Forum Discussion
Camper_Jeff___K
Apr 30, 2013Nomad III
Finished reading,
Lifeline
Best Converter
and
Odyssey
Manuals.
Lifeline says at 77 degrees F Absorption is at 14.3 volts and Float is at 13.3 volts.
Odyssey and Lifeline promote differing recommendations on how best to maintain their batteries. The Boondocker power supply appears to adhere more to the Lifeline standard.
A charger senses the state of charge the batteries have and will charge accordingly to the present state of charge. My charger has rarely gone into the bulk charge mode but has gone into the absorption mode, then dropped to the float mode. My solar panel provides daily bulk mode voltage of 14.6 but will only supply up to 3.6 amps current. As the state of charge of the battery comes up to the value of whatever state of charge mode the converter is operating in, the current will drop to the next lower mode as the voltages become equal. As the voltages become equal, the converter senses that and drops the charge mode to the next lower state. Bulk to absorption, absorption to float, then a steady state of float with an occasional 15.6 boost or equalization/desulfation mode charge, then a drop back to float.
Lifeline states an AGM is considered fully charged if the open circuit voltage is 12.8 volts or higher after a 4 hours rest from charging.
There are lots of voltage and current numbers being stated but the main objective is to keep from discharging your batteries too deeply, not exceeding a drop to 12.2 or 12.0 on occasion and then to restore batteries to full charge as quickly as possible after discharge. A discharged battery will not always require a bulk charge and the converter will sense that. The amount of charge is a function of the internal resistance of the battery and the state of charge voltage. The lower the battery voltage, the higher the charge current can be applied. The new smart electronics make all this automatic.
To recover a dead battery, you apply a 15.6 bulk charge for at least 8 hours or until the charge current drops to .5 amps then apply enough voltage to the battery to maintain a 5 amp charge current which will require a steady escalation of charge voltage to keep the current flow at 5 amps and you apply the 5 amps over charge voltage current over a 4 hour period keeping a safe temperature watch over the batteries undergoing the procedure.
The main thing is to achieve a static rest voltage of 12.8 or a little greater voltage and that means your AGMs are at 100% charge.
Jeff
Lifeline
Best Converter
and
Odyssey
Manuals.
Lifeline says at 77 degrees F Absorption is at 14.3 volts and Float is at 13.3 volts.
Odyssey and Lifeline promote differing recommendations on how best to maintain their batteries. The Boondocker power supply appears to adhere more to the Lifeline standard.
A charger senses the state of charge the batteries have and will charge accordingly to the present state of charge. My charger has rarely gone into the bulk charge mode but has gone into the absorption mode, then dropped to the float mode. My solar panel provides daily bulk mode voltage of 14.6 but will only supply up to 3.6 amps current. As the state of charge of the battery comes up to the value of whatever state of charge mode the converter is operating in, the current will drop to the next lower mode as the voltages become equal. As the voltages become equal, the converter senses that and drops the charge mode to the next lower state. Bulk to absorption, absorption to float, then a steady state of float with an occasional 15.6 boost or equalization/desulfation mode charge, then a drop back to float.
Lifeline states an AGM is considered fully charged if the open circuit voltage is 12.8 volts or higher after a 4 hours rest from charging.
There are lots of voltage and current numbers being stated but the main objective is to keep from discharging your batteries too deeply, not exceeding a drop to 12.2 or 12.0 on occasion and then to restore batteries to full charge as quickly as possible after discharge. A discharged battery will not always require a bulk charge and the converter will sense that. The amount of charge is a function of the internal resistance of the battery and the state of charge voltage. The lower the battery voltage, the higher the charge current can be applied. The new smart electronics make all this automatic.
To recover a dead battery, you apply a 15.6 bulk charge for at least 8 hours or until the charge current drops to .5 amps then apply enough voltage to the battery to maintain a 5 amp charge current which will require a steady escalation of charge voltage to keep the current flow at 5 amps and you apply the 5 amps over charge voltage current over a 4 hour period keeping a safe temperature watch over the batteries undergoing the procedure.
The main thing is to achieve a static rest voltage of 12.8 or a little greater voltage and that means your AGMs are at 100% charge.
Jeff
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