A six-volt battery has three single cells, which when fully charged produce an output voltage of 6. A twelve-volt battery has six single cells in series producing a fully charged output voltage of A battery cell consists of two lead plates a positive plate covered with a paste of lead dioxide and a negative made of sponge lead, with an insulating material separator in between.
The plates are enclosed in a plastic battery case and then submersed in an electrolyte consisting of water and sulfuric acid see figure 1. Each cell is capable of storing 2. In order for lead acid cell to produce a voltage, it must first receive a forming charge voltage of at least 2. Lead acid batteries do not generate voltage on their own; they only store a charge from another source.
This is the reason lead acid batteries are called storage batteries, because they only store a charge. The size of the battery plates and amount of electrolyte determines the amount of charge lead acid batteries can store.
The size of this storage capacity is described as the amp hour AH rating of a battery. A typical volt battery used in a RV or marine craft has a rating AH, which means it can supply 10 amps of current for Lead acid batteries can be connected in parallel to increase the total AH capacity.
In figure 2 below, six single 2. In figure 3, above a fully charged battery is connected to a load light bulb and the chemical reaction between sulfuric acid and the lead plates produces the electricity to light the bulb.
This chemical reaction also begins to coat both positive and negative plates with a substance called lead sulfate also known as sulfation shown as a yellow build-up on plates. This build-up of lead sulfate is normal during a discharge cycle. As the battery continues to discharge, lead sulfate coats more and more of the plates and battery voltage begins to decrease from fully charged state of In figure 5 the battery is now fully discharged, the plates are almost completely covered with lead sulfate sulfation and voltage has dropped to NOTE: Discharging a lead acid battery below Lead sulfate sulfation now coats most of the battery plates.
Lead sulfate is a soft material, which can is reconverted back into lead and sulfuric acid, provided the discharged battery is immediately connected to a battery charger. If a lead acid battery is not immediately recharged, the lead sulfate will begin to form hard crystals, which can not be reconverted by a standard fixed voltage NOTE: Always recharge your RV or Marine battery as soon as possible to prevent loss of battery capacity due to the build-up of hard lead sulfate crystals!
Proper recharging and maintenance requires an intelligent charging system that can vary the charging voltage based on the state of charge and use of your RV or Marine battery. Progressive Dynamics has developed intelligent charging systems that solve battery problems and reduce battery maintenance. In order to recharge a volt lead acid battery with a fully charged terminal voltage of During the battery recharge cycle lead sulfate sulfation begins to reconvert to lead and sulfuric acid.
During the recharging process as electricity flows through the water portion of the electrolyte and water, H2O is converted into its original elements, hydrogen and oxygen. These gasses are very flammable and the reason your RV or Marine batteries must be vented outside. Gassing causes water loss and therefore lead acid batteries need to have water added periodically.
Sealed lead acid batteries contain most of these gasses allowing them to recombine into the electrolyte. If the battery is overcharged pressure from these gasses will cause relief caps to open and vent, resulting in some water loss.
Most sealed batteries have extra electrolyte added during the manufacturing process to compensate for some water loss. The battery shown in figure 7 above has been fully recharged using a fixed charging voltage of Notice that some lead sulfate sulfation still remains on the plates. This build-up will continue after each recharging cycle and gradually the battery will begin to loose capacity to store a full charge and eventually must be replaced.
Lead sulfate build up is reduced if battery is given an Equalizing Charge once every 10 discharge cycles or at least once a month. An Equalizing Charge increases charging voltage to This higher voltage causes gassing that equalizes re-mixes the electrolyte solution. Since most RV and Marine craft owners seldom remember to perform this function, Progressive Dynamics has developed the microprocessor controlled Charge Wizard.
The Charge Wizard will automatically provide an Equalizing Charge every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes, when the battery is fully charged and not in use. When they finally do give out, be sure to dispose of them at a recycling facility.
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Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Prev NEXT. Everyday Tech. Cite This! Print Citation. All we need is some energy to drive the positive ions released from the anode into the electrolyte back to the anode, and the electrons that the cathode took in also back to the anode.
Over the course of several charge and discharge cycles, the shape of the battery's crystals becomes less ordered. This is exacerbated when a battery is discharged and recharged at a high rate—for example, if you drive your electric car in big bursts of speed rather than steadily.
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