February 6, 20233 yr Hi and thanks for your advice. I have a 3kVA (2400W) 24V inverter. Been in use for about 6 months. Batteries: 2 x 12V 180AH lead acid. Average load: ±450W Go up to almost 2000W when using the air fryer. During the day it even drops to 300W - 400W. The batteries easily take us through 4 hours of loadshedding. Laat week I bought 2 x 12V 200AH gel batteries. I was very surprised that we just make 2 hours of loadshedding with the 200AH gel batteries. I wasn't expecting this. Is it common that lead acid batteries out last gel batteries? Thanks.
February 6, 20233 yr 4 minutes ago, deonholt said: Is it common that lead acid batteries out last gel batteries? the gel batteries are usually sealed and maintenance free and their lifespan, under larger than manufacturer specified loads, suffers significantly, I have come to the conclusion that proper lead acid batteries, requiring maintenance... check water level, add distilled water etc. are probably the best option when it comes to that type of chemistry, in reality though, LiFePO4's (Lithium Polymer) batteries are really where you will see longer life and much higher energy density... in the future we may see Sodium Ion batteries and Alumin(i)um Ion batteries also making it to the market, but for Lithium is pretty much it... back to your batteries, most Lead Acids are specced at a load of no more than C/5, thus 20% of its rated capacity, in the case of you 180Ah batteries that would imply 36A x 24V = 864W maximum draw, which you're obviously exceeding at times... the gel don't like this kind of treatment at all, you should probably check the manufacturer's spec, but generally this is the main reason lead acid in all its forms has mostly fallen out of favour...
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