Battery water falls very slightly in Cell Six?

Gjac, those are good tips -- thanks! And to answer your question, we are "electrical minimalists," just like you are. It is hard to say how long our batteries could last -- since we always hook up to our 120 watt portable solar panel, we almost never have to run the generator -- less than once a year!

But my best guess is that under ordinary circumstances (warm weather for good battery performance), we could go for about four days before the battery reaches 12.1 volts.

Cold weather is different, because we have to run the furnace during shower time, which uses a lot of juice. That would limit us to three days without solar power or the generator.

Steve,

If the plates are covered:

1. charge batteries to 100%
2. add distilled water
3. discharge at high rate
4. fully recharge.
5. optional--equalize the battery.

If plates are not covered, add enough distilled water to cover them.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:


Don't add more than 5 oz of water to a car jar battery cell then just let it sit. The electrolyte must mix and it cannot do it withour help. Load the battery bank so when the charger resumes charging it will go into bulk mode.

are youi talking about discharging it after you add thr water? everything I have been taught and read was always to add water to a fully charged battery as the water/solution expands as it charges.

Steve

Hi Dan, I am guessing you camp similar to me, with minimal electrical requirements. Basically water pump, lights and refer? If so how long can you go without charging before your batteries get to 12.1 v? Do you have a way of equalizing your batteries with your current charger? If not a portable charger like the 40 amp Stanley or B&D is a good thing to have to do this. It will keep your batteries healthy longer. Lastly when these marine batteries do fail I would replace them with 6v GC batteries if you can fit them in your battery compartment, they will serve you better for dry camping and last longer.

profundant139,

Just below the ring may be the best.

The watering issue is underappreciated. One of the sweetest attributes of an industrial battery is it's electrolyte capacity (includes GC batteries). An excess capacity battery has an improved service life of almost 20% all other things being equal. And that is yet another reason a super premium AGM battery like the Lifeline is superior --- the mat used in Lifeline batteries is 500% more expensive than ordinary AGM matting.

Don't add more than 5 oz of water to a car jar battery cell then just let it sit. The electrolyte must mix and it cannot do it withour help. Load the battery bank so when the charger resumes charging it will go into bulk mode.

The optimum fill point is to submerge the plates without encouraging burping. Of course AGM and sealed alternative chemistry batteries do not need this kind of maintenance.

My AGM lifelines have been offline since February. We shall see effects of this on a 10-year old accumulator including end capacity. I need to build another shop room. Work tables and tons of $$$$ shelves.

Gjac, that is a great idea about testing the hydrometer on distilled water -- it might be giving me "fake news" that all my cells are great when maybe they aren't! ;)

Someone mentioned that I am obsessing about my batteries. Guilty, with an explanation. We do a lot of boondocking, so if my batteries die, that would be a hassle. (Not a tragedy -- we would just pack up and go to an RV park.)

So although I am by no means a professional battery person (unlike a few of our members -- hi, Mex!!), I am always on the lookout for signals that my batteries are on the way out.

These are five year old marine batteries -- they have never dropped under 12.1 volts, measured while resting. Always topped up. Not a hint of trouble so far.

Based on the consensus of the posts above, it looks like I should not worry about a tiny drop in the water level of one cell over a period of several months.

And someone wondered whether I really meant that it was down by a half ounce. That's really true. I measured how much I had to add to the cell to get it up to where there is a "meniscus" at the bottom of the fill tube. That's the curved lens shape on the top of the water.

I have been told that you add water just until that meniscus appears. If that's wrong, I am sure someone will let me know!!

Francis Freas Glass Works

profdant139 wrote:


The specific gravities of the cells were uniformly good, according to my tester.

What kind of tester did you use? When I checked mine with one I had from Walmart my cells were always uniform also. Got another with floating balls and got the same results. They both read about 1.265. When I checked distilled water I got the same reading. My batteries don't slide out so it is difficult to get a tall one in there to test. So unless you can get in with a good hydrometer like a Frese you may not have an accurate reading. Check it with a glass of distilled water and see what it reads. Having said all that my cell closest to the positive post was also low. It also had a reading of only 1.5v with the charger on. All the other cells were about 2.5 v. Running an equalization routine fixed this problem.