RE: Battery Question

wynot · Mar 27, 2003, 01:52 PM

MrBuneezThanks! Still haven t found a reference to it (Sulfation/Sulphation), but I do understand it.

garym053 · Mar 27, 2003, 04:43 PM

MrBuneezSORRY, poor choice of words on my part! I didn t mean DRAIN it down to nothing! I went and looked at " the 12v side of life" and printed his state of charge chart and decided to " drain" it to just under 12v. His chart says 11.9v is 40% so I thought that would be a good point. I did that and hooked the charger back up and it started charging at 8 to 10 amps and has been at 6 amps for at least 7 hours now! Should I wait, try discharging again and recharge, or buy a new battery?

MtnCamper · Mar 27, 2003, 04:59 PM

MrBuneezI would leave it on. I ve been charging for a couple days, usually a few hours on, then switch batteries. I ve went from a resting voltage of 12.3 to 12.6. So it may take awhile. I was surprised at how long it actually takes to reach 12.6 volts. My first battery is now at a rest voltage of 12.66. I really think this is the first time in 2 years, that I have actually charged them 100%.

tlhdoc · Mar 27, 2003, 07:09 PM

MrBuneezMy batteries used to charge to 13 + volts. My charger was dropped and using the new one I only get 12.9 volts as the highest charge. I don t know if it is the charger or if the batteries are just getting too old.[:@]

garym053 · Mar 27, 2003, 08:13 PM

MrBuneezIf I test them hot" off the charger, my batteries (not the one I m fighting with now, which I plan on giving to a newbie pop-upper if I can get it to hold a charge!) read in the 13+v range. However after a couple hours of rest they usually fall back to 12.6 to 12.8 v, which seems to be a 100% charge.
I will leave the battery on for a few more days and see what happens.

AustinBoston · Mar 28, 2003, 08:01 AM

tlhdoc

QuoteORIGINAL: tlhdoc

My batteries used to charge to 13 + volts. My charger was dropped and using the new one I only get 12.9 volts as the highest charge. I don t know if it is the charger or if the batteries are just getting too old.[:@]

Thry disconnecting them and letting them set for a few hours. Lead-Acid batteries develop a " surface charge" that isn t really battery power, but will give a noticeably higher voltage reading. This surface charge will disappear just setting there for a few hours.

Austin

MrBuneez · Mar 28, 2003, 08:57 AM

MrBuneezYIKES........I asked a simple question which I guess does not have a simple answer according to all of the response. I guess I will plug in the charger and go camping.......thanks to you all!

wynot · Mar 28, 2003, 09:07 AM

garym053

QuoteI did that and hooked the charger back up and it started charging at 8 to 10 amps and has been at 6 amps for at least 7 hours now! Should I wait, try discharging again and recharge, or buy a new battery?

Batteries can sit for a long time at a pretty heavy charge rate, mine tend to park at 3-4 amps for a while, but I wouldn t consider 6 amps out of the question.

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