Technical data

16
17
1. Introduction
This manual provides essential information on
the operation, characteristics, design, handling
and charging of lead-acid batteries as well as
the correct procedures for using, stocking and
maintaining batteries for road vehicles, in addition
to providing information on the main areas of care
needed to be taken for the safety of staff who work
with Bosch batteries, so as to get the most from
our products and for customer satisfaction.
1.1 Safety Warnings and Standards
Observe the information on the battery,
the battery’s operating manual and the
vehicle’s operating manual.
Wear eye protection as a precautionary
measure when working on the battery.
Keep acid and filled batteries out of reach
of children. Keep out of reach of children
when working on the battery.
Fire, sparks, naked flames and smoking
are prohibited:
Avoid creating sparks when handling u
cables and electrical equipment as
well as those caused by electrostatic
discharge.
Avoid short-circuits. Never connect the u
positive terminal to the negative terminal
of the same battery because it will
cause a short circuit. A short circuit can
cause burns, fire or the explosion of the
battery.
Clean with damp cloth only and wear u
appropriate clothing. Dry cleaning cloth
might become electrically charged and
produce sparks.
Danger of explosion:
An explosive oxyhydrogen gas mixture u
is formed when batteries are charged.
Explosive gases can cause blindness and
injury.
Corrosive hazard:
Battery acid is extremely corrosive. The u
acid can cause burns and blindness.
Under normal operation conditions,
there should be no contact with the
electrolyte (diluted sulphuric acid).
Please note that when the battery casing
of a battery with fixed electrolyte is
destroyed or damaged, bound electrolyte
in glass fibre mats or jellified electrolyte
is as corrosive as when liquid.
Wear protective gloves and goggles. u
Do not tilt the battery permitting acid to u
leak out of vent openings.
First aid:
Drops of acid coming into contact u
with eyes should be rinsed for several
minutes using clear water. Then consult
a doctor without delay.
Drops of acid on the skin or clothes u
should be neutralized immediately using
acid neutralizer or soap suds and rinsed
with plenty of water.
If acid is swallowed, drink plenty of u
water and consult a doctor immediately.
Warning:
The enclosure becomes brittle with time, u
therefore: Do not expose batteries to
direct sunlight.
Discharged batteries can freeze so store u
in a place where they are protected from
frost.
It is dangerous to use tools such as u
hammers on the battery terminal when
connecting cables.
Never rub with dry cloth on the battery u
casing. This might produce sparks
because of electrostatic discharges and
can cause an explosion.
Disposal:
Dispose old batteries at a battery u
collection point.
Never dispose old batteries as u
household waste.
If a battery with glass fibre materials u
is destroyed or damaged, the released
fibre material must be disposed in line
with the official local regulations.
Do not let electrolyte penetrate into u
the sewage system, the soil or into
groundwater.
Corrosive hazard:
The item is hazardous according to the u
criteria of Work Safe Australia.
2. Battery Recharging Procedures
2.1 Battery Charging Indicators
Charging of the battery is required when the:
Storage period is more than 6 months without u
charging.
Colour of state of charge (SOC) indicator turns u
black.
Battery operating current voltage (OCV) is less than u
12.4V.
2.2 Steps Prior to Charging
Wear protective glasses whilst handling the u
battery.
Do not carry out charging near fire or spark. u
Do not charge damaged or frozen battery. u
Boost charge is not recommended. u
If the battery has accessible screw-in plugs, check u
the electrolyte level in each cell and top up with
distilled water if necessary.
Do not switch on the charger until battery has u
been connected. Do not switch off the charger
until charging is complete.
Position the batteries so that there is a space of at u
least 20mm between them.
Only use batteries with the same capacity and u
same state of charge in the same circuit. This
prevents the slightly discharged batteries from
being overcharged when connected to the same
circuit as a battery that needs a longer time to
recharge.
Batteries must always be connected in series, u
that is, the positive pole of a battery should be
connected to the negative pole of the neighbouring
battery, thus the positive pole of the first battery
and the negative pole of the last battery will always
be open.
All of the batteries for recharging should have u
their density and/or open voltage checked, so that
the batteries could be grouped (based on state
of charge) for the purpose of placing them in the
right circuit for the recharging process.
Warning: Never connect the positive pole to the
negative pole of the same battery or in the same
series, as this will cause a short circuit.
Check that the connections (lugs) make good
contact by twisting them slightly while pressing
them onto the pole.
2.3 Recharging with a Constant Current
When recharging the battery with a constant
current, the voltage will increase slowly during the
recharging. Towards the end, the voltage increases
rapidly and the process should be stopped at the
voltage value limit.
Example: 45Ah battery.
Recharging Current: 45 x 0.1 = 4.5A (10% of the
nominal capacity of the battery).
The recharging time depends on the state of charge
of the battery.
OCV in
stable
conditon
State
of
charge
Battery capacity (20Ah)
35-40 41-50 51-65 66-75 76-90
91-110
12.5 -
12.59
70% 3X4 4X4 5X4 6X4 6X5 7X5
12.4 -
12.49
60% 3X6 4X6 5X6 6X6 6X7 7X7
12.3 -
12.39
50% 3X8 4X8 5X8 6X8 6X9 7X10
12.2 -
12.29
40% 3X10 4X10 5X10 6X10 6X12 7X12
12.1-
12.19
30% 3X13 4X12 5X12 6X12 6X14 7X15
Below
12.09
20% 3X15 4X14 5X14 6X14 6X16 7X17
Warning: The battery temperature must not exceed
50°C during the recharging process.
Note:
The above table shows approximate Ah and u
charging hours needed for recharging according to
the battery capacity and the OCV under a constant
current charging method. Accordingly, the Ah or
the charging hours may be adjusted depending on
the type and the state of the charged battery.
Always charge the battery according to the amount u
of charge needed. Prolonged charging times,
especially with a constant current, could cause
the battery to become overcharged, causing an
unnecessary loss of water in the process.
Avoid quick charges that are done without u
controlling the temperature, current or time.
Some batteries below 12.1V can be hard to re- u
charge due to the long time elapsed since the last
re-charge. It is very difficult to recover its original
performance.
2.4 Recharging with a Constant Voltage
When using this charging method, the initial
current applied to the battery should be limited to
25A and the voltage to 14.4V.
The battery charging time will vary according to its
state of charge, as shown in the table below:
Battery voltage when empty
(volts)
Recharging Time (hours)
12.00 to 12.20 6 to 12
11.80 to 11.99 10 to 16
11.50 to 11.79 16 to 20
11.00 to 11.49 20 to 24
Deeply discharged batteries 24 to 30
Warning: the battery temperature must not exceed
50°C during the recharging process.
2.5 Actions During and After Recharging
Electrolyte Temperature u
The electrolyte temperature, hence the battery
container temparature must not exceed 50°C.
The recharging process should be stopped if this
temperature is exceeded.
The process may be resumed once all batteries in
the recharging circuit reach 45°C or less.
Recharging Time u
We recommend waiting approximately 20 minutes
to allow gases to dissipate before removing the
leads from the batteries, as some chargers remain
in a charged state and can generate sparks. Replace
the vent caps and gas tubes if they were removed.
Wash the battery using warm water and dry it.
Technical Information Technical Information