Perhaps Capacity is Not King
I don't want to derail the current "charging AGM batteries" thread more than I already have. During the course of that thread I was shopping for AGM batteries, trying to determine which ones could ...
Forum Discussion
I am mad at old Mex for telling me not to gang my two 12s with my four 6s while camping or they would eat each other.
I put them in two banks with the 12s running the 2000w inverter as their only job with 100a loads from time to time. Meanwhile the four 6s do everything else.
That worked great camping in September, when both banks got down in SOC about equally, but here we are mid November when it is right around freezing (but sunny, real nice out) and the furnace is on most of the time. Now the four 6s got down to 50% in one day while the two 12s are at 75%. So I had to run a recharge on the 6s.
If I could bank the whole gaggle of batteries, I could go at least two days between generator runs, and get some Peukert from the full capacity as well, but Mex won't let me. It's only for four days in a row then back home till early February probably. (maybe late Jan) so they can be nursed individually like they get anyway.
There is no solar in the woods here and the batts are lower in capacity at these temperatures, so here I am with enough capacity to go two days but I have to recharge every day instead for a couple hours (as limited by the park rules here)---all because Mex won't co-operate. Plus he called my nice 12s "scrubber batteries", so why does he even care?
I am about ready to defy the Great Master and go for more capacity-- at least for "weekend style" camping in the winter.
I put them in two banks with the 12s running the 2000w inverter as their only job with 100a loads from time to time. Meanwhile the four 6s do everything else.
That worked great camping in September, when both banks got down in SOC about equally, but here we are mid November when it is right around freezing (but sunny, real nice out) and the furnace is on most of the time. Now the four 6s got down to 50% in one day while the two 12s are at 75%. So I had to run a recharge on the 6s.
If I could bank the whole gaggle of batteries, I could go at least two days between generator runs, and get some Peukert from the full capacity as well, but Mex won't let me. It's only for four days in a row then back home till early February probably. (maybe late Jan) so they can be nursed individually like they get anyway.
There is no solar in the woods here and the batts are lower in capacity at these temperatures, so here I am with enough capacity to go two days but I have to recharge every day instead for a couple hours (as limited by the park rules here)---all because Mex won't co-operate. Plus he called my nice 12s "scrubber batteries", so why does he even care?
I am about ready to defy the Great Master and go for more capacity-- at least for "weekend style" camping in the winter.
