Date:         Sun, 2 Oct 2011 21:09:32 -0800
Reply-To:     Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
Subject:      Vitrifrigo: two corrections to my earlier post
Comments: To: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Windows-1252

<<2. That Dennis Haynes explained to me that I was not doing my deep-cycle
battery any favors by recharging it gently. Turns out that batteries
such as this want a charge rate of 10% to 16% of their rated A/h
capacity (Trojan sez 10% to 13%), and my DC > DC charger's 7A charge
setting was not idea. I remembered that I had the older version of the
charger, with the "hi/lo" switch and flipped it to the "hi" setting,
which results in somewhere (I say "somewhere" because the charge current
varies) between 10A and 18A, which fits the charge requirements of the
battery perfectly.>>

Interesting, but I would like a more detailed explanation as to why.  You said "batteries such as this", which I will infer to mean deep cycle batteries.  This would mean that a 125 amp hour battery could want as much as 16.25 amps, which seems really high to me.  By the same logic a 250 AH battery would want 32 amps.  I don't think I have ever seen a battery charger go this high, short of the booster setting (55amps).

Seems to me the wisdom over the years favored lower amps over a longer period of time, and is certainly much safer too.  I do recall reading in a solar controller manuals about the dangers of equalization, which generate amperage up around 15 or so. They warn about possible battery explosion. (Blue sky manual) I guess I would just like to have a more detailed explanation as to why. Why is 10 to 13% ideal? What's going on internally?  What are the dangers, what are the benefits?

I still have yet to hook up my auxiliary 125 amp hour battery, so have the opportunity to use some heavier gauge wire if it is truly of benefit.  My plan was to hook up a heavier gauge (4 gauge) wire from the alternator to the starter, which is the weakest link in the system. This in turn will allow for faster (higher amperage) charging as well, if it fact there is a benefit to this.  I still have yet to hear a clear-cut explanation as to why, and there seems to be opinions for both sides.  Can anybody back up the info with some facts please, and perhaps a source for your info? Rocket referred to the Trojan manual, and this at least is a credible source. More info please...

Troy