CC 36 ckts 12 volt battery charge system

[johnbryanpeters]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Pls explain what you are talking about. There is absolutely no danger in charging any agm with the standard settings on 3 stage chargers and they will charge any AGM to 100%. The main thing is to insure that bulk charging voltage does not exceed the recommended mfr. values. If it is a bit less that is fine.
If you are talking about charging to exact mfr. specifications which DO vary by mfr...then there are also programmable chargers available (See Xantrex TrueCharge2) but priced accordingly...and without a benefit in terms of AGM battery life since the key to that is not discharging too deeply and always recharging to 100% soon after use...not 80 or 90!

Let's look at Trojan's AGM specs, to pick something. Let's also look at WFCO and Progressive Dynamics converters.

• Both are OK on bulk voltage level, but WFCO spends little or no time there.
• Both are about a volt low on absorption voltage level, leading to longer charging times.
• Both are about half a volt low on float level, not sure of the impact, if any, of that.

Both will charge without damaging the batteries, neither optimally in terms of getting batteries fully charged in the least time, which is what we're looking for in an RV.
They're not designed, nor can they be adjusted, to AGM requirements.

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by johnbryanpeters

Let's look at Trojan's AGM specs, to pick something. Let's also look at WFCO and Progressive Dynamics converters.

• Both are OK on bulk voltage level, but WFCO spends little or no time there.
• Both are about a volt low on absorption voltage level, leading to longer charging times.
• Both are about half a volt low on float level, not sure of the impact, if any, of that.

Both will charge without damaging the batteries, neither optimally in terms of getting batteries fully charged in the least time, which is what we're looking for in an RV.
They're not designed, nor can they be adjusted, to AGM requirements.

You speakith the truth.

[Boatdude62]

I’ve done more homework on the battery change project. For any newbies out there, make sure you do the needed maintenance on your batteries if you use them or not. Don’t make the same mistake I did and let the water get low.

I’ve decided to replace all 4 6volts batteries with original wet cell batteries. Maybe do a slight upgrade 230ah. Sam club has some good prices on 6v. I may upgrade the inverter to an inverter/charger later. We just starting our retirement activities with our camper. We also have a generator so we just need healthy batteries. Allot of good info has been expressed.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by johnbryanpeters

Let's look at Trojan's AGM specs, to pick something. Let's also look at WFCO and Progressive Dynamics converters.

• Both are OK on bulk voltage level, but WFCO spends little or no time there.
• Both are about a volt low on absorption voltage level, leading to longer charging times.
• Both are about half a volt low on float level, not sure of the impact, if any, of that.

Both will charge without damaging the batteries, neither optimally in terms of getting batteries fully charged in the least time, which is what we're looking for in an RV.
They're not designed, nor can they be adjusted, to AGM requirements.

Well we are agreed that WFCO makes a less than optimal charger... and Progressive makes some very good ones but my point was that all 3 stage chargers are safe for AGM's and that remains true. The Progressives will take slightly longer than a perfect charger for the particular brand battery at hand,,, and the WFCO's can take quite a bit longer.
I'd also note that if you use the Deka/EastPenn AGM's...the charging parameters are much more like the Progressives program. My guess is that it is similar with other more conventional brand agm deep cycles but I haven't checked.
The real culprit in a lot of AGM battery failures is not the charging parameters but the operating temperature. If you're gonna be operating batts in spaces that regularl get above 90 degrees...you're gonna lose some life if you don't have a temperature compensating charger. Batt's will lose about 5-10% of cycle life if charged at .3V over max. recommended voltage....and a LOT more life if regularly charged at more than that. (.7v over effectively destroys them) and as you can see...as the temperature goes up...even units bulking out at 14.2 can be too much. You can also see that a 13.2V float is a lot safer than 13.4 in hot weather float situations.
The Deka AGM chart here is for that brand but voltage parameter temp adjustments would need to be made on any mfrs formulation.
Those in Fl or Arizona might want to think twice about AGM's vs. wet cells for long term plug in use or float. IMO...wet cells and a pro-fill system will keep the maintenance easy and the life long.

[SoggyBottoms]

this is what's in my 36RLTS.

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by SoggyBottoms

Attachment 159227 this is what's in my 36RLTS.

Good modern 4 stage converter putting out up to 60 amps (12V) in bulk mode and optimum for 250-300 amp hour deep cycle banks. Adequate for up to 600 amp hour banks but at the expense of slower charge times.

[cavie]

I'm so glad my rig is on a permanent site and plugged into shore power. I keep a cheap deep cycle battery on the system.

[Boatdude62]

With the weather at 4 degrees this morning I’ll have to wait to look for the converter/ charger system. I’ll start with looking behind the sliding door storage area. We call it the basement. I have a camper circuit protector to install also. Those connection involve access to the converter. Have to wait until warmer weather for those projects. Hopefully in a couple weeks.
I hope to better