I agree that on the 3rd stage the voltage should drop to "float" voltage. I
would think that 12.9 to 13.1 would be good. Continued operation at 14.4
volts will boil out the water. Perhaps their definition of 3 stage charging
is different from mine (and yours).

"jeannette" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I bought an alternator with a built-in 3 stages regulator. The voltage
coming out of it seems to be constant at 14.40v. The batteries are
fully charged now and the charge current is very small (1amp) but the
voltage remain at 14.40v. Is that normal?. I am told by the
manufacturer that it's the way it should be. I would have thought that
the voltage should come down to a lower level once the batteries are
full.

What do you think?


Jeannette Bristol 32, San Francisco
http://www.eblw.com/contepartiro/contepartiro.html

On the Xantrex website they provide the following data for their 3 stage
alternator regulator:
bulk charge 14.6 volts
absorption charge 14.4 volts
float charge 13.4 volts
The highest float voltage is given for gell cells and that is 13.7 volts.
It could be that your batteries are still accepting charge in the absorption
phase but this doesn't seem likely. I would ask the manufacturer why his
float voltage is so much higher than for other controllers.

"jeannette" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I bought an alternator with a built-in 3 stages regulator. The voltage
coming out of it seems to be constant at 14.40v. The batteries are
fully charged now and the charge current is very small (1amp) but the
voltage remain at 14.40v. Is that normal?. I am told by the
manufacturer that it's the way it should be. I would have thought that
the voltage should come down to a lower level once the batteries are
full.

What do you think?


Jeannette Bristol 32, San Francisco
http://www.eblw.com/contepartiro/contepartiro.html

If it's a "smart 3 stage" regulator it will allow the voltage to rise to
14.4 and will then hold 14.4 fro as much as two hours to "top off" the
batteries. So it sounds normal to me. After a few hours the voltage should
fall to 13.8. If it does not, or the batteries start getting gassing alot or
getting hot, then you may have a problem. Suggest you get some hard facts
about your alternator, regulator and batteries.

Bob

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