My battery, water level and charger - it's surprising what I don't know

[Herk7769]

I have Battery Tender Juniors on my 3 sump pump backup deep cycle batteries. They are on 24/7/365 with no problems.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/15779492?w...264470&veh=sem

They are 4 stage chargers (including a desulphate stage).

[RKR]

Great thread. Lots of good info. I have the battery tender Jr like Herk has. I followed hid advice from a previous thread.
My battery has been on it since Nov except for a couple times when I took the battery to go check trailer. It's been working fine.

[Triguy]

Those Battery Tender Jrs are a great bang for the buck. I have used one for my motorcycle battery since I bought the bike. The first battery lasted 10 or 12 years as I recall. I credit that charger.

[Boots49]

Let me see if I am correct, since I can not plug the battery in at storage, I bring it home & charge it once a month, checking the water level, it is in the house from November until April. You are saying, check the water monthly & plug it into a Battery Tender Juniors, for the whole time. At the camp ground it is plugged into the 120 volts from May until October, I also check the water once a month. Is this correct?

[ependydad]

I was put in the garage yesterday to get my heat gun for the limoncello shrinkwrap tops and saw that my battery was wet on top and on the workbench:


The water level didn't appear to change much when I popped the caps and looked.

Any idea why this may have happened? Crappy charger, perhaps?

[fonzie]

Usually this happens when to much water is added and then a normal charge is done, otherwise I think it would be an overcharged by the charger which would be causing heating/boiling of the electrolyte or you have a bad cell causing excess heat in that cell......

[RPAspey]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I was put in the garage yesterday to get my heat gun for the limoncello shrinkwrap tops and saw that my battery was wet on top and on the workbench:
Attachment 46336

The water level didn't appear to change much when I popped the caps and looked.

Any idea why this may have happened? Crappy charger, perhaps?

Looks like over charging to me.

2000 Cherokee 31BH, "flipped axles and raised",LEDs, solar, inverter, etc..aka "boondock ready". '07 Tundra 5.7L DC-LB, modded as well.

[Triguy]

Have you had a chance to test this battery yourself or at the local battery store? Just curious what the results of a load test would be.

As for the water on top, I think I'd agree about the overcharging, but you could have also added too much water.

There could be one other thing when you added water. Do you recall if you add the distilled water before or after you began the charge cycle? I have seen wet tops like this when the water was added before charging, which is the incorrect way. Always charge first and then add water (caveat - it's ok to add just enough to cover the plates before charging but that is the exception).

Lastly, Doug, did you check for any cracks in the casing?

[garbonz]

That battery is fine for your use, and may last for awhile yet. I personally do not favor keeping a battery plugged into a charger if it can be disconnected for storage. But I am in the minority, it seems.

Group 24 battery's are typically in the 75-80 amphour range but if your use is plugged in then it don't matter much.

I did spend a bit of $$$ on a 7 amp CTEK charger that has 8 stages and am checking that out, but the more basic charger probably do 95% of what's needed, especially if they are not left hooked up.

[ependydad]

I've never added water to this battery nor have I had it tested. I think we have a BatteryPlus in town- I'll try taking it to them one day this week and see what they say about it. I should also order a hydromagic tester so that I can verify it myself (I'm not the trusting sort).

I haven't removed the battery from the camper before nor had I ever checked the water levels. I installed a battery disconnect and simply disconnected the battery when not in use. I left my stock converter handle the charging. This all was something new for me- solely because the battery was so dead when the driver went to pickup the camper this past time.

[ependydad]

So, this thread and my battery. My battery sucks- it doesn't seem to hold much of a charge and parasitic draws kill it within a couple of days.

I'd like to try and do a Walmart night or two this winter as we get further south and it's bearable. Here's my plan:

1) Buy a battery hydrometer & test the battery myself (this one?)
2) Take the battery somewhere to get it tested (Battery Plus?)
3) Connect it to the cheapo charger that I own

Other thoughts?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by ependydad

So, this thread and my battery. My battery sucks- it doesn't seem to hold much of a charge and parasitic draws kill it within a couple of days.

