Batteries Updated April 2010
Updated Wednesday 12/01/2011 10:52am
BATTERIES – KEEPING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE: APRIL 2010 UPDATE.
It is over five years since we last published a paper on our website, concerning batteries.
During this time, there have been a few changes and trends. Even higher electrical loads, especially with the increasing use of inverters, and more battery makes on the market, if not battery types, have emerged. In our opinion, having tested numerous batteries over a three year period, AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) sealed batteries have come to the forefront as perhaps the best all rounder, providing cost is not an issue. Although expensive, battery performance arguably justifies the extra expense, in terms of life, low self-discharge, charging capability, especially at low temperatures, faster charging and the ability to cope with ‘almost acceptable abuse’, such as excessive deep-cycling or leaving them in a discharged condition for periods.
Gel batteries remain not far behind but they need to be looked after and care should be taken when re-charging. Notwithstanding, it is claimed that, with Gel batteries, deep-discharge and cyclical performance is 30% better than with AGM.
In the last paper, wet commercial vehicle batteries were put forward as probably the best value for money. This still holds true, providing they are not allowed to go below 50% state-of-charge (12.2v) too often and you don’t mind topping them up. Semi-traction batteries are occasionally available at marginally higher prices and these are excellent value for money, such as the new Varta Hobby hybrid version, for example.
The term ‘leisure battery’ in our book generally means cheap and is often imported. A true leisure battery has inhibitors between the plates, limiting the current flow in and out, so they last longer, simply because, with low electrical loads, they are less stressed. They don’t handle abuse very well and, for the extra cost, you are better off going for one of the other types.
Imported leisure batteries are cheap but don’t perform, in our experience.
Carbon fibre batteries did not meet our test criteria in principle. A five year warranty is no substitute for lack of performance and, in any case, who would relish the task of physically changing batteries two or three times over five years?
Lithium-ion batteries are presently in the frame for the future. The potential is huge and they cover a variety of applications from cameras to electric and hybrid vehicles. For marine craft and standard vehicle use, it is still early days, in our opinion.
A couple of tips:
1. One common maxim applies in the case of inverters, battery chargers and especially batteries and that is you get what you pay for.
2. With the emergence of many new manufacturers and different types of batteries, the recommended charging regime is not always as clear as it should be, especially where charging voltages are concerned. Some batteries eg calcium – calcium, can handle higher charging voltages than others and the wrong choice can be expensive. If in doubt please contact Adverc for free advice on the subject.
This advice also applies to batteries in general. Feel free to contact us.
The batteries shown in the Adverc portfolio have been chosen, and tested in many cases – it takes a week to fully test a battery – for value and performance. You may not get a high tech battery at a leisure price but you will get what you pay for, plus ongoing customer support.
Starter batteries come in a variety of sizes and types, from wet to AGM and Gel even, the criteria being a large CCA (cold cranking amps). Leisure batteries don’t meet these requirements. Large inverters benefit from using high CCA batteries for starting, eg compressors, but be careful. Some can deliver over 900 CCA but can’t cope with repeated deep cycling eg Banner, albeit an excellent car battery, specified by BMW.
BATTERIES WE WOULD PUT OUR NAME TO FOR VALUE AND PERFORMANCE:
It would take too long to comment fully on all the batteries available on the market, but here are a few we can justifiably recommend:
Numax / Lucas Commercial (wet) – cost effective if not deep cycled.
Varta Commercial (wet) – cost effective if not deep cycled.
Varta Semi-traction (wet) – good cyclical performance (also called Hobby).
Varta ‘Leisure’ (wet) – semi-traction in disguise! (also called Hobby).
Varta Hobby (wet) – good cyclical performance.
Sonnenschien (gel) – been around for years.
Lifeline (AGM) – very expensive.
Lucas (AGM) – cost effective and good deep cycle performance.
Victron (AGM) – cost effective.
Optima (AGM) – good but very expensive.
US Motive Power (Monobloc) – good deep cycle performance.
THUMBS DOWN:
Elecsol (Carbon-fibre): batteries don’t meet their claims.
BATTERY PERFORMANCE, MONITORING & TESTING:
Our DCM III (Digital Circuit Monitor) has been around for years and is, perhaps, the most under-rated instrument in the Adverc portfolio. In simplistic terms, measuring volts and amps on four separate circuits can actually provide an insight into how your electrical system is behaving.
Although an Ah (ampere hour) function can be extremely useful, we don’t see the need for one here. In our view, voltages are the pre-eminent guide to how a DC system is performing. The DCM can be a diagnostic tool and, combined with the current measuring facility, can actually save you fuel by providing an indication of when to start or switch off your engine, when used for charging purposes.
For more details on our DCM page simply click here.
Recently, Adverc became a Rozone Distributor for Midtronics Testing Equipment. With professionals in mind and not cheap, this is the best equipment on the market for testing batteries, as well as evaluating engine starting capability and alternator performance.
For more information on Midtronics testers simply click here or contact us for further details.
