How to extend the service life of lead-acid battery pack
Due to the late start of China's automobile industry and its technological backwardness in engines and gearboxes, China's automobile technology lags behind that of the West, coupled with China's lack of oil and the full utilization of China's water, photovoltaic and wind energy, electric vehicles are a development direction for China in the future and an important development direction for China. The best way for transportation vehicles to achieve overtaking in curves.
Using lead-acid batteries as the power source for electric vehicles is currently the most common method. However, people do not know much about the characteristics of lead-acid batteries and often do a lot of damage to the batteries when using them, thus greatly shortening the service life of the batteries. I have been using electric vehicles for almost ten years. After ten years of exploration, I have found some ways to extend the service life of lead-acid batteries in electric vehicles. I would like to share them with you. First, it is convenient for everyone to use the batteries without artificial intrusion. to prevent damage to the battery; in addition, it also provides some reference for electric vehicle and battery manufacturers. Of course, I am also very amateur when it comes to batteries. There are some imperfections in what I write here. Please correct me in time.
1. Improve the consistency and accuracy of battery packs:
The battery used to power electric vehicles is not a single battery, but a battery pack. During the battery pack production and assembly process, in order to improve the battery life, one of the keys is the consistency of the batteries within the pack, which is what the battery manufacturer must do. A standard, it is also a key point that affects the service life of the battery pack in addition to the plate electrolyte. However, during the use of the battery pack, due to repeated charging and discharging during use, the consistency of the batteries in the pack will decrease, so manual adjustment is required to make the batteries consistent. The specific method is mainly to recharge a single inconsistent battery. , or artificial discharge. The specific method can be obtained by searching online using a computer or mobile phone.
2. Slow down the discharge speed: When people use electric vehicles, they have a habit of seeking fast speed. This habit can easily cause the battery to discharge too fast, which is the most harmful behavior to the battery. During driving, the slower the discharge speed, the The more conducive to extending the service life of the battery. One method that can be well controlled is to increase the number of batteries in the battery pack. For example, for an original 48-volt electric vehicle, you can add one battery (the controller may need to be replaced), or replace it with a 60-volt battery pack, and Replace the speed adjustment handle with a variable speed control handle and keep the gear at medium and low speeds, so that the discharge speed can be slowed down.
3. Reduce the depth of discharge: When you used some kind of memory cell phone battery, there was a saying that you should let the phone discharge until it is almost used up before charging, but this method of operation is harmful to lead-acid batteries. , or the harm outweighs the benefits. When people use lead-acid batteries, they should try to reduce the number of deep discharges. Because after the battery is deeply discharged and recharged, the current charger basically has a fixed voltage. Therefore, after deep discharge, there will definitely be a period of high current charging in the early stage of charging, which has a great impact on the battery life, so Try to avoid deep discharge, that is, don't recharge when the power is used too much. The specific method is to charge it after every driving to prevent excessive discharge. In addition, increasing the number of cells in the battery pack is also a good way to slow down the depth of discharge. Of course, if the battery has not been deeply discharged for a long time, it is necessary to perform deep discharge operations multiple times within a year. This will help maintain the battery capacity, but it should be fully charged immediately after discharge, and deep discharge operations cannot be performed continuously.
4. Reduce the number and amplitude of gear changes: When riding an electric bike, try to maintain a constant speed and do not change gears drastically. Especially when the electric bike starts, try to accelerate slowly. It is best if you can help the person start. Don't bear any weight if you can. Don't speed up when going uphill. It's best not to start uphill with a heavy load.
4. Replenish the electrolyte in time: The main components of the electrolyte of lead-acid deep cycle batteries are sulfuric acid and water. In addition to the natural evaporation loss of water, it will also decompose during charging. If the water content is reduced, the electrolyte concentration in the battery will be extremely high. The biggest and most common phenomenon of serious damage to the battery is that the battery is charged by the charger and becomes a battery pack and becomes useless. Therefore, the electrolyte must be replenished in time. The specific concentration must be calculated and determined according to the standard density of the electrolyte. If there is no way to determine, purchase the standard density. Just add the battery electrolyte. The amount added each time should not be too much, but it should be replenished in time to ensure that the plates are not exposed to the air. Generally, 3-5 ml is enough every six months. Avoid replenishing electrolyte too much, which can easily cause overflow, damage metal parts on the battery and objects outside the battery, and also cause pollution. If the electrolyte level is too low and does not reach the ideal height, the interval between electrolyte replenishment will be shortened. If the electrolyte is too low and cannot be replenished in time, it will seriously damage the battery and reduce the service life of the battery. Note: All lead-acid batteries need to replenish the electrolyte in time. Just adding distilled water is not enough. It is best to add standard electrolyte. If conditions permit, the density of the electrolyte can be adjusted to the specified value.
