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What are the important questions that are regularly asked? More importantly, what are the answers to those frequently asked questions? Take advantage of the experience we have in almost daily contact with customers and end users. By categorizing everything, we offer quick insight into technology, our services, the various products and environmental aspects of batteries. Is your question not listed here? Ask your question via our contact form.
Technical
Batteries for deep-cycle applications
With the “deep-cycle” application, the battery is used as a direct energy source: these batteries are often used intensively. In fact, they are charged and discharged several times throughout their service life. Batteries suitable for deep-cycle use are best suited for electric wheelchairs, golf carts, boats, electric lawn mowers, medical equipment and toys. Deep-cycle batteries can also be used to power electric motorcycles and scrubbers.
Batteries for standby applications
In “standby” use, the battery is used as a backup power supply. These batteries are intended for standby applications and are mainly used for emergency power. This limits damage from sudden power failure. When this emergency power is needed, stationary or standby batteries are often used. These batteries rarely discharge and the charge remains constant.
A series circuit is used to increase the total potential of a battery system (also called voltage or voltage). In a series connection, however, the capacity remains the same. For example, when 30 batteries of 12.8 volts at 100 Ah are connected in a series, a battery system is created that provides 384 volts at 100 Ah. When creating a series connection, it is very important that all connected cables be the same length and thickness. In a series connection, the positive terminal of a battery is connected to the negative terminal of the connecting battery. The remaining unconnected positive (+) and negative (-) terminals must then be connected to the device that needs power. These connections are also called the “end” positive and “end” negative of circuits.
Batteries of different capacities (Ah and voltages) should never be connected to each other by series connection. Furthermore, we recommend that batteries of the same voltage and capacity, match in brand, product series and preferably production date.
A commonly used term in the battery industry is Ah and mAh, below is a description of what these terms mean.
What is ampere-hour (Ah)?
An ampere hour is one ampere per hour, or 10 amperes for 1/10 of an hour and so on. It is amperes x hours. If an application consumes 20 amperes used for 20 minutes, the number of amp-hours consumed is 20 (amperes) x 0.333 (hours), or 6.67 Ah. The accepted number of Ah used in solar panels and backup systems (and for virtually all cyclic AGM batteries) is the “20 hours. This calculates the total discharge to 10.5 volts over a 20-hour period while measuring the total amp-hours delivered. Sometimes 6 hours and 100 hours are also used for industrial batteries because that is a typical daily cycle. Sometimes 100 hours is used to make the battery look better than it actually is, but it is especially useful for calculating battery capacity for long-term amp-hour requirements.
What is milliampere-hour (mAh)?
Milliamp-hour calculates how much a battery discharges in the span of one hour. Higher numbers here show higher battery life or higher storage capacity. High mAh ratings don’t necessarily show speed, but mostly battery life. For example, a 2000 mAh battery retains 2000 milliamps (2 amps) for one hour before it discharges to a voltage level that can be considered discharged. 1700 mAh (1.7 amps) retains 1700 mAh for one rental. 1000 mAh equals 1 ampere hour (aH).
