New Battery Break-in ?

tyhuck · 09-17-2012, 05:59 PM

I just got new batteries for my cart, and put them on for their first charge last night. Checked my voltage this afternoon and was getting over 40, which is great compared the 36.? I was getting with my old ones. Its definately more peppy, but still struggles a little going uphill, just not nearly as much.

My question is, how critical is it that I get the charge down to 75% before putting back on to charge? I ran it all over the neighborhood, and through the yard quite a few times, and Im still at 37.8v. Is it OK to go ahead and charge it or does it really need to be 75%?

li'l tugger · 09-17-2012, 07:29 PM

scottyb has a great writeup on battery break-in procedures in his website. not sure if there is a link handy but i know he is in the sponsor section.

tyhuck · 09-17-2012, 07:37 PM

Yeah, Im following his method, but I need ot know if its essential to get the battery all the way to the 75% mark, or if I could go ahead and charge it at about the 85-80% mark.

JohnnieB · 09-18-2012, 11:46 AM

I believe they should be discharged down to about 75% SoC or so a few times during the first 20 or so cycles, but recharging at 90% SoC isn't going to hurt them.
It may extend the break-in period some, but they will still mature to whatever storage capacity they are capable of.

The real danger is in discharging them too deeply (greater than 50%) during the first 20 or so cycles and some manufactures say they shouldn't be deeply discharged for up to a 100 cycles.

Different battery manufacturers have different recommendations, but them common theme is to keep the discharges fairly light (about 70%-80% SoC) during the first couple dozen cycles, but the only thing I've found about too light of discharges is that batteries that batteries that are routinely and consistently only discharged 5% or less (down to 95% SoC) don't last as long as batteries that are exercised more. (Note: the life cycle charts only go up to an average SoC of 90%)

This is contrary to what I usually preach, but during the break-in period, you might consider occasionally not recharging every night if you are only discharging down to 85%.

You really ought to drive your cart further.

tyhuck · 09-18-2012, 02:16 PM

I try, but I have to keep my trips short since its not street legal, and I live on a fairly busy highway.

09-17-2012, 05:59 PM	#1
tyhuck Gone Wild Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: East Tx Posts: 323	New Battery Break-in ? I just got new batteries for my cart, and put them on for their first charge last night. Checked my voltage this afternoon and was getting over 40, which is great compared the 36.? I was getting with my old ones. Its definately more peppy, but still struggles a little going uphill, just not nearly as much. My question is, how critical is it that I get the charge down to 75% before putting back on to charge? I ran it all over the neighborhood, and through the yard quite a few times, and Im still at 37.8v. Is it OK to go ahead and charge it or does it really need to be 75%?

09-17-2012, 07:29 PM	#2
li'l tugger Not Yet Wild Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 20	Re: New Battery Break-in ? scottyb has a great writeup on battery break-in procedures in his website. not sure if there is a link handy but i know he is in the sponsor section.
li'l tugger Not Yet Wild Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 20

09-17-2012, 07:37 PM	#3
tyhuck Gone Wild Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: East Tx Posts: 323	Re: New Battery Break-in ? Yeah, Im following his method, but I need ot know if its essential to get the battery all the way to the 75% mark, or if I could go ahead and charge it at about the 85-80% mark.

09-18-2012, 11:46 AM	#4
JohnnieB Techno-Nerd Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19,654	Re: New Battery Break-in ? I believe they should be discharged down to about 75% SoC or so a few times during the first 20 or so cycles, but recharging at 90% SoC isn't going to hurt them. It may extend the break-in period some, but they will still mature to whatever storage capacity they are capable of. The real danger is in discharging them too deeply (greater than 50%) during the first 20 or so cycles and some manufactures say they shouldn't be deeply discharged for up to a 100 cycles. Different battery manufacturers have different recommendations, but them common theme is to keep the discharges fairly light (about 70%-80% SoC) during the first couple dozen cycles, but the only thing I've found about too light of discharges is that batteries that batteries that are routinely and consistently only discharged 5% or less (down to 95% SoC) don't last as long as batteries that are exercised more. (Note: the life cycle charts only go up to an average SoC of 90%) This is contrary to what I usually preach, but during the break-in period, you might consider occasionally not recharging every night if you are only discharging down to 85%. You really ought to drive your cart further.

09-18-2012, 02:16 PM	#5
tyhuck Gone Wild Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: East Tx Posts: 323	Re: New Battery Break-in ? I try, but I have to keep my trips short since its not street legal, and I live on a fairly busy highway.

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