MEGAWATT 60-AMP INTRODUCTION

Mena:

Shhhh!

A conspiracy of battery sellers and gizmo hucksters may pool their money and send a hit squad to your place. Battery maintenance cannot possibly be THAT easy. The RIGHT way is to rely on a single gizmo with a Quixotic brand name and buy batteries every 2-years because you somhow did something wrong despite the directions and automation.

A small temperature compensated float control is all you need. Tiny, easy to connect. No dials, no meters, no switches. You plug it in and say adeiu to your rig. Others may chime in here and offer solid advice as to which model battery floater they like and why.

IMO, 13 is good if it's well into the 100's F. 13.7 is good if you're at 40F. Maybe go higher than 13.7 if it's freezing or lower.

Battery rookie question here. You all kind of beat around the proverbial bush, but what is the most appropriate long term float voltage for 6V GC batteries? I am a weekend warrior and my MH sits most of the time. Hope to one day be full time but that is a long ways away. Hence, my batteries spend a majority of their time on float. I don't have the Mega Watt but I have one of the cheaper ones mentioned in Mex's threads. It is a 30A unit. To date, I have been floating the batteries at 13.0V. I am in Northern Alabama and today the temp is about 40 degrees F. Obviously, I shut off the charging circuit of the inverter/converter unit before hooking up the separate power supply. The subject batteries are the cheapo Costco units and are new within the last couple of months. Total bank size is six 6V batteries. Typically, only use the MegaWatt clone for float.

Thanks,

Greg

MEX's setup is sweet and much older than most of our batt banks. To address a previous post. Tweaking voltage by a couple of tenths twice a year is not what I call obsessing. If you think that is then LOL! It takes more time to talk about this stuff then to actually do it. Because of MEX's top charging advice, I rarely have to do anything to my batts. The last time I used a hydrometer was in July and that was because I did my annual battery watering. I only check voltage occasionally to make sure the charger is working. That's it, but keep thinking I spend my days doing battery maintenance. It's quite amusing.

Mexi
has 2v jars for his main system
i think he said they power a freezer and fridge
using 24 * 2v for a 48v system with a 48v inverter to produce 120

this is the system that has huge battery charger on, to recharge from generator (kubota) ?

Mex,

What 24 kind of R&S jars you talkin' bout?

Their 2 volters, or their 6 volters, or their 8 volters, or their 12 volters?

24 Jars Rolls & Surrette, Mexican Customs - NOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!

Batteries are a CONSUMABLE item, just like fuel
In fact they are a " fuel tank" that degrades and needs to be replace

The time involved depends on how they are used and maintained
They will not last forever , even the most expensive have to be replaced at some point

Niner, pure fast charging is a loser. Battery plates are a lot like the texture of a coral reef. Spongy incredible amount of surface area. Electrons and chemicals have to have enough time to revert sulfation, and pure super fast charging ain't gonna get the job done.

This is the reason for Top Charging. Keep it at FIVE PERCENT amperage rating of the amp hour capacity of the battery. Top charging is an excellent viable idea used in conjunction with solar panels. No generator run-time.

I run into solar systems, big ones that hammer lots of energy into the batteries. But the time quotient is ignored. The only answer is "Top Charging Day". Reduce load the night before and use the following day for the top charge formula. Some solar owners pschaw the idea. Battery vendors love 'em and wouldn't have it any other way...