[MttBsh]

Despite my best efforts, every few months I accidently leave my 30.2 on overnight -  I know, I'm the ideal customer for a "smart" charger - but until I go that route, I like to have a fresh pair of batteries on hand for when the inevitable deep discharge occurs.

My question: does anyone know the shelf life of an unused pair of batteries? If they arrive and I don't take them out of the box for a few months are they slowly discharging? Could they discharge to the point of draining before I even use them? Any info would be appreciated

Thanks

[Earman]

The second page of this battery spec sheet from PowerSonic http://www.power-sonic.com/site/doc/prod/86.pdf has a nice graph showing discharge over time, and more importantly, the impact on the ability to recharge the battery fully. The sheet specifically states, "Due to the self-discharge characteristics of this type of battery, it is imperative that they be charged within 6 months of storage, otherwise permanent loss of capacity might occur as a result of sulfation."

[MttBsh]

Hey, thanks for the info Earman - if I maintain my current record of battery abuse I won't have to worry about a fresh pair gathering dust for 6 months. Thanks again.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi MttBsh,

Earman provided a nice link (thanks, Earman!) to the datasheet of the Power Sonic 12V, 5Ah SLA.

When you buy batteries and plan on not installing them right away, I recommend that you fully charge them before putting them in storage.  In fact, I would first measure the voltage when you receive them and make sure your supplier is giving you batteries that are close to being topped off (if they measure above 12.7V when you receive them, this is good!).  And topping them off every six months is very important to get best life out of them - per the datasheet.

Despite my best efforts, every few months I accidently leave my 30.2 on overnight -  I know, I'm the ideal customer for a "smart" charger

If you ever want to take your partially upgraded Sig 30.2 to a fully upgraded Sig 30.2 (with the new SMART 1224 board), please let me know and we can schedule this in.

if I maintain my current record of battery abuse I won't have to worry about a fresh pair gathering dust for 6 months. Thanks again.

Good point! 

Best regards,

Vinnie