Service
Products
Charging a standby lead-acid battery
For standby use, an AGM or Gel battery should be charged at a constant voltage between 2.25V and 2.3V per cell. For a 12V battery, that means a voltage between 13.5V and 13.8V. This can be done using a 3-stage trickle charger or a DC power supply. When there is a continuous load connected to the battery and charger, it is best to use a DC power supply to charge. The current the battery charger must be able to supply is between 10% and 25% of the battery’s capacity. That means that a Cellpower CP 12-12 with a capacity of 12Ah should be charged with a battery charger that can deliver between 1.2A and 3A.Charging a cyclic lead acid battery
An AGM battery used cyclically should be charged at a constant voltage between 2.4V and 2.48V per cell. For a 12V battery that means a voltage between 14.4V and 14.9V. A Gel battery should be charged at a maximum of 2.4V per cell otherwise permanent damage to the battery will occur. For optimum service life, it is important that when the battery is full, the battery charger switches to a maintenance charge with a voltage between 2.25V and 2.3V per cell. This can be done using a 3 stage battery charger. It will first charge at a high voltage and when the battery is full switch to a maintenance charge. An alternator can also be used for this, but never without a charge controller when connected to a Gel battery. The battery charger must be able to deliver a charge current between 10% and 30% of battery capacity. A Cellpower CPX 80-12 should therefore be charged with a battery charger that delivers between 8A and 24A.Batteries for standby use
“Standby use” – backup power: Mainly used as emergency power to prevent damage that can be caused by sudden power failure. Stationary / standby batteries are used for standby use. The batteries are rarely discharged and continuously maintained in voltage / recharged.For more information and advice on battery charging, please feel free to contact Intercel
Charging a battery correctly makes all the difference. Yet the impact of charging correctly is often underestimated. In this, choosing the right charger is half the battle. The wrong charger causes direct or indirect damage to the battery, shortening its life span. Pbq has more than 10 years of experience with valve regulated lead-acid batteries. We often see that there is not a good match between the lead-acid battery and the charger. This has a negative impact on battery performance and service life. To choose the right charger for your battery, it is very important to understand the characteristics of an AGM battery.
The characteristics of AGM batteries
The charging current for each battery is limited. For a VRLA battery, the maximum charging current is 0.3CA. This means that the charge current should be a maximum of 0.3 times the capacity of the battery. If this threshold is exceeded, the battery may become hot. In this case, the battery’s internal structure and chemical composition become damaged and the battery permanently loses capacity. The charging voltage is another number to watch out for. Each cell of an AGM battery has a nominal voltage of 2 volts, and a 2-volt AGM battery consists of a series arrangement of 6 cells. Temperature also greatly affects a battery’s performance. The charging voltage must be compensated if the ambient temperature differs from 25 degrees C.
Charging 2-volt batteries
A battery will never become full by charging it at 2 volts per cell. This requires about 2.4 volts per cell. In contrast, electrolysis with water, a component of electrolyte, can charge at 2.3 volts per cell. Therefore, it is very important not to leave the battery charger at a high voltage when the battery is almost full.
Charging gel batteries
Gel batteries have a lower charging voltage than AGM (Absorbing Glass Material) batteries. Batteries used for standby applications have a lower charging voltage than batteries used for cyclic applications. Always refer to the information on the battery’s label and its data sheet.
The charging protocol of batteries
There are many different ways to charge a battery and each type of battery will have a specific charging recommendation. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a special VRLA charger for a VRLA battery. This is because the wrong battery charger can permanently damage the battery. A VRLA battery is charged according to the CC/CV charging protocol. CC/CV stands for the two main phases in the charging process: constant current and constant voltage. After these two phases, the battery recharges with a trickle charge. Each phase has its own specific values and this depends on the battery type, battery capacity and usage.
Which charger should you choose?
A thoughtful choice of battery charger extends the life of your batteries. Read more information about charging in the datasheet of your batteries. You can find suitable chargers in our wide range of battery chargers!
Symptoms of broken battery
First of all, you will notice from a faulty battery that its performance is greatly reduced. The battery drains significantly faster than it used to, and if the battery works at all, it delivers a current that does not adequately meet your energy needs. The battery’s voltage is consistently too low. A worn and old battery also often charges poorly and very slowly. If the battery is really broken, it may not even charge at all. In that case, it is also advisable not to try that again as it can cause potentially dangerous situations. A swollen battery casing is also an obvious symptom. Swelling of the battery casing can occur when the battery is internally broken or when the battery is routinely recharged with the wrong charger. Excessive pressure has built up in a swollen battery. Once that has happened, it is strongly discouraged to continue using the battery. Another symptom is corrosion around the battery terminals. Corrosion can be caused by leaking battery acid or by the environment in which the battery is located. Corroding battery terminals cause poorer current conductivity; therefore, the battery can no longer deliver the desired power.What to do with a broken battery?
