Battery Charging woes
Bought 2 new deep cycle 12V coach batteries in March. We went on a 1 week dry camping trip in July. Ran the generator for probably 2 hours per day on that trip. The batteries steadily discharged...
Forum Discussion
Old-Biscuit has it right. Here are a few other thoughts.
Running the generator for 2 hours a day is probably not enough to recharge the batteries, especially if you do not have a smart converter. Fully charging your batteries using a voltage of 13.6v will take several days.
After charging a battery the battery will have a "surface charge" and will read a higher voltage than is really true. It leaks off if you put a load on the battery, or let the battery sit for a while.
The reason your truck battery appears to hold a charge better is that it is being charged at a voltage well over 14 volts and never really gets discharged. The coach batteries are constantly being drained and are not being adequately charged.
Running the generator for 2 hours a day is probably not enough to recharge the batteries, especially if you do not have a smart converter. Fully charging your batteries using a voltage of 13.6v will take several days.
After charging a battery the battery will have a "surface charge" and will read a higher voltage than is really true. It leaks off if you put a load on the battery, or let the battery sit for a while.
The reason your truck battery appears to hold a charge better is that it is being charged at a voltage well over 14 volts and never really gets discharged. The coach batteries are constantly being drained and are not being adequately charged.
