"Larry" wrote in message
...
" Tuuk" wrote in
:

I have had the 2amp charger on one of the batteries for about 6 hours
or 8 hours and little bubbling going on I can hear and the charger
still is not changing from red light (charging) to green light
(charged).

Should I keep it on the 2am for longer? Batteries are only 1 week old
from Canadian Tire and charger is also new.

Is the bubbling a concern? It is not boiling over, but listening very
close you can hear the bubbling.



Got a digital voltmeter? They're only $4 at the Chinese cheap tool
stores and are very accurate. With the charger running, you should not
see over 14.8VDC at the battery terminals. You must be awful close if
it's bubbling loud enough to hear. Don't leave it on bubbling so you
can hear... Modern batteries not being overcharged use almost no water
over long periods of time. If you have to refill the battery very
often, you're overcharging it.

While you're foraging for a DVM, buy a temperature compensated
hydrometer, not the cheap crap with the floating colored balls, one that
has a real thermometer buried in a rubber housing from the NAPA store or
where mechanics buy auto parts. That's the ONLY way to tell what
condition your battery cells are in. When it's charged, the specific
gravity, compensated for temperature of the electrolyte which is the
only way to get an accurate reading, should be 1.270 sp gr. All the
cells should be within .005 sp gr of each other. If you find a low
cell, way off from the others...bad battery needs replacment under
warranty. It does happen.

Remember, batteries are only refilled with PURE DISTILLED WATER, not
spring water, city water or that crap in the hose on the dock....(sigh)
Distilled water is available at grocery stores to put in clothes irons.
Make SURE it says STEAM DISTILLED, not just demineralized by pouring it
through a cheap filter gadget.



I agree with this... I'd be very concerned about bubbling and temp rise.
I've never been able to actually hear any bubbling, although small bubbles
do form and I can see them if I take a look. Make sure everything is OFF
(and I mean EVERYTHING) and wear eye protection if you decide to open the
fill holes. Obviously, you want to ensure nothing metal comes in contact
with the terminals. A friend of my father's died from a car battery
explosion.

I'd turn off everything, get a volt meter, and try again. Check the water
level before you restart the charging, and if it's low, I'd be even more
concerned.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

What about leaving the charger on overnight?

The battery hasn't shut off the 2amp automatic charger yet and its only been
about 8 hours. Could or should i try leaving it on the 2amp auto off, sure
it is light bubbling as i can hear it, and see what it looks like in the
morning.

If battery light shows red and continuing charge, then return the batteries
and charger to C.T. and explain and have them test and replace as necessary
as this is simply normal operations and they said do it anyway.

If battery light shows green then all should be good to go.

I just worry about hearing the light bubbling and know it would go on all
night. I read somewhere the bubbling wasn't good for the deepcycle plates
and reduces their efficiencies and capacity.

I gots to know.







"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
"Larry" wrote in message
...
" Tuuk" wrote in
:

I have had the 2amp charger on one of the batteries for about 6 hours
or 8 hours and little bubbling going on I can hear and the charger
still is not changing from red light (charging) to green light
(charged).

Should I keep it on the 2am for longer? Batteries are only 1 week old
from Canadian Tire and charger is also new.

Is the bubbling a concern? It is not boiling over, but listening very
close you can hear the bubbling.



Got a digital voltmeter? They're only $4 at the Chinese cheap tool
stores and are very accurate. With the charger running, you should not
see over 14.8VDC at the battery terminals. You must be awful close if
it's bubbling loud enough to hear. Don't leave it on bubbling so you
can hear... Modern batteries not being overcharged use almost no water
over long periods of time. If you have to refill the battery very
often, you're overcharging it.

While you're foraging for a DVM, buy a temperature compensated
hydrometer, not the cheap crap with the floating colored balls, one that
has a real thermometer buried in a rubber housing from the NAPA store or
where mechanics buy auto parts. That's the ONLY way to tell what
condition your battery cells are in. When it's charged, the specific
gravity, compensated for temperature of the electrolyte which is the
only way to get an accurate reading, should be 1.270 sp gr. All the
cells should be within .005 sp gr of each other. If you find a low
cell, way off from the others...bad battery needs replacment under
warranty. It does happen.

