Maintenance & Safety of

Stationary Lead Acid

Batteries
UTC October 2012

The Lead-Acid Battery - Chemical

Reaction

Lead Acid Battery Basics

Lead Acid Batteries are Electro-chemical devices
As such, they are designed to fail over time
Life expectancy is primarily a function of the
thickness of the positive plate and electrolyte
configuration
Traditional flooded lead acid batteries are designed
to last 20 years in normal float conditions at 77
degrees F.
Valve Regulated Lead Acid batteries (VRLA)
typically experience 5-12 years of life, with 6&12
volt monoblocs failing at the lower end of this life
expectancy range and 2 volt cells being a bit more
robust

Lead Acid Battery Basics

Stationary Lead Acid Batteries come in a variety of
designs & Chemistries:
Flooded
Plate Design: Flat plate, tubular plate and Plante
Positive Plate Thickness: Long Duration, General Purpose, High Rate
Positive Plate Alloy: Lead Calcium, High or Low percentage Lead
Antimony, Lead Selenium, Pure lead (Plante)
Electrolyte: Aqueous H2SO4 Specific Gravity varies

VRLA

Plate Design: Flat plate, tubular plate

Positive Plate Thickness: Long Duration, High rate
Positive plate alloy: Lead/tin, Lead/Calcium, pure lead
Electrolyte: Immobilized H2SO4 Gelled or Absorbed Glass Mat
(starved electrolyte) AGM, Specific Gravity varies

Lead Acid battery Basics

Battery design parameters will dictate the

charge or float voltage of the battery e.g.,
Lead Calcium vs. Lead Antimony
Temperature of the installation will dictate
the charge or float voltage of the battery
Specific Gravity of the electrolyte will
dictate the charge or float voltage of the
battery
Installation configuration e.g., distance
from battery to charge source will dictate
voltage setting

System Analysis

Measure actual plant load ( in DC amps)

Document installed batterys rated capacity
Identify required battery run time (in hours)
Multiply the DC load by run time to
determine site amp hours required, to proper
end voltage
Example:
28 amps x 8 hrs. = 224 site amp hours
Then add 25 % for end of life consideration!!
Over sizing by 25% will insure 100% coverage of
the load at the IEEE specified 80% end of life
condition

Condition of Power Plant

Things to look for:

Any Power Plant warning lights/alarms

Proper charging voltage for batteries
Normal DC charge current
Physical damage
Battery physical condition, leaks or bulges
Loose or broken hardware
Review of site records, are they easy to access?

Relevant IEEE Maintenance

Standards
IEEE 450 Recommended Practice for
Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented
Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications

The purpose of this recommended practice is to provide the user

with information and recommendations concerning the
maintenance, testing, and replacement of vented lead-acid batteries
used in stationary applications.

IEEE-1188 Recommended Practice for

Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented
Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications

This recommended practice is limited to maintenance, test

schedules, and testing procedures that can be used to optimize the
life and performance of valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries
for stationary applications. It also provides guidance to determine
when batteries should be replaced.

Reference IEEE Standards

IEEE Std 485 IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid
Batteries for Stationary Applications.1, 2
IEEE Std 484-1996, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation
Design and Installation of Vented Lead- Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications (ANSI/BCI). 1,2
IEEE Std. 1187 IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation Design
and Installation of Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for
Stationary Applications.
IEEE Std 1189 IEEE Guide for Selection of Valve-Regulated LeadAcid (VRLA) Batteries for Stationary Applications

IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers, Inc., 445 Hoes Lane,Piscataway, NJ 08854,
USA (http://standards.ieee.org/)

Maintenance of VRLA Batteries

Monthly- Overall float voltage measured at
battery terminals, Charger output and voltage,
ambient temperature, visual inspection, DC float
current
Quarterly ohmic value, temperature of batteries
at negative terminal, voltage of individual
batteries
Yearly In addition to above items, intercell
resistance values, AC ripple/current on batteries,
typically around 50 mA/ 100Ah of capacity is
normal, values 3X this range would be a
concern, check manufacturers guideline for this

