Battery Equalization

[goldwinghauler]

OK first Happy Thanksgiving.
Now I have a truck camper with two 6 volt batteries. I need to purchase a battery charger the puts out at least 15 volts for equalization. Does anyone know which charger to buy? The batteries are sulphating and need to be cleaned up. In case you are interested they are Trojan T105's.

[mena661]

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
Though once in a very great while BIL uses red balls. :B

ZING!!

[Canadian_Rainbi]

NinerBikes wrote:


Good to know, though here in So Cal, they play golf year round, so the batteries probably are younger and abused more frequently, 365 days a year, so more charge cycles, I suppose. Once in my hands, they will have a relative life of leisure, I would think. I'm not living in the Travel trailer, just boondock every now and then.

BLF13 lives in Victoria BC. They golf year round there too. (Though once in a very great while BIL uses red balls. :B

[Canadian_Rainbi]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I believe curiosity leads to inevitable education if pursued.

One way or another! :E

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I believe curiosity leads to inevitable education if pursued.

[BFL13]

PT you could be right, but I think I will leave well enough alone. Perhaps a plate in one cell is stripped of sulphate but so thin it has not long to live or some such. I am not sure why I even care if all cells are the same SG. I know their voltages in series add up, so as long as that total is enough, who cares? 🙂

[pianotuna]

Hi BFL13,

Regarding equalizing one cell at a time. Graphite "rods" would be safe to use. Now all you need is a good two volt source of power.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I would load the scrubber battery to 175 ampere for 30 seconds.

Observe the voltmeter needle while loading the battery down. It should NOT start out, dropping slowly, and then speed up dropping faster as voltage gets lower.

This is a vital clue. If it speeds up you have a reactive problem inside the battery. A death knell.

Nor should the needle "skip" say from 11.00 volts down to 9.5 then steady out. This is another death rattle.

The steadier the needle drops the better. As long as it ends up at 9.6 or 4.8. Don't confuse the word STEADY with FAST.

[NinerBikes]

BFL13 wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:

mena661 wrote:
Thanks MEX for the suggestion of using the low cell for equalizing.

Ditto, thanks. So a T1275 should be tested at it's 150 Amps for 30 seconds also? With voltage remaining above 9.6V?

Fingers crossed that I get a battery that's not too big on SG variance. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

You better look in its mouth! My source golf car place had the two year old T-1275s that I got, but also had some four year old ones in worse shape. They have a line that is crossed (where they invent their own line) where they toss the old batts as beyond hope.

They do things by minutes of use in a golf car, so if all four T-1275s would no longer do the minimum 100 minutes, they swapped them out. Mine did 86 minutes in their group of four and somebody else got two of them and then later I got the other two.

I would not take the marginal four year old ones that were one step away from the junk bin at 70 some minutes, even though they were going for less money than the two-year old ones.

We have to have some standards, even though we are cheap as heck! 🙂

Good to know, though here in So Cal, they play golf year round, so the batteries probably are younger and abused more frequently, 365 days a year, so more charge cycles, I suppose. Once in my hands, they will have a relative life of leisure, I would think. I'm not living in the Travel trailer, just boondock every now and then.

[BFL13]

NinerBikes wrote:

mena661 wrote:
Thanks MEX for the suggestion of using the low cell for equalizing.

Ditto, thanks. So a T1275 should be tested at it's 150 Amps for 30 seconds also? With voltage remaining above 9.6V?

Fingers crossed that I get a battery that's not too big on SG variance. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

You better look in its mouth! My source golf car place had the two year old T-1275s that I got, but also had some four year old ones in worse shape. They have a line that is crossed (where they invent their own line) where they toss the old batts as beyond hope.

They do things by minutes of use in a golf car, so if all four T-1275s would no longer do the minimum 100 minutes, they swapped them out. Mine did 86 minutes in their group of four and somebody else got two of them and then later I got the other two.

I would not take the marginal four year old ones that were one step away from the junk bin at 70 some minutes, even though they were going for less money than the two-year old ones.

We have to have some standards, even though we are cheap as heck! 🙂

[NinerBikes]

mena661 wrote:
Thanks MEX for the suggestion of using the low cell for equalizing.

Ditto, thanks. So a T1275 should be tested at it's 150 Amps for 30 seconds also? With voltage remaining above 9.6V?

Fingers crossed that I get a battery that's not too big on SG variance. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[mena661]

Thanks MEX for the suggestion of using the low cell for equalizing.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

NiberBikes you can find an adjustable 500 carbon pile Load Tester at Harbor Freight for $49.99 on sale. Search the HARBOR FREIGHT site with the words BATTERY TESTER.

A 500 CCA battery should be tested at 1/2 its CCA rating or 250 amps for 15 seconds. The voltage should not droop to less than 9.6 at 68F 20C

You were testing batteries with a genuine adjustable load tester rather than a fixed "potato grater" so common at retail outlets. Same with the FREAS hydrometer. A lot of people who have not worked with a Freas have no idea how much EASIER the Freas is to read. You gave me a chuckle with your care of the instrument - that is how much care I give to my Freas to this day.

OK, I'll throw out a bone with regard to testing golf car batteries.

220 amperes for THIRTY SECONDS.

Voltage should not drop to less than 4.8 volts

L16's to 440 amperes, for 30 seconds. Look into the cells using safety glasses immediately after the test. Cells must not emit "smoke".

Drawing 440 amperes at at 4.8 volts is no easy chore.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Reminds me, I have to get one of the new HF fully automatic chargers and see if I can suck the genius out of it by wiring around the control circuit. Hopefully substituting a robust shottky rectifier will loose the beast in it. The charger still weighs 11 pounds. Thing needs a timer and digital meters and a mini fan.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When I am equalizing a battery I first pick the LOWEST cell out of the bunch. Then I run 5% A/H amperes through the battery (your figures are correct) until such time as OE gravity is reached, or voltage climbs to 16.0

Dipping the one cell once an hour shouldn't be an issue.

When gravity starts to climb, I keep a closer eye on things.

The acid gravity will continue to climb a little even afterthe charger is taken off line.