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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bob:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Some time back I was reading a non-model airplane
publication, (shame, shame!) and the subject was lead/acid auto type
batteries. The author stated that virtually everyone that trickle charges
this type battery "overcharges" them; he stated that the continuous charge
should be in the single digit milliampere range to prevent long-term
damage. (Presumably 9 mils or less.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Comments? From anybody?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bill Glaze</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=bob@toprudder.com href="mailto:bob@toprudder.com">Bob Richards</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 17, 2006 3:37
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion]
Electrics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Nat,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For the gel cell you mentioned, the specs show a lower voltage
recommended for continuous charging, somewhere around 13.3v. For a typical
vented wet-cell battery, 13.6 would not damage it, but you would have to
check/add water more often. The gel cell may build up too much pressure if
left on charge at 13.6v for too long.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm not sure about the Iota, but my PD9145 came with a "Charge Wizard"
which makes it a multi-stage charger. I assume the Iota has something
similar.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You would probably be ok at 13.6v for several hours, but you would want
to put it on a float charge after that. Something like a Battery Tender would
do that.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Nat Penton <natpenton@centurytel.net></I></B>
wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bob, Wayne</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My Iota shows an output of 13.6v. Is this too
much for continous charging of the lead acid ? I did'nt buy the
Iota attachment for auto charging the lead acid. Do I need it and what
does it
do.
Thanks Nat</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=wgalligan@goodsonacura.com
href="mailto:wgalligan@goodsonacura.com">Wayne Galligan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 17, 2006 9:50
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion]
Electrics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bob,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>All good points. We see many
battery failures in the car business due some or all of what Bob
stated. Sulfating being the main culprit caused from low charge and
overheating conditions. Also the "NO Maintained" batteries will also
get low on water causing failure of the battery. If you find your
battery low on fluid add only DISTILLED water. Lead acid or gell
cell batteries work best when kept at near or full charge.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am adding a battery to my trailer and I am
gong to use a solar powered device to keep it at full charge status.
See this link. <A
href="http://oil-tech.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_27_28&osCsid=942e0092cd33b4ed5abc90e57ca8eca7">http://oil-tech.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_27_28&osCsid=942e0092cd33b4ed5abc90e57ca8eca7</A>
It is called the SOLARGIZER.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Wayne Galligan</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=bob@toprudder.com href="mailto:bob@toprudder.com">Bob
Richards</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 17, 2006 6:19
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion]
Electrics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Nat,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I've learned a lot about the care and feeding of lead-acid
batteries the last couple of years, from having to replace one in my
camper a couple of years ago.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>First, don't discharge 100%. For the longest life, try not to
discharge below 50% capacity. That means get a bigger battery, or more
of them.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A "marine" battery is not a true deep cycle battery. It is usually
a compromise between a standard starting battery and a true deep-cycle
battery. For best deep-cycle performance, get a pair of 6v golf-cart
batteries. They are usually a little taller, have much thicker solid
plates, and can be discharged many more times than marine
batteries.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Don't even try to use a conventional starting battery for
deep-cycle applications. If you really want to use the battery in your
car to charge from, install a deep-cycle battery, but go up about 25% or
more in size. Deep cycle batteries can be used for starting, but for the
same size they don't have as much cold-cranking amps, hence the larger
size required. Conventional starting batteries have porous plates, the
additional surface area helps to increase the cranking amps, but
deep-cycle use will cause sulfation that clogs up the pores and quickly
reduces the cranking amps.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sealed or gell cells are not good for deep cycle use, or so I have
been told. They typically are used for standby power sources, due to
their low maintainance. They can't be charged as quickly since pressure
builds up and can't be vented.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries are good, but cost 2-3 times as
much as similar sized vented wet cell batteries.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The only way to truly determine the charge state of a lead acid
battery is to measure the specific gravity using a hygrometer (sp). You
can measure the *resting* voltage to determine the charge state, but the
battery must remain disconnected from any load/charger for some time for
this to be anywhere near accurate. Basically, 12v or less is discharged,
12.7 is fully charged.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Always store a battery fully charged. When a lead-acid battery is
discharged, sulfation will occur. Immediately charging the battery is
supposed to help get rid of the sulfation, but the longer you wait, the
harder it is for the sulfation to be reversed.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The best chargers are ones that have 3 or 4 stages. You can start
with a charge voltage of 14.4 volts, but after some time the voltage
should be reduced to 13.6, and for float charge it should be reduced to
13.2, which can be left connected indefinitely. Some chargers have a
cycle that sets the voltage to 14.4v for several minutes every few
hours, which helps to stir the electrolyte (not needed in AGM
batteries).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You can charge to 80% capacity in about 4 hours with a good battery
and charger. The last 10% of charge can take 24 hours or more.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Some of the best chargers are actually converters made for RV use,
and they also double as 12v power supplies. Iota and Progressive
Dynamics are two good, popular brands. I installed a <A
href="http://www.toprudder.com/rv/pd9145.html">PD9145</A> in my
RV.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I hope this helps.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Nat Penton <natpenton@centurytel.net></I></B>
wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The only battery giving me a problem is
the lead acid Marine 'deep discharge' battery used for
field charging of the lipos. It has lost about 70% of it's
capacity in seven months.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It provided six 12min flts when new and
was purchased from Academy Surplus for $40. It has provided a
total of maybe 80 flights ( 30 cycles ??? ). The problem is likely due
to my maintenance ( lack thereof ). I left the battery in a
partial discharge state sometmes for weeks. </FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>You can find maintenance needs on Google at agmbatteries,
courtesy Earl Haury.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>West Mountain sells a gell cell, 54#,
84ah, rated for 500 cycles @ 100% discharge ( 20hr discharge rate ),
$149 del. I will see how it performs under our
conditions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>
Nat</FONT></DIV>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>Checked by
AVG Free Edition.<BR>Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.1/310 -
Release Date:
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