I was reading a article in Home Power Magazine about a electric car owner who did not recharge his car every night, and found that the mileage range was going down.
Their suggestion was that lead acid batteries like to be refilled as soon as they are discharged, and that sulfur build up on the plates can harden, so charging daily will help out a LOT.
I liked to keep my battery full every day as well, and one set lasted 13 years, so I guess it worked! I also kept an eye on the water levels and used only distilled water when required.
Charging from 90% to 100% takes a long time, so that is best done on shore power or with solar power. I would suggest running the generator for about 1 hour every morning and evening.
One RV.Net member described it like a frog jumping toward the end of a log. Where it can take a large leap in the beginning, it must jump smaller jumps as it gets closer to the end.
I have a e-meter that accurately measures my battery amp flow in and out of the battery. When I was down 140 AH, I would run the generator for about 1 hour in the morning, and cook breakfast. It would start out at 50 - 55 amps when I started the generator, but by 30 minutes it would be down to about 40 amps, and I would shut it off at 35 amps after about 1 hour. So alltogether I would put back about 45 AH in 1 hour.
Then I would let my solar system put back the rest of the power during the day. I can collect about 100 AH more than I use during the day. I have a 400 watt solar system.
Fred.
