Precept 31UL battery equalizing

[Dbrown]

On many newer MH the converter has what is call a smart charger. My 2015 Precept has a Progressive Dynamic converter with a built in charge wizard. The way it works to equalize your batteries is after it has reached 13.3v in storage mode it then after 21hours increases the voltage to 14.4v for 15min to equalize the batteries. Does anyone know how many times this should be done to get the best equalization of the batteries?

[WinnieView]

The Charge Wizard constantly monitors battery voltage and battery usage then selects one of the following four operating modes to properly charge and maintain the battery.

BOOST Mode 14.4 Volts – Rapidly brings the RV battery up to 90% of full charge.
NORMAL Mode 13.6 Volts – Safely completes the charge.
STORAGE Mode 13.2 Volts – Maintains charge with minimal gassing or water loss.
EQUALIZATION Mode 14.4 Volts – Every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes prevents battery stratification & sulfation – the leading cause of battery failure.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/charge-wizard/

[Dbrown]

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

The Charge Wizard constantly monitors battery voltage and battery usage then selects one of the following four operating modes to properly charge and maintain the battery.

BOOST Mode 14.4 Volts – Rapidly brings the RV battery up to 90% of full charge.
NORMAL Mode 13.6 Volts – Safely completes the charge.
STORAGE Mode 13.2 Volts – Maintains charge with minimal gassing or water loss.
EQUALIZATION Mode 14.4 Volts – Every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes prevents battery stratification & sulfation – the leading cause of battery failure.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/charge-wizard/

2008Seneca,
Does this mean we only need to allow this to reach this once a year because for me I do not leave mine plugged in all the time. I only typically have mine plugged in until I'm at 13.6v then unplug. So my question is how many 21hr periods for 15min should it be plugged in to get a good equalization on the batteries.

[WinnieView]

Best advice would come from the experts;

https://www.progressivedyn.com/contact-us/

[Dbrown]

That's great idea I will send them this question.

[WinnieView]

Ours is usually always plugged in while in storage but not while camping.
Please let us know what PD support has to say and recommends.

[GrumpyDad]

If you can leave it plugged in a little longer before and after the trips that's probably best. 24-48h before and after would be ideal if it's no hassle, and honestly, if you have power where it sits, it's not going to hurt anything to leave it plugged in even more, and won't use much power once the batteries are fully charged.

[Mustang65]

The best answer for Equalizing should come from the battery mfr. understand that the 14+ volts * 20 minutes is a low-level equalization, so if it equalizes every 21 hours it is not going to do any damage to the batteries, but it will keep the plates clean.

The reason that these equalizer modes are well below the recommended 15.5 volts is because in a true equalization you need to monitor battery temperature. At the 14+ volt and only doing it for 20 or so minutes will not overheat a GOOD battery. The SOLAR charge controller on my system will equalize up to 90 minutes, but battery temperature will over-ride the time. At true equalization levels, Trojan recommends that you do it about 3 or 4 times a year, based on how much you discharge your batteries. I manually do mine 3x a year, and they are 6 years old and going strong.

Personally, if you want to take advantage of the equalization feature on the battery charge controller, I would leave it plugged in to shore power for a week after using it, or longer before winter storage.

Don

[hawkster]

My precept is plugged in all times when not moving. Three years and no problems.

[Dbrown]

This is the response I got from PDI service.
PDI Service <service@progressivedyn.com>

"The answer is possibly 1 hour of 14.4 equalization every 10 discharge cycles.
The opinion on this varies with the battery manufacturers.

What you can do is press the wizard button once to place it in boost, 14.4, and then give it an hour or 2 once a month."