More battery basics.
Good Day, I have a few questions Is it better for a deep cycle camper battery to be kept in a constant state of fully charged using a better tender, or better to let the battery slowly drain low,...
Forum Discussion
westend wrote:
If your battery had a OCV voltage of 12.8V and the tender or converter was powered with an output of 12.8V, there would be no charging at all. The charging device needs to have a voltage greater than the battery.
Your converter will vary the CURRENT into the battery at a slightly greater voltage to keep the battery charged. The tender, AFAIK, operates at 1.25A with a voltage greater than the battery to keep it charged. The tender may lower the current or interrupt the charge when it senses the battery is full. It depends on how the tender is built.
FWIW, I made a small trickle charger using a wall transformer. The transformer was rated at 12V, 300mA Measured output without a load was 16V. Using the trickler with a partly discharged battery, the voltage of the battery gradually rose over three days to 14V, at which time I unplugged the charger. The next day, the OCV voltage of the battery was 12.7V. Hope this example helps.
Understood, but I was thinking that when the battery reached fully charged, 12.8 would keep 12.8 at 12.8. If your battery dropped to 12.7, 12.8 would trickle it back up to 12.8 hence multi-stage tenders.
