10-03-2019, 11:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-03-2019, 11:13 PM by Bob Culver.)
If the charger maintains 3 amps then 3 days would be a gross overcharge, even if battery completely flat (180 ah!). If you do only day running and maintain 8amps Winter rate in the car, battery would be generoulsy charged even with modest use.
If the battery is traditonal open type non calcium the old rules available in many books aply. By monitoring SG and/or volts during charge, observing gassing, battery can be efficently maintained but it is all a lot of bother, with the risk of overlooking.
Running with modest charge in the car, supplanted by continuous bench charge using one of the smart chargers the subject of recent post, would seem the ideal.
The problem is that many cars now run lamps much higher wattage than the 18w each originally and extensive night use is problematic. With care at traffic stops, the original was fine, more so with an 80 ah battery. (If stranded far from home, disconnect one lamp!)
Deep cycling, esp to flat, is very damaging.
If the battery is traditonal open type non calcium the old rules available in many books aply. By monitoring SG and/or volts during charge, observing gassing, battery can be efficently maintained but it is all a lot of bother, with the risk of overlooking.
Running with modest charge in the car, supplanted by continuous bench charge using one of the smart chargers the subject of recent post, would seem the ideal.
The problem is that many cars now run lamps much higher wattage than the 18w each originally and extensive night use is problematic. With care at traffic stops, the original was fine, more so with an 80 ah battery. (If stranded far from home, disconnect one lamp!)
Deep cycling, esp to flat, is very damaging.