help newbie with charging house/solar battery

[blueh20]

hi, trying to learn about keeping my house/solar battery in good condition. My parts.
-3 renolgy 100w eclipse panels,
-renolgy 40amp commander controller,
lifeline 255ah batt ,
renolgy MT50 digital controller.

My first winter with my solar system(ford e250)sitting a little stagnant in my garage.
I do drive it just enough in the winter to keep the battery up but lately its gotten down to 12.5v so I stuck my 4 amp battery charger on it.
In about an hour the MT50 registered 14.1v but the Battery icon on the MT50 showed the battery about 2/3 full and seemed to just stop increasing.
After 2 hours the MT50 still registered 14.1, the battery icon was still at 2/3+ full.(battery charger had floated down to 2.25amps)

Not trusting that I know what I am doing,so before bed I just unplugged the charger and figured I would start over in the morning.
This morning the battery was down to 12.5v again, stuck the charger on and its on its way back up to were it was last night.

seems as though I just need to leave the charger on for a longer time,

My question..is this scenario normal?
What should I do, thanks.

[blueh20]

Im a newbie at this, so just looking for some guidance to get me on the right track.
Im thinking you mean the alternator as"the charger that came with the rig", just havnt had time this winter to get out for a long drive, to much snow and cold for the time being.


My Lifeline battery is an agm.
I did go to lifelines site and check the charging voltage requirement for a 40deg garage.

I had no idea the 4amp charger is too small!

What size charger should I get?
Any specific type of charger?

Is the MT50 basically an idiot light, worthless?
Sounds like maybe your saying I shouldnt pay attention to the MT50 and just check the battery with my multi meter?

[TakingThe5th]

blueh20 wrote:
hi, trying to learn about keeping my house/solar battery in good condition. My parts.
-3 renolgy 100w eclipse panels,
-renolgy 40amp commander controller,
lifeline 255ah batt ,
renolgy MT50 digital controller.

My first winter with my solar system(ford e250)sitting a little stagnant in my garage.
I do drive it just enough in the winter to keep the battery up but lately its gotten down to 12.5v so I stuck my 4 amp battery charger on it.
In about an hour the MT50 registered 14.1v but the Battery icon on the MT50 showed the battery about 2/3 full and seemed to just stop increasing.
After 2 hours the MT50 still registered 14.1, the battery icon was still at 2/3+ full.(battery charger had floated down to 2.25amps)
Not trusting that I know what I am doing,so before bed I just unplugged the charger and figured I would start over in the morning.
This morning the battery was down to 12.5v again, stuck the charger on and its on its way back up to were it was last night.

seems as though I just need to leave the charger on for a longer time,

My question..is this scenario normal?
What should I do, thanks.

I'm not a solar expert but I have Battery Minders on all my "stuff" in the garage - riding mower, tractor, diesel truck, etc. The Battery Minder will condition all my wet-cell batteries and will not overcharge, even when left on for extended periods of time. Under those circumstances I don't worry about voltage, I just make sure the water levels are good. Hope that helps.

[CA_Traveler]

Idiot lights as they are known have one redeeming feature. They allow the salesman to explain what a great battery monitor you have!

Why are you using a small charger for the house battery vs the house charger that came with the rig?

Discharged flooded batteries should bulk charge at 14.8V. A 4A charger is inadequate but left on for days may charge the battery. If the battery is NOT completely 100% disconnected then house drains may account for the 12.5V.

From your post the battery is not being fully recharged and it may have less capacity due to being under charged for the winter so far.

BTW 14.8V is for 70F and the temperature corrected voltage is higher for a Montana winter. Even up to 15.9V, something to consider.