Exide et650 hydrometer test question

[PetreMillions]

I bought a exide et650 from alpha Batteries a few months ago. I have always been unimpressed by the performance of the battery and suspicious it is not performing as it should in comparison to the battery it replaced. it drops its voltage very quickly under a brief load and never recovers. The battery is well charged by 200w renogy solar array and gets continuously topped up. It rests at 12.7v over night. I bought a hydrometer to check the cells each of them showed the same poor reading of ~1150 region which is way less than the 1270 to 1300 region it should be in.

I have never drained the battery below 12.5v before recharging the following day.

Im not at all satisfied and think this falls well short of its supposed 5yr shelf life. Does anyone with some experience have any advice / thoughts?

 

[TheBig1]

the 5 year shelf life is actually a very limited warranty. What does count is the number or recharge cycles, the depth of discharge and charging regime. What solar controller and mains charger are you using? set to which profile?

 

[Phill D]

hi welcome,
you say purchased a few months, is that like 5 or 6 months out of interest? i would contact alpha batteries and have chat.

 

[PetreMillions]

Its 3-4 months. Ive been on one two week holiday with it so cycled ~14-20 times to 12.5. Its charged with the renogy smart charger and 200w solar which is their latest generation kit set to flooded wet acid. Its been sat for a few days in the sun following a long drive. It really should be charged.

Fact is its been pretty disappointing from the get go but im no expert on it all. Also hard to know what to expect. I only use LEDs and occasional water pump and it's gone flat in just a few hours.

 

[PetreMillions]

Thanks for your help

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[TheBig1]

It sounds like a bad battery from what you say, but this far north of the equator the solar is not going to produce much this time of year. Can you use a multimeter to measure the current being drawn?

 

[PetreMillions]

I do but never used it for that purpose. Its just a normal surflo pump. Total use can't be more 1, 2mins max. The lights are about 500ma.

Thanks again for your advice