On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:37:14 +0000, Larry wrote:

reasonable length of time

= 5 hours from 40% down....(c;

Larry

That's too long for practical usage. Let's run the numbers:

Trojan L16s are approximately 400 AH, 2 in parallel, 800 AH.

Max recharge rate in bulk charge mode at 25% = 200 amps, 150 if you're
conservative and temperature limited.

AH to be replaced at 40% down up to 80% of full charge = 160 AH (going
above 80% takes too long so must of us settle for that or slightly
higher)

Time to achieve 80% is approx 1 hour, 90% about 2 hours, and that's
good enough. My batteries have been lasting 3+ years with that kind
of usage and I'm OK with it given the amount of time I spend onboard,
and the amount of geneator time the inverter saves me.