Battery FAQ
1. What is the definition of “cycle use” and “standby use”?
2. Why is the charging voltage for “cycle use” higher that the voltage used for “standby use”?
3. What is the effect of different charging currents on batteries?
4. What does “100% discharge”and “50% discharge”mean?
5. Thermal runaway will happen if a battery is operated under 40-50℃ for a long period. How will thermal runaway effect a battery?
6. How can you check to see if a battery has been fully charged?
7. What are the concerns when using OSTAR POWER batteries in a parallel or a serial series?
8. How can you check a battery’s performance?
9. If a battery is stored for 6 months at 30℃ (86℉) since its manufacturing date, how can you bring the battery’s performance back to 90% in 1 hour’s time? Will that procedure cause any quality problems?
10. How can the conversion be made between “watts (W)” and “amp hours (Ah)”?
11. Why “zero voltage” might happen?
12. How can you tell if a battery is good or bad?
13. Self- discharge will reduce a battery’s performance gradually. What is the best storage environment to minimize self- discharge? How can a battery be reverted to normal performance?
14. What is “over-discharge” and what is it’s effect on a battery?
15. What are the advantages of our General battery series, Deep cycle, EV and High Rate series of batteries?
16. What are the advantages of using OSTAR POWER batteries?
17. Why are there different plate designs for different batteries?
18. What is the cycle service life of OSTAR POWER’s Deep Cycle series batteries?
19. What materials are used in the OSTAR POWER battery?
20. How can you know whether to use a parallel or a serial configuration with a UPS?
21. You can use a serial or parallel connection to discharge a battery. What is the difference with a single “battery” discharge?
22. If a battery fails, what will be the indications?
23. Can I take my wheelchair, scooter or other equipment that is powered by a OSTAR POWER VRLA battery with me on the passenger airplane and cruise ship
1 What is the definition of “cycle use” and “standby use”?
“Cycle Use” – direct power source:
It can provide the power supply to power tools, portable electronic products. It can also be used for cycling charging and discharging usage such as electronics motorbike or vacuum cleaner.
“Standby Use” – back up power:
Mainly used for emergency power to avoid future damage that may be caused by a sudden power outage.
2 Why is the charging voltage for “cycle use” higher that the voltage used for “standby use”?
Cycle use is a direct power source. The charging time can not be too long for a user. The higher charging voltage can provide longer maximum charging current during the charging period. (A full charge should be Charging AH / Discharging AH = 110% ~ 120%.)
| Application | Charging voltage (V/cell) | Max. Charging Current (A) | ||
| Temperature | Design | Tolerance | ||
| Cycle Use | 20℃ (68℉) | 2.45 | 2.40 ~ 2.50 | 0.3C |
| Standby Use | 20℃ (68℉) | 2.275 | 2.25 ~ 2.30 | |
3 What is the effect of different charging currents on batteries?
A higher charging current can shorten charging time. However, a higher charging will cause more heat and gas inside the battery and could result in thermal runaway. The suggested charging current for our battery is 0.3C.
4 What does “100% discharge” and “50% discharge” mean?
To illustrate, use a fixed load to discharge (W or A). If the discharge time is 10 minutes until the voltage comes down to the final voltage then we can say it is 100% discharged. In the same way, if the discharge time is 5 minutes then it is 50% discharged. The table below shows the relationship between “discharge current” and “final voltage.”
| Discharge current (A) | Discharge final voltage |
| 0.2C > (A) | 1.75 |
| 0.5C > (A) ³ 0.2C | 1.7 |
| 1.0C > (A) ³ 0.5C | 1.55 |
| (A) ³ 1.0C | 1.30 |
5 Thermal runaway will happen if a battery is operated under 40-50℃ for a long period. How will thermal runaway effect a battery?
