Raylite vs Dixon vs Deltec vs Ellies Deep Cycle Batteries

[KOPITE]

Hi Gents

Ok, so my current 2x 12v calcium batteries cannot do the job anymore. The batteries don't keep the charge for long. Last night when we had an outage the batteries only lasted about 30 minutes.

Can someone advice which is the best of the 3 i.t.o

price
quality
maintenance
DoD % maximum cycle use


I will be using 2 of these on my modified RCT 2000VA UPS.
I know the charging is not too great on these units and i think it charges at 10amps, but will it damage the batteries?
Should i buy a charger and which ones are currently the best and value for money.

 

[BigEars]

Ah well the chickens come home to roost as in post 197 in this thread: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/677925-Buying-a-UPS/page14

I cant talk about the battery quality of the ones you mentioned. However if you go the 2X 100Ah route again, I bought this chargers smaller brother from Mantech for my 65Ah 12V system and I am very happy with it: http://www.mantech.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?Item=372M0330

21A charging ability is double what your charger gives and you should be safe with any 100Ah batteries out there (series connected).
100Ah battery MAX charge (SLA) is normally around 30A.

One thing. You need to contact someone who knows electronics and ask them before you spend money on a seperate charger if your original in built one can be disconnected.....otherwise the two chargers will sword fight each other......

My own was easy to do. But I don't know that UPS of yours....

 

[T-Man]

Ok, so my current 2x 12v calcium batteries cannot do the job anymore. The batteries don't keep the charge for long. Last night when we had an outage the batteries only lasted about 30 minutes.

Are these the ones you started using 6 weeks ago?

 

[The_Traveller]

Ah well the chickens come home to roost as in post 197 in this thread: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/677925-Buying-a-UPS/page14

post 202 as well

Anyway OP , why limit yourself to those brands ? Also 10A should be ok for just 2 x 12v100ah batteries. 100ah generally have a limit of 20A anyway, 150Ah 30A and 200Ah 40A.

 

[supersunbird]

What about Lead Crystal batteries?

They are double the price but seem to have many benefits

Anyone have experience with them?

 

[BigEars]

post 202 as well

Anyway OP , why limit yourself to those brands ? Also 10A should be ok for just 2 x 12v100ah batteries. 100ah generally have a limit of 20A anyway, 150Ah 30A and 200Ah 40A.

The problem as I see it is not the batteries fault. Calcium Lead Acid is not ***. Mine is Calcium Lead Acid and thriving as I sit here again with a (late) blackout...

The problem is in the way the charger handles the battery(s). If the charger is a three stage and correctly matched to the battery capacity you have no worries. Everything gets up to speed as fast as possible even with repeated blackouts daily.

The biggest killer of SLA is chronic undercharging



I monitor my setup here like a hawk. DMM watching the battery 24/7. If ESKOM does not load shed me I load shed myself for testing. Probably done 40 of those so far.

And around 10 another genuine ESKOM blackouts so far. Battery is still as strong as an Ox. Not the slightest indication it has lost any capacity.

If any capacity changes occur with my setup I will be the first to report it. So others can learn.

 

[BigEars]

More or less a double post. So deleted by me.

 

[bwana]

More or less a double post. So deleted by me.

Pro tip - if you Edit your post and scroll to the bottom of the box there is an actual Delete button that you can use instead.

View attachment 210326

 

[BigEars]

Pro tip - if you Edit your post and scroll to the bottom of the box there is an actual Delete button that you can use instead.

View attachment 210326

Thanks bwana. Somehow I always manage to mangle my posts

 

[The_Traveller]

The problem as I see it is not the batteries fault. Calcium Lead Acid is not ***. Mine is Calcium Lead Acid and thriving as I sit here again with a (late) blackout...

The problem is in the way the charger handles the battery(s). If the charger is a three stage and correctly matched to the battery capacity you have no worries. Everything gets up to speed as fast as possible even with repeated blackouts daily.

The biggest killer of SLA is chronic undercharging



I monitor my setup here like a hawk. DMM watching the battery 24/7. If ESKOM does not load shed me I load shed myself for testing. Probably done 40 of those so far.

And around 10 another genuine ESKOM blackouts so far. Battery is still as strong as an Ox. Not the slightest indication it has lost any capacity.

If any capacity changes occur with my setup I will be the first to report it. So others can learn.

Errrm... I have a totally different experience.

I started off with Lead Calcium ( never heard of Calcium Lead Acid ) and my UPS has a charger that keep the battery in tip top shape. but my batteries died very fast. Maybe the type of Lead Calcium was poor quality.

