Customer Comments
A customer from Ventura, CA
50/50 Good News/Bad News
Out of two of these, one of em runs *perfectly*, the other one isn't quite up to specs, here's how it breaks down: 17aH @12vdc is supposed to mean that this battery will supply a 1 amp @ 12v load for 17hrs. I'm using these batteries for backup lighting, (since Edison is SOOO reliable...NOT!)
With a common 300 watt cont inverter and a single 42 watt compact fluorescent. Actually the Phillips bulb is rated 375 mA at 120 VAC - the inverter hooked up to either one of these batteries (fully charged) gives me about 95-110 vac output. Translating this power requirement to 12 vdc is 42watts/12vdc=3.5amps And: 17aH/3.5 amps = 4.857 hrs Now my inverter is over 90% efficient, but assuming 90% overall, that means I should get a runtime of around 4.5 hrs. Well SURPRISE! One of these cells will consistantly run the bulb for 6.5 hrs between charges, whereas the other is lucky to make it to 2hrs 10mins! QUALITY CONTROL in action! Guardian is not what I would call a "First Rate" battery company, but their prices are a heck of a lot lower than Optima! ;) Your mileage may vary.
Ricky Earp from Tulsa, OK
Peak amperage draw
The Exide site shows their $78 version at a peak (30 second pulse discharge) of 90Amps. Theirs is a "glass mat separator, gel-acid, sealed type". Considering the difference in price and such, I wouldn't push these nearly that hard, lest they go "bang!" Personally, I wouldn't try drawing more than 18 AMPs out of these, or you will shorten their lives greatly. These aren't the Calcium/Lead high discharge rate batteries as used in power chairs, motorcycles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, etc. Those are double to quadruple this price. They are "pro" grade, and these appear to be "basic consumer" grade. Even as a replacement for the car charger batteries, you might be "pushing the limit" on these, so proceed with caution.
A customer from Austin, Tx
Not all these are the same
This is called a "half-U1" case, which comes sized 17AH to 22AH, and it's the same case used by Robomower, batttlebots, and "jump starters", but that doesn't mean it's the same batt at all.
SLA comes in more or less 3 specializations:
General Purpose: cheap, meant to float for years and be cycled a few times at moderate currents (UPS batts, solar-charged stuff). If you run these down a lot at high currents, they will die in tens of cycles and will not run for very long each cycle anyways.
High Current batts: meant to be used for high currents like starting an engine, also often used for "personal mobility" scooters. The high current capabilities decay with repeated deep cycling.
Deep Cycle batts: built for "personal mobility" scooters, Robomowers, etc. They'll do fine at >10A discharges, and can withstand heat and vibration of being on such a device. Specs are often for >300 cycles, but really 200 is realistic for less ideal field conditions.
These are almost certainly GP batts (like 90% of what's sold). The high current and DeepC types are expensive specialty items and there are really only a few mfgs carrying good ones. I can't even find a website for Douglas Guardian, much less a spec sheet, so it's clearly a low-end GP.
Danny M
A customer from Ohio
Type?
Is this AGM? Deep cycle? How can I tell?
A customer from Nashville, TN
Max Current Drain
This is EXACTLY the battery used in the popular jumper start packs which are sold widely. And, it does work for starting your car when the battery is run down. I've never seen one do it, but I suppose it is possiblr to explode one.
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