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The Trojan website says:
Charger Voltage Settings for Flooded Batteries:
Daily Charge 14.8 (29.6)
Float 13.2 (26.4)
Equalize 15.5 (31.0)
Should I use the C40's Automatic Equalization (every 30 days for 2 hours) or Manual ? I've always had sealed batteries so never had to do it before.
Vortechs, the best investment you can make is to get a decent hydrometer so you can keep an eye on the specific gravity values of each cell (keep a log), in particular after a 100% charge when SG is a great indication of battery health. Personally I love one called "HydroVolt" from a Swiss company named Compaselect; they are cheap, very easy to use and read, no mess, build-in temperature compensation, and very very accurate. They look a little different from the usual 'turkey baster' type, the guy that designed it had a really good idea with this one.
If you keep a log of specific gravity values after a full charge you can see if and when you need to equalize the battery bank. Over time the cells of a bank tend to drift apart, some reach 100% charge a little earlier than others and after weeks or months some cells may be lagging. That is when you equalize. For customers that we know are relatively clueless about batteries I normally set up the charge controller to auto-equalize once in 3 months, just so all the cells get pulled back in line every now and then.
Having a battery log is also extremely helpful if you ever have to make a warranty claim with the manufacturer. Cells sometimes do go bad for no particular reason, and if you can show a log they take you a heck of a lot more serious when you make the claim. I would advise topping up (distilled) water once a month until you have a feel for what they need, and taking SG readings once in two months, and writing those down.
Unless your batteries are in a spot where they see a fairly constant temperature year around, it is important to have a temperature sensor mounted on one of them, and a charge controller that knows how to do auto temperature compensation (as Simen mentioned). The difference can be pretty large: Over here a bank that's outside in an insulated box can see -10C in winter (when it's -30C outside), and for a 24V bank that would take the bulk/absorb Voltage up a full 2.1 Volt!
The Voltages I generally use for flooded Trojan & Rolls/Surrette batteries is a little bit higher than the manufacturer's values. IMO it helps to keep them de-sulphated a little better, and make it more likely for them to see a full 100% charge on a regular basis. The trade-off is slightly higher water use:
Bulk/absorb = 29.8 Volt
Float = 26.3 Volt
Equalize = 31.6 Volt for 2.5 hour
For the absorb time, how long it should keep the batteries in absorb, I use Rolls' equation; Absorb Time = 0.42 x Capacity / Current
Where 'Capacity' is the 20 hour Ah rating of the bank, and 'Current' is the charge current you have available. The result is in hours, and usually quite a bit longer than people expected (yes, with fairly feeble charging sources it can take a long time to get through absorb).
There are other strategies to determine when absorb is over, such as measuring the Amps going in and cutting off when it falls below this 'End Amps' setting, but time is reliable and works well for the most part.
If there is another charging source, such as an inverter that can use a generator to charge the batteries, I set the absorb Voltage lower to save on (fossil) fuels. For those chargers I use 29.4 Volt (as long as there is also solar or wind available to charge!).
Wait with watering the batteries until they are being charged and are bubbling vigorously; that will help overfilling since the acid is already at it largest volume (warm and full of bubbles). Watering them when they are cold and not doing anything runs the risk that acid comes pi$$ing over when they are charging. During an equalize is a great time to water!
To get long life out of your batteries it helps to know how people kill otherwise good batteries in short order (and avoid that). The no. 1 way we see people put new batteries in the grave well before their time is by letting them sit at partial charge for long periods of time. Lead-acid (flooded or AGM) MUST, absolutely MUST see a full 100% charge once in (ideally) two weeks, or once a month at the outset. A FULL charge means going all the way through bulk, absorb, and absorb time until they are as full as they are going to get (an SG of around 1.265 is 'full' for batteries in good state).
The reason for this is in the chemistry: A full battery has lead on the negative and lead-oxide on the positive plate. During discharge both are turned (in part) into lead-sulphate. The dreaded 'sulphating'... This is not a problem because that lead-sulphate is initially in a state where it can readily be turned into lead and lead-oxide again, as long as it's done soon enough! Let it sit, even if that battery is sitting at nearly full, and lead-sulphate grows as crystals, much like the salt-crystals kids grow, they get larger over time. It does no longer reverse as readily in that state, or at all if enough of the plates is covered. Lead-sulphate does not disolve in water or sulpheric acid, and it does not conduct electricity. Those sites of the plates covered in lead-sulphate are dead for the world as far as the battery is concerned. They do not participate any more in the reaction.
By the way, this is also what you are measuring with a hydrometer. The chemical process that produces lead-sulphate uses up sulpheric acid, turning it into water. The less sulpheric acid, the smaller the specific gravity, the nearer it gets to just water (SG = 1). So, if after charging part of that lead-sulphate did not reverse back into acid and lead/lead-oxide it means the SG will not bounce back to that of the straight acid as it was put into the battery, and your SG reading will show this.
The no. 2 reason people euthanize otherwise good batteries is by discharging them completely. It may seem straight forward, but it happens more often than I'd like to see, mostly by accident. There are reasons for this. Some very well-known inverter manufacturers have absolutely dreadful battery cut-off Voltages set out-of-the-box. Way to low, and at a point where they do damage. LVCO (Low Voltage Cut Off) should not be below 22.2 Volt! That corresponds to just about 80% DOD (Depth Of Discharge) under load. Deep-cycle batteries are great at handling anything up to 80% DOD, but not so great once you go beyond. Combine a deep, deep discharge with letting them sit over the winter and you get the picture. Dead batteries (and I had a lady on the phone in tears not all that long ago who did just that, killing a brand-new $10,000 AGM battery bank in the process!).
My suggestion for those with a substantial investment in batteries is to buy a MidNite Solar MNBCM. They are not very expensive, and show the approximate state-of-charge at a glance. They are (nearly) idiot-proof, no training is needed to be able to read them (put a 1A automotive fuse in the positive line before connecting to the batteries so you don't burn the house down!). They are not very accurate, but will give you an idea of "what's left int the tank", to help determine if those 3 loads of laundry are a good idea at that time or not. What makes them worth every penny is that they have a little red LED that comes on when the batteries did not see a 100% charge in the last two weeks. When that LED lights up you know that unless there's lots of sun in the forecast it's time to fire up the generator.
That's it. All you need for a long and happy battery life!
This story got a bit longer than I intended. Hope it helps!
-Rob-