Sealed Lead Acid Batteries

[David HK]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If I pop into a shop to purchase some sealed lead acid batteries that are rated at 12 volts 7 ampere hours, and ask to place a pair of prongs from a digital multi-meter over the contacts, what voltage should I expect to observe?

David HK

[DamonHD]

Over 12V: see 'at rest' column in chart here...

http://solarjohn.blogspot.com/2007/03/measuring-battery-state-of-charge.html

Rgds

Damon

[Simen]

Practical chart, DamonHD... Gives one an idea of the state at a glance...

My experience with sealed lead-acid batteries are that fully charged, they have a 'at rest' voltage at around 13.00v when they're healthy.

When buying a new one in a shop, it would depend on how long the battery has been stored in the shop without any charging. According to the spec. sheet for one of mine 12v, 7.2Ah, the selfdischarge are at 92% after 1 month, 90% after 3 month, and 80% after 6 month. (All at 20deg. C.)