batteries |
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Hunter
Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Location: Black Mtn. NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
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Topic: batteries Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 10:58am |
Thanks Stephen. I will have the batteries tested but they are both under a year old, agm Universal 100ah. I have two of them. I did run them down one time to 40% but have not since? With the frighted I do not think that it opperates on 12v , only propane or 110 or so the switches on the frig indicate. Is there a battery test that I can do without hooking it up and taking it down to auto supply store?
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3252 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 11:57am |
With your multimeter you could test to see if they will hold a charge. Check electrolyte levels, fill with distilled water only, if low. Give each a 24 hour 2 amp trickle charge and disconnect from the charger. Let sit for 4-6 hours and take a reading. You should get something between 12.72 (fully charged) to 13.3volts or so. Take another reading a day later and then 2 days later. The drop in voltage should be minimal. In northern Michigan where I am the 12volt batteries were charged November 1, 2020. Since then they have been directly sitting on concrete in a unheated garage. Temps for the last few days have risen to about -7C, yesterday the temps never got above -14C. I just checked voltage for both batteries, the oldest one (will be 11 years old in April 2022) read 12.52v the other one read higher and it has now been nearly 10 weeks since they were charged. After a couple days the voltage shouldn't vary by more than 0.02 volts at the most, if so they have probably been hurt. As advised above, go to an auto parts store and get a load test performed.
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God's pod
'11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 3:12pm |
You just said they were AGM. That means they are sealed. That means that you can't pull the caps off and test the electrolyte level. Using a meter to see if there is a power drain and how much if there is is probably the only thing you can do short of taking them out and down to your local Walmart or Auto Parts store for testing.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Hunter
Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Location: Black Mtn. NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 4:53pm |
I have taken the shore power off the camper and the batteries test at 12.67-68. I am going to leave the shore power off for the night and then test in the morning to see if there is any noticeable difference. Thanks for the input again!
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 11 Jan 2022 at 7:59pm |
Unless you have a battery disconnect, there will be some drain since the CO/LP detector and some other devices don't get disconnected otherwise. They are small drains, but over time, even small drains can kill your battery.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Hunter
Newbie Joined: 26 Feb 2021 Location: Black Mtn. NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 39 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Jan 2022 at 7:10am |
Checked the batteries this morning after going through the day without shore power and they are now 12.50 or 87% according to the instrument I have to keep track of the batteries power level? When I took the power off the batteries they were reading 12.68 and 100%. After charging back up to 100% Tonight I am going to turn on the battery disconnect and remove shore power and see what happens. I suppose that if I leave the shore power on and turn on the battery disconnect the batteries will not continue to charge?
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3252 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Jan 2022 at 10:56am |
You are correct. Try testing your batteries with shore power off (or as you plan with the battery disconnect on) and then for the next few days check your batteries at the same time and see how much voltage drop there is. That will tell a lot as far as the integrity of said batteries and if they have the ability to hold charge.
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God's pod
'11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
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john in idaho
Senior Member Joined: 04 Nov 2014 Location: Eagle Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 611 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Jan 2022 at 11:00am |
Not to confuse things, but I read somewhere that one should not charge AGM batteries with chargers for Lead- Acid batteries. Could that be part of the problem?
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Jan 2022 at 12:24pm |
Hello John,
Not quite. AGM batteries are still lead-acid. It is just that the electrolyte (acid) is absorbed into glass mats which are between the lead plates, thus AGM. They do take a little different charging profile from flooded lead-acid batteries though. One charger I have as settings for flooded, AGM, and Gel batteries. All these are lead-acid.
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 12 Jan 2022 at 5:56pm |
A little battery 101.
Flooded batteries need higher charge voltages occasionally. Flooded batteries tend to stratify, with the heavier sulfuric acid (lead acid battery electrolyte is a combination of water and sulfuric acid) settling to the bottom leaving lighter water on top. Eventually this can cause damage to the battery. Once a battery is fully charged additional charging results in electrolysis of the water, creating hydrogen and oxygen. The bubbles this forms mixes the electrolyte and counteracts the stratification. This process is called equalization, and good chargers have an equalization cycle at intervals if you select the flooded battery option. AGM and gelled electrolyte batteries (generically called valve regulated lead acid batteries) fix the electrolyte in place either by gelling it or absorbing it into glass matt's so they don't stratify and don't need equalization charging. However, they also have less electrolyte and no way to add more. They are aren't really sealed, just have valves that regulate the internal pressure, hence the name VRLA. The valves are needed to vent the gasses if they do get overcharged. Otherwise they will try to recombine (burn) the hydrogen and oxygen internally, overheat and can explode. Not good. So be sure you do not charge AGMs or gell batts using the flooded battery setting on your charger. So the pros of AGMs are no stratification and no need to equalize or add water regularly. The cons are high cost and lack of a way to add water if they are overcharged. Not much if any difference in capacity or cycle life. Hope that helps. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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