Richard Acuti wrote:
> So, if allowing a partially discharged battery to sit too
> long is damaging because the battery builds up sulfate on
> it's plates, how long is too long?
The deeper discharged the battery is, the sooner you should recharge it.
> For example, I'm using sixteen 8 volt flooded batteries. My
> new commute has my driving 6 gentle miles one way, (resting
> voltage of about 137v) parking for 12 hours, then returning
> home, over a route that is 6-9 gentle miles depending on
> which way I choose to drive for 12-15 miles round trip. I
> plug in immediately upon returning to home in the evening.
I wouldn't think that 6mi from a roughly 13kWh pack should represent much DOD at all; I'm going to WAG it at perhaps 10-15%DOD. I think that not only is it safe to hold off charging until after the return trip, but that you might even get better life this way than if you charged fully at each end.
While the battery company charts predict exponentially longer cycle life as DOD decreases, the wear and tear on the batteries due to fully charging after each very shallow discharge could greatly reduce the actual cycle life.
Cheers,
Roger.
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