RJXJ wrote:
If the inverter has 2 gauge, every thing in the battery side should be 2 gauge or heavier. Especially if it's running through that piece of 6 g. Maybe I dont understand the 6 g to shunt though. i assume the shunt works in series in the negative cable. I dont have a monitor so I havent used a shunt. Looked at Trimetric? (end quote)
the cables are all well sized, if not over sized. and yes the batt neg connects to one post of the shunt, then the second post of the shunt connects to all other neg's, (except the neg to neg paralleling the two pair of 6v; that stays hooked up to the neg batt post). and there was no noticeable drop in voltage over the 6ga wire, but i will be changing it to 2ga soon; even though 4ga from batts to inverter would suffice.
the trimetric and pm installs were done just last week, so the excessive gassing issues were happening before that. and as i've mentioned elsewhere, i was under the impression the batts were in complete control of 'amps-in' during 80-100% charging, not realizing charge voltage had such an affect. so i may very well have been overcharging, in an effort to get the charge amps down.
QUOTE cont'd:
I put all this stuff in my mind as I learn and think back of comments made on here. Mex say's in his equl post sure anybody can brag about a 10 year old battery if all it does is weekend use and stays on the cord. Someone else said we blow through tank after tank of $100.00 fuel but obsess over battery prices. I'm told my batteries will be shot in no time. Maybe I want my batteries to be shot in a comparatively short time because on the other side of the balance sheet my figures may tell me that I had minimal generator run time, less trips to the gas station, less wear on my vehicle, less noise.(end quote)
yeah, it's like being penny wise, dollar stupid! with $600 worth of batts for 6 years vs. 3 years, you save a hundred bucks a year, on average, on batteries, but spend possibly hundreds more on gas, gennies, chargers, etc.. it's definitely a balancing act. and to hear you got 6 years (+?) on your batts is encouraging. but i think the hassle of having to re-and-re the batts may have an effect on one's choices as well though.