Maintenance of Flooded Lead Acid batteries

Monthly String float voltage measured at the battery terminals,

general appearance: cleanliness, water levels, appearance of
battery plates, signs of post corrosion or leaking. Charger output,
ambient temperature, voltage and temperature of Pilot cell if
used, battery float charging current or pilot cell specific gravity
(temperature corrected), for antimony cells SG preferred.
Grounding, any monitoring system if installed operational
Quarterly - Individual battery voltages (cell), lead antimony check
specific gravity of 10% of the cells and float charge current, other
flooded technologies check 10% of SG if float current is not used
for state of charge indication, check temperature on 10% of
string. Refer to manufacturers literature and/or IEEE 450 for
temperature correction factors for voltage and specific gravity.
Yearly Add to quarterly routine: SG on all antimony cells, if not
using float current for other types of cells check all SG, detailed
visual inspection of all cells, Cell to cell and terminal connection
resistance values, structural integrity of racks.

Ohmic Testing Methods

Conductance:
A low AC voltage signal is impressed across the battery
terminals and the AC current response is measured. The
conductance is the ratio of the AC test current response to the
impressed AC voltage
DC Resistance:
Short duration DC load on the cell/unit to measure step change
in current and voltage. By dividing the change in voltage by the
change in current, a DC resistance is calculated using Ohms
Law
Impedance:
Performed by sending an AC current of a known frequency and
amplitude, into the cell/unit and measuring the AC voltage drop.
Compute the resulting impedance using Ohms Law

Capacity correlation performed by HBL Battery, India

480 VRLA batteries in 200 to 300 Ah range. Correlation
approximately 90%

% Rated Capacity

CONDUCTANCE CORRELATION
100
95
90

% Rated Capacity

85
80

% Original Value

120
110
100
90

Conductance

80

10

20

30

40

50

% Life

60

70

80

90

100

Source: Johnson Controls Form 41-7271

Rev.8/94

Ohmic Testing
IEEE 1188 addresses ohmic testing of VRLA batteries
No one method is specifically endorsed
Goal is to provide a consistent method of quantifying these
ohmic values
When taken, the values obtained, equipment used and location
test points should be recorded for consistent procedures
Trending of data is key, establish a baseline value & trend
against this value going forward
Substantial changes (typically 30% or more +/-) generally
indicate it is time to change the batteries
Installation variations will effect ohmic values parallel strings
can produce an ohmic signature substantially different from
series connected cells
Understand that all Ohmic testers may cause some Voltage
Creep

Probe Placement

Consistent Probe Placement

Ohmic Testing & Reference

Values

Baseline or benchmark value. Measurements of

known good batteries are taken to create this
value.
They come from battery manufacturers, Midtronics
lab, customer testing, discharge results.
Important to note that a reference value is an
estimate where the batteries should be, not an
exact value.
Trending new batteries is the best method.
To trend or establish a reference value, you can
take measurements within the first 1 year,
preferably within the first 90 days for VRLA
batteries. For wet cell or lead acid batteries you
can establish readings within 3 years.

Ohmic Testing Alternatives

Traditional Ohmic testing uses hand held devices to capture
conductance, resistance or impedance information.
Variations in testing procedures and failure to properly record
and trend data can introduce error.
Batteries can fail in between testing routines
Installed 24/7 monitoring reduces human error and gaps in
routines
Monitoring systems should allow for verification of cell health,
intercell connection integrity, temperature on each cell,
ambient temperature, cell and bus voltage, charge current, and
capture discharge event data.
Monitoring systems should allow for alarming to all personnel
remotely, and allow for ability to drill down to cell level
Options for communication protocol, ease of installation, and
data capture for regular reporting and filing need to be
considered