Lead Acid Batteries

[temrich]

Hello all. I have a DR 10W HID and I just bought a new lead acid battery for it. I charged the battery for about 15 hours. I tried to do a burn test on the battery and it began to flicker(not bad though) after an hour and a half. Wodering if anyone had any idea what the burn time should be, did I not charge it long enough, and any other helpful advice. Thanks. Travis

[caverkevin]

what size is the battery????

[temrich]

12v, 2.9 amp h

[Sludge]

Was it a PowerSonic?

I have a 2001 Wreck 1 canister on a 10w that originally used a PowerSonic 2.9aH battery. When the batteries (I had two) became old, I ordered two more from a local battery wholesaler. When they came in, I noticed they were something like 2.1aH, although they were the same size as the old 2.9aH.

If I got two hours out of a 2.9aH, I'm guessing I'd only get about 1 1/2 from a 2.1aH.

Maybe this happened to you?

I don't remember what brand I ended up getting, but they were 2.9aH bought from arcade-electronics.com.

D'oh. Too late.

[temrich]

The new battery I got is a Power Sonic. I just went and looked at it and it says 2.9 amp h. So, maybe I need to charge it a bit more? Maybe 15 hours didnt give it a full charge. So, seeing as how it is a 2.9ah battery, should I be getting close to 3 hours of burn time? Thanks
here is the link to the site where I bought it
http://www.atbatt.com/product/3574.asp

[Sludge]

Technically, you should get 3.48 hours, but I never got more than about two before it started flickering.

[temrich]

Makes sense. I had two batteries and one started only giving me 30 minutes of burn time. So, I bought the new battery and I guess I just started to get freaked out when it didnt last as long as I thought it should. Any suggestions on a charger? I have one that has a light that is red when charging, goes dim, and then at some point goes out. Is that a good charger? It came with the light when I bought it. Any suggestions on a different style?

[Al]

Any suggestions on a charger? I have one that has a light that is red when charging, goes dim, and then at some point goes out. Is that a good charger? It came with the light when I bought it. Any suggestions on a different style?

We've been through many different chargers, and this is the one that works: http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_2

[temrich]

That charger may be my next purchase. Do you leave you batteries hooked up all the time, or do you full charge and then store when not in use? Oh, does the charger come with the old trailer style plug or do I need to find one and put it on the charger?

[FW]

Lead acid batteries (SLAs) have issues.

1. They will loose capacity if they aren't kept charged. If the "new" batteries you bought were sitting on a shelf un-charged for several months, they lost capacity before you bought them.

2. They loose capacity if they stay on the charger all the time. The best way, is to put them on the charger for one whole day, every couple of weeks. A month at maximum.

3. They loose a *lot* of capacity, if they are burned down until the HID flickers, *unless* they are recharged very soon after the dive.

All this has to do with how the lead stays in solution in the sulfuric acid. If the lead is put back on the plates (by re-charging), it is less likely to end up on the bottom of the battery as sludge.