Charging wet cells at anchor

[freshalaska]

When at anchor which is almost all the time my solar and wind generator will not keep my batteries fully charged so I on most days I fire up the Honda 2200 to power my inverter/ charger for maybe two hours each anchored day. I suspect this charger goes to float much to soon and maybe more importantly in bulk or absorption is only putting out a actual voltage of 14.2 vdc to the Trojan t-105 wet cell bank. With this low 14.2 voltage am I doing long term damage to my batteries? I can’t program the charger to charge at a higher voltage. Please advise and thank you all.

[hlev00]

No, you won't damage them at that voltage, you just probably aren't getting them charged as fast as you could. Does your charger have the ability to put an equalization charge on them? Not being able to do that occasionally is hurting the longevity of your bank. Trojan recommends every 30 days. I don't do it that often on my T-125's but I do try to not go more the 75 days between. https://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/Tr...UsersGuide.pdf

Are you surprised your batteries are not topped off by your wind and solar capacity? That is comparing your consumption vs total Ah of the bank vs your charging capability? What are you using to determine the state of charge of the bank?

I have a 4 T-125 and 380W of solar. The solar is normally enough during the cruising season in New England. Our biggest draw is the fridge (or course). I think we use about 90 Ah per day overall.

Harry

[freshalaska]

I know I’m very infrequently getting my batteries to 100 percent as verified by Balmar Smart gauge. Really the only time I get to full is when motoring for more than 6 hours. My solar and wind chargers I know don’t get things anywhere close to 100 percent. I’m in Alaska and try and anchor out of the wind, and solar is low in sky and often behind tall mountains in the bays I anchor in.
Don’t think my chargers equalization works.
Maybe time to buy a good charger, however 100 amp smart chargers are expensive but maybe time to bite the bullet. Batteries aren’t exactly cheap either.

[hlev00]

Ah. Alaska. I guess I should have looked at the information you provided, between your name and your profile.


I use the smart gauge too and find it accurate enough. How many Ah or T-105s do you have and how low does the Smart Gauge usually show? 100A sounds pretty big but would also future proof should you go to a different battery type.

[hpeer]

FWIW I have a super cheap and dumb battery charger from Tractor Supply. I think they called it a “Farm Charger”. Rated at 30 amps but will out out 40. Stone stupid device. I need it infrequently so its usually stored. When I do need it i hook it up to the Honda 2000. It gets me up to something like 15.2 volts. Maybe a tad more. Pretty heavy, maybe 30 pounds.

I don't need or want a fancy charger because the only time I use it I am watching pretty closely. If I am at a dock or in a yard I have a little Harbor Freight 2amp/6amp trickle charger that satisfies my needs. I do have a 600 watt solar array and a wind gen.

Here is a sort of interesting thread in a different forum discussing smart vs dumb chargers.

[freshalaska]

My house bank are six Trojans t105s. A 40 amp charger would more than double my charging time. My inverter/charger now is 100 amps and the 2200 watt Honda will power it. My mail concern is the low bulk/ absorption voltage that it puts out, which I realize will increase charging time but also wondering if the low voltage charging will hurt the batteries in the long run.

[freshalaska]

A lot of the days I’m down to 55 percent SOC.

[01kiwijohn]

I don't think the 14.2 volts is your issue. That's a perfectly acceptable0 charge rate for those T105's (same as I have.) If that charger is putting out 2200 watts (max) then you've got only 18.33 amps to deal with. (A=W/V). Going to take a while to get up there.
Considering your cruising grounds, (Alaska, same as me) I'd be tempted to spring for an inverter/ charger. I have an older Heart (now Xantrex) 458, which I'm now planning to replace with a Xantrex xc2000. That 458 has been a great charger for me but, showing it's age now, after 20 years.

[freshalaska]

Kiwijohn 2200 watts divided by 12 = 183.3 amps.
My 2200 Honda has no trouble to put out 18.3vac when converted to vdc its 183.3 amps.
A wet cell can experience stratification if not charged at a high enough voltage.

[GordMay]

As you know, the T-105 recommended Absorption/Bulk Charge is at 14.7V [14.4V is for VRLA Batteries].
The charge rate should be between 10% and 13% of the battery’s 20-hour AH capacity.
The T-105 has a 225 AH rating [20 Hr], hence a 25 - 30A charger should be adequate [± 4 Hrs].