Going Bonkers with Batteries!

[Wetjala]

I read with interest the various trials and tribulations people report concerning their own experiences with batteries on the various forums, including this one, so after my own recent experiences I thought I would research this a bit more to improve my understanding of battery management.

The impetus for all of this stemmed from one recent trip where a mates (maintenance free) vehicle starting battery boiled acid out the vent hole (excessive sulfation leading to cell collapse) which burnt through wiring (lights only, thankfully) while the other mate had 50% of his gross 200Ahr battery capacity swallowed up in under two days (-18degC freezer running in a +40degC environment) and even with a 2kW generator banging away for 8 hours we couldn't get the capacity much over 70% (absorption can take a l o n g time)!

After trawling the internet for information and filtering out the misinformation that is out there I put together a document to help explain the mysteries of battery charging and management, not only to fill in the deep bottomless chasms in my own knowledge but also for my mates who by their own admission are electrical/electronic luddites! I've just posted it on this forum (PDF attached herein) as it may help a broader group (that's you lot out there) understand battery charging and management.

(Please note that I don't profess to have any knowledge at all about batteries and what I have listed in the document was gleaned from the internet. It grew from some basic notes into the six page document that is attached and was primarily intended to educate myself and help my mates. It is not meant as a technical paper submitted for peer review so I didn't include a list of references for the sources of information I used but I'm sure those keen enough can squirrel away on the internet and find the information just as I did.)

Enjoy (or not!) 

[AllanK]

Thanks for the info W, I'll have a read later on.. never have too much info 😀