KendallP
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Re: 2004 Atwood Water Heater Cycling
dougrainer wrote: Light your Stove /Range burners. ALL of them and see what type of flame you get with all running. If they do not have a good blue flame, your LP regulator is bad. It also appears you may have an empty LP tank. Doug Thanks Doug, but nope. Full tank and beautiful blue flames all around. Fridge works great on gas too.460Views0likes0Comments2004 Atwood Water Heater Cycling
Hey gang, I am, admittedly behind on water heater maintenance. A family health emergency has put me in a position where I hope to address this problem quickly and then do more thorough maintenance when I get caught up. Hoping you can help me pinpoint the most likely culprit. The propane water heater is a striker fired 10 gallon unit. Sometimes it works fine. Others it fires up… then after 10 to 20 seconds I can hear the flame begin to fade until the valve abruptly shuts off. Repeat a half dozen or so times until it finally gives up and the red light on the panel lights up. I cycle the switch and the whole process begins again… occasionally completing the heating cycle without the red light coming on. I know there are several causes of water heater problems, but these symptoms sure seem specific to me. Thoughts?911Views0likes5CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
Gjac wrote: Yes, I know hes the right guy and I remember his photos, that's why I bought the B&D 40 amp charger, I also remember BFL's ugly graph on charging he posted but never quite understood it. I just had to pull that graph up from my files. The graph was actually quite well designed. Just not pretty. The point of it was... Given a 220 Ah bank of 2 - 12v hybrid batteries at 50 SOC... the slower the charge... the longer the Bulk charge, but the higher the SOC once the Acceptance / peak voltage stage was reached. The eventual outcome is exponential. The higher your bulk current, the lower the time benefit over the next lower charge rate increment. At 35A - 177 minutes from 50-90% SOC At 55A - 139 minutes from 50-90% SOC At 70A - 129 minutes from 50-90% SOC So one might roughly extrapolate that hammering the bank with another 15A (85A total)... might shave off another 5 minutes or so from the total time. Therefore there is little generator time benefit to anything beyond C/3. .989Views0likes0CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
Gjac wrote: BFL13 wrote: Yes, you have to do a second run after the first time it says FUL. Confirm real full with an hydrometer The 1093A has 2a setting but the 1093D has 4a as it's low and for the E. A near full batt accepts more like 4a going to the 15.7v E so 2 as low not enough Have you ever verified what % charge you have when it says ful with your hydrometer? My batteries are not on a slide and getting a bulb type hydrometer is impossible. I'm guessing these "smart chargers" only charge to 95% SOC or so. Any thoughts about not bringing batteries up to 100% charge does for battery life over time? Ha! Man did YOU come to the right guy. You won't find anyone on these boards with more documented experience with this than BFL13. He's basically answered everything already, but I'll break it down a hair... 1. If you do a single, modest cycle... say 75% SOC... and then a recharge with a Vector... and float it for quite a number of days... then you might get it back to 100% as could be hydrometer verified. But this will be the case with any voltage-controlled charger like your on-board converter or charger, only probably worse. 2. Then there's the whole stratification thing. Fewer bubbles with 12V hybrid batteries, so stratification is more prevalent. BFL used to remove his and tip them to combat stratification... until yours truly talked him into GCs 3. The short answer is to recharge them with the Vector and then poke the equalizing button. Unless it's really hot outside (Vectors are temp compensating,) you'll likely want to open the negative to isolate the bank from the coach... to protect the circuitry of your appliances But how about a general rule of thumb for someone like you who can't get at them with a hydrometer... For each 50-90 charge you performed camping... run at least one equalizing charge with your vector. That said... we haven't talked about the "Reconditioning" mode. I haven't employed that in many, many years, but I recall believing it made a difference. However... unfortunately the Vectors don't give a float charge at the same time as the pulsing. So this is where you reconnect the negative and let your on-board converter or charger float them. Either way... pulsing should have no ill effects like equalizations can. And you'll probably need to run several 24 hour sessions. But do note that pulsing does nothing for stratification. Or you may want one of those pulse conditioners that runs off your battery power. Those work fine so long as you're plugged into shore or solar... which you should be in storage. I doubt they draw much power when you're offshore, so I believe you can leave them connected 24/7. Here's a search on the subject. Confirms my belief that it seems to work. .989Views0likes0CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
BFL13 wrote: Yes,you have to do a second run after the first time it says FUL. Confirm real full with an hydrometer The 1093A has 2a setting but the 1093D has 4a as it's low and for the E. A near full batt accepts more like 4a going to the 15.7v E so 2 as low not enough Huh. Did not know there was an "A" version of the 1093 My 25A (VEC1095ABD) B&D equalized at 4A. Just floated at 2. The pdf of the manual I have confirms this.987Views0likes0CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
Gjac wrote: I have the B&D 40/20/10/2 also and really like it it was the best $50 I spent when I got it on closeout when Walmart stopped selling them. I use it to charge and maintain my 2 6v GC batteries. Getting back to top charging I suspect the B&D does not fully charge the batteries when it says ful, because when I disconnect the B&D and float at 13.6V with my old Magnatech constant charger for a couple of days I can dry camp for several more days without generator usage. Has anyone else noticed this with the B&D or any other "smart charger"? IMO, virtually no auto chargers are equipped to completely charge lead/acid batteries in a single bound; with the exception of the Vector/B&D VECs. If the battery has been light to moderately cycled once only, after the "FUL" display, you still need to run a single equalization cycle to complete the charge. But like BFL said, there's no substitute for verification by a decent hydrometer... like one of my famous Australian units. .987Views0likes0CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
ktmrfs wrote: son has the one you posted, the one I have is even more basic. No start mode, 6V mode is 6A current limited but not voltage limited so on the 6V mode it will easily rise to at least 8V @ 6A if you leave it on long enough and the battery will take it. But unlike the one in the picture the 12V mode will limit voltage. Well technically the one in the picture will limit voltage also... if the switch is set to "Charge." But I never use it like that. Glad to hear your 6 Amper will take a battery to 8V. Sounds like you're good to go!987Views0likes0CommentsRe: MEXICOWANDERER On Top Charging New Flooded Batteries
ktmrfs wrote: I had one of the HF "beast" chargers, it's now down at our son's house, but he brings it up when I need it. Extech makes pretty decent meters. Not NIST traceable, but still accurate enough for our use. In fact Extech, Amprobe OEM meters to well known and well respected T&M companies. My next task is to check the 4 Trojan T-125's GC2's that are 10 years old on my other trailer. It will be interesting to see how close to replacement they may be. They often get drawn down to 30% SOC or so and have lots of cycle on them. OK. Sounds like you're saying my meter is up the task at hand here. Thanks! Yeah, it's amazing how long batteries can last that are continuously floated when not in use. Now if this is the HF charger you have, then you may want to thinking about trading your son for another one...988Views0likes0Comments
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