A REVIEW OF CAPACITY DECAY STUDIES OF ALL‐VANADIUM

FAQS about How to adjust the capacity of lead-acid batteries

Should a lead acid battery be fused?

Personally, I always make sure that anything connected to a lead acid battery is properly fused. The common rule of thumb is that a lead acid battery should not be discharged below 50% of capacity, or ideally not beyond 70% of capacity. This is because lead acid batteries age / wear out faster if you deep discharge them.

How deep should a lead acid battery be discharged?

The common rule of thumb is that a lead acid battery should not be discharged below 50% of capacity, or ideally not beyond 70% of capacity. This is because lead acid batteries age / wear out faster if you deep discharge them. The most important lesson here is this:

What is the nominal capacity of sealed lead acid battery?

The nominal capacity of sealed lead acid battery is calculated according to JIS C8702-1 Standard with using 20-hour discharge rate. For example, the capacity of WP5-12 battery is 5Ah, which means that when the battery is discharged with C20 rate, i.e., 0.25 amperes, the discharge time will be 20 hours.

What is the C-rate of a lead acid battery?

It turns out that the usable capacity of a lead acid battery depends on the applied load. Therefore, the stated capacity is actually the capacity at a certain load that would deplete the battery in 20 hours. This is concept of the C-rate. 1C is the theoretical one hour discharge rate based on the capacity.

When should a lead acid battery be charged?

It's best to immediately charge a lead acid battery after a (partial) discharge to keep them from quickly deteriorating. A battery that is in a discharged state for a long time (many months) will probably never recover or ever be usable again even if it was new and/or hasn't been used much.

What volts should a lead acid battery be at rest?

A battery at 10.5 - 10.8 volts at rest is probably damaged. A lead acid battery should never be below 11.80 volt at rest. ↩ 'bad' battery protection solutions will just start to oscillate as the battery voltage recovers (above the cut-off threshold) when the load is removed.