If they aren't mounted vertically, they won't be happy as the little bits of gunk inside will settle* on the new 'bottom' (Aka the side of the battery) and can start shorting out plates as the pile deepens, thus reducing the AH capacity of the battery. Storing them right side up only partially ameliorates this. Gel cells are resistant to this particular behavior but not immune. That said, I get several years of life out of a plain old 12AH 6V in my boats. I will be switching to LiFePO4 slowly (as the budget permits) but mainly as a weight thing. Not that the MRV is that heavy anyway, but less sprung weight is less strain on my tracks and driveline, as well as more run time for a given battery capacity.
*the main difference between a 4 year battery anda 6 year battery is the amount of depth below the plates left empty for the 'gunk' to pile up in before it starts shorting things together. ps- note that some PbSO4 batteries are designed to run on their sides, but the only ones I've got personal experience with were about 1.5' high by 2.5' wide by 1.5' deep and were used in massive battery backups. Oh, that's the size per CELL, so to run your tank on them, you'd need 6 to run at a nominal 12V :) I forget the weight but they weighed a LOT. On Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 12:40 PM, Steve Tyng <[email protected]> wrote: > I haven't had a set of SLA's give decent performance past two years. I > figure the factors of over-discharging, bouncing around in the tank, and the > cheap Chinese batteries I've been using have attributed to this. This last > battle I bit the bullet and purchased a better quality of SLA's so will see > how long they last. The next tank will be LifePO4 all the way. > > Even in a controlled environment (UPS in a air-conditioned office) you might > see five years of SLA life depending on battery quality and type. > > Steve > > > -- > You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. > To post a message, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] > Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat > -- Clark in Georgia Working feverishly to expand the Greater Southeast Georgia Co-Prosperity Sphere! Banzai! -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
