Did this harm my batteries?

NinerBikes wrote:

And after doing this procedure, on a normal sunny So Cal 70F temp day, will your Specific Gravity show up at around 1.265 pretty consistently plus or minus .005 or less being preferred? Because that's pretty much what I expect out of my batteries.

I have an IR thermometer so I take battery temp but I do log air temp too. SG is 1.282 corrected to 70F/21C battery temp. Cells are all within .005. I noticed when the electrolyte gets under 60F/15C, the SG goes up. Right now they're around 1.300. Last year at this time the SG was about the same.

EDIT: I've also noticed that the battery temp can lag air temp if it's been cold the night before. Ex: the last reading I took (a month ago), it was 55F/13C but battery temp was 47F/8C. It was below freezing the night before. I can raise the battery temp up by opening the compartment door. In the summer, they are usually within a couple degrees.

dclark1946 wrote:
Does anyone make a digital hydrometer?

I don't know. I think I looked for one once but don't remember if I found anything. :)

mena661 wrote:

dclark1946 wrote:
I have seen other posts on this forum that are not too fond of using hydrometers.

There are only a few here it seems that use them. And I can understand why some don't. Quite frankly, if I hadn't spent so much money on my battery bank, I probably wouldn't use one either. Also, I use a Freas hydrometer which costs a bit more but doesn't drip and has an easy to read glass float. I have been able to minimize its usage with a good charging routine now but it took me a while to figure that out.

Does anyone make a digital hydrometer?

Dick

mena661 wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:

Perhaps I missed your charging routine, other than to top the batteries off float charging for months at a time when not in use, and to top off your electrolyte from time to time with good distilled water only?

1. Let the converter (IOTA 55 amp) charge till float.
2a. Hook up the Black and Decker 1093 portable, charge till it says full then run the equalize mode till it's done. This takes longer and might be a bit harder on the batteries. SG is at baseline after this.
2b. Hook up the Harbor Freight manual charger and let that run for two hours. SG is at baseline after this.

Because this gets the desired results everytime, I don't always check with the hydrometer right away to see if they're full but I check them at least once a month so I know how they're doing. Sometime I'm going to get one of those carbon pile load testers that MEX recommends.

And after doing this procedure, on a normal sunny So Cal 70F temp day, will your Specific Gravity show up at around 1.265 pretty consistently plus or minus .005 or less being preferred? Because that's pretty much what I expect out of my batteries.

NinerBikes wrote:

Perhaps I missed your charging routine, other than to top the batteries off float charging for months at a time when not in use, and to top off your electrolyte from time to time with good distilled water only?

1. Let the converter (IOTA 55 amp) charge till float.
2a. Hook up the Black and Decker 1093 portable, charge till it says full then run the equalize mode till it's done. This takes longer and might be a bit harder on the batteries. SG is at baseline after this.
2b. Hook up the Harbor Freight manual charger and let that run for two hours. SG is at baseline after this.

Because this gets the desired results everytime, I don't always check with the hydrometer right away to see if they're full but I check them at least once a month so I know how they're doing. Sometime I'm going to get one of those carbon pile load testers that MEX recommends.

mena661 wrote:

dclark1946 wrote:
I have seen other posts on this forum that are not too fond of using hydrometers.

There are only a few here it seems that use them. And I can understand why some don't. Quite frankly, if I hadn't spent so much money on my battery bank, I probably wouldn't use one either. Also, I use a Freas hydrometer which costs a bit more but doesn't drip and has an easy to read glass float. I have been able to minimize its usage with a good charging routine now but it took me a while to figure that out.

Perhaps I missed your charging routine, other than to top the batteries off float charging for months at a time when not in use, and to top off your electrolyte from time to time with good distilled water only?

dclark1946 wrote:
I have seen other posts on this forum that are not too fond of using hydrometers.

There are only a few here it seems that use them. And I can understand why some don't. Quite frankly, if I hadn't spent so much money on my battery bank, I probably wouldn't use one either. Also, I use a Freas hydrometer which costs a bit more but doesn't drip and has an easy to read glass float. I have been able to minimize its usage with a good charging routine now but it took me a while to figure that out.

mena661 wrote:
5 mins is too much time? It takes me 5 mins to check all 12 cells in my bank but I usually only sample 2 from each pair. No need to do all of them everytime because the batts are performing as they should. I don't see how it's messy. I take the sample, hold it over the cell, read it, then squeeze the acid back in. Where's the messy part?

I guess if you have the process really down it is not so bad. I had trouble with air bubbles causing inconsistent readings and was thumping the tube to make sure I had the right number of balls floating. Acid would drip off the end of the pickup tube when I was thumping it so that had to be wiped up. Then when I was through there was residual acid in the hydrometer that I could not seem to get rid of. I probably was not motivated enough to refine my measurement process especially when the voltage measurement technique seems to be working just fine for me. I have seen other posts on this forum that are not too fond of using hydrometers.

Dick

5 mins is too much time? It takes me 5 mins to check all 12 cells in my bank but I usually only sample 2 from each pair. No need to do all of them everytime because the batts are performing as they should. I don't see how it's messy. I take the sample, hold it over the cell, read it, then squeeze the acid back in. Where's the messy part?

mena661 wrote:

dclark1946 wrote:

Battery voltage under the proper load conditions is the quickest and most practical method of determining battery health.

For you. I do check volts on occasion but only to make sure my converter is working properly. I use a hydrometer for measuring battery health. Typically once after a trip to make sure the batts are charged to 100%, once if they have been on float for two months or more (don't usually go camping in Dec and Jan) and once sometime after adding water.

I tried a hydrometer a couple of times but it was messy and took too much time. I figure as long as the battery reads 12.7 V unloaded after 2 days of a full charge preceeded by a week of desulfating that the battery is good to go. I also usually run a quick load test with one of hose automotive battery load testers. I go through this routine a couple of weeks before going on an extended dry camping trip in the National park. The rest of the time when the trailer is in storage the battery is being maintained by a solar panel with controller.

Dick

dclark1946 wrote:

Battery voltage under the proper load conditions is the quickest and most practical method of determining battery health.

For you. I do check volts on occasion but only to make sure my converter is working properly. I use a hydrometer for measuring battery health. Typically once after a trip to make sure the batts are charged to 100%, once if they have been on float for two months or more (don't usually go camping in Dec and Jan) and once sometime after adding water.