# Lead Acid Fun



## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

How long did they last? 

One thing you might want to check is voltage between cells. The weak one may have a shorted cell or two.


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

You desulfate batteries by overcharging the heck out of them. My Zivan when setup for lead used to charge to about 7.75V for a 6V battery. It would boil the heck out of them but they lasted 8000 miles and were still going strong, not as good as new but I could still get 30 miles from a charge, about what I got when they were new.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

My pack is 1.5 years old and about 6,000 miles on it. I was hoping to get around 8-10k on it before it went stinky. 

I will check for a shorted cell, I do have a PakTrakr on it so I know which one is my problem. Interestingly enough, the bad cell isn't one that the PakTrakr draws power from, the stinky battery is number 3 in the my string of 12.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

TheSGC said:


> My pack is 1.5 years old and about 6,000 miles on it. I was hoping to get around 8-10k on it before it went stinky.


my first build pack of floodies (us8vgchcx) started fading around 6000 miles, and dropped to about 60% of original capacity by 7,000 miles. This was right at the limit of what I really needed many days and the major sag at the end of the day was causing 'range-anxiety', so I sold them to an off-grid guy for cheap and upgraded to LiFePO4 (thundersky).... no worries, and WAY better performance.

I would never recommend a lead-acid build at this point. The price of the Li has come down to the point where it is far less expensive over a 100k life, assuming projected life cycles pan out.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm still beating my batteries into submission. I can now drive 14 miles with taking it easy and no low battery warnings going off. I am doing some neighborhood loops cruising at 75 AMPS and pulling 150 AMPs max for accelerating, usually keeping it around 100 AMPs. It's not my normal driving, but since it's Sunday there is no one on the roads. 

I'd love to get lithium for my new EV, but I don't think it's realistic right now. The smallest pack I would go would be 120 volts 100 AH for lithium, but I can get the same capacity with 120 volts of lead acid for less than 1/3 the price. It really depends on what money I have next year, but lead acid might be my only option, being on a college budget.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm still beating around my lead sled and they seem to still be improving. For the next few month's I'll be experimenting with them while I start my new EV. I'm using the EV primarily for driving around town, and I think I'm having problems with my charger which could be why my batteries have been acting up. 

I got the go ahead for Lithiums for my next EV, which means now I gotta do all the research on them.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

TheSGC said:


> I got the go ahead for Lithiums for my next EV, which means now I gotta do all the research on them.


beg, borrow, do what you must..... but go Lithium. At this point I think that CALB from Calibpower.com is the best bang for the buck with reliable delivery from US warehouse.


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## Sunking (Aug 10, 2009)

Once the lead sulfate crystals have hardened off, there is not really anything you can do of significance.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Sunking said:


> Once the lead sulfate crystals have hardened off, there is not really anything you can do of significance.


Yeah, I will probably never get my range back but at least the EV is still good for around town drives. I'm going to really start playing with it again tonight and see if I can get some more improvements this week. I've got it up to 14 miles, and I think with some more exercising I can squeeze a little more out of it. I have to check water levels again and put the insulation back together cause it's now in the 40s here.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm still playing with my batteries, I found that my K&W BC-20 was broken, it would charge the batteries up to 110.5 volts then shutdown. I repaired it and now I can charge my pack and I'm certain I only have one crappy battery so I'm checking on seeing if I can get it replaced to allow me to have a few more months of fun EV'ing until I get the money for the new setup.

I charge at 12 AMPs and in CV mode it will drop to about 7 AMPs, so my batteries are showing their age, or it could be one my stinky battery. The EV is still good for around town and I'm getting some job lined to to make money for the next EV.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I just heard back from my battery dealer, they will be dropping off a new battery in the near future and taking away my old one.

Now I can experiment more with my EV and still save up for the new one.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

My replacement battery came in today so this weekend it gets charged and installed back into the EV. I'm going to monitor it closely and make sure the pack is all cleaned up, watered and balanced before going on any lengthy drives.


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## gsmith191145 (May 1, 2011)

sams club has 225AH 6V batteries for 75 dollars each. I am not sure how good the batteries are but 20 batteries are 1500. 

My Interstate batteries are awesome but if you cant get a good deal on batteries try sams club.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm hoping to use lithium batteries for my next pack, but I've had good luck with the US8VGC XC. If I can't get the funding for the lithium system this time around, 120+ volts of the US 8VGC XC would do me fine for a while. 

I'm going to check all the voltages and cables on my pack tonight and make sure this new battery is at the same charge level before wiring it up.


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