Kindly tell me where you got yours from and i'll gladly buy some and give them a shot.

 

[BigEars]

Errrm... I have a totally different experience.

I started off with Lead Calcium ( never heard of Calcium Lead Acid ) and my UPS has a charger that keep the battery in tip top shape. but my batteries died very fast. Maybe the type of Lead Calcium was poor quality.

Kindly tell me where you got yours from and i'll gladly buy some and give them a shot.

Hi traveller

This brand:http://www.ritarpower.com/

Still testing but seems to be good Ching stuff. Everyone that knows me says I test everything way too long...
Including my own stuff I build

Ah well that's me.

 

[KOPITE]

Are these the ones you started using 6 weeks ago?

Yeah, that is the ones. I bought them as I didn't know jack about decent batteries. Trying the explain to the mrs we need decent batteries is another thing. Trying to convince to fork out 3k is another thing.

That's the reason I want to research properly before committing myself in buying the right stuff.

Anyhow I appreciate all feedback so far. The more the merrier so we all give our experiences on what works out there.

 

[supersunbird]

Yeah, that is the ones. I bought them as I didn't know jack about decent batteries. Trying the explain to the mrs we need decent batteries is another thing. Trying to convince to fork out 3k is another thing.

That's the reason I want to research properly before committing myself in buying the right stuff.

Anyhow I appreciate all feedback so far. The more the merrier so we all give our experiences on what works out there.

Sjoe, they didn't last long, probably you drained them too much, experts say you should drain more than 50% depth of discharge. Well, look into Lead Crystal too, they can be discharged more deeply without negative effect than Lead Acid.

Regarding Ritar brand: my electric fence, gate motor, ADLS modem/wif routers UPS and fluorescent tube emergency lighting units is running all on that brand.

 

[KOPITE]

Ah well the chickens come home to roost as in post 197 in this thread: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/677925-Buying-a-UPS/page14

I cant talk about the battery quality of the ones you mentioned. However if you go the 2X 100Ah route again, I bought this chargers smaller brother from Mantech for my 65Ah 12V system and I am very happy with it: http://www.mantech.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?Item=372M0330

21A charging ability is double what your charger gives and you should be safe with any 100Ah batteries out there (series connected).
100Ah battery MAX charge (SLA) is normally around 30A.

One thing. You need to contact someone who knows electronics and ask them before you spend money on a seperate charger if your original in built one can be disconnected.....otherwise the two chargers will sword fight each other......

My own was easy to do. But I don't know that UPS of yours....

That charger is freakin expensive man.

 

[The_Traveller]

Hi traveller

This brand:http://www.ritarpower.com/

Still testing but seems to be good Ching stuff. Everyone that knows me says I test everything way too long...
Including my own stuff I build

Ah well that's me.

Thanks for the link. I Like the range of batteries they manufacture.

Cant seem to find the battery you are using ( perhaps im a little blind, or blonde , or both ) . Can you link me to your battery please.

 

[BigEars]

That charger is freakin expensive man.

Well therein lies the thing I have been saying all along. So many people (including myself) have wasted.

I have learned. And try to pass my experiences over to people that are willing to listen. Why waste $$$ when I have done it anyway

 

[Mars]

Ellies or Raylite are the better of those you listed. Raylite is the battery centre brand so imo your service and warranty procedure will be better than ellies who is not geared to handle battery warranties.
Stay away from dixon. Deltec is ok, but I'm all for buying South African and theyre not cheaper than the others.

 

[BigEars]

Thanks for the link. I Like the range of batteries they manufacture.

Cant seem to find the battery you are using ( perhaps im a little blind, or blonde , or both ) . Can you link me to your battery please.

A nice range indeed. Your requirements will not be met by my battery though.
Mine is a simple 65Ah battery. No deep discharge pretentions or anything. Just well made.

I cant link you to the specific battery...but it is there on the list: http://www.ritarpower.com/products.aspx?catid=16&pcatid=13

But I say again that you buy one of these and screw it up quickly with a crappy charger. Forget battery quality (within reason)....think charger, charger, charger.

I have basically hammered my forehead on forums Worldwide...most people simply do not get it

The charger is like a batteries best buddy with SLA. Forget car batteries and automotive batteries and all that.

 

[KOPITE]

Can someone confirm if 102ah batteries is high cycle and 105ah batteries are deep cycle batteries?

reading up on google makes it even more confusing.

 

[thehuman]

Need ro know make/model