I'd like to try and do a Walmart night or two this winter as we get further south and it's bearable. Here's my plan:

1) Buy a battery hydrometer & test the battery myself (this one?)
2) Take the battery somewhere to get it tested (Battery Plus?)
3) Connect it to the cheapo charger that I own

Other thoughts?

Make sure your freezer defroster is off when boondocking.
It will kill your battery in short order.

Ditto for your tank heaters.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

Make sure your freezer defroster is off when boondocking.
It will kill your battery in short order.

Ditto for your tank heaters.

No tank heaters for us. I don't think I've ever taken notice to this switch being on my fridge, but I'll take a look at it.

I do know that I accidentally left my fridge on and the doors propped open for a couple of days in front of my house. That did a number on the battery.

[ependydad]

Resurrecting this old thread again- I took the battery to BatteryPlus and after charging it, they said the battery was fine. It shows 510 CCA (instead of it's marked 550), but it should be fine. The kid yesterday when I dropped it off said it was reading 12.0volts when he put a voltmeter on it and told me to not have high hopes. Unfortunately today, he was with a different customer as the kid I got today wasn't extremely helpful- he plugged in a portable machine, it did it's thing and he said it was showing good.

So that's where I'm at.

I did measure the compartment/battery box. Strangely, there's a huge amount of storage space down there, but only a small inset for a battery (12"x7" and maybe 10" tall).

[Herk7769]

What is the model number of the battery?

CCA usually means it is a starting battery. They are poor choices for a house battery as they have very little capacity. They are designed to give up their charge quickly and then be dead.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Resurrecting this old thread again- I took the battery to BatteryPlus and after charging it, they said the battery was fine. It shows 510 CCA (instead of it's marked 550), but it should be fine. The kid yesterday when I dropped it off said it was reading 12.0volts when he put a voltmeter on it and told me to not have high hopes. Unfortunately today, he was with a different customer as the kid I got today wasn't extremely helpful- he plugged in a portable machine, it did it's thing and he said it was showing good.

So that's where I'm at.

I did measure the compartment/battery box. Strangely, there's a huge amount of storage space down there, but only a small inset for a battery (12"x7" and maybe 10" tall).

Attachment 66787

The battery leads in your picture seem a bit undersized for a standard deep cycle battery. Maybe thats why its so small, not designed for a deep cycle bat.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

What is the model number of the battery?

CCA usually means it is a starting battery. They are poor choices for a house battery as they have very little capacity. They are designed to give up their charge quickly and then be dead.

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

The battery leads in your picture seem a bit undersized for a standard deep cycle battery. Maybe thats why its so small, not designed for a deep cycle bat.

It seems to be a hybrid starting/deep cycle battery. From the pics in the first post (the battery doesn't show anything else), it seems to be a Deka DP24 if I have that right.

It's definitely not a true deep cycle.

Now I'm mostly wondering if I'll get an overnight of low furnace and fridge use out of it (thermostat set to 60-65). I'm just not sure what overnight temps will be. It's just a backup plan as I'm hoping to make it to a Camping World and use one of their service spots with electric for the night. I do plan on running an extension cord from the truck for my CPAP machine (I've done this tent camping before).

[Herk7769]

The Deka DP24 is the same battery I have (except I have a matched pair).

It is a 75AH dual purpose battery.

The wires are perfectly sized as the camper is fused at 40 amps maximum draw.

If you intended to draw or charge higher than that (like with an inverter) wire size and fuse size would need to be increased.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

The Deka DP24 is the same battery I have (except I have a matched pair).

It is a 75AH dual purpose battery.

The wires are perfectly sized as the camper is fused at 40 amps maximum draw.

If you intended to draw or charge higher than that (like with an inverter) wire size and fuse size would need to be increased.

I understood the first two paragraphs. You lost me on the next two. How does the 3rd and 4th affect me?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I understood the first two paragraphs. You lost me on the next two. How does the 3rd and 4th affect me?

Sorry, it was a response to Still Kickin's post.