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MK Mobility Wheelchair, Scooter Batteries

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Mobility battery technology

Gel versus AGM

There are two types of sealed lead-acid batteries in this market: AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) and Gel. Both types are considered maintenance-free, which means they require no water addition and can be mounted in nearly any position. AGM and Gel both use lead plates, VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) technology and recombinant chemistries, but that's where the similarities stop.

Most Gel batteries have lead plates with traditional leaf separators. The primary distinction comes from silicates being added to the liquid electrolyte allowing the electrolyte to become gelled and to form fissures in the gelled electrolyte that permit the chemical recombination process to take place during discharge and recharge.

The AGM, as its name indicates, is a product that uses a process where the lead plates have a separator made from a highly absorbent material, permitting virtually 100% of the electrolyte to be captivated and soaked into this separator material and allowing the recombination chemical process to occur during discharge and recharge. Today's AGM technology has a dramatically improved cycle life and often offers a lower cost per cycle for the customer.

Both battery manufacturing technologies have been around for more than 20 years. Both are acceptable for unrestricted travel and meet U.K. Europe and U.S. nonspillable restrictions. For many years, the Gel battery was only used in the deep-cycle market and the AGM battery was used for an immediate high-output-current requirement only. The AGM was considered a good starting type battery but suffered from lack of sufficient deep cycles. However, AGM technology has dramatically improved in the last few years, particularly the increase of the deep cycles that can be produced. In fact, some DCS (Deep Cycle Series) AGM batteries now nearly double the cycle life of Gel batteries. And the Gel battery normally takes 10-20 cycles of use before it starts to perform to its rated capacity whereas the AGM reaches 95-100% capacity from the start.

Battery Cycles

A cycle is one discharge and one recharge of a battery. If the battery is used for four hours or eight hours before being returned to recharge, each case is considered one cycle. The difference between the two cycles is the depth of discharge.

Example: A cart has two 33aH batteries connected in parallel with a discharge level of five amps. The depth of discharge (DOD) for four hours at a five-amp discharge is approximately 30%, whereas eight hours at a five-amp discharge is an estimated 60%. The batteries should be able to perform approximately 800 cycles at 60% DOD (according to actual test data) while the number of cycles would more than double to an estimated 1,800 cycles at only 30% DOD. The deeper the discharge, the lower the total amount of cycles. If the normal DOD is 30% (70% state of charge) on a normal day's use, that could result in 1,800 cycles or many years of use.

Mobility battery care & Maintenance

Visual Inspection

Even though AGM and Gel type batteries are considered maintenance-free, you may help extend your battery life by performing a quick visual inspection of the battery and related connections. If the battery run time seems to be diminishing, first check to ensure that the charger is operating correctly. Second, check the battery connections. Loose terminal connections can add resistance to the charge input and result in low charge to the batteries. Third, check battery temperature during the charging process. If a battery is hot-to-the-touch, immediately disconnect charger and have batteries tested. And fourth, make sure that batteries are secured properly. Even though both AGM and Gel batteries are highly resistant to vibration and impact, battery life will be affected if they are not properly secured.