Deep cycle or starter battery charging issues
I recenty moved from a class B to a small fiver. My old van had one deep cycle battery and I installed an isolator. This set up was good for several nights of light usage before I had to run the van t...
Forum Discussion
Ok... I'm back.
I've done a huge amount of research since I started this thread and I really appreciate everybody's willingness to share their knowledge.
I have come to some conclusions that I wish to test out on the brain trust that reads this forum.
1-deep cycle batteries "like" a charge of C10 but can accept with little to no side effects a charge of C/5-C/4 for a short while if discharged to 50%-70% (ish) in bulk charge mode. This will be self limited to some extent by the batteries themselves as they become more charged. This is subject to ensuring battery temps remain reasonable (still gotta figure what that is)
2-flooded cell batterys should be charged at 14.8 volts (or manufacture recommended voltage) for the whole charge time. (shout out to HandyBob)
3-the best way to get 14.8 volts OFF GRID is via temperture compensated solar charging
4-use short runs of BIG A## WIRE in system to avoid voltage drop
5-Get a good battery monitoring system so you know, not guess, what is happening
So my plan for my little fiver is:
-2x 6volt 225 ah golf cart batteries (probably costco or Sam's Club)
-2X 100 watt solar panel set up as a portable array
-Backwoods Solar upgraded Iota 55 amp Charger(not Iq4 enabled)
-Prostar 30 amp controller with temp sensor (allows more panels)
-Trimetric 2025rv battery monitor
-Honda 2000 genny
-wiring as per Sensei HandyBob's blog/rant
****expectations are to run solar mostly, run HondaΙ once in a while in bulk mode in morning then let solar finish charge.
I would love to hear your critiques of the above points and this plan.
Randall
I've done a huge amount of research since I started this thread and I really appreciate everybody's willingness to share their knowledge.
I have come to some conclusions that I wish to test out on the brain trust that reads this forum.
1-deep cycle batteries "like" a charge of C10 but can accept with little to no side effects a charge of C/5-C/4 for a short while if discharged to 50%-70% (ish) in bulk charge mode. This will be self limited to some extent by the batteries themselves as they become more charged. This is subject to ensuring battery temps remain reasonable (still gotta figure what that is)
2-flooded cell batterys should be charged at 14.8 volts (or manufacture recommended voltage) for the whole charge time. (shout out to HandyBob)
3-the best way to get 14.8 volts OFF GRID is via temperture compensated solar charging
4-use short runs of BIG A## WIRE in system to avoid voltage drop
5-Get a good battery monitoring system so you know, not guess, what is happening
So my plan for my little fiver is:
-2x 6volt 225 ah golf cart batteries (probably costco or Sam's Club)
-2X 100 watt solar panel set up as a portable array
-Backwoods Solar upgraded Iota 55 amp Charger(not Iq4 enabled)
-Prostar 30 amp controller with temp sensor (allows more panels)
-Trimetric 2025rv battery monitor
-Honda 2000 genny
-wiring as per Sensei HandyBob's blog/rant
****expectations are to run solar mostly, run HondaΙ once in a while in bulk mode in morning then let solar finish charge.
I would love to hear your critiques of the above points and this plan.
Randall
