SLA Battery Charging Best Practices

For many businesses, batteries are a necessary investment but also a significant purchase, which is why choosing the right battery is so important. Choosing the right battery is a key factor in the success of your project, and has the ability to save you money while improving your ROI. After you've purchased the perfect battery, the next steps are taking care of it to ensure it has a long and productive life.

Sealed Lead Acid Batteries (SLA) typically have a long life. Even at an older age, they have the ability to perform exceptionally well, if cared for properly. One of the easiest ways to take care of your SLA battery is by following the best charging procedures listed below.

Use Proper Voltage

Pay attention to the voltage requirements as provided by the manufacturer and make sure the charger you’re using provides that charge. If the voltage is too high, you risk damage. But, if the voltage is too low, the battery will never fully charge.

Wait till your battery is fully charged

It may be tempting to try to up the voltage in order to charge the battery faster but don’t. You can very easily overcharge your battery, causing it to overheat. And with any battery, excessive heat will kill batteries, fast. You also want to avoid taking the battery off the charger before it’s fully charged. This will cause the charge to drain faster than it would a full charge.

Store your battery full charged

Always store your battery fully charged.  Even when not in use, apply a full charge every 6 months to keep the battery in prime working order. The charge on a battery will slowly deplete over time, even if they aren’t being used, so you want to avoid completely depleting your SLA battery.

Avoid completely discharging your battery

Do not let the charge of your battery drop all the way to empty if you can help it. Frequent recharges from a semi-used state, rather than charging from a completely depleted state are better for your battery.

Avoid overcharging your battery

Does overcharging your SLA battery damage it? Yes, you can damage your battery by overcharging it.  Overcharging causes your SLA battery to heat up, as it gets hotter it will accept more current, which actually makes it heat up even further. When this happens it's called thermal runaway, and in a matter of hours, your battery can be destroyed. Overcharging your battery can also cause premature aging, which lessons your battery's useful life.

For more thoughts on charging, and to get more tips for extending the life of your battery, check out this blog.