Another AGM conditioning question
This is my chassis battery, an agm I got used and have little experience with. Trickle charger failed in storage, it is dead as a doornail. Not covenient to babysit it for long hours on meanwell or...
Forum Discussion
Fact is those (4) L-16's should never see a recharging potential of less than 20% of total ampere hour capacity. Twenty percent of 800 is 160 amperes. The more deviation less than the 20% the easier those batteries will lose capacity and fail earlier.
Shocking isn't it?
To compound the issue, a lower charge rate using a generator that rattles and annoys neighbors brings forth a ...
"A full half hour! That otter dewer"
And the genset gets shut down.
It's a wonder that the batteries live as long as they do.
Now meeting the 20% minimum charge rate is not cast in concrete. Even a 100-amp recharging rate will nullify about 90% of the effects of under amping the batteries.
But constant short-changing the 1/2% amp hour rule takes it toll. That makes TWO negatives and an aggregate sum of the two negatives means a very tangible chopping of potential life-span.
It comes down to this...
The faster the batteries fill, the less time is spent in the hazard-zone of substantially discharged vulnerable to inadequate amperes recharge rate
Still with me? When the Lifelines are at >60% state of charge they are FAR LESS vulnerable to inadequate charge amperage than they are at 50% or 40% state of charge. Get them fuller faster. More charge amperage right off the bat.
And generator run time: As important as I now it is to maintain batteries, hearing my Kubota chugging away, irritates me. It's not just the noise, it's knowing six pistons are changing directions, bearings are rubbing, and injectors are getting dirty. Let's NOT talk about three dollar and seventy cent a gallon diesel. That turns pain into screaming agony.
And I do not have "neighbor peer pressure" or park generator run time hours to limit me using the generator.
With a calculator I can crunch numbers until the cows come home. With the cost of my battery bank and the cost of doing an in-frame on the Kubota (shhhh about the fuel)...
There is no way in hell I am going to run that generator needlessly, like wasting fuel, wasting my time and ruining my batteries in the process.
I have flooded 2-volt cells. But they can accept 400+ amperes at absorbsion maximum voltage. My little Lifeline can accept 100 amperes at 14.4 volts starting off, and the 2-story eats 130-amps.
I do not have the patience to run the Kubota endlessly while perusing catalogs to see what pistons, liners and bearing cost. Maybe gathering more drums to hold $150 dollars in fuel each so I can waste my time and ruin my generator and batteries because I was too cheap to invest in attaining a correct battery charger size to battery bank relationship.
It's one thing to find these things out "The Hard Way" then vow to correct MY ERRORS IN JUDGEMENT...
And quite another to be advised of the errors, then decide the blame lies on someone else's shoulders, and run around complaining just how lousy a premium quality battery is.
The issue in this case, the four L-16's is a bitter lesson. From what I've read on this thread, the original poster very much wants to avoid future problems. He does not own a chew & spit hundred dollar Wal-Mart battery. There is a tendency for people with cheap batteries to be overfull of opinions as what constitutes "over-concern" with proper battery management.
Done right, the "involvement" with battery charging while camping becomes minimized. Generator run time becomes minimized. And yes this means that the more solar panels on the roof, the better.
But it does not mean dismissal of what the batteries demand for maximum life. It does not mean mounting of 30 amperes of panels on the roof will maintain four L-16 AGM batteries.
It means read, and learn. And to virtually ignore people who mismanage a hundred dollar battery then claim proper battery management is irrelevant.
Yes, I am crabby today. A storm moved in and my shoulders and spine hurt like hell.
To soothe my urge to puncture people who disagree, I am preparing a 130 amp battery charger system for a friend that has seen the light.
Landyacht has spent countless hours testing hunches, watching trends and tendencies with regard to batteries. He may not be a design engineer but he has expressed a willingness to learn. Most folks need absorb a fraction of his experience to become The Wise Battery User. Landyacht has gained more practical experience than many papered engineers who are theory educated and ignorant in practical management.
Growl - Snarl - Snap
Time for aspirin and silent griping...
Shocking isn't it?
To compound the issue, a lower charge rate using a generator that rattles and annoys neighbors brings forth a ...
"A full half hour! That otter dewer"
And the genset gets shut down.
It's a wonder that the batteries live as long as they do.
Now meeting the 20% minimum charge rate is not cast in concrete. Even a 100-amp recharging rate will nullify about 90% of the effects of under amping the batteries.
But constant short-changing the 1/2% amp hour rule takes it toll. That makes TWO negatives and an aggregate sum of the two negatives means a very tangible chopping of potential life-span.
It comes down to this...
The faster the batteries fill, the less time is spent in the hazard-zone of substantially discharged vulnerable to inadequate amperes recharge rate
Still with me? When the Lifelines are at >60% state of charge they are FAR LESS vulnerable to inadequate charge amperage than they are at 50% or 40% state of charge. Get them fuller faster. More charge amperage right off the bat.
And generator run time: As important as I now it is to maintain batteries, hearing my Kubota chugging away, irritates me. It's not just the noise, it's knowing six pistons are changing directions, bearings are rubbing, and injectors are getting dirty. Let's NOT talk about three dollar and seventy cent a gallon diesel. That turns pain into screaming agony.
And I do not have "neighbor peer pressure" or park generator run time hours to limit me using the generator.
With a calculator I can crunch numbers until the cows come home. With the cost of my battery bank and the cost of doing an in-frame on the Kubota (shhhh about the fuel)...
There is no way in hell I am going to run that generator needlessly, like wasting fuel, wasting my time and ruining my batteries in the process.
I have flooded 2-volt cells. But they can accept 400+ amperes at absorbsion maximum voltage. My little Lifeline can accept 100 amperes at 14.4 volts starting off, and the 2-story eats 130-amps.
I do not have the patience to run the Kubota endlessly while perusing catalogs to see what pistons, liners and bearing cost. Maybe gathering more drums to hold $150 dollars in fuel each so I can waste my time and ruin my generator and batteries because I was too cheap to invest in attaining a correct battery charger size to battery bank relationship.
It's one thing to find these things out "The Hard Way" then vow to correct MY ERRORS IN JUDGEMENT...
And quite another to be advised of the errors, then decide the blame lies on someone else's shoulders, and run around complaining just how lousy a premium quality battery is.
The issue in this case, the four L-16's is a bitter lesson. From what I've read on this thread, the original poster very much wants to avoid future problems. He does not own a chew & spit hundred dollar Wal-Mart battery. There is a tendency for people with cheap batteries to be overfull of opinions as what constitutes "over-concern" with proper battery management.
Done right, the "involvement" with battery charging while camping becomes minimized. Generator run time becomes minimized. And yes this means that the more solar panels on the roof, the better.
But it does not mean dismissal of what the batteries demand for maximum life. It does not mean mounting of 30 amperes of panels on the roof will maintain four L-16 AGM batteries.
It means read, and learn. And to virtually ignore people who mismanage a hundred dollar battery then claim proper battery management is irrelevant.
Yes, I am crabby today. A storm moved in and my shoulders and spine hurt like hell.
To soothe my urge to puncture people who disagree, I am preparing a 130 amp battery charger system for a friend that has seen the light.
Landyacht has spent countless hours testing hunches, watching trends and tendencies with regard to batteries. He may not be a design engineer but he has expressed a willingness to learn. Most folks need absorb a fraction of his experience to become The Wise Battery User. Landyacht has gained more practical experience than many papered engineers who are theory educated and ignorant in practical management.
Growl - Snarl - Snap
Time for aspirin and silent griping...
