Battery-what to expect

[mygrayhound]

You can scold me-I should know better-do much of my own maintenance and usually do it well...but...coach in storage and just checked.

Two, 2 year old Trojan 12v. coach batteries that took a lot of water-way below plates. Voltage has never shown below 13.2-13.7 and still shows that after filling them. It's on a wall plug inside with (my new last year)converter/charger with a maintenance/desulf. feature.
Question is-what now? I guess some damage done, but what's next for them? Hate to get half way south in the spring and not have juice-but I probably deserve it!
Anyone know what to expect? Thanks!

'05 Suncruiser 37B W24 8.1

[mygrayhound]

You can scold me-I should know better-do much of my own maintenance and usually do it well...but...coach in storage and just checked.

Two, 2 year old Trojan 12v. coach batteries that took a lot of water-way below plates. Voltage has never shown below 13.2-13.7 and still shows that after filling them. It's on a wall plug inside with (my new last year)converter/charger with a maintenance/desulf. feature.
Question is-what now? I guess some damage done, but what's next for them? Hate to get half way south in the spring and not have juice-but I probably deserve it!
Anyone know what to expect? Thanks!

'05 Suncruiser 37B W24 8.1

[troth]

After filling with distilled water, I would let them charge normally for 24 hours. If you've got the Intellipower converter, put it on the Boost mode, then it will automatically taper off as needed. Once they charged for 24 hours, disconnect all the cables from the batteries and let them rest for at least another 2 hours. Then use a good hydrometer to check each cell. Record your readings.

[Bagger97]

Are you reading 13.2v with the charger attached? Battery voltage is around 12.6 -12.8 with no load. Let them sit a couple of hours or bring them to Kragens, Checkers etc for a load test. If you don't boondock, battery strength is not really an issus.

[BryanL]

If you had to add a lot of water it means your batteries are being overcharged when not in use. (float voltage too high on charger)

I do not recommend using a hydrometer. A voltage reading will tell you as much without the hazmat problems nor the potential for contamination. It only tells you state of charge and not state of health, anyway (unless you have a damaged battery like a bad cell which both sg and voltage will detect).

1) get the water level up to where it should be

2) charge the battery for at least 12 hours with a smart 3 stage charger

3) fix your storage and maintenance charger so it doesn't overcharge your batteries (the PD+chargwizard or WFCO are good for this or use a BatteryMinder - all have good sulfation inhibition which is needed for maintenance, too).

4) to get an idea of the battery health, turn on some lights or other stuff to get about a 100 watt power drain. Leave it on for 4 or 5 hours. Let the battery sit for an hour or so with no load or charging. Then check the voltage. If you are better than 12.2v your batteries are pretty much OK. (that's about the 50% level and you used 500 watt hours of a 2kw hour battery system, but don't get too picky) - recharge promptly after this test with a good smart 3 stage ...

Note that a proper float voltage for battery storage is dependent upon many things. That is why a trickle charger or a technique like the PD+CW uses is needed to avoid overcharging.

[mygrayhound]

Thank you all for the great info! Such a worthwhile place this forum. I will charge, load, rest them & check voltage as suggested. We don't boondock very often but hated to ruin those nice Trojan batteries.

This is just one of those "kick myself in the butt" moments! Seems like they are becoming more frequent-for some reason...

Thanks again!!

'05 Suncruiser 37B W24 8.1

[mygrayhound]

I'm sorry Bagger97. The voltage was after I unplugged the shoreline-but only about five minutes after. It read 13.2v. on my panel. It's been 4 hours now and I just checked to make sure they were not heating up (they were not) and with or without the shoreline plugged in it shows 13.6v. Maybe I'm off the hook...

Thanks!

'05 Suncruiser 37B W24 8.1