Remember, batteries are only refilled with PURE DISTILLED WATER, not
spring water, city water or that crap in the hose on the dock....(sigh)
Distilled water is available at grocery stores to put in clothes irons.
Make SURE it says STEAM DISTILLED, not just demineralized by pouring it
through a cheap filter gadget.



I agree with this... I'd be very concerned about bubbling and temp rise.
I've never been able to actually hear any bubbling, although small bubbles
do form and I can see them if I take a look. Make sure everything is OFF
(and I mean EVERYTHING) and wear eye protection if you decide to open the
fill holes. Obviously, you want to ensure nothing metal comes in contact
with the terminals. A friend of my father's died from a car battery
explosion.

I'd turn off everything, get a volt meter, and try again. Check the water
level before you restart the charging, and if it's low, I'd be even more
concerned.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

" Tuuk" wrote in message
...
What about leaving the charger on overnight?

I don't know. I guess you could try it and see what happens.

The battery hasn't shut off the 2amp automatic charger yet and its only
been about 8 hours. Could or should i try leaving it on the 2amp auto off,
sure it is light bubbling as i can hear it, and see what it looks like in
the morning.

If battery light shows red and continuing charge, then return the
batteries and charger to C.T. and explain and have them test and replace
as necessary as this is simply normal operations and they said do it
anyway.

Sounds about right.

If battery light shows green then all should be good to go.

Sounds about right.

I just worry about hearing the light bubbling and know it would go on all
night. I read somewhere the bubbling wasn't good for the deepcycle plates
and reduces their efficiencies and capacity.

Lite bubbling is normal, but like I said, I've never heard it just seen it.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

On Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:30:29 -0400, " Tuuk"
wrote:

If battery light shows red and continuing charge, then return the batteries
and charger to C.T. and explain and have them test and replace as necessary
as this is simply normal operations and they said do it anyway.

If battery light shows green then all should be good to go.

You need something more precise than red and green lights. The best
way is with a load tester which you can buy at a reasonable price from
Harbor Freight or Northern Tool. Also, as Larry mentioned, a specific
gravity test using a hygrometer is very useful. Last but not least,
test the battery with a DVM after it has been off the charger for at
least 24 hours. A fully charged battery should read about 12.6 volts
with no load or lightly loaded.

Wayne.B wrote in
:

On Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:30:29 -0400, " Tuuk"
wrote:

If battery light shows red and continuing charge, then return the
batteries and charger to C.T. and explain and have them test and
replace as necessary as this is simply normal operations and they said
do it anyway.

If battery light shows green then all should be good to go.

You need something more precise than red and green lights. The best
way is with a load tester which you can buy at a reasonable price from
Harbor Freight or Northern Tool. Also, as Larry mentioned, a specific
gravity test using a hygrometer is very useful. Last but not least,
test the battery with a DVM after it has been off the charger for at
least 24 hours. A fully charged battery should read about 12.6 volts
with no load or lightly loaded.


Harbor Freight has a new load tester, now. 0-500 amps! I gave my 50A
fixed load tester to a boater who is nice to me and got the new one. It's
a beautiful unit for so little money.



--
-----
Larry

If a man goes way out into the woods all alone and says something,
is it still wrong, even though no woman hears him?

" Tuuk" wrote in
:

The battery hasn't shut off the 2amp automatic charger yet and its
only been about 8 hours. Could or should i try leaving it on the 2amp
auto off, sure it is light bubbling as i can hear it, and see what it
looks like in the morning.


2A x 8 Hours = 16AH. Charging isn't very efficient, so you'd be lucky to
get 10AH of real charge this way. Overnight won't hurt them, even if the
charger were locked on. Don't leave them a week without monitoring until
you figure out what's what.



--
-----
Larry

If a man goes way out into the woods all alone and says something,
is it still wrong, even though no woman hears him?