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 When too charge battery?		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts
Initially Posted - 08/08/2006 :  11:50:35  Show Profile
Does anybody know what 50% of a battery is ?
or when you should start chargeing
From what I read , you do not want use your battery past 50%.
is that 6 volts ? or higher(I would think higher)

I also read dont go bellow 12.2 volts, for best battery life . That sounds a little too high though .
I usealy go between 12.4 , down to 11.4 on 24 hr use .

Also I have agm battery I think group 24 ,
the readings are off the gps .

Whats too much charge ?
when the battery is full I could charge 14.4 my motor has a 10 amp charger.
my old motor had a 8 amp charger , I always thought that wasnt enough
it would charge 13.4 at best.

Thanks If anybody could help
Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts
Response Posted - 08/08/2006 :  12:32:08  Show Profile  Visit delliottg's Homepage
Sean,
The best way to tell the state of your batteries is with a hydrometer. For your 12 volt battery, a good charge will have a specific gravity (density of the electrolyte) of 1.27, and a voltage of 12.75 VDC. A battery that has been discharged to half of it's capacity will have a specific gravity of about 1.17 and a voltage of about 12.1 volts. If you're discharging down close to 11 volts, you are approaching a dead battery, and almost certainly causing the battery harm.

Here's a good primer on [url="http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/marine_battery.htm"]the care and feeding of marine batteries.[/url]
And this one is a good article on how to [url="http://www.independent-power.com/battery_dos.html"]maintain your batteries.[/url]

And no, I'm not the David who wrote the latter article. However, I was an electrician in the USN for five years. I spent lots of time checking specific gravities on LOTS of batteries. One of the uninterruptable power supplies I worked on had 138 2 volt cells, each one about the size of a large suitcase stood on edge. Checking all of those cells was a chore, and we did it twice a month.

Both of these articles have lots of good information in them, probably more than you want to know.

Hope this is helpful.

David
Edited by - delliottg on 08/08/2006 12:52:40
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Russ.Johnson
Commodore

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USA
843 Posts
Response Posted - 08/08/2006 :  15:33:42  Show Profile
David,
Thank you for the articles.
Russ
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SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts
Response Posted - 08/08/2006 :  20:20:30  Show Profile
Dave thanks ,
I will read the articles,Ya I get into the 11s pretty often.
Next year Ill probaly get two group 27s for the house bank.

Sean
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jaclasch
Navigator

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USA
104 Posts
Response Posted - 08/12/2006 :  14:12:27  Show Profile
Here is a useful table from an Interstate Batteries booklet entitled "Marine/RV Battery Maintenance." It shows you interesting things at a glance such as the small voltage range between fully charged and completely discharged for a 12V battery.
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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts
Response Posted - 08/12/2006 :  23:39:04  Show Profile
IMHO: Get a fully automatic charger. They will charge a depleted battery and then automatically go into a maintain (float) mode.

I paid under $50 for my permanent mount automatic marine battery charger... that's cheaper than a cooked battery.
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.