If by condition you mean state of charge, then terminal voltage is about the only indicator available. Terminal voltage doesn't vary much between 50% and 100% charge, but it provides a rough indication. If you try to measure terminal voltage right after charging, you are likely to see an elevated, incorrect reading.

If by condition you mean battery capacity, terminal voltage by itself will tell you nothing.

Do a search on battery faq and you'll find more info.

Chuck

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----

----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

I'd say the rate advised by the manufacturer in the data sheet

Do SLA batterys usually have an internal fuse? I'v never seen any mention of one in manufacturer's literature. I have seen the aftermath of people short circuiting large gelcell/AGM batterys and heard storys of other incidents. This is almost allways due to people using an uninsulated spanner and rotating it so it touchs another battery terminal or the chassis, although ocasionally people put a link lead on the wrong terminal. I'v never heard of a battery fusing, if the short is cleared after a few seconds the batterys works afterwards.

In my experiance the off-load off-charge voltage of a charged SLA battery only gives a meaningfull indication when the battery is near the end of it's life. When the battery has only a fraction of it's capacity left, in the region 10% of the original AH rating, the voltage drops quickly off charge, eg if a nominal 12volt battery is at 12.5V instead of 13.5 straight after being taken off charge it probably has significantly reduced capacity and will probably be useless within a year.

Bob

"Bob" "Phil Allison"

If you short or overload the battery - the battery goes open.

It's a simple safety feature against explosion.

...... Phil