12.63 volts fully charged?

[Rhianntp]

After having the shore power plugged in all day my battery reads 12.63volts. Is this how high it should be?
Thanks :shy:

Here is my battery:

 

[Rhianntp]

Also when I hook up a usb/12plug with a built in volt meter it shows different numbers. Is that normal? Thanks again

 

[bass_sears]

Most accurate way to test is specific gravity, meters are often quite variable. It also depends if you have any load on it, and how long it's been since the shore power was turned off (you are testing with shore power off, right?). If you have no load on it and it hasn't had any charge applied to it for at least a few hours or so (a day is better) then your reading should be pretty accurate. Under those conditions a reading of 12.6 volts is considered fully charged.

-- Bass

 

[Rhianntp]

Thanks

 

[Trebor English]

Does "plugged in all day" mean 6 hours?  24 hours?  What was the state of charge before?  What charger was used?  Has the liquid level been checked?  There are too many variables to give a definitive answer based on only 12.63 volts.

You can get a hydrometer from Amazon for $12.  It will measure the density of the electrolyte to actually determine the state of charge.  As the battery discharges the sulfur moves from the sulfuric acid to lead sulfate in the plates leaving the liquid less dense.  Similarly charging leaves the liquid more dense.  The hydrometer I got came with good instructions.  The volt meter test can be helpful but the sulfur in the acid is what actually makes the battery go.

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4619-Professional-Battery-Hydrometer/dp/B0050SFVHO/ 

If you add distilled water and then check the density it will be low.  You add water at the top then test the acid from the top.

 

[Rhianntp]

This is a sealed no maintenance battery? about 8 hours yes.. it stopped going up at 12.63v. The charger was the new converter/charger I put in WFCO 9845 model. Says it has 3 stage charging.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

A 12V lead acid battery can be considered fully charged when it will accept less than 3% of its rated capacity (e.g. less than 3 amps for a 100 AH battery).
I concider my 208AH batteries fully charged when the input amps = 3A.

Specific gravity also works if you know what your fully charged battery should read and must be temperature compensated.

 

[MikeRuth]

Probably Ok on that battery although aside from taking a specific gravity reading, a battery at rest with no load for 24 hours should sit at 12.8 - 12.7 Volts. My Trojan T-105's sit at 12.8 easily for 24 hours.

 

[Rhianntp]

Thanks everyone. I realize this battery is no where near the quality of Trojans and the like. I got it for free. Just trying to see if these readings appear 'normal' while its still in the return/exchange period.

 

[DannyB1954]

The place you bought it from may be able to put a modern tester on it. Most lead acid batteries when fully charged at rest will read 12.8 volts. When I say at rest I mean charge it up then disconnect it from everything and let it sit a few hours. If the battery has an internal drain the voltage will go down over the next few hours.

 

[Rhianntp]

Thanks Danny

 

[Rhianntp]

Found something about this issue. The circuit that my converter/charger was on was GFCI. The almost never used bathroom outlet controlled it all. The GFCI outlet had a fault which caused it to trip some time while charging which led to me only seeing 12.63v after a long charge time. I replaced that outlet and now the battery sits at 13.03v after a long charge. Thanks again.

 

[DannyB1954]

Good to hear. Congratulations on finding the fault. If you disconnect the battery after charging, it may drop to 12.8 volts. This is normal. Batteries have a resistance to being charged. That is why the charging voltage is always higher than the normal battery voltage. With vehicle alternators they are set up to charge between 13.8 and 14.6 volts.

 

[Rhianntp]

This is all a wonderful learning experience

 

[Tony's Dream]

I am having the same problem and only achieving the 12.6. I would leave it hooked to shore power for 3-4 days at a time. I bought a new battery and still only charged up to 12.6. I connected them to extend my batter amp hours and charging them together.....still only 12.6. When connected to show power and charging I would see 13.6 or 13.8, but disconnect the shore power and wait 24 hours.....still only 12.6. My battery tester shows it is not fully charged. I haven't looked to she what it's plugged into as far as a GFI. Thought about hooking it up to a separate batter charger to see if I can increase it charge, that would at least tell me it's something in the charger in my rig. Any other ideas?

 

[highdesertranger]

if you are only charging to 13.6 or 13.8 volts you are undercharging your batteries. what's your charging source? an old RV converter? highdesertranger

 

[Tony's Dream]

if you are only charging to 13.6 or 13.8 volts you are undercharging your batteries.  what's your charging source?  an old RV converter?  highdesertranger

It's the charger that came with the Aliner, which is a 2016.....so not that old.  I bought it used and it's in great shape, looks and smells like it was new.

 

[highdesertranger]

well it's either not working correctly or Aliner used el cheapo converters. you should be seeing 14.4-14.8 volts during bulk charging. highdesertranger

 

[Rhianntp]

I wonder if the old battery is having issues and having the new one connected to it is limiting its charge as well?

 

[Tony's Dream]

Rhianntp…...I thought about that. I unhooked the old batter and connected only the new battery.

The camper came with a WFCO WF 8735P

WF-8735 has five AC circuits in addition to one 30 Amp main circuit and six DC circuits for the needs of larger campers and small travel trailers
Model: WF-8735PB
Output: 35 Amps DC
Input: 105-130 VAC, 60 Hz, 600W
Color: Black