Thermal runaway in a battery will cause excessive heat generation, battery swelling and result in a dangerous condition. OSTAR does not recommend the use of our batteries for a long time under a 40 – 50℃ (104 – 122℉) environment. The battery should not be used close to a heat source or in a high temperature application.
6 How can you check to see if a battery has been fully charged?
Please see the answer to question number 2.
7 What are the concerns when using OSTAR POWER batteries in a parallel or a serial series?
Do not mix brands, models and date codes.
No separate discharge then charging in a serial configuration.
Under parallel usage, pay close attention to the differences in voltage in each circuit.
If the difference in voltage in each circuit is too high, do not charge/discharge as parallel.
The environment of all circuits must be similar.
8 How can you check a battery’s performance?
Different usage applications will use different methods for evaluating a battery’s performance. Using a 20 hour rate or the 10 hour rate, you can use 0.05CA or 0.1CA to discharge the battery until the battery reaches a terminal voltage of 10.25 volts. You can then calculate the amp hours to see if the battery fits the specifications or not. For a 5 minutes rate, such as the 12V5AH, you can use a 21 watts/cell discharge till the terminal voltage reaches a terminal voltage of 9.6 volts and then measure the discharge time to see if it meets the final specifications or not.
9 If a battery is stored for 6 months at 30℃ (86℉) since its manufacturing date, how can you bring the battery’s performance back to 90% in 1 hour’s time? Will that procedure cause any quality problems?
A brand new battery stored for 6 months since its manufacturing date will loose 30-35% in performance. You can use 0.3CA, C.V.=14.7V/PCS to charge for one hour. The battery should then return to normal performance.
10 How can the conversion be made between “watts (W)” and “amp hours (Ah)”?
10 W=I x V = 4I (15 minute rate) = 2CV = 2V
(Ex. 12V17W = 17/4 = 4.25Ah
11 Why “zero voltage” might happen?
Zero voltage means there is a broken circuit. There could be several reasons for a zero voltage state.
1.There could be a broken electrode column
2.Welding defects of the partition
3.Welding defects of the terminal
12 How can you tell if a battery is good or bad?
You should first check the battery for defects such as a broken circuit, a short, or a broken container. If an outward problem is not apparent, then you will have to check the battery’s capacity using known measuring techniques to ascertain the problem.
13 Self-discharge will reduce a battery’s performance gradually. What is the best storage environment to minimize self-discharge? How can a battery be reverted to normal performance?
A battery will drop its performance during the storage period automatically; this phenomenon is denoted at “self-discharge.” This state of “self-discharge” cannot be avoided.
We suggest recharging batteries during a storage period using the guidelines outlined below.
| Storage temperature | Suggested charging interval | Charging methods |
| Lower than 20℃(68℉) | Each 6 months | C.V. 2.275 V/cell charge for 16 – 24 hours. |
| 20 – 30℃ (68 – 86℉) | Each 3 months | C.V. 2.45 V/cell charge for 5 – 8 hours |
| Over 30℃ (86℉) | Storage to be avoided | C.C. 0.05CA charge for 5 – 8 hours |
Normally you may not get 100% performance back after storage during the first recharge. That means those batteries may need more than one recharge cycle. Please discharge then recharge
for 3 cycles.
14 What is “over-discharge” and what is it’s effect on a battery?
If the final voltage is lower than the standard final voltage, we can say the battery is “over-discharged.” The state will affect the battery’s quality very seriously.
1.The “over discharge” state will cause overuse of active material. The composition of the battery will be changed by the over discharge. There will be degradation of the plate.
2.It may bring out too much or large amounts of lead sulfate (PbSO4) which could cause damage to the plate structure. A recharge may not bring the full performance of the battery back.
3.Recharging after overdischarging may lead to short failures.
