The charging of a Lead acid battery at high rate may cause permanent damage to the battery. When we apply high rate of current to a lead acid battery, excessive “gassing” and heat produced, it is harmless till it is nonviolent and will not damage the battery, but it wastes energy. To prevent this the charging current should reduce gradually as charging approaches to complete.
For to ensure proper charging use only exact charges preferred for charging. Also, charging using automatic charges with monitoring is better, because it can avoid over charging, improper rate of charging, ripples etc. By its intelligent circuit.
Avoid too long discharge
Do not discharge the lead acid battery for too long and also do not leave the battery for too long periods in discharge, it may result in the permanent damage of the battery. When discharged for too long the lead acid battery loses its ability to store charge due to sulfation. Too long discharge makes the lead sulfate to form hard crystals, such hard lead sulfate coating on the plates can't be converted back to lead and sulfuric acid on charging, thus irreversible states make the lead acid battery permanent damage due to impossibility of further charging or storage of charge. Try to avoid the discharge of battery below 80% of its full charge.
specific gravity of electrolyte should not fall below 1.12 and above 1.265, it indicates a lead acid battery is in a discharged state and over charged respectively. A battery requires charging at specific gravity measure of 1.18.
1.12: - Discharged
1.13-1.15: - Very low charge
1.265: - Fully charged
1.30: - Overcharged
We can determine the condition of a lead acid battery by checking specific gravity using a hydrometer. So a regular hydrometer battery test helps maintain the condition of a lead acid battery.
Maintain proper level of electrolyte
The electrolyte level of a lead acid battery should be above the plate and separators and just below the bottom of the vent. And should check the level of electrolyte periodically to avoid the drop in level of electrolyte below the top of the plate. As a result of evaporation and gassing some amount of water in electrolyte reduces and thus water should be added to maintain the level. As the evaporation and gassing don't reduce the acid content additional battery acid is not required, pure water or distilled water is enough for that. Also, make sure the water content is not excess.
Keep dry and free of corrosion
Keep the lead acid battery dry to avoid leakage and chance of corrosion. Presence of corrosion on the terminal obstructs the proper electrical contact due to contact resistance. So make clean and ensure dryness over the battery, make it sure after every refilling of electrolyte.
Do not short the terminals
This a common rule for all batteries and supplies, as usual the short circuit causes excess current flow to an extend, where the battery voltage can drop by the internal resistance of the battery.
Short circuit current = Terminal voltage/internal resistance
I short = V/R
Consider a 12V lead acid battery. A typical lead acid battery has an internal resistance of 0.01 ohms. Then the current when short circuited is
12/0.01=1200Amperes
Such a current is large enough than a lead acid battery can withstand.
After all strictly follow the instructions provided by the manufacture.
