Canine
Well-known member
What is your system maintenance procedure?I test SG and water level monthly,also check all connections for tightness.Every three months I disconnect and do a load test on each battery.
System maintenance ?
- Thread starter Canine
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WheelEstate USA
Well-known member
My plan is to beat the hell out of them and then get new ones 
Seriously, I don't do much of anything. After about 6 months I added close to a half cup of water total. I do a quick check on connections and close the lid.
Seriously, I don't do much of anything. After about 6 months I added close to a half cup of water total. I do a quick check on connections and close the lid.
Sabatical
Well-known member
You've got the golden game plan it sounds like. The only other thing I could think of is checking your battery manufacturers website for any other tips and make sure your charge controller setting are consistant with thier suggested voltages for bulk, absorb, and equalize. They should also tell you when to equalize...at least the Trojan site gives all of those. If you have something different it might vary.Bob Dickerson said:
Good luck. Good maintenance often means long life...as with all things.
Scott
SternWake
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I honestly do not do anything but watch my battery monitor in the evening until bedtime and see if the voltage is where I expect it to be for the AH removed from it.
When it is less than what I expect, then, the next day I will either extend my time at absorption voltage, or plug in my Charger if I have access to grid power.
I will dip the hydrometer after a normal 'Full charge' record the readings, then I will turn all loads to my other battery and crank up the Solar or grid charger voltage to 16 volts, and keep dipping the hydrometer every 15 minutes until Specific gravity on the 3 easy to check cells either goes back to baseline, or stops rising. I also note how much amperage it takes to attain then maintain 16volts.
Then I terminate the equalization charge and return the loads to the flooded battery then top charge the other battery that carried the loads for the duration of the equalization cycle.
On average, it would take about 90 minutes to 120 minutes to maximize SG, so later on, when I noticed voltage sagging, I would skip the Hydrometer dipping, and switch loads to other battery via a switch, crank the flooded battery upto 16 volts Via Solar or Meanwell powersupply, and just watch my ammeter until it dropped to about 4.2 amps, then I'd terminate the EQ charge without ever dipping the hydrometer. This would be required with my last battery every 14 to 20 cycles, otherwise performance really tanked. 14 to 20 as dependent on the average depth of discharge. The deeper the average discharge, the more frequent an EQ was needed. Also time driving when the alternator was feeding it high amperages has a huge effect on the frequency of the required EQ charge. The more I drove(both the oftenness and distance driven) and the battery would be quenched with 65+ amps, the less often the EQ charge was required.
When the battery was nearing end of life the maximum SG on one cell remained low even during a 16v EQ charge, and the amperage required to hold 16V was higher and did not taper as much, and at the very end, the amps would taper only briefly and then start rising and the battery would begin to heat rapidly as it was in the beginning of thermal runaway. That is when I removed it from my Van, as I also noticed it heating excessively at normal absorption voltage. That battery was cycled in my workshop a few dozen times afterward and still has some useful energy to power things. It has about 1/3 to 1/2 its original capacity and self discharges about 5% to 8% a day and I just let my Psychotic Schumacher do its thing to it every so often, so it can power my Old TV in my workshop or some extra lighting.
My other battery is an AGm battery. i prefer to not cycle it if I do not have to, but right now it is my only battery. It is not a great Solar only battery, it wants much higher charging currents. I do allow it to recharge Via solar only, but after 4 days, performance ( voltage held under comparable loads and AH # removed) tanks. Basically 40 amps from 50% charged applied until 14.5v is reached and then held until amps taper to 0.45, restores full performance on this AGM battery.
My overnight consumption is my load test. My battery monitor is the tool I use to track trends and tendencies to notice when the battery is not holding as much voltage under load, and then I either do an EQ charge on the flooded battery, or I do a high amp recharge on the AGM to restore the battery to its maximum remaining capacity
I've not even looked at my AGM battery in a year. My latest flooded battery had no issues with corrosion on the terminals, but watering the three furthest cells required partially removing the battery as the mirror and flashlight trick does not work well to check level.
Three of the cells are quite easy to reach as my Flooded battery is under my hood, and when I'd check the oil, tranny fluid and brake fluid and coolant level and color, I would pop a battery cap and shine a light inside and check electrolyte level.
When i acquire my Next flooded battery, I will need to figure out what it likes using my Hydrometer and adjusting absorption voltages and duration so it maximizes Specific gravity with minimal time spent at Absorption voltage. The manufacturer recommendations are the best place to start, but an Ammeter, voltmeter, amp hour counter and a hydrometer will allow one to figure out exactly when a battery requires maintenance that is not visible, like white or green corrosion or low electrolyte.
