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electrical:severe_battery_use

Intentionally severe battery use

Lead-acid chemistries prefer light cycling and full recharge between those cycles. Lead-acid batteries are traditional cycled to 50% depth of discharge because it offers a balance between duty life (years between failure) and bank size.1) Pulling the bank below 50% DoD in emergnecies will not automatically cause damage assuming a full charge is accomplished ASAP.

This article is about the intentional severe use of lead-acid banks by running them below the 50% mark, followed by vigorous recharging at maximal voltage.2). Perhaps forgoing Float altogether. This might be desirable when:

  • reducing the weight impact of lead banks
  • one wants to make use of old/damaged/unsuited batteries until replacements can be sourced

how low can we go?

For folks willing to trade battery longevity for some amount of increased capacity, common low-end targets for low voltage disconnect are:

  • 60% DoD / 40% SoC, ~12.0 rested volts
  • 75% DoD / 25% SoC, ~11.7 rested volts
  • 80% DoD / 20% SoC, ~11.6 rested volts

limiting the damage

1)
“dead lead”
2)
the high end of the acceptable Absorption range. Maybe even EQ
electrical/severe_battery_use.txt · Last modified: 2024/03/30 21:42 by frater_secessus