In all cases, it is not recommended to use a broken battery any longer. Not only will a broken battery no longer be able to meet your power needs, but depending on the defect, continued use may also create dangerous situations. Therefore, a broken battery should be returned to a collection point and replaced with a new one. Intercel can take care of the disposal of an old or broken battery and advise you in the search for a new suitable battery.Prevention is better than cure
Of course, you would prefer the battery to last as long as possible. There are several measures you can take to that end. On our FAQ page, under the heading ‘general’, you can find some tips on how to extend the life of your battery. Intercel provides several accessories that can help you do this.Battery specialist Intercel recommends
The right type of battery for your application depends on a number of factors. Will the battery be used a lot in cyclic applications, will it be on standby for long periods of time, should it be lightweight, or should it be able to withstand high temperatures for long periods of time? Regardless of the application, there is one aspect that always matters: quality. You want to be sure that you can rely on your battery’s power supply for a long period of time. Intercel supplies high-quality batteries for every application. Not sure which battery you need? Let one of our specialists advise you. Together with you, they will find the right battery for your application.What is the difference between a RedTop, YellowTop and BlueTop battery? Intercel Europe will help you select the right Optima battery for all your applications.
RedTop battery
Use the Optima RedTop battery for normal engine startup, where an alternator directly monitors charge status and delivers energy to the battery as needed. This is the case with most standard vehicles. Think regular cars and even heavier vehicles such as RVs that need good starting equipment.
YellowTop battery
An Optima YellowTop battery is used when the electrical charge is higher than average or when the discharge state is higher when starting the engine. This is the case in vehicles without an alternator and in vehicles with significantly high electrical loads. In this case, the average alternator output is exceeded. Consider vehicles with aftermarket audio systems, GPS, chargers, winches, snowplows, inverters, race cars. This also applies to vehicles that have been given electrical applications from the factory. Consider minivan power sliding doors and a DVD player. The DVD player in particular uses a lot of power if it is used while the engine is not running.
YellowTop battery applications
The Optima YellowTop batteries are suitable for:
- Racing vehicles without a charging system (alternator or generator)
- Special drag racing vehicles
- Vehicles with diesel engines and aftermarket electronics
- A car with audio and/or video applications with more than 250 watts compared to the OE system
- Vehicles with heavy equipment. Think inverters, hydraulics, winches or other accessories
- Electric cars
BlueTop battery
The Optima BlueTop starter battery (with a dark gray housing) is used only when a dedicated starter battery is needed; it should never be used for cycle applications. The dual-purpose BlueTop (it has a light gray housing) can be used for both engine starting and cyclic use. It is therefore a true deep-cycle battery with extremely high starting current. Trolling engines, marine applications with heavy electrical accessories and RVs should use a dual-purpose BlueTop. This is both a starting and deep-cycle battery. Use a BlueTop starting battery for marine applications and RVs if it is only for starting the engine.
Optima starting and deep-cycle battery
Note that the difference between BlueTop and a YellowTop deep-cycle battery, is that BlueTop batteries have both automotive (SAE) terminals and threaded ends. YellowTop’s (except D31T) only have SAE terminals.
Do you get confused by the colored tops? Then keep the following in mind: if the battery housing is dark gray, then you are dealing with a starter battery. If the casing is light gray, then you have a deep-cycle (dual-purpose) battery in front of you.
AGM (which stands for Absorbed Glass Mat) and gel batteries are examples of VRLA batteries (which stands for Valve Regulated Lead-Acid). They are also called SLA batteries (Sealed Lead-Acid). These abbreviations are a reference to the safety valves in the covers of these batteries. The term gel battery is popularly used to refer to both AGM and gel batteries. AGM batteries are also called “membrane,” “starved electrolyte” or “dry.”
What are the differences between AGM and gel batteries?
