ris 8.5 X 18 new trailer build 11/1/17

[hankaye]

ris, Howdy;

Glad to hear you made it home safely. Thanks for the de-brief and
run down of what is working for you. No moss growing on ya'll is there/


hank

[ris]

Don, hope we can meet up this winter camping. Hank the summers in Florida can be relentless. After 60 years of hot, hot summers we enjoy being in much cooler places when it is so hot here in Florida.
Richard

[ris]

About every 12 to 18 months we go through the desulfation of our batteries with the desulfation mode on our battery charger. On our Sterling Power Pro Charge Ultra (sounds like a space vehicle or something) there is an equalization/de sulfation mode. Since we use the batteries for 8 to 9 months of the year, they get a lot of recharging. We use the same 4 trojan 105 six volt batteries in the boat and our converted cargo travel camper. We have used them for 6 years and they are still working just fine. We can go 4 to 6 days without charging. Not sure how much it helps but we do it. The charger puts out 15.6 volts at 6 amps and in a few minutes the batteries sound like they are boiling or bubbling. It usually runs about 4 hrs and then reverts to normal charging. They do tell you to check the fluid levels before starting and make sure they are at normal levels. You will definitely have to add water after they finish. I have never sat there and checked the volts and amps during the whole process. So not sure if it starts at 15.6 and then goes down over time or if it stays at 15.6 volts. I was wondering if anyone else did this with their batteries and how they accomplished the same task. De sulfation is ONLY done on open lead acid batteries.
Richard

[featherliteCT1]

Richard,

I love your build and always enjoy your updates.

Good to hear that your batteries are still performing well after six years.

I equalize my 2.5 year old Deka golf cart batteries about once a year. I always fully charge my batteries daily, except on rare occasions I might have missed a day or two. My understanding is that if batteries are routinely fully charged after use, that equalization is done infrequently. I think the only way to know if the batteries need equalization is if, after fully charging, the specific gravity in a cell deviates by say, more than .03.

My understanding is that equalization is a bit hard on the battery.

My problem has always been that my specific gravity meters have given inconsistent results which makes me distrust the testers. Kinda like my three tire pressure gauges that all give different readings.

Below are Trojan’s recommendations:

https://www.trojanbattery.com/tech-supp ... aintenance

"Many experts recommend that batteries be equalized periodically, ranging anywhere from once a month to once or twice per year. However, Trojan only recommends equalizing when low or wide ranging specific gravity (>0.030) are detected after fully charging a battery.
... Equalize your batteries at least once per month for 2 to 4 hours, longer if your batteries have been consistently undercharged."

Equalize Charge 16.2v

[ris]

Thanks featherlite for the website info.
Richard

[BigDave_185]

Pardon wrong thread