Battery Longevity

[PILOON]

Weak links can carry voltage but not amperage.
Have seen that more than once.
Happened to me recently on my water pump circuitry.
All readings, tests looked good but no water.
Changed all wiring, no joy.
Long and short was the wire at the CB was merely touching thus completing the circuit but would fail under load, in other words lightly spark welded.
Funny thing is it worked for over 10 years that way. Vibration or somethin similar caused the gap to open just enough, I guess.
Heck I had even re tightened all screws in my trouble shooting process.
LOL, my excuse is that the breaker location is such that the wire needed to be inserted blind, so to speak, and it was not under the screw but merely touching alongside.
Naturally the cure was found only after changing all wiring and having my pump professionally tested.

Live and learn!
But all's well that ends well!

I relate that episode hoping to explain as to why U get full voltage while not under load but no power to adequately spin the starter.
That is why battery load testers were developed.

Also saw this in aircraft we serviced.
Voltage OK but no power.
Caused by defective Circuit breaker.

CB's are miniature spring loaded devices that need a calibrated pressure to allow current. Weak /defective 'spring' allows voltage but not current.
In fact I would imagine that any CB that has been actuated a few times should no longer be considered reliable and or accurate.

 

[John_Mc]

Anyone use permanently mounted battery maintainers instead of ones you clip on with alligator clips? I see them in low capacity smart chargers and wonder if that would be easier, just unplug and go for vehicles and tractors tat sit for a while. Like a block heater.
View attachment 680110

I use a two bank Noco charger in my 24V antique military pickup. I prefer to charge each of the 12 V batteries separately, rather than use a single 24V charger. It's permanently mounted in the truck.

For the rest of my collection of chargers (I've got about 5 or 6 of them), I use BatteryMINDer brand chargers with ring terminals on a pigtail mounted to the battery. There is a plug in the 12V line between the battery and the charger, so the charger does not stay with the vehicle. It's is just as easy to connect to the ring terminal harness plug as it is to connect an extension cord to an on-board charger.

 

[ultrarunner]

I should do this but so far haven't because way back the marine versions were expensive.

The 1 amp would do the trick but I would have to go to the Genius 5 to get the 12-volt repair.

The 1 amp is listed as being able to charge the biggest batteries over a period of days...

For items store over winter it would be great... don't own any Noco Products... most of my batteries are 6-volt with one 8-volt.

 

[John_Mc]

I should do this but so far haven't because way back the marine versions were expensive.

The 1 amp would do the trick but I would have to go to the Genius 5 to get the 12-volt repair.

The 1 amp is listed as being able to charge the biggest batteries over a period of days...

For items store over winter it would be great... don't own any Noco Products... most of my batteries are 6-volt with one 8-volt.

The Noco Genius 1 will also do the repair. The repair is just desulfation, and the 1 amp model also has it. I believe the "repair mode" is just a way of forcing the charger to stay in desulfation mode longer - but I'm waiting to hear back from Noco on that. I'll try to remember to post what I hear back.

My Noco Gen2 (two-bank x 10 amp) on-board charger does not have a repair mode. It does desulfate during the bulk charging stage, but that shuts off when in float. Since it's possible to reach the voltage that triggers the switch to float mode while a battery is still partially sulfated, a heavily sulfated battery may not be fully repaired after just one charge cycle. Batteries get sulfated when they are stored in a discharged or partially discharged state for an extended period. Since batteries do not tend to get sulfated when fully charged, it generally isn't a problem for batteries that are used regularly or which are regularly left on a good battery maintainer. This small amount of sulfation that may have occurred during briefer discharge cycles is taken care of when I connect to the charger. There is essentially no danger of forming sulfation while in storage for a battery that is left connected to a good quality smart charger, whether that charger has desulfation or not: sulfation does not tend to form on a fully charged battery.

When trying to rescue a more heavily sulfated batteries, I use on of my BatteryMINDer charger/maintainers - their desulfation circuits operate any time the charger is powered up and connected to a battery (while still protecting the battery from overcharging).

For marine use, if you don't have a dry place to use it, I'd recommend stepping up to at least the Noco Genius 2: The Noco Genius 1 has just an IP60 protection rating (protected from dust, not protected from liquids). The Noco Genius 2, 5, and 10 all have an IP 65 rating (protected from low pressure water jets from any direction). Noco's on-board battery chargers are all protected to IP 68 (Protected from long term immersion up to a specified pressure.)

My top choices for marine use would be the Noco gen5x on-board charger series (Gen5x1 for a single battery system, Gen5x2 for a two-battery system) or a BatteryMINDer model 1215C onboard/benchtop charger. Both desulfate, both are temperature compensated. The Noco Gen5x has IP68 waterproof rating. THe BatteryMINDer has IP 65 (water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical). The 1215C desulfation operates full-time, I'm not sure what the Gen5x cycle is (other Noco charger desulfate only during bulk charge, but the "repair mode" may be different). The 1215C has a disconnect plug in the 12V wire line and can be used with either ring terminals or battery clamps, making it easy to remove the charger and use it some place else. The Gen5x has hardwired ring terminals. Both are EXCELLENT chargers.

 

[goeduck]

The repair mode on my NOCO5 is around 16.5 volts and shuts down after 4 hours. DISCONNECT the battery from the vehicle when repairing unless you are sure 16.5 Volts will not damage your electronics. My NOCO2s do not have that mode.

 

[fried1765]

The repair mode on my NOCO5 is around 16.5 volts and shuts down after 4 hours. DISCONNECT the battery from the vehicle when repairing unless you are sure 16.5 Volts will not damage your electronics. My NOCO2s do not have that mode.

"electronics" ????
On a tractor?
Who would buy a failure prone tractor with "electronics"?

 

[goeduck]

"electronics" ????
On a tractor?
Who would buy a failure prone tractor with "electronics"?

There is way to stop progress. :shocked:

 

[fried1765]

There is way to stop progress. :shocked:

The definition of "progress", is tractors being choked down with failure prone anti pollution electronic control gadgetry?

 

[goeduck]

The definition of "progress", is tractors being choked down with failure prone anti pollution electronic control gadgetry?

I do not know about newer tractors, all my mine are older and I pull the batteries in the winter when running the repair mode. On my road vehicles I would disconnect the battery cable when doing any repair.

 

[chim]

My approach to batteries is different. I use a brand name (recently a Deka for the L4240). I never use a charger. Everything except the Olds that Wifey drives is either outdoors or in an unseated shed. Everything starts whenever I need it regardless of temperature. That has been as cold as 7 below zero F.

There is a life limit for batteries. When a vehicle decides it will not start with a battery that is 5 years old, and there is no ready explanation - time for a replacement. If there is no trouble for 10 years, that works too. I do have HD jumper cables and can start whatever died with one of the three remaining live ones.

When the L4240 turned over a bit more slowly during a cold snap, the 9 year old battery was replaced.