Am I shortening my battery life?
We have not been able to go out much in the last year so I have kept the 53r plugged in at home. I check the two Cr235 6v batteries monthly and top off as needed (which is not much). The 5er has a WFC...
Forum Discussion
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I stayed out of this one until now as a lot of you have become pretty doggone sophisticated in battery management knowledge.
I will reiterate:
FOR STORAGE
Maintenance float according to temperature.
TOP CHARGE at 5% amperage of total amp hours of bank until voltage reaches 15.0 then terminate. Every 7 days.
Schedule full equalization when despite top charging specific gravity falls beyond specs for lowest cell in each battery.
This algorithm is not the absolute ultimate. But reality sticks it's ugly face into the picture.
A top charger for say, a pair of batteries can be made with a six amp charger (stupid style) and a 7-day programmable timer. Find out how long a top charge takes on your bank then dial it into the 7 day timer.
This reduces stratification and need for equalization about 95%. VIA the school of hard knocks. gradually raising voltage to 15 then terminating and reverting to float should not be discounted - Top Charging is crucial for hands off battery storage.
Back to my HazMat LED ka-boom plans...
Thanks for the reply MW! Let me reiterate for my understanding. For top charge find a battery charger that I can set the amperage to 5% of total Ah, currently 235 so ~11.25amps. Charge bank until voltage reaches 15v and terminate. Do this every 7 days? Do full EQ when SG on weakest cell is below spec.? I am going to add two more 235Ah so total will be 470Ah. So 5% will be about 23.5a? Will a stupid 6amp charger supply 11.25a let alone 23.5a?
