I have had some rather unpleasant experiences this year with supposedly "new" SLA batteries arriving either DOA or with considerably reduced capacity from their original state. The DOAs were for an electric wheelchair and the highly reduced capacity batteries came with a new (but year old 2014 model) electric mobility scooter that I purchased but had set idle in dealer inventory for a year or so and the batteries I'm guessing probably weren't recharged often or long enough to keep them in optimal condition. They only permitted about ten to twelve miles range per charge while they are advertised as getting up to 40 miles per charge (depending on varying conditions). I was sent a second set of "new" (4 x 12v-20ah) batteries for the scooter (under the warranty) and from a USA supplier, but unfortunately they also seem to be reduced in capacity due to again getting unusually limited miles per charge range (a little more, but only 13-15 miles).
My basic question is.....can a test or tests be done when batteries are received from a supplier that can accurately determine the actual status of the battery's current state as compared to it's original advertised capacity and strengths at time of manufacture? Or to put it another way, can you tell if an SLA battery has either been used or not properly maintained by the battery supplier and/or vehicle vendor after time of manufacture and it has lost some of it's original capacities? If such testing does exist, what is it or what would they be?
Thanks for looking.
P.S. - I took those warranty supplied batteries to an Advanced Auto Parts (chain) store for testing, but they ended up telling me that without a part # on the batteries, they wouldn''t know how to set up their testing device properly. For whatever reason apparently many/most Chinese made batteries aren't numbered. I then took them to a Pasco (Battery) retail store for testing and they told me all they could determine was whether the battery(s) had any faulty cells or not and the current voltage readings, but I took from that apparently they couldn't test to see if the batteries were, for instance, 1/2 used up or deteriorated.
My basic question is.....can a test or tests be done when batteries are received from a supplier that can accurately determine the actual status of the battery's current state as compared to it's original advertised capacity and strengths at time of manufacture? Or to put it another way, can you tell if an SLA battery has either been used or not properly maintained by the battery supplier and/or vehicle vendor after time of manufacture and it has lost some of it's original capacities? If such testing does exist, what is it or what would they be?
Thanks for looking.
P.S. - I took those warranty supplied batteries to an Advanced Auto Parts (chain) store for testing, but they ended up telling me that without a part # on the batteries, they wouldn''t know how to set up their testing device properly. For whatever reason apparently many/most Chinese made batteries aren't numbered. I then took them to a Pasco (Battery) retail store for testing and they told me all they could determine was whether the battery(s) had any faulty cells or not and the current voltage readings, but I took from that apparently they couldn't test to see if the batteries were, for instance, 1/2 used up or deteriorated.