[Elecraft] Flying with K2

[Dana Roode]

Ron, thanks much for the explanation!  Sounds like a pretty safe battery to me.

 Dana - K6NR


On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 9:06 AM, Ron D'Eau Claire <ron at cobi.biz> wrote:
> Elecraft sells a Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) Gel Cell battery for the K2.
> Unfortunately, many people, even some battery vendors, are careless with the
> terminology.
>
> There are at least two types of Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries: those in
> which the electrolyte is in a gelatin form (Gel Cell) and those in which the
> electrolyte is liquid but confined by an Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM). This
> latter type is often called a "Starved Electrolyte" battery.
>
> Unfortunately, many people fail to distinguish properly between an SLA AGM
> battery or an SLA Gel Cell battery and call both types "Gel Cell". It is
> true that neither will leak liquid acid, but they have quite different
> performance characteristics.
>
> SLA Gel Cells are superior for heavy demand and deep discharge situations
> since more electrolyte is available to support the chemical reactions, so
> they are the most popular no-maintenance, no-spill battery for powering Ham
> rigs.
>
> To further confuse the issue some liquid acid "no maintenance" batteries are
> referred to as SLA or Sealed Liquid (rather than Lead) Acid batteries. If
> punctured or otherwise damaged, these are capable of dumping liquid acid
> just like any earlier lead-acid battery. Like the older lead-acid batteries,
> they are properly classified as "flooded batteries". So, when seeing "SLA",
> it's good to know whether the L means Liquid or Lead.
>
> It's no wonder those in the transportation business are often skittish about
> shipping any kind of lead-acid battery. It's not always easy to identify
> exactly what it is by just looking at a label.
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
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