Confusion on battery charging
I am confused about the best practices for charging batteries. For 7 years I had 300 AH of Lifeline AGM batteries, 270 watts of solar and a simple charging system. My old camper has a 110 volt c...
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The amount of solar or the controller don't seem to be causing my concerns. Today I kept a fairly accurate record of my battery charging.
When I got up I charged my laptop for about one half hour and I ran the furnace for a few minutes to take off the chill. For the rest of the day the only power draw was my Nova Kool refrigerator. It ran about 5 minutes out of every 15 minutes and draws 2.2 amps when running. With everything off and no solar starting I was getting a voltage of 12.7 or 12.8. According to Lifeline that means I was down less than 90 percent (less than 30 AH).
About 8 am I got some solar. I tried to run the generator but shut it off after 15 minutes since the voltage was already over the OEM controller setting of 13.3.
I had full sun and around 11 am the voltage was at 14.3 with amps of about 9. From 11 am to 2 pm, I had one drop due to shade but was charging for all but a minute or so. By 2:30 the amps had dropped to 4. Between 2:30 and 3:00 it was mostly cloudy and afterwards the amps needed to absorption went up to 7. For the next 1 1/2 hours I had full solar and stayed at absorption. Amps dropped to 2.9. At 6:30 I was still at 2.9 and then lost light and could not maintain absorption. So from 11 am to 6:30, charging was at absorption for all but a total of an hour. Even then I had amps flowing in just not enough to maintain absorption.
I opened up the battery box and checked the wires and connections. All seems OK. It looks like the wiring is only 10 gauge but the run from the solar controller is only about 18 inches to 2 feet.
It seems from past observation and from today, I recharge the batteries to near full charge pretty quickly. But then I never reach the conditions that indicate a final full charge. Never, ever. I think I will call Lifeline tech services to see if I get an explanation.
When I got up I charged my laptop for about one half hour and I ran the furnace for a few minutes to take off the chill. For the rest of the day the only power draw was my Nova Kool refrigerator. It ran about 5 minutes out of every 15 minutes and draws 2.2 amps when running. With everything off and no solar starting I was getting a voltage of 12.7 or 12.8. According to Lifeline that means I was down less than 90 percent (less than 30 AH).
About 8 am I got some solar. I tried to run the generator but shut it off after 15 minutes since the voltage was already over the OEM controller setting of 13.3.
I had full sun and around 11 am the voltage was at 14.3 with amps of about 9. From 11 am to 2 pm, I had one drop due to shade but was charging for all but a minute or so. By 2:30 the amps had dropped to 4. Between 2:30 and 3:00 it was mostly cloudy and afterwards the amps needed to absorption went up to 7. For the next 1 1/2 hours I had full solar and stayed at absorption. Amps dropped to 2.9. At 6:30 I was still at 2.9 and then lost light and could not maintain absorption. So from 11 am to 6:30, charging was at absorption for all but a total of an hour. Even then I had amps flowing in just not enough to maintain absorption.
I opened up the battery box and checked the wires and connections. All seems OK. It looks like the wiring is only 10 gauge but the run from the solar controller is only about 18 inches to 2 feet.
It seems from past observation and from today, I recharge the batteries to near full charge pretty quickly. But then I never reach the conditions that indicate a final full charge. Never, ever. I think I will call Lifeline tech services to see if I get an explanation.
