Performance characteristics of a gelled-electrolyte valve-regulated lead-acid battery

Abstract

12 V/25 AH gelled- electrolyte valve- regulated lead- acid batteries have been assembled in- house and their performance studied in relation to the absorptive glass- microfibre valve- regulated and flooded-electrolyte counterparts at various discharge rates and temperatures between -40°C and 40°C. Although the performance of the gelled- electrolyte valve- regulated battery is similar to both the absorptive glass- microfibre valve- regulated and flooded- electrolyte lead- acid batteries at temperatures above 0°C, it is superior to both the flooded- electrolyte and absorptive glass- microfibre valve- regulated lead- acid batteries at temperatures between 0°C and -40°C. The latter characteristic is attractive for expanding the application regime of valve-regulated lead- acid batteries. The corrosion rate for the positive grids in the gelled- electrolyte is also lower than both the flooded- electrolyte and absorptive glass- microfibre configurations.