equalization

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

Did you check the voltage of each cell?

Maine Sail · Sep 30, 2014

gettinthere said:
I topped up water in our house bank batteries and let them get fully charged for several days on shore power. A few cells were down around 1250 but most were 1275 sg.

Now all 36 cells are up very evenly around 1275.

Running an equalization cycle does get some gurgling and bubbling but no appeciable change in sg after an hour.

Should I continue eq anyway? I thought the gurgling was a sign of desulfating but I also read that I should stop eq when the sg stops climbing.

Run the EQ for 4+ hours even after SG becomes equal. This will knock some sulfation off the plates... You do it so infrequently that 4+ is a good purge for them...

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

Yes, while equalizing I check the SG and the voltage per cell. Should be around 2.122 per cell if 100% charged.

Maine Sail · Sep 30, 2014

JK_Boston_Catalina310 said:
Yes, while equalizing I check the SG and the voltage per cell. Should be around 2.122 per cell if 100% charged.

How are you checking cell voltage?

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

Maine Sail said:
How are you checking cell voltage?

I put the positive multimeter lead on the positive post and then put the negative in the electrolyte starting at the closest spot to the positive post. The first cell typically reads a little over 2.9-3 and then each cell goes up by about 2.1 volts as I move down the line.

Am I wasting my time doing this? Because it does take time to disconnect all the batteries and do the test. Is this just another stupid internet thing I picked up?

woodster · Sep 30, 2014

JK_Boston_Catalina310 said:
I put the positive multimeter lead on the positive post and then put the negative in the electrolyte starting at the closest spot to the positive post. The first cell typically reads a little over 2.9-3 and then each cell goes up by about 2.1 volts as I move down the line.

Am I wasting my time doing this? Because it does take time to disconnect all the batteries and do the test. Is this just another stupid internet thing I picked up?

looks like it would let you know if you had a dead or weak cell

Maine Sail · Sep 30, 2014

JK_Boston_Catalina310 said:
I put the positive multimeter lead on the positive post and then put the negative in the electrolyte starting at the closest spot to the positive post. The first cell typically reads a little over 2.9-3 and then each cell goes up by about 2.1 volts as I move down the line.

Am I wasting my time doing this? Because it does take time to disconnect all the batteries and do the test. Is this just another stupid internet thing I picked up?

DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know who taught you that but you will eventually DESTROY your batteries.

Every time you dip that tip into the electrolyte the acid eats away at it and you CONTAMINATE the cells. It takes very, very little to change the cell and contaminate it with foreign metals. This CAN Lead to early gassing voltages and eventually destroy your bank. Lots of internet rubbish out there so PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

This used to be done in the 1940's but they used special cadmium electrodes that were pre-soaked in electrolyte to condition them. Today I don't event think you can get cadmium electrodes...

SG tells you what you need to know... Just keep your hydrometer CLEAN!!

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

Maine Sail said:
DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dam it! I have to stay off google searches for certain things.

Thanks

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

Maine Sail said:
DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know who taught you that but you will eventually DESTROY your batteries.

Every time you dip that tip into the electrolyte the acid eats away at it and you CONTAMINATE the cells. It takes very, very little to change the cell and contaminate it with foreign metals. This CAN Lead to early gassing voltages and eventually destroy your bank. Lots of internet rubbish out there so PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

This used to be done in the 1940's but they used special cadmium electrodes that were pre-soaked in electrolyte to condition them. Today I don't event think you can get cadmium electrodes...

SG tells you what you need to know... Just keep your hydrometer CLEAN!!

Is there a good battery "how to" out there so I can make sure I am doing things right?

I think I picked this up after ready the Ample Power Primer to look for cell failures. But I just did a quick read through that and didn't find anything that would have made me go there. It was probably when I was still taking info off of stupid blogs! Err.

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Sep 30, 2014

One more. I have only done this twice in my new batteries. Should I do anything to see if I already screwed them up?

Maine Sail · Sep 30, 2014

JK_Boston_Catalina310 said:
One more. I have only done this twice in my new batteries. Should I do anything to see if I already screwed them up?

You are probably fine. Just watch for early gassing. That is normally teh sign. At 75-80F you should see gassing begin about 14.25V. If it is happening lower than that they may be contaminated so just watch electrolyte use. If they begin gassing in the 13's that is when it is bad..

Bob S · Oct 1, 2014

I equalize my batteries in the spring before installing them back on the boat. Can I do it in the Fall before putting them in storage and again in the Spring? Is twice a season OK? I do a bench top equalization. if that is grammatically correct

Maine Sail · Oct 1, 2014

Bob S said:
I equalize my batteries in the spring before installing them back on the boat. Can I do it in the Fall before putting them in storage and again in the Spring? Is twice a season OK? I do a bench top equalization. if that is grammatically correct

Always in the fall just before putting them to bed. In the spring a shorter, 1 hour wake up equalization is good too.