View Single Post
  #8   Report Post  
Roy
 
Posts: n/a
Default Battery fluid bubbles while being charged. Is this normal?

Well, I could not go to sleep and wait till Saturday while thinking
that the batteries were about to explode. So I went to the boat (2
hours drive each way)to check everything. First and foremost all was
normal. I arrived at about sun set and measured everything. Battery01
measured 6.58V; Battery02 6.32; together they measured 12.90.
Battery03 measured 6.48; Battery04 measured 6.50; together they
measured 12.98. All four as one bank gave me a reading of 12.91. The
second voltimeter which is less accurate gave me a reading of 13V. I
tried to measure the regulator output but the sun was setting and all
I got was a 0.5 reading. I checked the fuid level and only battery01,
the one that receives the charging wire from the regulator, was a
little below normal. I filled it up. When there was till some sun
there was a little fissing in that battery just like in an old
carbonated drink. I downsized the fuse in the wire from the regulator
to battery01 to 5 amp (just in case something goes wrong). I also
filled the fluid of all batteries to the top and concluded that all
was kosher. False alarm. Only one question. It was a very sunny day
and by sun set the 4 batteries gave a compound reading of 13V. I would
assume that if the regulator was working properly I would have a
higher reading, something like almost 14V. The max output of the
panels is 3.8amp. Max charge of the regulator is 4.1amp as per the
manual. And, this was a full Texan sunny day. There were no discharges
anywhere since the boat was closed and the switch board turned off. Am
I correct to assume that all is working properly? Should I downsized
the fuse from 5 to 4 amps? The lowest battery reading was that of
battery02, e.g., 6.32V. Is this within range? Thanks for your
attention and help. I was in panic and I am glad I could turn to this
newsgroup for a quick support. Roy