acceptance charging rate AGM batteries
Hi all, It is generally thought that acceptance rate for a flooded deep cycle battery is about 12.5 amps per 100 amp-hours of capacity once the bank is at 85% state of charge. I know that accept...
Forum Discussion
I've been running one of those 150AH, 105 # Deka Telecom batteries now for a year. In a travel trailer.
Some observations... I run about 30-40 amps pulled in a 24 hour period, but it's somewhat misleading. I say it's misleading because I pull maybe 20 amps to 25 amps with watching TV and lights, at night. During the day, I am pulling 10 to 15 amps.
Since I have a 150w 18v solar panel that will give me a good 8.8 amps easily 5 to 6 hours a day, most sunny days, I am usually darn near filled up by 11 am or noon, with the charge controller set at 14.4v. I usually back it off to 13.6V mid day, but if I leave it at 14.4v for the whole day, I don't think much happens with this acid rich battery. The whole afternoon, the surplus charge capacity just covers actual usage until it gets dark enough to not cover an amp to 2 amps per hour usage by the fridge.
What I do know is this... that Telecom battery, if below 70% SOC, and it's a DEKA, won't take more than 20 to 21 amps from my 30 amp MegaWatt, when set at 14.4V. It just does not take amps fast like a flooded lead acid Trojan 1275 150 amp hour battery.
I find that every 4 to 5 days, even if the solar panel is covering the needs of what I am pulling down, the Telecom battery needs a good 45 minutes to an hour at 20 amps ant 14.4v that the current solar panel setup I have just won't generate. So I try to run an hour to hour and a half on the Honda every 4 or 5 days, first thing in the morning, to shake things up inside the battery. I am usually down to a 6 or 7 amp hour take rate, down from 20 amps, in an hour to hour and 15 minutes. I will end up with a 12.88V charge on the battery at the end of the day after running the generator, and then topping with solar. Usually by the end of the 4th day, just solar, I am at 12.77 to 12.80V for a top charge, with previous days being all solar recharging.
I don't know why, I am just sharing my observations. AGM's need that generator recharge to start things off, from time to time, and they need it, in my case with a surplus telecom, every 4 to 5 days. They also do NOT like being taxed with high discharge rates, either. I try to keep the draw down to nothing more than 10 amps... try to take my showers in the morning when the sun is beating on the solar panel and the voltage is up a bit, let the solar panel make the electricity to run the water pump at a higher voltage and lower amperage draw.
I have a ham radio that at 100w will draw at 23 amps. The Telecom battery does NOT like that, so I usually limit my watts to 75 or 80w Tx. Listening Rx is a whole another matter, 2 to 3 amps listening or idling.
These are my observations, YMMV this is what works for me on 2 to 4 week camping trips dry camping.
Some observations... I run about 30-40 amps pulled in a 24 hour period, but it's somewhat misleading. I say it's misleading because I pull maybe 20 amps to 25 amps with watching TV and lights, at night. During the day, I am pulling 10 to 15 amps.
Since I have a 150w 18v solar panel that will give me a good 8.8 amps easily 5 to 6 hours a day, most sunny days, I am usually darn near filled up by 11 am or noon, with the charge controller set at 14.4v. I usually back it off to 13.6V mid day, but if I leave it at 14.4v for the whole day, I don't think much happens with this acid rich battery. The whole afternoon, the surplus charge capacity just covers actual usage until it gets dark enough to not cover an amp to 2 amps per hour usage by the fridge.
What I do know is this... that Telecom battery, if below 70% SOC, and it's a DEKA, won't take more than 20 to 21 amps from my 30 amp MegaWatt, when set at 14.4V. It just does not take amps fast like a flooded lead acid Trojan 1275 150 amp hour battery.
I find that every 4 to 5 days, even if the solar panel is covering the needs of what I am pulling down, the Telecom battery needs a good 45 minutes to an hour at 20 amps ant 14.4v that the current solar panel setup I have just won't generate. So I try to run an hour to hour and a half on the Honda every 4 or 5 days, first thing in the morning, to shake things up inside the battery. I am usually down to a 6 or 7 amp hour take rate, down from 20 amps, in an hour to hour and 15 minutes. I will end up with a 12.88V charge on the battery at the end of the day after running the generator, and then topping with solar. Usually by the end of the 4th day, just solar, I am at 12.77 to 12.80V for a top charge, with previous days being all solar recharging.
I don't know why, I am just sharing my observations. AGM's need that generator recharge to start things off, from time to time, and they need it, in my case with a surplus telecom, every 4 to 5 days. They also do NOT like being taxed with high discharge rates, either. I try to keep the draw down to nothing more than 10 amps... try to take my showers in the morning when the sun is beating on the solar panel and the voltage is up a bit, let the solar panel make the electricity to run the water pump at a higher voltage and lower amperage draw.
I have a ham radio that at 100w will draw at 23 amps. The Telecom battery does NOT like that, so I usually limit my watts to 75 or 80w Tx. Listening Rx is a whole another matter, 2 to 3 amps listening or idling.
These are my observations, YMMV this is what works for me on 2 to 4 week camping trips dry camping.
