Another small newb project.

[uscgsapper1]

So I should put on a larger charger..?
what in the world is goin on..
I put my larger charger on it at 8 and 12amps and it won't go to charging mode because it says it's fully charged, with everything off the bank the volts are sitting at 12.96...
Volts have slowly dropped and have settle at 12.85 with nothing attached to it.

[SunEagle]

Not sure how to do that? I put my load tester on the batteries when I bought them and the tested in the green, how can I test the current being drawn from the batteries? Between the batteries and the inverter?

Sorry. I pretty much think that everyone owns a clamp on amp-meter. Although you will need one rated for DC voltages.

Here is a picture of my portable set up with the clamp on checking to see what is coming in from the solar panel. And another picture with my clamp on next to my cheap PWM CC.

[littleharbor]

Alrighty, disconnected everything and attached a 1.5a charger, see what happens. My charge controller is not adjustable.

I must've gotten your CC wrong. Is this not it? Wanderer Charge controller.jpg

[uscgsapper1]

I have a multi-meter, but I have one of those small black boxes from Amazon (2"x3") that reads voltage and if I set up the rest it will give current, energy, and watts, but I just leave it wired to bank to show me the volts. So if it's reading 12.85 and my charger won't charge because it's telling me it's 100% charged, should I run the test you gave me with testing volts with inverter on and off at terminals the input on inverter..?
littleharbor, yes that's my controller but it doesn't appear adjustable, am I missin something...?

[littleharbor]

Did you look at the manual I attached? Look at the face of the controller. It clearly reads gel, sealed and flooded. According to the manual you hold the button down for some length of time to set the battery type. The color of the light indicates the type of battery setting.

[uscgsapper1]

Oh **** man my bad, yes there was a miscommunication. Yes it has the button for the 3 options. And I know how to change it, it is on the RED setting for flood acid.

[littleharbor]

Then according to the manual it should bring your battery up to 14.6 for absorb. I see you can also equalize. You should get your batteries fully charged THEN try the equalize function.

[uscgsapper1]

The bank is sitting right now at 12.80, so aren't they fully charged..? There is nothing attached to them at all.

[littleharbor]

If they have been sitting with nothing connected for say 6 or more hours that would be a good voltage indicating fully charged batteries. Is that the voltage of them after charging all day and the sun is still out? I don't know where you are, The sun is still shining on the west coast.

[Sunking]

The bank is sitting right now at 12.80, so aren't they fully charged..? There is nothing attached to them at all.

No that indicates more than fully charged. Using voltage is confusing and unless you know how Pb batteries work can easily confuse you or anyone. There are charts that you can use to determine the State of Charge of a Pb battery by reading the voltage, but there is a catch. The battery has to be Open Circuit and rested for several hours. See chart below. Here is the catch , completely useless if you are charging or discharging the battery.

Example I can take a new battery 100% fully charge, put load on it, and an Inverter will trip off-line from under voltage and if you watched the voltage would read 10 volts just before the Inverter trips off despite being fully charged. Like wise I can take a fully discharged battery reading 10.5 volts, put it on a charger and make it read 15 volts despite it being dead as a Mackerel.

This is leading me to believe you have wiring issues. The only way to tell what the real state of charge of a battery in real time is with a battery hydrometer you can buy for less than $10 on the web. Not one from an auto part or box store. A real Temperature Corrected battery hydrometer for $5



Relax for now. Disconnect the battery and walk away, take two aspirins and call me in the morning after you take the battery voltage when you wake up. If it reads 12.7 volts, it is fully charged. Does not mean it is good, just fully charged. But if new all should be good and you have a wiring issue.

[Sunking]

The bank is sitting right now at 12.80, so aren't they fully charged..? There is nothing attached to them at all.

They have to rest overnight before you can use the voltage. Read my last reply and relax. What you are seeing is a Surface Charge you have to wait several hours to bleed off. Get a hydrometer.

[uscgsapper1]

Roger that, over and out.

[uscgsapper1]

Alrighty, so I ordered a hydrometer last night and it will be here tomorrow. Bank sat all night and is currently sitting at 12.71 with nothing but volt meter attached.

[littleharbor]

That's a good sign. Still with flooded batteries you need to find a way to up the charging voltage if it is in fact charging to 14.2. You should also utilize the equalize function if and when your cells aren't ALL coming up to fully charged status which should be verified with your hydrometer. Once you get all dialed in a monthly check would probably suffice.

[uscgsapper1]

If I'm reading the CC manual correctly, the equalization is automatic. I also failed to mention I have a Battery Life Saver on the bank as well. So my batteries seem to be fine, so is the problem I'm simply not getting enough juice from the panels coupled with trying to draw to heavy of a load..?