I have the ability to get a very slightly used wheelchair battery to install as a second battery in my truck. It is an excide wheelchair battery. I haven't gotten any specs on it yet but it is 12 volts and I imagine is designed like a deep cycle. Is there any downside to using this type of battery or is gonna be good for my application? Thanks guys. I will try to find some details on it in a lil bit.

Luke

 

you need to find out what volts it can handle up to....i know car batteries can handle up to right about 14.8v constant.......and you will have to see what amps and volts it takes to charge it...

 

It belonged to a buddy that isn't with us anymore. His parents aren't interested in taking a bunch of his stuff home from school and I might put it in my truck. They used to use them to bench test circuits they built. I will go get the info from it today.

 

i have a few of those batterys in my garage. i didnt think they would hold up to a audio system so i just went and got a new battery and put it in the back by my amp. and i can jam all out for several hours and no problem starting the truck.

 

a wheelchair battery will probably not be good for much in an automotive situation.

 

I'd isolate it, see here: http://www.bcae1.com/battiso.htm

 

i have a Diode isolator on my dual battery setup....works really nice!

 

I don't know if it's a good idea. A diode isolator and transfer switch might be okay -- but the question is chemistry, terminal voltage, and charging current specifications.

An automotive alternator can produce very high charging currents which some batteries cannot tolerate. You need to look at the chemistry of the battery (is it lead-acid?), the amp hours, and hopefully some kind of specifications.

With that, Luke, we can give you an intelligent answer...okay we can give you a THOUGHTFUL answer.

 

I wouldn't use it. A wheelchair battery isn't meant to turn over an engine so it's not going to have Cold Cranking Amps like a car battery would. It's pretty much just meant to keep an electric motor powered up. Sure it's going to be a deep cycle battery but it's just going to screw up the integrity of your charging system.

 

if it's a wheelchair battery then it is a 12 volt 30-35 amp hour deep cycle SLA ( sealed lead acid)

These batteries can handle up a 10amp charge safely. Being that it is a deep cycle battery it's not going to do a whole lot for you and it would take quite a while to recharge if drained all the way.

What are your intentions? Honestly if you want to make any use of it buy an inverter to hard wire to it and a battery tender to charge it when you've drained it. now you have a somewhat portable power source that could run a laptop or tv for hours.

If you have anymore questions about the battery's specs or care let me know? that's what I do. I've been the store manager of a Batteries plus for the last 2 years now. and I feel these questions daily.

 

Sorry itz a Pride battery by guardian. 12volt 100AH. Andy if you can fill in any more details thats that all I got cuz thats all the battery says.

 

all the info I gave will stay the same, except that you just have a larger version ( 100 Ah)

If you want to know how long it will run a device, you can multiply the amperage by the voltage to get watt output then compare that to what ever the watt draw from the device is and vuala!