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mena661's avatar
mena661
Explorer
Jul 30, 2014

Flooded Batteries on Float

It's been mentioned that flooded batteries just keep accepting amps seemingly forever whereas AGM's will stop accepting amps when they're full. Don't know if it's true or not but I can say that my batts show zero amps going in when full and on float. SG is 1.285 with a battery temp of 93.7F/34.3C.



113 Replies

  • Float is supposed to be set just right to replace "self-discharge." With Wets you will then always have some draw. AGMs have low self-discharge, so they may appear to have no draw except to scientific level ammeters.

    With my set-up there is also the usual guilty things so it is worse than "normal."

    The OP is good on battery stuff, so no doubt his Wets are low on self-discharge from dirty tops etc.

    Of course mena's brain may be permanently fried from living where he does among the Gila Monsters and Sidewinders in all that heat, so he may be deluded. :)
  • Your T1275's might be "stealing" some amps from your 6's. Might be why your bank doesn't "rest". Haven't gotten much camping in this year because of family get togethers but set to correct that soon. :) I'm only anal about float because we spend so much time over 100F/38C here in the summer. All the high float does is suck up water here. Maybe I can go two years without watering. :)
  • With my mixed bank of beat up (previously enjoyed) two 12v T-1275s and four, three- year old 6s, when full and on shore power Float at 13.8v regardless of ambient temp ( I do everything according to the battery rules! :) ) I get accumulated AH showing on the Trimetric way "over" supposed full after a time.

    After almost a week this can get to be near 100AH "over." I just ignore it all and reset the Trimetric when I start camping off grid again.

    I suppose it is the beat-up T-1275s themselves which never manage to get truly full or else some interaction between them and the four 6s (which are also of two different brands) or even between the two 12v batts among themselves.

    Whatever, there is no rest for those amp electrons! They keep working at it, jacking up the AH figure way past Full.