Charging / breaking in new batteries?

[jakesnake27]

Originally Posted by SaltLifeCC

Battery memory, for batteries that are susceptible to it, is when you recharge batteries too often and they "learn" a much shallower bottom point than they should. So you would have a shorter runtime after a period of time of charging too often. The best example I could give you are the older types of cordless phone handset batteries. People would talk on them and then put them back on the cradle and do that long enough and you find that when you need to talk longer, they no longer last as long as you'd like or should. I don't think cart batteries develop these hard stop memories quite like that but, according to at least the sources discussed in this thread, there is something to them where conditioning them (breaking in) to a certain level of discharge before recharging them, at least 10 cycles or more, is believed to maximize their performance while reducing the time they take to charge.

Scottyb certainly knows his stuff, so when he says just ride, park, and plug from day 1, that's why this discussion has taken off. I've seen other posts support this method as well but I never paid any attention to them because they didn't come from someone like Scotty.

I guess another example I could give on battery memory would be a gas powered engine for example. Let's say it holds 20 gallons of gas, but you repeatedly fill it up everytime you use 5 gallons. Then one day it starts running out of gas when you've used only 5 gallons, even though you know there are 15 gallons left in the tank. An unrealistic example, but I think it illustrates the point.

Ok, that makes sense. Got it now... Thanks for the explanation!

[Volt_Ampere]

NiCads were the type that had the Memory issues. It first surfaced back in the early days of NASA when the batteries were charged by solar panels. They would only discharge a little when the panels were not in sunlight every hour or so. The result was greatly reduced capacity eventually. This can be recovered by doing several full charge / discharge cycles. Our golf cart batteries do not do this and they degrade more slowly if they are kept close to full charge. They are designed for deep discharge but it's not good for them.

[gornoman]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

NiCads were the type that had the Memory issues. It first surfaced back in the early days of NASA when the batteries were charged by solar panels. They would only discharge a little when the panels were not in sunlight every hour or so. The result was greatly reduced capacity eventually. This can be recovered by doing several full charge / discharge cycles. Our golf cart batteries do not do this and they degrade more slowly if they are kept close to full charge. They are designed for deep discharge but it's not good for them.

Agreed, 100%.

[Speedchaser]

Ok so i think the best idea is to plug it in when not in use, that is what I have always done.

[Stevegrmich]

. . . the combination of the OBC and Powerdrive charger work hand in hand to maintain the battery charge levels, but can only do so when they can "talk" to each other . . . that is why I am always plugged in when not in use . . .

[SaltLifeCC]

Originally Posted by Speedchaser

Ok so i think the best idea is to plug it in when not in use, that is what I have always done.

To be clear, what we "always do" is not in question here. There is not as much dispute over what to do on an ongoing basis as there is over a breakin process and period. The breakin process, if you believe there is one, is a temporary exception to the widely accepted process of "if you park it, plug it in".

So, yes, the recommendation is to charge the cart when not in use on an everyday basis. For new battery breakin, you have 2 schools of thought - so it is up to you to read and follow what you feel is the right thing to do.

[Speedchaser]

Salt, by not charging it goes against everything I ever read about plate build up. Do a google search and read about what causes plate build up and I think you will agree the best option is to keep them on the charger when not in use.

Sulfation occurs when a lead acid battery is deprived of a full charge.

[SaltLifeCC]

As long as there is conflicting information from reputable sources, I'm not going to agree with one or the other. I understand your points speed but breakin is a short term, temporary process and there seems to be reasons to support that process just as there is anecdotal information to support always plugging in. As is often the case with information on this forum and the internet as a whole, one just has to read everything and make their own decision.

Personally, I am already well into the breakin process, so there is no going back. However, I often am able to discharge my batteries close to the recommended amount with a day's use anyway, so I'm really sort of accomplishing both methods.

[Speedchaser]

Like you said Salt, use mine for golf anyway so its 18 holes and charge it, regardless of breakin or not.

[SaltLifeCC]

This thread is just making me more and more curious. So, I went to the Trojan website and I do not find any "break in" recommendations anywhere on their site, including their online manual. So, I've emailed their technical support for a recommendation and will post their response here in this thread if/when I get one.

By the way, speed, a google search of battery break in procedure will also yield lots of information on why you should do it. So google is not going to settle this discussion. Hopefully, we'll see what, at least one manufacturer, recommends officially.