Why did my coach batteries die?
On a recent boondock trip,I started with fully charged coach batteries. The first nigh my CO2 detector goes off.The windows are already open, I shut down the LPG.The next morning,aux batteries are com...
Forum Discussion
RoyB wrote:
When a battery is fully charged it will read 12.6-7 Volts DC just sitting there. When I get back from a camping trip I like to read the battery terminals when I shut down everything and then the next morning Ilike to read the terminals again after it sits over night. If they are down to 12.2 or lower after just sitting there in place for 8-10 hours then this is indeed a red flag.
Sorry to beat this to death but I wrecked my first pair of batteries misunderstanding this good advice. The trouble with the voltage method of measuring state of charge is that the voltage is meaningless until the 8-10 hours after all charging has ceased. 12.0 or less means battery life has been damaged. You don't get to know if your furnace has damaged your batteries until the next day. A battery monitor indicating amp-hours or per cent of full charge gives a very useful indication all the time.
A solar panel, even a 100 watt one, is very helpful for keeping the batteries close to the 100 per cent charge that prolongs their lifetime.
