What is the life time expected from an electric golf battery from Halpenny?

whitefoot

I have a Powakaddy and the original battery lasted 4.5 years.

I replaced it with a battery from Halpenny in Drogheda but that battery is now dying after only 1.5 years. Is this normal as I have always cared for the battery having it on trickle charge constantly when not in use?

I would be reluctant to buy another battery from Halpenny but perhaps I might get a better deal there when they reliase how quickly this battery died after moderate use once per week?

Any thoughts on approaching Halpenny or should I just go elsewhere for a replacement?

shane0007

I bought a MotoCaddy trolley 3 years ago & it still has the original battery going strong.
About 6 months ago, the red light would come on for the last few holes but for some strange reason that stopped happening & it's back to green for the full round.

When the battery does give up, I will be for sure replacing it with an original manufacturer's battery.

FixdePitchmark

You would want to make sure you are charging the battery as per manufacturers instructions.

The life of certain batteries will suffer if you dont follow instructions.

Overcharging in particular.
But would be different depending on battery material.

whitefoot

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

You would want to make sure you are charging the battery as per manufacturers instructions.

The life of certain batteries will suffer if you dont follow instructions.

Overcharging in particular.
But would be different depending on battery material.

I though through various threads on Boards that it was now agreed there is only one charging method which is, using the original charging unit have it on charge/conditioning constantly when not in use????

FixdePitchmark

whitefoot wrote: »

I though through various threads on Boards that it was now agreed there is only one charging method which is, using the original charging unit have it on charge/conditioning constantly when not in use????

Again. You would have to look up instructions.

See different batteries have different materials. Overcharging has damaging effect on certain batteries.

Also. Excessive demand.
A faulty charger.

But look up instructions online. I honestly think it is suffering overcharging.
But. A guess. I dont have one. Just have experience with batteries.

m r c

Couple of things here maybe.

Did you buy like for like when you replaced your battery's?
Did you buy the same ah battery the 2nd time?
Also I don't see a reputable company like halpennys being able to sell rubbish also they are authorised retailers afaik so they would have powakaddy genuine parts so unless you bought a spurious make the 2nd time you should have no bother that way either.

The minimum cycles you should get would be no less than 150-200 and that should be very minimum so unless your particular course was in some way too much for an 18ah battery ie very hilly or very wet and also bag weight might be an issue although that's probably unlikely it may be a faulty charger/battery but if you used it weekly for 1.5 yrs it's hardly the battery thb maybe the charger is at fault here.

It's been in trickle for 6 years without break, that'd be my first point of call after buying a new battery.

m r c

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Again. You would have to look up instructions.

See different batteries have different materials. Overcharging has damaging effect on certain batteries.

Also. Excessive demand.
A faulty charger.

But look up instructions online. I honestly think it is suffering overcharging.
But. A guess. I dont have one. Just have experience with batteries.

Afaik the non lithium powakaddy batteries are definitely designed to be left in trickle, same tech as a car battery for eg

whitefoot

m r c wrote: »

Did you buy like for like when you replaced your battery's?
Did you buy the same ah battery the 2nd time?
Also I don't see a reputable company like halpennys being able to sell rubbish also they are authorised retailers afaik so they would have powakaddy genuine parts so unless you bought a spurious make the 2nd time you should have no bother that way either.

The original battery was a Powakaddy branded Sonnenschein 24 aH battery. Halpenny did not have the Powakaddy battery in stock and steered me towards Euroglobe 30aH battery saying it was more powerful for the same price.

m r c wrote: »

The minimum cycles you should get would be no less than 150-200 and that should be very minimum so unless your particular course was in some way too much for an 18ah battery ie very hilly or very wet

I play on a flat dry links course and no way has there been anything close to 150 charge cycles.

m r c wrote: »

it may be a faulty charger/battery but if you used it weekly for 1.5 yrs it's hardly the battery thb maybe the charger is at fault here.

It's been in trickle for 6 years without break, that'd be my first point of call after buying a new battery.

I guess it would be prudent to check the charger before buying another battery but it appears to behave correctly. How would I perform such a test on a charger and what results should I expect to see?

FixdePitchmark

Whitefoot is it Lithium or lead acid ?

whitefoot

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Whitefoot is it Lithium or lead acid ?

It is normal Lead acid battery

FixdePitchmark

whitefoot wrote: »

It is normal Lead acid battery

Yes - hard to say without a multimeter , your battery and charger. Halpenny should have answers.
You should have got more use out of it.

I would be a little worried - the charger was not at the correct charging current when you changed. But they advised you.

whitefoot

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Yes - hard to say without a multimeter , your battery and charger. Halpenny should have answers.
You should have got more use out of it

I found the following in a different thread so I may attempt the following method.

irish bloke wrote: »

Its quite hard to check a battery completely without testing the current draw with an ammeter on a battery, but there are some basic checks you can do.

Assuming its a 12 volt battery and you have a volt meter, check the batt voltage before you charge it. If its below approx 10v, it prob means it is the battery and not the trolley that caused the issue.

Its now either the battery or charger at fault.

Plug the charger into the wall and expect to see abt 14v at the charger terminals.
Recharge the battery and expect to see approx 12.4v to 13.2v when charge is complete for a good battery.

If voltage has increased from before charge then you can be nearly sure the charger is OK. Even a bad battery should have some voltage increase.

If battery is approx 12.4v to 13.2v then try it again. If it doesn't last the round and is below approx 10v on recheck, then it is almost certainly the battery.

whizbang

The original battery lasted you well, about the upper limit, so you don't change anything related to what or how you are charging.

Making batteries is like cooking, Some folk like a bit more spice, some like more sugar.
Every little change in the mixture will change the profile and the lifetime. Even the quality of the water used to wash the lead plates before assembly will effect the lifetime.

Unfortunately a lot of people don't understand the relationship between all the different specs a battery can have, and even more people try to push the limits of what they are selling.
And then, a low volume seller could have the battery in stock without charging for almost a year before selling it on.

If your looking for Sonnenschein, Europower stock them.