I will also be employing some methods to keep this next Flooded battery from experiencing the worst of underhood engine heat.
I've now got over 500 Cycles on my last group 31 USbattery. I bet I can get 1000 from a Trojan T-1275 as it is built for heavy cycling. The USbattery31 is a compromise. Deep cycle internals stuffed into a car jar. Too much lead, not enough electrolyte. This requires excessive times at excessive absorption voltages to fully charge after every deep cycle, and this shortens life, but not as much as chronic undercharging it would have.
When it is less than what I expect, then, the next day I will either extend my time at absorption voltage, or plug in my Charger if I have access to grid power.
I will dip the hydrometer after a normal 'Full charge' record the readings, then I will turn all loads to my other battery and crank up the Solar or grid charger voltage to 16 volts, and keep dipping the hydrometer every 15 minutes until Specific gravity on the 3 easy to check cells either goes back to baseline, or stops rising. I also note how much amperage it takes to attain then maintain 16volts.
Then I terminate the equalization charge and return the loads to the flooded battery then top charge the other battery that carried the loads for the duration of the equalization cycle.
On average, it would take about 90 minutes to 120 minutes to maximize SG, so later on, when I noticed voltage sagging, I would skip the Hydrometer dipping, and switch loads to other battery via a switch, crank the flooded battery upto 16 volts Via Solar or Meanwell powersupply, and just watch my ammeter until it dropped to about 4.2 amps, then I'd terminate the EQ charge without ever dipping the hydrometer. This would be required with my last battery every 14 to 20 cycles, otherwise performance really tanked. 14 to 20 as dependent on the average depth of discharge. The deeper the average discharge, the more frequent an EQ was needed. Also time driving when the alternator was feeding it high amperages has a huge effect on the frequency of the required EQ charge. The more I drove(both the oftenness and distance driven) and the battery would be quenched with 65+ amps, the less often the EQ charge was required.
When the battery was nearing end of life the maximum SG on one cell remained low even during a 16v EQ charge, and the amperage required to hold 16V was higher and did not taper as much, and at the very end, the amps would taper only briefly and then start rising and the battery would begin to heat rapidly as it was in the beginning of thermal runaway. That is when I removed it from my Van, as I also noticed it heating excessively at normal absorption voltage. That battery was cycled in my workshop a few dozen times afterward and still has some useful energy to power things. It has about 1/3 to 1/2 its original capacity and self discharges about 5% to 8% a day and I just let my Psychotic Schumacher do its thing to it every so often, so it can power my Old TV in my workshop or some extra lighting.
My other battery is an AGm battery. i prefer to not cycle it if I do not have to, but right now it is my only battery. It is not a great Solar only battery, it wants much higher charging currents. I do allow it to recharge Via solar only, but after 4 days, performance ( voltage held under comparable loads and AH # removed) tanks. Basically 40 amps from 50% charged applied until 14.5v is reached and then held until amps taper to 0.45, restores full performance on this AGM battery.
My overnight consumption is my load test. My battery monitor is the tool I use to track trends and tendencies to notice when the battery is not holding as much voltage under load, and then I either do an EQ charge on the flooded battery, or I do a high amp recharge on the AGM to restore the battery to its maximum remaining capacity
I've not even looked at my AGM battery in a year. My latest flooded battery had no issues with corrosion on the terminals, but watering the three furthest cells required partially removing the battery as the mirror and flashlight trick does not work well to check level.
Three of the cells are quite easy to reach as my Flooded battery is under my hood, and when I'd check the oil, tranny fluid and brake fluid and coolant level and color, I would pop a battery cap and shine a light inside and check electrolyte level.
When i acquire my Next flooded battery, I will need to figure out what it likes using my Hydrometer and adjusting absorption voltages and duration so it maximizes Specific gravity with minimal time spent at Absorption voltage. The manufacturer recommendations are the best place to start, but an Ammeter, voltmeter, amp hour counter and a hydrometer will allow one to figure out exactly when a battery requires maintenance that is not visible, like white or green corrosion or low electrolyte.
I will also be employing some methods to keep this next Flooded battery from experiencing the worst of underhood engine heat.
I've now got over 500 Cycles on my last group 31 USbattery. I bet I can get 1000 from a Trojan T-1275 as it is built for heavy cycling. The USbattery31 is a compromise. Deep cycle internals stuffed into a car jar. Too much lead, not enough electrolyte. This requires excessive times at excessive absorption voltages to fully charge after every deep cycle, and this shortens life, but not as much as chronic undercharging it would have.
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