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Old 01-25-2012, 08:18 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clutch View Post
Because our trailer is always plugged in I check the water in the batteries every couple months. A gallon of distilled water is always in a compartment.
I now have that gallon of distilled water in my storage department.
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Old 01-25-2012, 09:29 AM   #22
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While the battery experts are on here! I had the same problem about a year ago. Battery went dry. At the time, I was leaving the unit plugged in to shore power in a pole barn for extended periods...like a couple of months, and allowing the battery to continuously be on charge. (and I unfortunately was not checking the cells as I should have been I suppose). I replaced the battery with an exact replica Interstate deep cycle (Interstate replaced it for free by they way under warranty as it was only a year old). Now I only plug it in for a couple of days at a time to keep it charged during the winter and unhook it for about a month at a time while it is in storage. Any others have thoughts on this? Will the battery eventually fry if left plugged in for extended periods? I thought the new PD converters were supposed to maintain the battery while it was on charge. ??
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Old 01-25-2012, 12:33 PM   #23
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Eatmorebacon,

With about any type of charging system (converter/charger, stand alone charger, etc..) one must check the cells on a regular basis. The new PD units have a 3-stage charging system over the prior 2-stage IOTA converter/chargers, which makes for faster/controlled charging times but fluid burn off is still possible.

When storing my batteries (disconnected from TT) I use one of these http://batteryminders.com/batterycha...o-p-16134.html and fluid burn off is hardly negligible at my monthly checks. It also has a desulfator feature which adds life to the batteries.

Bob
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Old 01-25-2012, 06:13 PM   #24
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I just found this here thread and thought I would give my 0.02 cents worth. Last summer I was toping up the fluid level in my TT battery, and I noticed the date code of the battery in my brand new TT showed it to be already 3 years old. The age of the battery and my thoughts about the dealer are another matter which I won’t go into here. What I find in common with the OP is the battery condition I see under observation this winter. In my case, testing with a hydrometer shows 3 cells on the edge of the red zone, 2 cells in the middle of the white zone, and 1 cell in the green zone. My estimation from this data is the battery has only about 60% of its specified reserve capacity. The low hydrometer reading is due to sulfation of the plates inside. Here is where I see the parallel to the OP……. when I charge this battery, the one good cell boils profusely, and the others hardly boil or not at all. My smart charger thinks the battery needs more charging, so that one cell very quickly drops in fluid level, and the others don’t. I would guess the OP had a couple of cells with sulfate deposits on the plates, and the good ones quickly boiled off to being dry. My plan to recover my own battery is to use a product called Battery Equaliser. Have a look at this link……

http://www.batteryequaliser.com/

I applied the Battery Equaliser additive today, so time will tell if the Hydrometer readings will recover to normal levels. Batteries with hydrometer readings below 1.150 are apparently beyond hope, according to the maker of this additive.

Sulfation is where the sulfur content of the acid electrolyte fluid drops out and is deposited on the plates. This acts as an insulator on the plates and lowers the strength of the acid. This condition will be accelerated if the battery is left idle for a few weeks or months. The rate depends on the ambient temperature, with hotter equaling faster.
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Old 01-29-2012, 04:00 PM   #25
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For those wondering about the outcome for my battery, here is an update. I put in the additive, and ran the battery through 3 charge cycles (they suggest 5 cycles). The measured capacity of the battery is 70% of its rated capacity. The hydrometer readings improved for 3 of the poor cells, but for 2 others which started out as the weakest two, are now measuring quite a bit worse than at the start. I am going to replace this battery, because I think in the hot summer weather, this battery is going to fail just like the OP described for his. I am going to approach the dealer first to ask him why it was 3 years old when installed in my new TT last spring. With any luck he will at least meet me half-way for the replacement cost.
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Old 01-30-2012, 03:47 PM   #26
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I have had the same deep cycle batteries for 7 years, and moved them to our new Jayco last year when we bought it. I would check your converter.
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