Battery Voltage Discrepancies ??
Hello battery experts and fellow nerds :C I have noticed small voltage differences between the three Odyssey PC2150 batteries that make up my "bank". This is after resting with zero load for 24 ho...
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Plug N Play Mother Fletcher's Do-It-Yourself-Atom-Bomb-Kit.
Welcome to the class of hard knocks. In this edition of reality 101 comes the realization that brothers grow up to be different personality entities. Impress a constant VOLTAGE across EACH battery now. Does the lowest reading battery NOT accept an amperage different from the highest SOC battery?
Resting voltage and degree of charge acceptance is a adjunct to doing a full blown capacity test. And periodic capacity tests are exactly how a knowledgeable owner determines if their AGM is sick and needs tender love and pampering.
I held a standard Wal-Mart flooded lead acid battery is as close to stasis as it gets for THREE YEARS. When I sold it a couple of weeks ago it had more CCA than when it did new, which is normal. So acid deterioration of the plates was the only consideration. Yeah I did it. I turned the sucker upside down for 10 minutes. Then righted it, and sucked on a few cells. Crystal clear electrolyte. Playing the part of minimalist voltage to maintain OEM acid density paid off. With periodic topping off charges of course. NO EQUALIZATION PERFORMED IN THREE YEARS.
I am firmly convinced that the "agonizing exertion" of spending an hour with an AGM battery every six months or so can extend its life dramatically. Determining if loss of capacity has occurred then correcting it by top charging if necessary is vital. Lead sulfuric acid, cycling. Anyone who tells you AGM cannot sulfate is not familiar with absorbed glass mat technology, or chemistry and most likely a few hundred other issues. The process is not exactly the same. It cannot be when pure lead plates are surrounded by 1.300 acid.
You CAN NOT go by "well the battery shows a .07 volt difference". You must understand that an aggregate voltage total of six extraordinarily different cells add up to a .07 volt "difference". It puts a whole different light on things.
Maintaining a flooded lead acid battery is a piece of cake compared to an AGM. The AGM needs to be performance tested.
And finally, very very few and I mean almost nobody in the general public understands that a very properly cared for AGM will outlast a conventionally cared for AGM by at least FIFTY PERCENT. Time or cycles, whichever comes first. Other than murder by overfeeding, there is one way to surely kill an AGM accumulator. That one way is to ignore the need for periodic conditioning. Ninety percent of the calls I get to diagnose thousand amp hour battery banks are caused by the owner not learning this point. Plug N Play = Plug N PAY.
Welcome to the class of hard knocks. In this edition of reality 101 comes the realization that brothers grow up to be different personality entities. Impress a constant VOLTAGE across EACH battery now. Does the lowest reading battery NOT accept an amperage different from the highest SOC battery?
Resting voltage and degree of charge acceptance is a adjunct to doing a full blown capacity test. And periodic capacity tests are exactly how a knowledgeable owner determines if their AGM is sick and needs tender love and pampering.
I held a standard Wal-Mart flooded lead acid battery is as close to stasis as it gets for THREE YEARS. When I sold it a couple of weeks ago it had more CCA than when it did new, which is normal. So acid deterioration of the plates was the only consideration. Yeah I did it. I turned the sucker upside down for 10 minutes. Then righted it, and sucked on a few cells. Crystal clear electrolyte. Playing the part of minimalist voltage to maintain OEM acid density paid off. With periodic topping off charges of course. NO EQUALIZATION PERFORMED IN THREE YEARS.
I am firmly convinced that the "agonizing exertion" of spending an hour with an AGM battery every six months or so can extend its life dramatically. Determining if loss of capacity has occurred then correcting it by top charging if necessary is vital. Lead sulfuric acid, cycling. Anyone who tells you AGM cannot sulfate is not familiar with absorbed glass mat technology, or chemistry and most likely a few hundred other issues. The process is not exactly the same. It cannot be when pure lead plates are surrounded by 1.300 acid.
You CAN NOT go by "well the battery shows a .07 volt difference". You must understand that an aggregate voltage total of six extraordinarily different cells add up to a .07 volt "difference". It puts a whole different light on things.
Maintaining a flooded lead acid battery is a piece of cake compared to an AGM. The AGM needs to be performance tested.
And finally, very very few and I mean almost nobody in the general public understands that a very properly cared for AGM will outlast a conventionally cared for AGM by at least FIFTY PERCENT. Time or cycles, whichever comes first. Other than murder by overfeeding, there is one way to surely kill an AGM accumulator. That one way is to ignore the need for periodic conditioning. Ninety percent of the calls I get to diagnose thousand amp hour battery banks are caused by the owner not learning this point. Plug N Play = Plug N PAY.
