Does DEKA make a good UPS battery?

landyacht318 wrote:
Are the leads on your watt meter getting super hot? Does a brief maxing out of voltage increase the amperage?

Does adding a load to the DC system while MW is at 21 amps, cause it to increase output above 21 amps?

That is strange behavior, IMO.

No, leads are not hot. Adding a load to the DC system does indeed increase the amount of amps out of the MegaWatt 30. 10 gauge wire from Mega to battery, 1/2 of a 10 gauge jumper cable, total of 6 feet length.

I may try something different, cable wise, once the sun comes out, some 8 gauge and a 15" run, but can't putt Mega Watt out in the rain right now. That will be in a few days minimum, we are socked in with cold weather here and rain for a day or two more, near Butte, MT, Flyfishing on the Big Hole River. Even the trout don't like this cold snap, fish are hardly even rising for an evening bite, time to nymph fish and put away the dries. If the fishing s*cks this afternoon, I'm going to drive in to Dillon, MT instead and watch the rodeo tonight in my Goretex jacket. Even the regulars that live nearby are commenting on where the fish all went.

As an aside, my VW Touareg has an AGM battery under the drivers seat from the factory, hence no engine heat to deal with... and driving down the road, it hits 14.3 to 14.4V with a 170 amp rated alternator. I think VW/Audi/Porsche, knowing this was built on a truck chassis, and that folks pull their caravans in Europe, put in a fat radiator, lot of radiator high wattage fans, and a hella alternator in this thing to keep the Caravan / TT charged up.

This AGM charges up way, way, way fast when driving down the interstate, I will see 12.84V after an overnight, with 2 or 3 hours of driving, with load still on the battery at 1 AH parasitic draw, after being parked 45 minutes and shopping at Wal Mart. I am wondering with temps in the low 40's to low 50's, how much to bump up the charging voltage, for temperature correction on the Mega 30?

If I can sort this battery out and get it to take a faster charge, a Meanwell 500-15 like Landy has, may be in my future instead with the Eu2000i in tow, and save the mega 30 for when I have the Eu1000i along on smaller trips.

Both the RC watt meter and the hand held amp meter on the charge cable confirm the 20-21 amps being all it takes... I am going to try to get a reading when I hook up again to the Touareg on a morning I am towing when I start heading west to Astoria, OR for an Oregon coastal camp session. Looking forward to some really good sea food while there, for a change. Clam Chowder anyone, and watching the Coast Guard shoot the waves into port, near Newport, OR.