dead batteries and freezing weather

[OPCOM]

I mounted one of these dual bank charging systems, available from Eastwood, behind the passenger seat and hid the plug behind the external 24V port housing. I got a few pictures of the process if anyone wants them posted.

Good pics, thank you very much! I think I could do something like that. I'll try to investigate the charger you used.

One thing I found by speaking with the people at various charger manufacturers was that they didn't seem to be able to tell me much about how their chargers actually worked to take into account the temperature, voltage, and the difference in charge voltage and current for flooded, gel, and AGM batteries. One guy just said that it detects automatically whatever kind of battery is being charged. That was a bit of a stretch.

I do not know if you can put a desuphator in parallel with a charger. A desulphator works by discharging or charging a burst of 5-20 amp pulses of current from the battery. The pulses are so short that it does not apprecialby run down the battery. It would be a shame if the charger just supplied the current instead, leaving the battery un-pulsed.

related threads on more normal type chargers:
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=9442
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=8043

Well anyway that's water under the bridge. I need something I can leave plugged in all the time, will keep the batts charged and desulphated and not boil out the elelctrolyte. Hopefully this will cost no more than $200. No matter why the batteries were down, I don't want this to happen again.

 

[50shooter]

I had a dead bat this w/e. Very little juice left in the truck even though I had driven it a few weeks ago. Many days below zero and in the single digits didnt' help. I put the charger on and noticed some SMOKE coming from the batt. Never saw that before. The needle on my charger was having a twitch fit and the green complete light was blinking, had there been a horn on the charger I think it would have honked. Pulled the batt and noticed bulged side walls. She was froze hard as a rock. Keep them charged or buy new ones

 

[OPCOM]

A solargizer should have kept this from happening. You got one?

No, but might now consider a charger with the feature. Hate buying batteries for no reason. Also hated it because the truck was not "mission ready" and that was my fault.

Looking at the Deltron charger from Eastwood, it is prettty smart, but does not de-sulphate (or I could find no claim that it does). It does bulk-charge till the current drops to a certain level, then floats at a voltage that is below the gassing voltage. Very good performance. AGM do not usually need desulphation, so the proper model would be great for the 4 in the shelter. For what it's worth, they all showed right at 12.5 volts when I checked them.

Since my flooded cell starting batteries are a few years old, pulsetech's products might make more sense. They have the 100X200 12V-2 Channel Battery Charger with Pulse Maintenance for <$200.

 

[cranetruck]

...........so the proper model would be great for the 4 in the shelter. For what it's worth, they all showed right at 12.5 volts when I checked them.....

Check the specific gravity also, if it doesn't agree with the state of charge indicated on your DVM, there may be some sulfation present.

So, a fully charged battery should read 12.6 volts, open circuit after short load (like running the head lights for a few minutes to remove any surface charge, as it were) and the specific gravity should be 1.270 if the battery is without sulfation, less if not.
These facts are easy to find if you care to look them up on the web, so I'm just posting reminders.

 

[drgreg]

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-restoration/24-volt/BM24041.html

This is the charger / maintainer /desulfater I purchased for my M35.

 

[emmado22]

Here is the info on how/why Solargizers work. I was involved in a battery/Solarigizer study in the Army for a year, and I know these things work. I saw both the scientific data, and the real life "in the motorpool" results. http://pulsetech.net/pulsetechnology/pulsetechnology.html

 

[cranetruck]

That looks like a good unit, the only thing that's not clear is if it can handle two batteries in series, which should be addressed separately. It appears to be for 24 volt batteries.
In other words, if your series connected batteries are not discharged at the same rate or otherwise not identical, charging them as one 24 volt battery will not restore both batteries equally. Compare Chargetek 500 from the same dealer.

Emmado, from what I read, Solargizers do work, I'm not arguing that, my point is that proper maintenance of the batteries shouldn't need them in the first place.

Lead sulfate is normally formed when the battery is discharged, but is "used up" during the charge cycle. It becomes a problem when the battery is not recharged right away, it crystallizes, is not reconverted and reduces the capacity of the battery.

 

[OPCOM]

Pulsetech said the 100X200 was deigned to charge and maintain two batteries separately or in series.

 

[nk14zp]

Be very very care full if batts are froze

 

[SasquatchSanta]

This is an interesting/informative post.

What I think I'm hearing is that if you religiously use a good quality float charger from the get-go a Solargizer isn't needed.

What if the batteries were two or three years old when you start using a float charger?

I've been using a Chargetek 500 float charger for three years. I don't know how old the batteries were when I installed the Chargetek.

Even though my batteries don't show signs of discharging because of a circuit drain, in the winter, when I shut down over night and/or when I'm not using the truck I "always" turn off the battery osolator switch and plug in the Chargetek float charger. In real cold weather (below zero) I switch on the 60W battery heater pads for three or four house before starting Rosie. I probably wouldn't have to use the battery heating pads but it sure helps. (I also have block and oil heaters).

In time will the float charger reverse past sulfation or do I need to invest in a Solarigizer?

 

[JasonS]

That looks like a good unit, the only thing that's not clear is if it can handle two batteries in series, which should be addressed separately. It appears to be for 24 volt batteries.
In other words, if your series connected batteries are not discharged at the same rate or otherwise not identical, charging them as one 24 volt battery will not restore both batteries equally.

I don't know that this is true. In my experience, the voltage across the batteries has equalized with charging time. It is a bit of a misnomer, I think, if they don't discharge equally no amount or charging will make them "equal".

 

[cranetruck]

.......
In time will the float charger reverse past sulfation or do I need to invest in a Solarigizer?

Ernie, spend a few bucks and get a hydrometer and check the specific gravity of the cells. That will tell you if your batteries get fully charged, just follow the instructions and adjust readings to room temp.
If they do not get fully charged, non-reversible lead sulfate could be the problem and you may want to try a de-sulfator device (they don't have to be solar powered). Expect the process to take time, weeks or even months, from what I read...

Jason, if one battery is tapped for 12 volts, for example, they need to be addressed separately to be restored to equality, which is important when charging/discharging them in series.