[quote=huskyhauler][quote=wa8yxm]our rigs are hard on golf cart batteries. it isnt the road, but rather how we charge them. they were never ment to take a fast 100+ amp charge. they do much better with a 10-15% charge per capacity. a 220 amp battery does well with 22-33 amps. to fast of a charge, like we all do, will cause the battery to boil, and this causes the cell levels to drop. expose the cells, and the battery will sulfate fast, then go to a dead short. check them monthly, its easier and cheaper than replacing those heavy dogs..[/quote]
This is good advice!!! My new inverter defaulted to 60A charging and after I realized every cell was seeing the full 60A (since the 6v batteries were wired in series) , I contacted the folks at Johnson Controls (makers of the Energizer GC batteries). They gave me essentially the same advice you give above....
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Randy
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2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD D/A
2006 Wildcat 27RLWB 5er
Over the years, I have used every brand (inc excide, excl Trojan) of battery out there, and in my experience, given the same maintence and usage, there ain't a dimes worth of difference between any of them.
We have all had bad experiences w/ one brand or another, but as we all got more educated about the use and abuse and proper maintence of batteries, and how the chargers, converters, etc etc, have improved drastically, our battery failures have become less and less. After all, they are all made the same way.
The only problem I have had w/ Diehard batteries, incl the 6 volts, is the price They must think they are better than all the rest
Rich
' 98 Flair, 454, Onan Microlite 4k, Intel PD 9155 w/ wizard, Sta-power 1500 watt Inv, 2 6v batts, ammeters, Oly Catalytic Heat, hauling 2 Bent Bikes and sometimes towing a Tracker F&S boat.
fredbert wrote: Now for a dumb but related question. How do I "slow down" my 55A converter/charger (WFCO model WF-8955AN)?
How ? Don't discharge as much, simple as that.
I'd sure like to ask why in the world you'd want to slow down a 55 amp charger, as even on a single battery it would seldom if ever charge too much.
I have a couple good Magnatek chargers I'll trade you for. That'll slow it down a little !
An excellent, simple, and inexpensive way to slow down your 55A converter/charger is to do one, or a combination of, these two things:
1) Use a longer cable between it and the batteries you want it to charge.
2) Use a smaller gauge cable between it and the batteries you want it to charge.
Both methods can be made to work. You can get your WFCO to dump any amount of current up to it's maximum capacity into any battery bank that will take it by fine tuning 1) or 2) above. Your charging time will go up in some proportion to how much you are slowing down you WFCO, however.
NOTE!!!!: With number 2) it's possible for a safety issue to arise if you go too small.
fredbert wrote: Now for a dumb but related question. How do I "slow down" my 55A converter/charger (WFCO model WF-8955AN)?
Certainly not a dumb question!!! Your converter is actually one of the better ones with 3-stage charging. There is really not much you can do to change it. In most situations it will not be pulling nearly that much. It may pull a fairly high amperage for the 1st 1/2 hour or so if you have really run your battery down, and you may want to keep an eye on the battery for overheating during this period. This really shouldn't be too much of a problem as you really shouldn't be running it much below 50% anyway (for increased longevity). If you are consistently running it below 50%, then you should probably be looking at a bigger battery bank anyway.
I'm going out on a limb here, but if I remember correctly, the guideline is that you should charge at no more than about 25% of your battery(s) capacity. So, if your bank (ie two typical 6V bats) has at least 220AH capacity then, you don't have to slow it down at all....in fact your charger seems perfectly matched to a pair of 6V bats and you certainly don't need to slow it down if you have more than that.
wilco wrote: I'm going out on a limb here, but if I remember correctly, the guideline is that you should charge at no more than about 25% of your battery(s) capacity. So, if your bank (ie two typical 6V bats) has at least 220AH capacity then, you don't have to slow it down at all....in fact your charger seems perfectly matched to a pair of 6V bats and you certainly don't need to slow it down if you have more than that.
well 25% is way to much for a deep cycle battery. the 25% number you are refering to is for a standard lead cell battery. charge a deep cycle to fast, and the water-acid begins to boil. this will place pressure against the cell plates, eventually twisting them. when they make contact, they can and will short out. this will decrease the cells capacity, and eventually, the battery loses that cell. one dead battery.
20-35 amps is as fast as you want to charge it. the chargers and converters destroy our batteries. just keep your eye on the water level, and on the corrosion on the terminals.this is the best way to fight the overcharging problem..
Your Deere-Oshkosh Specialist
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Who has given you freedom of the press
It's Marines not profesors
Who gave you freedom of speech
It's Marines who salutes the flag
serves beneath the flag
& whose coffins draped by the flag.
fredbert wrote: Now for a dumb but related question. How do I "slow down" my 55A converter/charger (WFCO model WF-8955AN)?
Double your battery, then each will see only half the amps.
You could put a 50' coil of #8 wire as the battery ground connection.
As said above the WFCO will not overcharge or damage even a single group 24. The WFCO does not provide a fixed 55 amps, it provides 13.6 to 14.4 volts and the battery will decide how many amps it needs.
2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 Lariat Offroad 4x4 Tow Package 4.10 Truetrac
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
12K SuperGlide, KGE3000Ti 2.3kw rated 2.6kw max
Frank's voltage booster, Prosine 1800 powered by 4 GC2 batteries
ya, you dont need to "slow down" your WFCO 55 amp convertor.
It's smarter then that....
It will figure out what is needed and step down accordingly...
Dont sweat it.
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