

The effective capacity of a battery varies in reverse proportion to temperature: For example for a 200 Ah battery C / 5 means a discharge current of 40 A (= 200 Ah / 5). 9.9 V and 19.8 V for a 12 V respectively 24 V system).ĭischarge current is often expressed as a proportion of the rated capacity. * With a discharge current of 1500 A (C / 1) the voltage of an A600 battery drops almost immediately to 1.65 V / cell (i.e. The tables show how capacity falls off steeply with increasing discharge current, and that AGM batteries (especially the spiral-cell battery) perform better than gel batteries under high discharge currents. Often this is 20 hour Rate, but it can also be 10 hour Rate or 5 hour Rate. The 2nd column of the first table gives the rated capacity as quoted by the manufacturer with the associated discharge time. The following tables give an impression of the capacity as a function of the discharge current. For instance a 200 Ah gel battery then has an effective capacity of only 100 Ah and therefore becomes flat after 30 minutes. With a discharge current of 200 A the same battery becomes “flat” far sooner. In general the rated capacity is quoted for a discharge time of 20 hour Rate (discharge current I = C / 20).įor a 200 Ah battery this means that the rated capacity can be delivered at a discharge current of 200 Ah / 20 hours = 10 Ampères. This is related to the diffusion process. The faster the rate of discharge, the less Ah capacity will be available. The capacity of a battery is dependent on the rate of discharge. Please be aware that The descriptions below relate to Lead Acid battery types.
