SLA battery charge parameters

Q&A and troubleshooting
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1

Hi all. I am in the middle of transforming my boat from a single start/house battery to a dual SLA LiFePo4 electrical system with solar panels. I know just about enough to get myself in trouble. I bought a SmartSolar 100/20 solar controller to charge my LiFePo4 battery but also want to charge my SLA start battery (M57MF CCA 530) if necessary in emergencies.

  1. I find it odd that SLA batteries are not included in the presets. Is there a reason for this?
  2. Assuming I can charge SLA batteries what are the charge parameters I would use for a preset in the battery type setting?

Thanks

Ian

2

SLA batteries are also known as Valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) or AGM (Absorbed glass mat), there are presets for these.

Absorption voltage 14.2 - 14.6V; Float 13.6 - 13.8V.

3

I’d advise to double check with the manufacturer for the specific charge profile. SLA, VRLA, AGM but also Flooded, GEL, Calcium SMF to name a few are classifications with partially overlapping meanings that still allow enough difference in the actual details to require significantly different charge profiles.