Battery Equalizing?

MEXICOWANDERER: You speak the truth. More clearly, I would say that equalizing makes the concentration of sulfuric acid IN the electrolyte equal (specific gravity) not to confuse it with the physical surface level of the electrolyte. Yeah, yeah, splitting hairs, . . . I know. But the OP did say that he wanted to equalize the batteries not, desulfate them. Regular equalizing will desulfate batteries but it is supposed to be done after the batteries are fully charged. (bulk, absorbtion, etc.) In some cases, since the plates are so badly sulfated you have to shock the sulfate off the plates with volts.

I've had deeply discharged/sulfated 6 volt batteries sit on a 10 amp charger for two days @ +-1 amp charge at +-7.5 volts, . . . . nothing. Then slowly the amps started coming back up to about 8 then charge for another 24 hours and they were fine. Just lucky I guess. But then I've had some that went straight to the recycle yard.

Chum lee

Equalizing means MAKING THE ELECTROLYTE IN ALL CELLS EQUAL. With unlimited time meaning power source at your disposal 15.5 volts is possible as a top tier voltage but a badly sulfated battery can take 3 days @24 hrs/day to equalize and TEN DAYS to equalize at 15.5 volts. These figures come from experience not guesswork.

Pointing a shotgun into the sky and pulling the trigger and hoping a duck runs into the discharge somehow is not using skills or expertise. Sort of like letting a 5-year-old mix your martinis. You need to know how badly or not your batteries actually are and you need to know h much charging is necessary to remove accumulated sulfation from the plates.

Simply pressing a button and hoping for the best is like throwing a bucket of paint at your house and assuming it's going to paint itself.

Smart Chargers are stupider than snot when it comes to equalization. But if press a button and hope for the best is your bag - go for it. Your battery distributor will love you for it.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com

Has several paragraphs how to do it right.

Ultrastryk wrote:
I have a 2013 Tiffin Phaeton with 6 coach batteries, that need to be equalized. The process is fairly simple with the control panel that the coach has. I will be on shore power when I do this. I understand that I need to disconnect the 12v power to the fridge and AC to prevent damage. Will they be able to run on the 120 shore power during the process. It's fairly hot right now, so not sure I can turn off the AC for 4 hours. I guess I could cool the coach down and do this closer to dark. Thanks for any help.

I have equalized my batteries twice on my 2013 Tiffin Allegro with no problems, and I did not disconnect anything. Equalize voltage to the batteries reached about 15.5VDC. I did turn the refrigerator off, and no other appliances in the Motorhome were turned on either. The process was automatic and took 3 hours .... but I only have 2 batteries. Your 6 battery configuration may take longer.

I would recommend you join and post your question to the TiffinRVNetwork.com forum. With over 14,000 Tiffin owners available you will likely get good info from fellow Phaeton owners to all your coach questions.

All electronics can work upto 18 Vdc.
Alternator Hi output = 14.7
Inverter/Charger output = 14.3 to 14.7

Equalizing Voltage = 15.1 to 15.3.
So what you are telling me that all the 12 volt electronics will go belly up at 15.3 volts. If this is true, that when the voltage regulator goes bad in an alternator and IT will goupto 18 Volts. Then all the electronics in an RV or Car should go bad.

Depending on type of batteries, and brand, because you really do need to go to the manufacturer of your batteries to find out proper equalization voltage, you may need to disconnect the batteries from the rest of the 12V electrical, as it can take 16.0V to do a proper equalization on many flooded lead acid batteries, which is too high a voltage for the circuit board on some Refrigerators. So you need to talk to the technical department of whoever makes your fridge too, to find out maximums safe voltage during battery charging to not fry the circuit board.

It's not as easy as it seems, so do you homework, for battery manufacturer, charger manufacturer, (can they get to 16.0V for a proper equalization charge) and elctronics in your rig, so you don't over voltage them, or have to isolate batteries from electronics to properly equalize.

Find the owners manual for your converter and read it to be sure of the functions available. Search the internet, if you have the converter manufacturer and model number, you can usually find the manual if you cant find the one that came with your MH. From your initial post I'm assuming your converter has an equalize function built in and you will be using it to equalize your batteries. (not a remote smart charger) You didn't state what type of converter, refrigerator, or batteries you have. Late model Tiffins should be close to top of the line.

Typically if you have a 3 way fridge, its logic center first chooses 120 volt power, if available. If not, usually you can choose to run it on 12 volt or propane should you wish to. The AC runs on 120 volts from shore power/generator and should not be affected by any battery charging function, however depending on how the coach is wired, the coach 12 volt consumers may be. Leaving all other coach 12 volt loads shut off during equalizing should prevent damage due to higher than normal equalization voltages. (+-15.6 volts for +-2 hours on typical flooded lead acid deep cycle batteries)

If you have a 2 way fridge, 120 volt/propane the fridge does use 12 volts to power the logic board (the 3 way does too) in which case you can just shut the fridge off for +-2 hours and turn it back on when you are done equalizing. Shouldn't hurt a thing.


Chum lee

What type batteries do you have, Lead Acid, Gel, or AGM? It's my understanding that you do not want to equalize AGM batteries.

What will you use to equalize?

My RV is wired so that the house will run from the converter with the battery disconnect set to off.