Wrenches, Our Concorde distributor sent me this follow-up to an earlier conversation we had had about float transition current. For others who use these batteries, this is useful information, so I'm sharing it here. This small distributor has been exceptionally good to work with, in case you are looking for one. Allan
-------- Original Message --------
Allan: While having a discussion with the Concorde
engineering guys, the subject of a “fully charged battery”
came up. As you and I have discussed previously, the Tech
Manual states that a battery drawing 0.5% of the 20 hour
rating is the definition of fully charged. I have always
maintained that something close to 2% was acceptable based on
my field observations. I was told that the .5% only applies to new
battery. As the battery ages, it becomes incapable of reaching
that low number. The process is a curve, and is impacted by
multiple parameters including temperature, average depth of
discharge, etc. I decided to revisit some projects that are
in the 5-10 year old range and they all seem to bottom out
much higher than .5% of the 20 hour rating. I couldn’t find a
single value among them, but they were certainly well above
1.5%. I’m hearing different things from different people, but
I would appear that the number may climb with additional years
of operational life. When I have the opportunity, I’m going
to check some older, fully functional battery banks. Good reason to have a time limit for
absorption……….. Probably “old news” to you – but I thought
I would pass on what I’m seeing. Best, Marc Kurth Centex Batteries 704 Highway 71 West - B100 Bastrop, TX 78602 Ph (512) 308-9002 |
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