charging and maint of 2 banks of 12v group 24 batteries

RJsfishin wrote:
BFL,
Reread your post ! You are talking a full time job. In reality it will never happen,......unless you have no other life ! LOL.

It just reads like there's a lot of work. I used to read this stuff the same way but it really takes no time at all. I spend maybe 20 mins on battery maintenance a month but if you read me talk about it, sounds MUCH longer and more involved. BTW, last month it took me 5 mins cause I figured out how many EQ's the batteries need to be fully charged using the B&D1093.

BFL,
Reread your post ! You are talking a full time job. In reality it will never happen,......unless you have no other life ! LOL.

I have both - The SMART MODE VEC1093DBD 40AMP portable battery charger and a SMART MODE PD9260C converter/battery charger on my trailer. I use the 40AMP Portable charger as a backup system and for those times when I am working with one battery trying to get it back to life.

This is my OFF-ROAD POPUP battery system layout. Think I have passed this on to you before...



Works great for us when camping off the power grid just using three GP24 12VDC batteries (255AHs). We will run around 20AMPs draw from the battery bank between 8PM and 11PM each night along with the normal 1AMP parasitic draw all day long. With all the 120VAC items we want to run from an Inverter and the 12VDC items we want to run from the direct connection to the battery bank our 255AH Battery Bank DC Voltage will drop to around 12.0VDC at 8AM each morning. This is when we fire up our 2KW Honda Generator with the trailer shore power cable directly connected to the 120VAC generator plug using the appropriate RV30A-15A adapter. This will allow the PD9260C converter/charger recharge our battery back up to its 90% charge state so that we can do all of this all over again form the next day/night run off the battery.

This is my DC BATTERY PANEL monitor I use inside my trailer to monitor my battery DC voltages and the amount of DC current going both directions when the batteries are being used.


Its all in the planning to be successful. Not many cheap shortcuts you can do if you want to be successful about it...

Roy Ken

I would pair them with the two new ones as one set and the older ones as the other set, then parallel the two sets as a bank of four when camping.

when not camping I would disconnect the two sets from each other but leave them in their pairs.

I would use the 1093 on the bank of four while camping as needed depending on your usage, length of time away, etc, doing 50-90s or whatever SOC range works for you. 45-85s? whatever.

At home I would use the 1093 on one pair at a time to bring them back to full before going on a float charge or sitting idle. (if sitting idle take the pairs apart so they are separate batteries)

I would equalize each battery separately , not as pairs, but I would only equalize them if their SG failed to return to "baseline" after being charged to full and then put on float for a few days. You can hurt them with too much equalizing.

The 1093 does not do float, so you still need a proper battery maintainer, low amp charger for that or else use your rig's converter if it has a suitable float voltage for the temperature there.

I am unclear if floating each pair separately is needed or if all four can be left on one float charger. The self-discharge the float is meant to prevent would be prevented, but there might still be some funny activity between the batteries in parallel---I just don't know how that really works (or doesn't)

If it were me. I'd parallel them all together, make them the same as one big battery, charged together, equalized together, used together. There is no reason not to.
But I would have chosen a good converter to do the job,.....over any automotive battery charger.

Equalize and charge separately. Use them altogether.