5. Control the charging time: The charging time of the battery must be controlled, and it is not advisable to overcharge. In order to prevent overcharging, observe how long it takes to charge and ride before the charger light turns from red to green. After the light turns green, there is no need to recharge. In order to control overcharging, you can purchase a timed socket to ensure that the charging time will not be extended indefinitely. At the same time, you should also observe and summarize the charging time in practice to facilitate the determination of socket timing. The charging time should be as long as possible to ensure that it is fully charged, and it should be charged for a little longer. This does not mean that the charging should be controlled and the battery should not be fully charged. There is a problem that cannot be solved yet. In my experiments, I found that when I use the charger I made for pulse interval charging, the charging time can be greatly extended, and this extended time is not Instead of charging for a period of time, such as 20 seconds, and charging again after an interval of 40 seconds, the charging time that originally only took 15 seconds to be completed is extended to 60 seconds, which is equivalent to extending the time by 4 times, and the actual charging time is There is very little power. In this way, the charging time is very long, so that the battery is dynamic and the charging time is long but it will not be overcharged.
6. Keep the battery fully charged: When the battery is not in use, use the fully charged storage method. If it is not used for a long time, the capacity of the battery will be seriously reduced. Try to increase the usage. Even if it is not used, it should be charged once every quarter. When electric vehicles are commonly used, it is best to fully charge them when the vehicle is stopped.
7. Try to shorten the charging interval as much as possible: In order to save trouble, people sometimes think that charging is not necessary when the electric vehicle is not far away. This habit is not good. If it is equipped with a timed socket, it must be recharged every time after using the electric vehicle. Supplementary power is also required to maintain sufficient power. In the absence of a timed socket, this operation may cause overcharging. It is very necessary to buy a timed socket to charge your electric vehicle. This is also consistent with the reasons and requirements of Article 3.
8. Control battery temperature: Lead-acid batteries have temperature requirements, so try to control them within a suitable temperature range. For lead-acid batteries, in an environment above 40 degrees Celsius, the battery life will be doubled for every 10 degrees Celsius rise. At low temperatures, the vitality of lead-acid batteries decreases significantly, resulting in a decrease in the usable capacity of the battery. The Front Terminal battery that was originally capable of running 40 kilometers has dropped to a battery that can run 10 kilometers. If you still use it with a capacity of 40 kilometers , it is prone to over-discharge and rapid discharge, so the battery temperature is best controlled between 20-32 degrees. Where people store electric vehicles, it is best to have temperature controls to prevent the battery temperature from exceeding. When producing electric vehicles, it is best to have a battery temperature maintenance system, such as a water bath or thermostatic cabinet around the battery. There should be a heating electric heating pipe in the water bath to ensure the temperature of the water, and there should be an insulation layer outside the water bath. In summer, the main purpose is to cool down, and air cooling and water cooling methods can be used.
9. Try to use less or no fast charging method: Fast charging is one of the ways that damages the battery life the most, just like fast discharge. I have explained the principle in Article 3. If you have sufficient time, you can use the micro-current charging method. This is one of the best ways to extend the service life of the battery. I can also recommend you to buy a micro-current charger. I don’t know if there is this type of charger now. If not, it means there is still a market here.
10. Try to keep the battery in a dynamic state. The dynamic here refers to the electrochemical process, that is, the battery needs to be used so that it is always in a state of charging and discharging, that is, it is left idle as little as possible. Because when the inside of the battery is in a static state, the compounds inside will solidify or decrease in activity, which will affect the capacity and life of the battery.
In addition to the material quality of the battery itself, the service life of the battery is mainly related to the user's maintenance. Everyone knows the relevant knowledge about batteries and carefully maintains them according to the above requirements. Generally, a set of batteries can last for 4 to 5 years without any problem. If you don't know how to maintain it, a set of lead-acid batteries will be basically useless after one year.
The service life of the battery is very important to consumers, but some electric vehicle manufacturers do not necessarily extend the battery life in the production process in order to reduce costs. This business concept is very incorrect. If a good company will definitely make a selling point in extending battery life, it will be the most popular company. If Chinese battery manufacturers no longer produce good batteries, I will tell you how to produce lead-acid batteries, so that people across the country can produce their own batteries, making battery manufacturers history.