Electronics suppliers - Surrey/Langley - DIY Battery Backup

[scherzo]

True, true - Any battery could cause a fire - I "play" around with Lipos because I am trying to get my 5 year old into R/C car racing like I used to be... they can be very dangerous.

We also have a few SLAs around the house. Alarm backup, alarm cell backup, UPS for my little home server/wifi. They are contained in steel cases and their factory cases so hopefully that was thought about. I have a steel box that can hold this little project.

Originally Posted by mike31154

SLA will eventually dry out & then they're trash. With proper care, a deep cycle flooded battery will serve you well & IMO longer than an SLA.

I've tried slow charging an SLA after refiling it and carefully pulling the top off. It does give it some more life - in fact it worked for at least a year again. There are tons of youtube videos on how to do it. I would do it very carefully and do it outside while you can watch it.

Are there small sized deep cycle batteries as well? I don't have a lot of space around the tank.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by scherzo

Are there small sized deep cycle batteries as well? I don't have a lot of space around the tank.

Not to my knowledge. The thing that makes them 'deep' cycle is plenty of lead & I don't think there's a market for a smaller flooded deep cycle. Most of them are made for golf carts, off grid power storage, etc.

Seems the SLAs are working for you & you're keeping an eye on things. There are also AGM (absorbed glass matt) batteries as an alternative. I suspect SLAs use similar technology. Like SLAs, AGMs tend to be a bit pricier than the traditional flooded type.