15 What are the advantages of our General battery series, Deep Cycle, EV and High rate series of batteries?
| Product Advantages | GB | DC | EV | HR |
| Low volume and light weight | • | • | • | • |
| Maintenance-Free, no additional water required | • | • | • | • |
| No limitations on installation position or direction | • | • | • | • |
| Long usage life, low self-discharge | • | • | • | • |
| Can be recharged after deep discharge | • | • | • | • |
| Special formula for Pb-Ca Alloy, hazardous gas occurring is very unlikely | • | • | • | • |
| Special low impedance, easy to recharge | • | • | • | • |
| Can be used for “cycle” or “standby” use | • | • | • | • |
| ISO 9001, approved | • | • | • | • |
| UL，CE Approved | • | • | • | • |
| Specific use for power tools and electric vehicles | • | |||
| 50% more cycles than a general industrial lead (Pb) battery | • | |||
| High efficiency, can stand heavy cycle usage | • | |||
| Internal terminal design | • | |||
| Easy installation | • | |||
| High performance output, cycle usage life and rate | • | • | ||
| 20% performance upgrade compared to same sized battery | • | • | ||
| High power precision machinery or UPS applications | • |
16 What are the advantages of using OSTAR POWER batteries?
1. Low self-discharge rate, superior performance
2.Complete series of batteries, our General series – GEL battery series can deliver 10% more performance than comparable sized batteries.
3.Batteries for all applications, UPS, power tools, telecommunications, etc.
4.Service supported after purchase by OSTAR POWER .
17 Why are there different plate designs for different batteries?
1.Customer demand
2.Special requirements dictate thickness and dimension
3.Our engineers will create the best design based on usage and application
18 What is the cycle service life of OSTAR POWER ’s Deep Cycle series batteries?
The following picture shows the relationship between the discharge depth and number of discharge cycles. As the discharge depth increases during servicing, the number of service cycles decreases. When used with similar loads, the battery which is designed for expanded capacity will have a better service life.
Cycle service life
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19.What materials are used in the OSTAR POWER battery?
The primary ingredients in the OSTAR POWER battery are lead and acid. In general, the battery is approximately 72% lead and lead compounds and 22% dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte by weight. The other 6% of the weight consist of the separators, container, vents etc. The electrolyte has a specific gravity of approximately 1.300 and is therefore, approximately 39% sulfuric acid by weight.
20 How can you know whether to use a parallel or a serial configuration with a UPS?
Case Study:
1.UPS Discharge watts = 700 watts
2.Maximum discharge voltage = 41.4 volts
3.Minimum discharge voltage = 30.0 volts
4.Discharge time = 10 minutes
From the case study above, we know the number of batteries will be three 12 volt batteries. We can ascertain this from solving the formula for the maximum discharge (41.4 V / 2.3 V / 6 = 3). Also the final voltage is 1.67 V/cell from the minimum discharge voltage. The discharge rate per battery is 700 watts / 3 batteries = 233.3 watts per battery. We also know the discharge time is 10 minutes.
21 You can use a serial or parallel connection to discharge a battery. What is the difference with a single “battery” discharge?
In a perfect condition, the discharge rate will increase with the number of batteries connected in series or parallel. However, there will be some lost during the energy transmission by impedance such as a wire or an interface. The numbers listed in our literature are based on average numbers; the actual performance might have some variations.
22 If a battery fails, what will be the indications?
1. Lower performance
2.Low voltage
3.Cannot charge/recharge
4.Swelled container
5.Acid corrosion
23Can I take my wheelchair, scooter or other equipment that is powered by a OSTAR
POWER VRLA battery with me on the passenger airplane and cruise ship?
There should be no problem if the battery is of the absorbed glass mat (AGM) type 。These series of VRLA batteries are classified as “Battery, wet non-spillable, not subject to regulations” by DOT and IMO. By IATA they are classified as “Not restricted for air transport” and they are in compliance with IATA/ICAO special provision A67.
However, it must be remembered that the carrier may have more restrictive policies and they should be contacted prior to scheduling and ticketing. Also, be aware that the “Captain” has the final word on items carried on the aircraft/ship.