Battery Longevity

[WranglerX]

I have never for the life of me understood why vehicle/equipment electrical lsystems with 35 amp and up alternators don't boil batteries. Put a five amp charger on a battery and it will be boiling eventually. You can't tell me that charging systems are that sophisticated, especially older ones.

You would think that if you drained your battery and got it started with a 100 amp plus alternator, it would destroy the battery, but it doesn't.

Its simple.... IF charge "voltage" is to high it cooks battery, IF charge voltage is correct for battery, it last forever (well almost) ... Amperage has very little to do with it....

Dale

 

[Industrial Toys]

I still don't think that I'm making my point. Put a good battery on a bench for a few days with a 10 amp (dumb not multi stage) batttery charger and there is a good possibility is will be all wet around the cells a day or two later. I don't recall ever seeing an installed battery do that.

Not only that, I have seen the V-Meter on my D-Max read some crazy high voltages without ill effects to the batteries.

 

[deserteagle71]

I have found with expensive or cheap batteries to keep a trickle charger on them especially if there is down time between uses BUT do not leave it on all the time. Place the trickle charger on a timer so that it is only on for 30 min. or so once or twice a day. Life on batteries in equipment that is dormant for weeks or months at a time has doubled in some cases. Since retirement even the car and trucks do not see regular use so they also have trickle chargers to compensate for the vampire draw of the security and computer systems that are on all of them now days.

I gave up on trickle chargers several years ago after I discovered battery maintainers. I now have one for every single vehicle - tractors, trucks, motorcycle, quad - I own. They come with a quick connect and if I'm not using that vehicle I plug it in and not have to worry about it. The maintainers have essentially doubled the life of my batteries.

 

[Popgadget]

A battery’s internal resistance changes with its state of charge. At a low SOC, the resistance is lower, allowing the battery to accept a greater current ant the same voltage. As the battery approaches a full SOC, the resistance goes up to where it accepts no current. This of course assumes that the charging source is at a well regulated constant “float” voltage.
This is how the charging system in a vehicle works. Typically a 12V battery floats at 13.8 volts.
Any power source that can accurately maintain that voltage will not overcharge a battery regardless of how much current it is capable of delivering.

Battery minders work completely differently, pulsing the battery with a higher voltage, and monitoring the battery between the pulses and timing the the pulses depending on the battery’s SOC.

 

[fried1765]

I gave up on trickle chargers several years ago after I discovered battery maintainers. I now have one for every single vehicle - tractors, trucks, motorcycle, quad - I own. They come with a quick connect and if I'm not using that vehicle I plug it in and not have to worry about it. The maintainers have essentially doubled the life of my batteries.

I think some of us here are using the terms "trickle chargers", and "battery maintainers" synonymously.

 

[Industrial Toys]

How many stages does the charger have?

 

[Grumpycat]

I bought my Kioti RX7320PC in 2015 and have 216 hours on it. It's been stored in my barn and in the winters I often have a trickle charger on it. Occasionally, regardless of the season, the battery isn't strong enough to start the tractor, like yesterday. I just have to put my 30A - 60A charger on for several minutes and "she" starts right up.

Could the battery be old enough to replace?

Could something in the electrical system be draining the battery charge?

How often do you top off with distilled water?

 

[JethroB]

A battery’s internal resistance changes with its state of charge. At a low SOC, the resistance is lower, allowing the battery to accept a greater current ant the same voltage. As the battery approaches a full SOC, the resistance goes up to where it accepts no current. This of course assumes that the charging source is at a well regulated constant “float” voltage.
This is how the charging system in a vehicle works. Typically a 12V battery floats at 13.8 volts.
Any power source that can accurately maintain that voltage will not overcharge a battery regardless of how much current it is capable of delivering.

Battery minders work completely differently, pulsing the battery with a higher voltage, and monitoring the battery between the pulses and timing the the pulses depending on the battery’s SOC.

Interesting. How do the large roll cart style fast chargers work? The type you see (or used to see) at service stations and auto shops?

 

[ultrarunner]

Adjusting the third brush on the generator adjusts charging amps...

Lots of night driving with lights increase amps to compensate... no night driving but regular driving decrease... no tools required on a Model A Ford.

Amazed at just how engineering from a 100 years simply worked as evidenced by the number of these cars still around.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Friend had a small electric/hydraulic hoist in his small engine shop running off of a battery. Charged it now and then. He was charging it with one of those wheeled chargers (not sure if on crank or high) as he was doing some lathe work for me. When the battery EXPLODED! Very little left of it, and I hurried home to put all my clothes in the washer.