LeadAcid Battery question

[HotDog-Cart]

Hey guys. I was given an electric scooter, and basically I have a little delimma.

The previous owner states its a 24V scooter.

Meaning it should have 2 12V 1.5A leadacid batteries.

Unfortunately, it doesnt.

It has 2: 15.4ishV 1.5A Leadacid batteries. (13ish-14V on standby.)

I need to buy a charger for it. And the only ones I see on the net, are 24V and 48V.

Would it be safe to charge these batteries with the 24V chargers that I see on the net? They say they work with E-Scooter brand, which is the brand of my scooter. I'm just not aware of any leadacid battery rules.

Please help

[Mario]

Yes, that should be fine. I'm pretty sure it'll be okay under-charging them, as long as it's not over-charging them. (Which it shouldn't.)
And if the charger says it'll work with your scooter, it should work just fine.

[timmeh87]

There's no such thing as a 14 volt lead acid battery AFAIK. They are probably just 12v AGM cells... black plastic case, one terminal has red epoxy, right? 24v charger should be fine. Doesn't it just say in the manual?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbent_ ... _.28AGM.29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What do you mean by "standby"? The voltage reading you give is typical for a charged AGM/gel lead acid cell after letting it "settle" for about 6 hours. If you are measuring it immediately after charging, it might still be a bit "hot".

What do you mean 1.5A batteries... 1.5Ah? That seems depressingly low for a people-moving device. Are you sure they aren't 15Ah?

[HotDog-Cart]

Probably 15Ah. The room was kinda dark. And, Im nnot sure what I mean by standby. The battery case says "Voltage -" and then under that gives a Standby Voltage also. So it gives two voltages.

Awesome. Thanks guys.

[HotDog-Cart]

Okay. Question

These leadacid batteries have been sitting for about a year. They were stored with power, but are dead now. Probably have been dead for a while. They don't seem to be "leaking" or anything.

Is there a chance that these batteries could be damaged or broken from being stored for so long? (And being dead for part of the storage.)

If so, how much do 15Ah 12V Leadacid batteries usually cost? Whats a cheap battery place?

Thanks guys. Hopefully these work, as I just ordered a charger. $16.

[marshallh]

With SLA batteries unless they're deep cycle, never run them below 40% capacity. So, your batteries are hosed.

Replacements are probably $30-40. Check for an Interstate Batteries /Battery patrol.

[HotDog-Cart]

Should I try charging them anyway just to make sure theyre not dead forever? I honestly have no idea how long these have been dead for.

[Rekarp]

Lead Acid batteries are hosed as Marshall put it. They don't age well.

[HotDog-Cart]

Would it be cheaper to like wire up a whole bunch of Ni-Mh batteries, or just go with lead acid? I'd need two of them. Thats like $100 almost. And would it be safe to charge the dead ones just to make sure that they are dead? (Ease of mind. So it doesnt seem like I could be wasting $100.)

[timmeh87]

I had the same problem.

Me and my friend found 80 "FREE" batteries and grabbed them all. all 500 pounds of them. And they were all hosed.

So we bought some battery acid, and started adding it to the cells. They came back to life but they were definitely not the same. I tested one at about 50% capacity.

Its possible though.

Make sure they are dry before you start adding stuff, but even adding some distilled water could help. you have to pry off a plastic plate to get to some rubber caps on the cells. Wear goggles. Have fun as always.

Also, marshall, what you say about batteries is true in general, and especially of flooded "starting" cells. Starting batteries have very thin plates that can get eaten away very fast. However these AGM cells will tolerate a complete discharge pretty well. The plates are much thicker, and made of powder. It is mechanically held together by the glass mats. See image on Wikipedia.

Also, where are you looking at $100 for a 15Ah 24v battery? That sounds like it should cost about 35 bucks to me.

example (think cheaper):
http://cgi.ebay.ca/12V-7AH-12-Volt-7-Am ... 5acfbdde9d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HotDog-Cart]

Well timmeh, that one is 7Ah that you linked to.

And, I have no idea where I'd get 12Ah ones from for $35. I found a guy on ebay selling a lot of 2 for $90 CAD (incl shipping.)

Noones awnsered my question yet: Is it safe to try charging the ones I have to make sure that they are dead or not? I'd rather not waste cash and then find out that they work.

Thanks guys. I'd really love to get my scooter running.

[Rekarp]

its safe to charge them with the proper charger.

[timmeh87]

Ebay is an awful place to buy lead-acid batteries because they are so heavy - shipping costs, etc.

There's a place called sayal near my house, it sells surplus stuff, their lead-acid batteries were like 15 bucks each.

The only danger with charging them is that if you overcharge them way, way too much, they could leak a little but of hydrogen. It goes POP when you light it. I doubt the battery could explode cause its so small and there shouldn't be air in it.

[Haunted360]

Marshall is absolutely correct. Led Acid (Sealed) Batteries, should never be drained below 40%. Even 80% if you want to keep them in the best charging conditions, and keep their life in good order.

Getting them back up to a state of run, will not be easy, and also not worth the trouble.

Match is with your old battery and get a charger for it, as well as some new batteries if they are screwed, as there are heaps on eBay.


I wouldn't be using a 24 Volt Charger on a 12 Volt battery, however because if there is no protection circuit, actually - even if there was it would still fry.

And deep cycle batteries are quite dangerous. Get some of that water or I think corrosive acid on your skin - it will burn.


As for your issue. I reckon that there are yes. Either 12 Volts, or 24 Volts. Because by the sounds of your text, your using a Multimeter. When there are are fully charge, you will get a reading higher than the specified voltage output. To me, it honestly sounds like 24 volts.

Because I think, they are designed to output a constant 12 or 24 Volts until they can not anymore. And so, die. Or this is the protection circuits job. Cant remember.

But sounds 24 Volts to me. Especially if you have 2 of the SLA Batteries.

[timmeh87]

I dont know about your statement saying that VSLA (Im talking AGM cell specifically) should /never/ be discharged below 40%, as Ive read a bunch of data sheet's that specify the end-of-discharge at 10.8v, which is almost completely discharged.

For flooded cells, your statement is absolutely true. The plates are much, much thinner in order to produce the massive current needed for starting cars.

Of course, as a general rule of thumb, anyone with any kind of battery should definitely try to keep it above 40%, it makes your batteries last significantly longer.

I had a bunch of old, dry VSLA (AGM) cells that were sitting at around 0.5v, and I managed to charge them all the way back up to 14v, with the addition of some water. So it definitely can be done. The cells will never be the same though.