Can a manufacturer predict the capacity of a battery?

A manufacturer cannot predict the exact capacity when the cell comes off the production line, and this is especially true with lead acid and other batteries that involve manual assembly. Even fully automated cell production in clean rooms causes performance differences.

Why do battery management systems take a long time?

If the cells are very different in State of Charge (SoC) when assembled the Battery Management System (BMS) will have to gross balance the cells on the first charge. This can take a long time as the maintenance balancing currents are generally very small compared to the Ah ratings of the cells (1 to 3mA/Ah).

When should a battery charge be equalized?

Manufacturers of golf cars, aerial work platforms, floor scrubbers and other battery-powered vehicles recommend an equalizing charge if the voltage difference between the cells is greater than +/– 0.10V, or if the specific gravity varies more than 10 points (0.010 on the SG scale).

Do nickel based batteries match each other?

Cell matching according to capacity is important, especially for industrial batteries, and no perfect match is possible. If slightly off, nickel-based cells adapt to each other after a few charge/discharge cycles similar to the players on a winning sports team.

What is the difference between high-quality and low-quality batteries?

High-quality cells continue to perform longer than the lower-quality counterparts, and fading is more even and controlled. Lower-grade cells, on the other hand, diverge more quickly with use and time, and failures due to cell mismatch are more widespread. Cell mismatch is a common cause of failure in industrial batteries.

Can a cell manufacturer assemble and charge without gross balancing?

1. Supplier Delivers Matched Cells If the cell manufacturer can deliver cells with a proven quality history of OCV within +/-0.02V then you will be able to assemble and charge these cells without gross balancing. What is measured at Cell manufacturing end of line should be remeasured at Goods receipt.