profdant139 wrote:
Almot, that is an interesting point about "sudden battery death." I routinely monitor specific gravity, and (sure enough) my last set of batteries, after five years of use, started to show differences amongst the cells, at which point I got new ones.
So if I can really rely on specific gravity as an early warning system, then maybe I can get wild and crazy and link the batteries in parallel, rather than holding a spare at the ready.
And yes, we are "light users." We believe strongly in minimalism -- it is part of what makes camping fun for us. Small trailer, very sparing use of water and power and propane. Silence. Boondocking. Isolation and privacy. These are all things we can't get at home.
Varying SG amongst battery cells indicates the need for EQUALIZATION which as Mexicowanderer (THE battery care guru) says is a very specific scientific application of charge. If I can find his excellent monograph I'll come back and post a link here. Better to equalise every once in a while than buy new batteries before you would otherwise need to.
Found it:
HereRead it and follow it. What MW doesn't know about the care and feeding of lead acid batteries isn't worth knowing.
