My Screwy 31
First off let me say I am not stressing over this. It's just a battery, it is only money, it is meeting my overnight needs, but it is displaying strange behavior, and I am curious as to why. So th...
Forum Discussion
I'll try and dip my Hydrometer some afternoon soon when the solar has been holding it at 15.3v. for more than an hour.
Right now it is 17Ah from full, reading 12.4v, under a 1.4 amp load.
Overnight AH removals have been 34 to 62AH since last report averaging about 42AH, every night, and minimum voltages recorded have been 11.8v under this usage.
My Wagan 400 watt PSW inverter does not like voltages over 15. Some days I use it in the daytime to power a 55 watt heating pad to heat water in a 5 gallon shower bag, and I lower the maximum voltage to 14.9v so the solar does not fault the inverter with 15.3v.
With some morning brief alternator blasting upto 75 amps, or perhaps some brief Meanwell morning 41 amp blasting, the solar has had no issue reaching ABSV by 2:30PM.
Some days I parallel the AGM for some topping of it, and lower the max allowed voltage to 14.7v. So the 14.9ABSV and 15.3v have not been a daily occurrence.
It does require more amperage to hold 15.3v than it did before.
It is not really diving down that steep death slope as far as I have noticed.
Yet as long as it does not short a cell, and my fridge is still 33.5f in the morning, I will continue to cycle it nightly, and not baby it.
The Trojan group 31 I can acquire somewhat locally might require a lowered battery tray to fit in the screwy 31's current location in my engine compartment, depending on the terminals it comes with, and their precise location on the battery. The Trojan is 25$ or so more than the USbattery31 from the same source at about 190$ before tax.
Not a cheap battery, but I do not need more capacity, and the 31 group size is a good physical size for my intended location, even though it is a compromise compared to GC batteries, and less bang for the buck.
So be it.
Right now it is 17Ah from full, reading 12.4v, under a 1.4 amp load.
Overnight AH removals have been 34 to 62AH since last report averaging about 42AH, every night, and minimum voltages recorded have been 11.8v under this usage.
My Wagan 400 watt PSW inverter does not like voltages over 15. Some days I use it in the daytime to power a 55 watt heating pad to heat water in a 5 gallon shower bag, and I lower the maximum voltage to 14.9v so the solar does not fault the inverter with 15.3v.
With some morning brief alternator blasting upto 75 amps, or perhaps some brief Meanwell morning 41 amp blasting, the solar has had no issue reaching ABSV by 2:30PM.
Some days I parallel the AGM for some topping of it, and lower the max allowed voltage to 14.7v. So the 14.9ABSV and 15.3v have not been a daily occurrence.
It does require more amperage to hold 15.3v than it did before.
It is not really diving down that steep death slope as far as I have noticed.
Yet as long as it does not short a cell, and my fridge is still 33.5f in the morning, I will continue to cycle it nightly, and not baby it.
The Trojan group 31 I can acquire somewhat locally might require a lowered battery tray to fit in the screwy 31's current location in my engine compartment, depending on the terminals it comes with, and their precise location on the battery. The Trojan is 25$ or so more than the USbattery31 from the same source at about 190$ before tax.
Not a cheap battery, but I do not need more capacity, and the 31 group size is a good physical size for my intended location, even though it is a compromise compared to GC batteries, and less bang for the buck.
So be it.
