Battery: Let it hibernate?

[ruralIN]

If you go back to my original post, which I believe drew your original post, I said I disconnect the battery and direct connect to only the battery (wingnuts). I have done this for a couple of years now but I haven't kept records monthly as there has been no need. With the disconnected battery, I am only really interested in assuring it is fully charged to avoid freezing as it is outside in Northern Indiana. Your point about cloudy skies, low number of daylight hours, etc. is factored in assuring it won't overcharge and boil off the electrolyte. The disconnect is key, as others have said the parasitic draw would discharge it within a week or two unless the converter is powered full time. Let it hibernate with some TLC.

[gypsmjim]

Originally Posted by ruralIN

If you go back to my original post, which I believe drew your original post, I said I disconnect the battery and direct connect to only the battery (wingnuts). I have done this for a couple of years now but I haven't kept records monthly as there has been no need. With the disconnected battery, I am only really interested in assuring it is fully charged to avoid freezing as it is outside in Northern Indiana. Your point about cloudy skies, low number of daylight hours, etc. is factored in assuring it won't overcharge and boil off the electrolyte. The disconnect is key, as others have said the parasitic draw would discharge it within a week or two unless the converter is powered full time. Let it hibernate with some TLC.

If your 1.5 watts keeps the battery fully charged then you made the right choice. My 100 watts doesn't, but I'm sure my snow load is greater than yours. In my case, it usually won't discharge enough to freeze.

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by gypsmjim

My objection to trickle chargers is that whenever I did that in the past (with a quality unit) I always had some fluid loss.

What is the reason behind this? I ask because I've noticed the same fluid loss thing over the winter while my battery is being charged by the Battery Tender and de-sulficator, whatever that means. I add distilled water when needed and my deep cycle Excide battery is now going into it's 8th season and showing 12.8v resting, but it seems I have to top off the battery 3 to 4 times a year. Is that normal? I purchased a load tester and it shows the battery good so I must be doing something right I guess.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by TCNashville

What is the reason behind this? I ask because I've noticed the same fluid loss thing over the winter while my battery is being charged by the Battery Tender and de-sulficator, whatever that means. I add distilled water when needed and my deep cycle Excide battery is now going into it's 8th season and showing 12.8v resting, but it seems I have to top off the battery 3 to 4 times a year. Is that normal? I purchased a load tester and it shows the battery good so I must be doing something right I guess.

My take on the fluid loss is that even on a battery tender, the battery is being overcharged, and gets ramped up on the de-sulfication cycles. If the battery is totally disconnected from a load, I don't think it needs to be on a tender 24/7. There is nothing draining it. It's overkill.

The reality is, if the battery holds at least 12.6 went resting, nothing needs to be done to it until the voltage lowers. I have a battery bank in my garage, and I pop it on a trickle charger every month or two, maybe longer. There's no need for a battery tender to keep ramping up the voltage 24/7 and cycling a charge if there is no load.

I left the batteries in my rig for the winter, and even with the parasitic draw, I have a battery tender on a timer that comes on once a week, on Saturday, for 6 hours. That's plenty to keep the batteries over 12.6 volts when resting. No need to boil them all week long.....

[ruralIN]

Went over to store some Christmas gifts in the RV. I took my multitester with me and disconnected my 1.5 W solar charger. Full sun reflecting off snow cover. Battery tested 12.9 V so I must assume my theory is correct. Cloudy/rainy days would be little or no charge, bright days top it off and enough volts to maybe de-sulfinate. Varying charge and voltage similar to a smart charger and no effort needed on my part after connected.

[gypsmjim]

Originally Posted by ruralIN

Went over to store some Christmas gifts in the RV. I took my multitester with me and disconnected my 1.5 W solar charger. Full sun reflecting off snow cover. Battery tested 12.9 V so I must assume my theory is correct. Cloudy/rainy days would be little or no charge, bright days top it off and enough volts to maybe de-sulfinate. Varying charge and voltage similar to a smart charger and no effort needed on my part after connected.

Sounds like you got the right tool for your own circumstances.

Now, just to be sure, go check the fluid level and the Specific Gravity. Voltage and Gravity data together predict the health of a battery.