Batteries
8
you should add distilled water. Follow the battery
manufacturer’s recommendations for maintenance.
•
Never allow the tops of the battery plates to be exposed to
air. This will contaminate the battery cells. When neces-
sary, add distilled water to the battery.
•
Keep the battery tops and terminals clean.
•
Always provide adequate ventilation in the battery storage
compartment.
Gel Cell Batteries
Gel cell batteries are sealed, lead-acid batteries. They have the
following features:
•
No Maintenance
•
Low Self-Discharge Rate
•
Low Internal Resistance
Even though gel cells are sealed batteries, you should ventilate
the battery compartment.
Advanced AGM Batteries
AGM batteries are sealed, lead acid batteries. They are similar
to gel cell batteries. The charging parameters are similar to wet
cell batteries.
Battery Bank Ratings and Sizing
Deep-cycle batteries are rated in amp-hours. The amp-hour
rating is based on a 20-hour discharge rate; therefore, a 100
amp-hour battery can deliver 5 amps for 20 hours.
When the discharge rate is greater than 5 amps, the available
amp-hours are decreased. As the discharge rate increases, the
effective battery capacity is reduced. For example, if the
discharge rate is increased to 100 amps, the battery can deliver
about 45 amp-hours.
