I have a solar controller. BZ products. There are couple of adjustment potentiometers on the board. With the float potentiometer at highest setting, all the way Clockwise, the voltage would get to 16V. I keep it lower somewhere around 15V.
BTW I hate how much cheaper solar panels and charge controllers have gotten. I got killed for them back in 2004. On a sunny and windy day, I come back to the boat from work to see that I put 20-25AH beyond full charge. The battery monitor erases that as soon as the load overcomes charging amps, but I know that I am topped off on a daily basis. And on a side note, this article convinced me to not take the batteries home during winter storage. Not even to trickle charge them while on the boat. Instead just disconnect them from everything. http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/self_discharge Petar Horvatic Sundowner 76 C&C 38MkII Newport, RI From: Marek Dziedzic [mailto:dziedzi...@hotmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 3:58 PM To: Petar Horvatic; cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Boat Batteries >From my experience and what I read about them, AGM batteries really don’t like >high voltage (e.g. unregulated solar power charging) and to be left in a less >then full state of charge for a longer time. So the AGM will (might?) work well, if you regularly charge them to full, either by solar charger or by connecting to shore power. Charging with the alternator usually does not work, because the absorption rate at the high end of capacity (SoC) is very slow. You would have to run the motor for hours in order to push the last 10-15% into the battery. If you are using solar, I would recommend a decent charge controller. A GenaSun or Morning Star (both MPPT) would be my choice. They are a tad over the $30 mentioned, but they are really good (and not _that_ expensive). Marek s/v “Legato” in Ottawa From: Petar Horvatic via CnC-List <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 3:34 PM To: 'Jack Fitzgerald' <mailto:j...@fitzgeraldforwarding.com> ; cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Boat Batteries Did you notice serious AH loss? That’s too bad. Batteries are getting expensive, solar panels are getting cheap. So you can extend deep cycle battery life by cycling them at higher % capacity . Like 100-75% as opposed to dipping down to 50% or whatever your preferred discharge level might be. But I combined my house banks into one. 4xTrojan AGM group 31. I have a small wallmart starting battery that does just that drives the starter motor. I was always told that AGMs get killed by high voltage. But I didn’t notice that as my solar panels often drive them up to 16V. Their internal resistance is very low so they don’t heat up much during charge or voercharge. Hope you get better luck this time. Petar Horvatic Sundowner 76 C&C 38MkII Newport, RI From: honeysail...@gmail.com [mailto:honeysail...@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Jack Fitzgerald Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 2:42 PM To: Petar Horvatic Subject: Re: Stus-List Boat Batteries Hello Petar Yes, I have the complete Ample Power System including the energy monitor. When I complained to Port Supply (West Marine's wholesale division) our account rep quietly indicated that they were having issues with the house brand AGM batteries and refunded 60% of the purchase price. I replaced all 6 batteries with deep cycle gel batteries and so far no issues. I can run all of our electronics and refrigeration for 48 hours straight on 1 bank before I have to switch banks. I use AGM batteries in my airplane and well as in 2 HD motorcycles and couldn't be happier, but the 6 purchased for my sail boat were a major disappointment. Prior to the AGMs I used Rolls wet cell batteries and the lasted for well over 10 years. FYI - We have owner our 1974 C&C 39 TM since 1975 so needless to say I have been through a number of batteries and charging systems since '75 and the only disappointment was the durn AGM batteries Jack Fitzgerald HONEY US12788 C&C 39 TM Savannah, GA On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 2:33 PM, Petar Horvatic <phorv...@gmail.com> wrote: Jack do you have an Ah meter, or battery monitor? That sounds like well over 1000$ investment in batteries. You can accidentally kill any battery bank in a short span if you don’t know what’s coming and what’s coming out. You could have had a leak or a charging source malfunction. Battery monitors, the ones that show accumulated Ah are essential in knowing what you’re are doing to your batteries. Petar Horvatic Sundowner 76 C&C 38MkII Newport, RI From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Jack Fitzgerald via CnC-List Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 11:41 AM To: Della Barba, Joe; C&CList Subject: Re: Stus-List Boat Batteries Same here with the AGM batteries. I installed 2 x 27 & 4 x 31 West Marine DC AGM and they were toast within 30 months. One of 6 would still hold a charge at the end. Back to gel for Honey in 2010 and no issues whatsoever and that is even after issues with the Ample Power alternator and it's diodes & rectifier bridge failure Jack Fitzgerald HONEY US12788 C&C 39TM On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 11:11 AM, Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: I switched back to gel. I had too many issues with AGM batteries and golf carts don’t fit my battery locker. If you do want AGMs, the sweet spot is Group 31s. Truckers use them for running stuff while parked, so they get produced in large quantities. The cheapest 31 is a DuraCell labeled 31 at Sams Club that is really a Deka with a new sticker on it. The best AGMs, IMHO, are Lifeline and Odyssey. Lifeline is very expensive, but Odyssey makes the Sears Diehard Platinum AGM line for less money. Golf carts are still the cheapest if you don’t race offshore and can use wet cells. Joe Della Barba Coquina C&C 35 MK I _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com _____ _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
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