VRLA batteries come in two different versions: AGM batteries and gel batteries. In a gel battery, specific mixtures of silicon are often added to the battery acid, giving the electrolyte a gel-like structure and preventing the battery from leaking. By “drilling” channels into the gel, gaseous oxygen moves from the positive to the negative side. Here, oxygen encounters hydrogen gas and together the substances touch water. At that point, energy is released. Gel batteries have excellent capacity, but with the slightly higher acid resistance, they are less suitable as starter batteries. However, they are very resistant to deep discharge and will continue to work if the battery discharges 20% of its rated capacity.
In AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries, the electrolyte stays in place thanks to a separating membrane. This is why this type of battery also bears the name membrane battery. The membrane consists of a fiberglass mat and functions like a sponge. This function is based on the capillary properties of the membrane. AGM batteries are also sometimes produced with very thin separation membranes. This leads to a low internal resistance. This makes it possible to achieve a high amount of energy with a relatively small battery. This makes this type of battery interesting for a wide range of applications.
- Never charge primary batteries. These get hot and may leak or even explode.
- Fully charge rechargeable batteries the first time. This is because they are supplied uncharged by the manufacturer. This first time charging always takes longer than normal and should preferably be done the slow way (i.e., not fast charging).
- Do not charge the battery in cold environments (below 0°C). Once charged, however, they are excellent to use in cold conditions.
- Fast charging: For the convenience of NiCd batteries, it is often important for batteries to be full within 1 to 2 hours. Given the composition of NiMH batteries, fast charging within that time is not recommended, and chargers made specifically for these NiMH cells take at least 3 to 4 hours.
- Automatic charging current: It is important that the charger has a built-in check for the correct charging current for the particular battery type.
- Overcharge protection: Good chargers have an automatic timer, or an electronic control for overcharging that causes charging to stop when the battery is fully charged. Uncontrolled overcharging can cause the battery to become so hot that chemical processes cause the valve to pop open. Batteries that have become much too hot also break down internally, rendering them useless.
- Drip charging: After the charging process, the charger should be able to switch to trickle charging. If you leave the batteries in the charger for several days (or weeks) after charging, the charger ensures that the battery remains full at all times. Self-discharge is then compensated by the charger adding extra energy.
Environmental aspects
The official recycling symbol is the circle with 3 round arrows. Batteries that still contain heavy metals are covered by European Directive 157 and must be marked with a special logo (crossed-out wheelie garbage can). These logos should encourage consumers to return the battery instead of simply throwing it away in the garbage garbage can.
General
How long a battery lasts depends in part on how often and how deeply it is discharged. It is also important that the battery is charged properly and with the right battery charger. With normal use (i.e. the battery is not often discharged and charged), a service life of 5-8 years is feasible for the Gel battery and AGM battery. When using 2 Volt NiCd cells, a service life of 10-15 years can be achieved. When the batteries are frequently discharged, the service life of the batteries is reduced.
It is also important to consider the ambient temperature. A normal ambient temperature is 20°C, when this gets higher it comes at the expense of battery life.
Battery capacity (how many amp-hours it can hold) is reduced as temperature goes down, and increased as temperature goes up. This is why your car battery dies on a cold winter morning, even though it worked fine the previous afternoon. If your batteries spend part of the year shivering in the cold, the reduced capacity has to be taken into account when sizing the system batteries. The standard rating for batteries is at room temperature 25 degrees C (about 77 F). At approximately -22 degrees F (-30 C), battery Ah capacity drops to 50%. At freezing, capacity is reduced by 20%. Capacity is increased at higher temperatures – at 122 degrees F, battery capacity would be about 12% higher.
Wide temperature variations
Battery charging voltage also changes with temperature. It will vary from about 2.74 volts per cell (16.4 volts) at -40 C to 2.3 volts per cell (13.8 volts) at 50 C. This is why you should have temperature compensation on your lead-acid battery charger or charge control if your batteries are outside and/or subject to wide temperature variations.
