# [EVDL] PowerSonic AGM batteries, any thoughts



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I'm thinking of replacing the batteries in my 94 Geo Prizm. Currently it
takes 50 Hawker Genesis batteries, arranged in two strings of 25, each
battery being 26ah in capacity at the 20hr rate, 21ah at the 1hr rate.

Unfortunately Hawker is charging $150+ per battery in lots of 50, so
that's getting a bit nuts. Fortunately other people make batteries in
this size.

One option is PowerSonic, who makes the 26ah battery and their 28ah
battery in the Hawker form factor. The 28ah one weighs as much as a real
Hawker, so it might have the same amount of lead (21lbs). The 26ah one
has only 19lbs of lead per battery. Prices there are $50 a battery (for
26ah) to $70 a battery (28ah). The big advantage is they both use 5mm
bolts instead of the little flag terminals.

The powersonic PV12V28FR (28ah battery)
http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/UPS/1/Powersonic/PG12V28FR/PG12V28/SL107/35L107S7

And the PowerSonic PS-12260B battery.
http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/PowerSonic/Powersonic%20PS-12260B/PS12260%20B/SL107/35L107S9


The other is to go with Universal Battery UB12260's, which would be a
bit less but have the flag-and-bolt interconnections which would require
new interconnects. They also weigh in at only 19 pounds.

So does anyone have experience/thoughts about PowerSonic? Junk, good,
great? Is the 28ah battery substantially better than the 26? $1,000
better? 

Also does anyone know of a better price for them, or if it's possible to
get dealer prices in lots of 50?

Thanks!
Chris


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Chris,
I have a pair of Power Sonic 12400s, the 40 amp battery. I have begun testing at low current levels mostly because I have had them for 2 years, so far so good. I will start some high current testing next week. I don't have the results with me but when I get back home if you are interested I can send you the spread sheet. (On the road till Thursday)

Mark Grasser
Eliot, ME

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Christopher Zach <[email protected]> 

> I'm thinking of replacing the batteries in my 94 Geo Prizm. Currently it 
> takes 50 Hawker Genesis batteries, arranged in two strings of 25, each 
> battery being 26ah in capacity at the 20hr rate, 21ah at the 1hr rate. 
> 
> Unfortunately Hawker is charging $150+ per battery in lots of 50, so 
> that's getting a bit nuts. Fortunately other people make batteries in 
> this size. 
> 
> One option is PowerSonic, who makes the 26ah battery and their 28ah 
> battery in the Hawker form factor. The 28ah one weighs as much as a real 
> Hawker, so it might have the same amount of lead (21lbs). The 26ah one 
> has only 19lbs of lead per battery. Prices there are $50 a battery (for 
> 26ah) to $70 a battery (28ah). The big advantage is they both use 5mm 
> bolts instead of the little flag terminals. 
> 
> The powersonic PV12V28FR (28ah battery) 
> http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/UPS/1/Powersonic/PG12V28F 
> R/PG12V28/SL107/35L107S7 
> 
> And the PowerSonic PS-12260B battery. 
> http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/PowerSonic/Powerson 
> ic%20PS-12260B/PS12260%20B/SL107/35L107S9 
> 
> 
> The other is to go with Universal Battery UB12260's, which would be a 
> bit less but have the flag-and-bolt interconnections which would require 
> new interconnects. They also weigh in at only 19 pounds. 
> 
> So does anyone have experience/thoughts about PowerSonic? Junk, good, 
> great? Is the 28ah battery substantially better than the 26? $1,000 
> better?  
> 
> Also does anyone know of a better price for them, or if it's possible to 
> get dealer prices in lots of 50? 
> 
> Thanks! 
> Chris 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________ 
> For subscription options, see 
> http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev 
_______________________________________________
For subscription options, see
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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Not an exact comparison, but
I bought (2) 18AH PowerSonic batteries for a Ryobi lawn mower.
They lasted 5 years.
Cost $20 each in 2003.
Replaced them a month ago for $52 each
"OUCH"

Dennis
Elsberry, MO

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Zach [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 6:33 PM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
Subject: [EVDL] PowerSonic AGM batteries, any thoughts

I'm thinking of replacing the batteries in my 94 Geo Prizm. Currently it
takes 50 Hawker Genesis batteries, arranged in two strings of 25, each
battery being 26ah in capacity at the 20hr rate, 21ah at the 1hr rate.

Unfortunately Hawker is charging $150+ per battery in lots of 50, so
that's getting a bit nuts. Fortunately other people make batteries in
this size.

One option is PowerSonic, who makes the 26ah battery and their 28ah
battery in the Hawker form factor. The 28ah one weighs as much as a real
Hawker, so it might have the same amount of lead (21lbs). The 26ah one
has only 19lbs of lead per battery. Prices there are $50 a battery (for
26ah) to $70 a battery (28ah). The big advantage is they both use 5mm
bolts instead of the little flag terminals.

The powersonic PV12V28FR (28ah battery)
http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/UPS/1/Powersonic/
PG12V28FR/PG12V28/SL107/35L107S7

And the PowerSonic PS-12260B battery.
http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/PowerSonic/
Powersonic%20PS-12260B/PS12260%20B/SL107/35L107S9


The other is to go with Universal Battery UB12260's, which would be a
bit less but have the flag-and-bolt interconnections which would require
new interconnects. They also weigh in at only 19 pounds.

So does anyone have experience/thoughts about PowerSonic? Junk, good,
great? Is the 28ah battery substantially better than the 26? $1,000
better? 

Also does anyone know of a better price for them, or if it's possible to
get dealer prices in lots of 50?

Thanks!
Chris




_______________________________________________
For subscription options, see
http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev


----------



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I'm using Power-sonic 100 A-hr batteries in the electric squirrel
(entry 1001 in the EValbum, which seems to be down at the moment,
incidentally), and I am happy with them. Lee Hart has one of my
batteries, and he has run it on a cycler next to a similar battery that
is made in China. He said it took a while to wake up, but it's now the
strongest in the bunch. I'm having good results. These cost $135 each
but that was before the big lead price increase. I bought them April
2006, and started using them that winter.

These are NOT high rate (racing) batteries!!! They are built to get a
longer life by having buffers in the chemistry that restrict the
reaction rate somewhat. I have no problems briefly pulling up to 200
battery amps from them, however (my Zilla is set to limit it to this
value). This shouldn't be a problem for your Prism, though, as I know
it uses relatively low currents.

They give technical data on rates up to 100A in the literature, which
is more than we can say for most battery manufacturers. I called the
distributor for my area (listed on their website) and he arranged the
sale directly.

I have Rudman regs on each one. I would highly recommend this. They
can be remotely located, and I seem to recall you would need to do this
do to lack of space.

Please consider going with one string. Paralleling causes problems all
around. Your battery life would greatly increase. At least have a
contactor bank so that you can use only one string at a time. Each
string should be charged independently and have it's own SOC meter,
too.



> --- Christopher Zach <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> > I'm thinking of replacing the batteries in my 94 Geo Prizm. Currently
> > it
> ...


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