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Old 06-05-2008, 09:58 PM   #2 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,534

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 57.73 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,082
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Your bike is a load tester.

As long as they still meet your needs (get you to your destination), I wouldn't worry too much. It becomes a concern when you are actually getting close to fully depleting the pack by the time you get to your destination, because the individual batteries don't discharge at the same rate. Meaning it's possible you could damage one by overdischarging while the others are still permitting you to limp along.

A load tester will come in handy though if you decide to try the used batteries from the alarm company. Because you can go through a box of them and figure out which ones have the highest remaining capacities.

A simple capacity test is to wire a 12v battery to an AC inverter, and run a load on the inverter as well as an AC analog clock. The inverter will shut down when voltage drops below some threshold, and the clock will stop, giving you a useful data point to compare against other batteries using the same test.
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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