stevenkd
Simsbury, CT
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Joined: 03/18/2006
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I just replaced our 5 year old deep cycle battery with 2 new 6 volt energizer GC2 batteries from Sams club. I made sure they were fully charged before leaving. They seem to be working well, however they do not stay on full charge status for more than a few hours, but stay on 3/4 all night even with the heater running. I am charging with the generator each day. Is this normal or should the full charge status stay on longer?
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stevesandidge
kingsport tn
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Joined: 04/07/2009
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do you have a volt meter? is the converter charger working? check the fuses on the converter? what brand of converter do you have installed now?
steve
steve sandidge
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hwybnb
Southern California
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Joined: 05/02/2001
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I gather that you are depending on the simple LED indicator panel to give you status. Those are pretty crude and what you are seeing is probably normal. A digital voltmeter would give you more accurate information. For a truly accurate state-of-charge readout you need a digital monitor like the Xantrex Link 10 or Trimetic.
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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12.7 at rest is a fully charged battery. Once you turn on any of the 12 volt lights or appliances, it should start to drop in relation to the amount of draw you have. Lights, little draw - furnace, big draw. TV intermediate draw. Once its down to about 12.2 you should consider recharging. Once fully charged, you might end up with 13 to 13.5 volts for a brief period of time and settle in at 12.7 again.
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enblethen
Moses Lake, WA USA
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An in expensive cigarette lighter digital meter will give you a better indication of your battery status. Prime products model 12-2020 or similar available at many stores including O'rielly auto parts and Walmart for around $15
http://www.primeproducts.com/products.php?prodid=100
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bldrbuck
Boulder, Colorado
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The 12volt Side of Life
93 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel, DRW, Crew Cab. PullRite Hitch. 90 Nomad 28' 5er, 375 Watts Solar, 2800 Watt Yamaha Generator, 1750 Watt Inverter, 4 Trogan T105 Batteries, Spare tire and wheel and folding ladder. Me, wife and 2 spoiled Maltise furkids.
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teb1272
Memphis
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It is normal to go from 50-60% charged to about 80% when running the generator for an hour or two if you have a good converter/charger. If you have a really good converter/charger you might do slightly better, and you might get better by running the generator and running a good battery charger along with your converter/charger. Most converters, however, are not really all that good at charging the batteries and some are really lousy at it-it may take many hours of generator running to get a high level of charge.
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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Hi,
I would expect the "Full" 3/4 and 1/2 lights to not be very accurate, and the full light probably shuts off at 12.6 volts, while the 3/4 might shut off at 12.2 or 12.1 volts.
I think you will be happy with the new battery set-up.
Don't worry to much that the full light does not stay on a long time. Only when the 1/3 full light is not coming on, that means you really need to recharge.
Good Luck!
Fred.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Depends on what full means. My "full" does not last long but then "good" and "fair" goes a long long time.
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liborko
Surrey, B.C.
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1.) new batteries may take up to 15 charge/discharge cycles before they develop full capacity.
2.) when charging with a generator it takes forever to reach 100% charge. It is not practical or wise to do that. Most people charge to about 80% and finish with solar or wait till they get home or shore power.
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