Internal temperature of a battery
Thermal mass means that because they have so much mass, they will change internal temperature much slower than the surrounding air temperature. A large insulated battery bank may vary as little as 10 degrees over 24 hours internally, even though the air temperature varies from 20 to 70 degrees. For this reason, external (add-on) temperature sensors should be attached to one of the POSITIVE plate terminals, and bundled up a little with some type of insulation on the terminal. The sensor will then read very close to the actual internal battery temperature.
Battery life reduces at higher temperatures
Even though battery capacity at high temperatures is higher, battery life is shortened. Battery capacity is reduced by 50% at -22 degrees F – but battery LIFE increases by about 60%. Battery life is reduced at higher temperatures – for every 15 degrees F over 77, battery life is cut in half. This holds true for ANY type of lead-acid battery, whether sealed, Gel, AGM, industrial or whatever. This is actually not as bad as it seems, as the battery will tend to average out the good and bad times.
One last note on temperatures – in some places that have extremely cold or hot conditions, batteries may be sold locally that are NOT standard electrolyte (acid) strengths. The electrolyte may be stronger (for cold) or weaker (for very hot) climates. In such cases, the specific gravity and the voltages may vary from what we show.
“VRLA” stands for Valve Regulated Lead Acid, “AGM” stands for Absorbed Glass Mat, “SLA” stands for Sealed Lead Acid and “MF” stands for maintenance-free (Maintenance-Free). All four of these terms basically refer to the same type of lead-acid battery. An example is the pbq General Purpose series. These batteries all have a black color and are designed for standby applications.
Advantages of the AGM battery
AGM batteries have many advantages. They have a long service life, low self-discharge and are maintenance-free. This makes them more attractive than other types of lead-acid batteries. In practice, these advantages mean that the AGM battery lasts longer, that it can be stored for a long time without needing to be recharged, without losing too much charge, and that the battery does not need to be topped up or maintained. Also, the AGM battery can be mounted in any position (except upside down) without leaking. This makes them ideal for use in locations that are difficult to access. Because the AGM battery requires hardly any maintenance, it is perfectly applicable in autonomous systems or applications that are very remote. This makes the AGM battery a reliable source of energy for a long time.AGM batteries in all shapes and sizes
AGM batteries come in many different sizes and with many different specific features. For example, there are small 6 Volt AGM batteries for use in toys or model making, but also large AGM batteries specifically designed for heavy cyclic use or UPS systems. A suitable AGM VRLA Lead battery can be found for almost every conceivable application.Battery specialist Intercel recommends
Intercel has decades of experience with AGM battery technology. We understand how important the right battery can be for proper operation of your application. Our specialists are happy to help you recommend the right battery. For an overview of our AGM battery range, please visit our AGM battery products page. For example, we have AGM batteries of 100Ah and AGM batteries of 200Ah. For more information you can always contact one of our specialists.To maintain the correct charging current for an AGM battery, we have made one rule of thumb. The minimum charging current for an AGM battery is 10-25% of the battery capacity. As an example; for one 12V 100Ah AGM battery, we recommend charging it with a 12V battery charger with a charging current between 10A and 25A. The maximum charging current when charging AGM batteries is 30% of the battery capacity, to prevent overcharging and damage to the battery.
What happens when the charging current is too small?
Is too small a charging current harmful to an AGM battery? It is often thought that an AGM battery will fill up even with a small charging current with a long wait. But unfortunately, a battery can be damaged if the charging current is too small. Here is a technical explanation: due to gravity, the released heavy acid (during charging) will stay at the bottom of the battery. If the charging current is high enough, there will be sufficient gas formation in the battery. This creates good acid mixing in the battery, so the specific gravity of the battery acid at the top and bottom of the battery is almost the same. This significantly increases the lifespan of an AGM battery. Intercel therefore recommends that you always use a battery charger with a charging current of at least 10% of the nominal capacity of the battery.
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