Converter Running Continuously
Got back from a trip and noticed two things. 1 - My battery was not charging up during my trip home. 2 - I've got the camper plugged in to my shore station and the converter has been running pretty ...
Forum Discussion
I suspect you may be having the same misunderstanding that I had, which caused me to ruin my first set of batteries.
The voltage charts say 12.6 volts indicates 100% charge. BUT the chart applies only hours after all charging has stopped. Initially the reading is the same as the charging voltage - then it declines as the surface charge is absorbed by the battery chemistry.
It is enlightening to charge a battery for an hour, disconnect the charger, and check the voltage every hour through the day. I found that an hour of charging brought the voltage up to well over 13 volts (all 4 idiot lights lit up to indicate fully charged) but with no load it declined over the next several hours to well under 12.6 volts - meaning it was far from fully charged.
The only way to see the % of full charge at any time is to install a battery monitor which counts the amp-hours of charge going in and out of the batteries.
The voltage charts say 12.6 volts indicates 100% charge. BUT the chart applies only hours after all charging has stopped. Initially the reading is the same as the charging voltage - then it declines as the surface charge is absorbed by the battery chemistry.
It is enlightening to charge a battery for an hour, disconnect the charger, and check the voltage every hour through the day. I found that an hour of charging brought the voltage up to well over 13 volts (all 4 idiot lights lit up to indicate fully charged) but with no load it declined over the next several hours to well under 12.6 volts - meaning it was far from fully charged.
The only way to see the % of full charge at any time is to install a battery monitor which counts the amp-hours of charge going in and out of the batteries.
