Golf Trolley Battery
Golf Trolleys - Battery Explanations Maintenance and Support
Battery Description
A gel battery known as a gel cell is a VRLA battery with a jellified electrolyte; the sulphuric acid is mixed with a silica fume, which makes the resulting mass gel-like and immobile. Unlike a traditional wet-cell lead-acid battery, these batteries do not need to be kept upright (though they cannot be charged inverted). In addition, gel batteries virtually eliminate the electrolyte evaporation, spillage (and subsequent corrosion issues) common to the wet-cell battery, and boast greater resistance to extreme temperatures, shock, and vibration. These batteries are often colloquially referred to as sealed lead-acid (SLA) batteries due to their non-leaking containers, but they are not completely sealed; the valve regulation system allows for gas to be expelled. Chemically they are the same as wet (non-sealed) batteries except that the antimony in the lead plates is replaced by calcium. This preserves the mechanical characteristics but renders the construction far less prone to gassing. The battery type is often referred to as a lead-calcium battery.
Electric golf trolley batteries commonly use deep-cycle batteries. A deep-cycle battery should be used for electric vehicles which require a constant voltage feed. Also deep cycle batteries can be charged with a lower current than regular batteries.
The key structural difference between deep cycle batteries and cranking batteries are a deep-cycle battery is designed to discharge down to as much as 20% of its charge capacity over several cycles, companies recommend that a hybrid battery not be discharged beyond 50% of its capacity
Battery Lifespan and Maintenance
The amount of electricity (i.e. electric charge) stored in batteries is measured in ampere hours. Individual batteries are usually arranged into large battery packs of various voltage and ampere-hour capacity products to give the required energy capacity. A battery service life should be considered when calculating the extended cost of ownership, as all batteries eventually wear out and must be replaced. The rate at which they expire depends on a number of factors.
Depth of Discharge
The depth of discharge (DOD) is the recommended proportion of the total available energy storage for which that battery will achieve its rated cycles. Deep cycle lead-acid batteries generally should not be discharged to below 20% of total capacity. More modern formulations can survive deeper cycles.
Some rechargeable batteries can be damaged by repeated deep discharge. Batteries are composed of multiple similar, but not identical, cells. Each cell has its own charge capacity. As the battery as a whole is being deeply discharged, the cell with the smallest capacity may reach zero charge and will “reverse charge” as the other cells continue to force current through it. The resulting loss of capacity is often ascribed to the memory effect.
Battery Cycles
Cycles for a battery means the number of charges then discharges. Battery manufacturers usually state on thier specifications how many life cycles a battery is recommended for. Electric golf trolleys are any where between 100 - 400 cycles depending on the quality of your supplier.
Battery Recommendations
We recommend not discharging your electric golf trolley battery down too far. Some people have found that they have damaged the battery by running the golf trolleys down and out! When they go back to recharging the battery it will not take the full capacity it was designed for and in some cases can half the capacity of the battery.
Deep discharge
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