HomeNewsHA PL 5 portable airfield lights. Battery management and handling
HA PL 5 portable airfield lights. Battery management and handling
In the battery field there are things that need to be paid attention to, especially with lead battery. For this, they must be treated properly. We always replace batteries because they have not been treated properly and almost never because they have worn out due to the number of charging cycles. With proper use, a lead battery can be charged approximately up to 250 times. It is absolutely no problem to recharge the battery after a short time, because a lead battery can be recharged roughly up to 500 times if 20% of the battery capacity has been used each time and roughly 150 times if it each time to 80. % has been used.
A battery should never be deeply discharged or overcharged because they simply break down or lose their capacity partially or completely. Deep discharge means that a battery has dropped below a certain voltage value, causing internal chemical reactions that cause the battery to stop working or to lose its capacity. And it is an irreversible process, so any loss of capacity will continue to occur and the defect is defective. Since a lead battery has a (reasonably fast) self-discharge, it must becharged at least once every two months. If a lead-acid battery is not used for a long time, this is absolutely necessary, especially in the winter period because then the self-discharge is faster due to the cold. And if a lead battery is completely empty,charge it completely immediately,because a deep discharge is of course faster if the battery is already (largely) empty.
Self-discharge is mainly a problem with lead-acid batteries, that goes fairly quickly so they also break down faster. Think of all the people who have broken the battery in the caravan or garden tools, etc. in the spring, that is because of the deep discharge that also goes faster in (freezing) cold. Nevertheless, these should also be checked regularly and if you really are not going to use a battery for several months, disconnect it from the device because then you prevent leakage currents that also cause a battery to drain.
Do not leave a battery on the charger for days, but disconnect it from the charger as soon as the battery is full.Just one night on the charger and off the next morning, that’s more than enough. There are often a trickle charge functions incorporated in chargers, but if a part of a battery has a small deviation, a trickle charge function can work incorrectly and the battery overcharges. This is of course also not good for a battery because this can cause a battery to swell and cause it to malfunction.
In short: do not overcharge a battery and simply ensure that they do not become deeply discharged, then they will last a long time.
