DAS26miles wrote:
Checking with PD intelli-power and says it works with AGM's. Looking at Duracell Utra Platinum Group 27 AGM's. $220 each less 10% ordering online and picking up. Not too bad. Just the 92ah I don't care for. I was hoping for 100ah but if it recharges 5 times faster, it shouldn't make a difference. I was using my generator for and hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening and still down 10 accumulating amps per day. Solar only kept it from dropping any further in daytime. But by third day I was down 30 amps on the third evening after charging. I'm hoping that the AGM's will get it charged back closer to full. I know part of the issue is the PD Intelli converter chgarger claiming to get the batteries up to 90% within 2-3 hours and another 15 hours to fully charge.
Say you head out with a full pair of 27s at 180AH. You don't need to recharge until down to 50%.
If you need to run the gen for an hour next morning, that means you used 90AH. So you do a 50-80. 30% of 180 is 54 AH. Can you get by till morning? Doesn't look too good if you use 90.
If you do the 80-90 another 10%, that's 18AH more for almost another hour of gen time, so you replaced 54+18= 72AH. Not enough to be above 50% next morning.
You need more battery! Get two 6s instead of two 27s. Bank is now 225AH, leave home with that and next day down 90 to 60%, and do a 60-80
So up 50AH and at 80% or 180, and do another day of 90, now down to 90/225= 40% Now you need some gen time for the morning of the third day. A 40-80 is 40% or 90AH so back in business.
Do 40-80s. How often? A couple more days, no big deal going just below 50%. How many times a year? Or do a 40-90 and then a 50-90.
From the OP's description, besides other issues, it looks like recharging by gen when already above 80% so a low amp, long time recharge to get not many AH restored. That is why they invented the 50-80, so as not to waste gen time. Recharge down in SOC where the batts can accept all the charger's amps.
