How to charge using deep cycle batteries.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by Slyster

No.. waste of time.. instead I decrease my flight time a tad so they end up at around 35%-40% which is fine for storage. Now if I am not going to fly in a week I will do a charge to 50%.

I'd rather fly a minute less than have to hook them all up twice as much

Leaving them sit at 20-30% for a few weeks wont hurt them, LiPos discharge so slowly in storage you would need to leave them moths before its an issue. I run mine down to about 25% then charge back up before the next session. I have left them a month or more a couple of times, they were maybe 1% lower after that.

[Slyster]

Good to know.. maybe I'll bump my flight time a half minute or so.

[Cadriel]

Ok, a couple of questions for anyone that can answer;

I picked up these. Reconditioned.
http://www.industrialenergy.com.sg/O...N_20071127.pdf

Yep - they're big'n heavy.

Anyway. I have a PL8 - and I'll be using that to charge these.

1/
Can I charge these in series? Or should I charge them seperately? I believe the PL8 can handle charging them both - i'm just not sure if in series or not.

2/
What gauge wire is appropriate to use for the series connection?

[Slyster]

Go to an auto or boat store and they have series connections (6 gauge) in a variety of lengths. People do this in boats all the time.

I charge independently because my Noco Gen2 has two outputs... but if you are using your PL8... series charging for sure. There's no worry about over-charging a deep cycle. It just doesn't happen.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by Slyster

There's no worry about over-charging a deep cycle. It just doesn't happen.

It does, and you get hydrogen gas. But if its a wet (not a gel) cell this is not really an issue unless you boil off all the water in the cells. Pb cells dont like constant over-charge, it ruins the plates (IIRC) and loses you capacity, but it is nowhere near the issue it is with Li based cells.

A half decent Li charger will have no issues with Pb cells.

[Slyster]

Yes I should have asked if these are wet cells. Some outgassing of one battery while one catches up I figured doesn't matter. I was basing this off the fact that periodically you want to equalize the cells anyway.. which helps maintain capacity.

"The equalization process, which should only be done on flooded wet cell batteries, involves applying a controlled over-voltage (14-17V) to the batteries while limiting the current. The batteries should be fully charged before initiating the equalization process."

[Cadriel]

Ok, so they are AGM VRLA batteries..

My local LHS guy said under no circumstances charge in series - because usually one battery isn't exactly the same as they other, so you end up with one overcharging and the other undercharging.

Is that true in this case?

[Slyster]

I don't know. My advice was for wet cells. Read this it might help.

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm

[Cadriel]

Yep. Windsun pretty much says they act the same as other flooded deep cycles. I guess I'll charge them independently for now and see how they go.

Thanks for all the help.

[Slyster]

This is the dedicated dual battery charger I use... it really is nice having the charger always in the vehicle and hooked up and it really isn't that expensive. (or course I see you are in NZ)

http://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GEN2-On-B.../dp/B003JSJS5I

[Cadriel]

Yerp. The PL8 appears to be doing a decent job so far.

I ran 8 charges through the setup this weekend. 6S 4000's. One deep cycle barely took a hit, it's at 95% still. The other one however is down to 70% - so I believe that's not doing so well. I'll take that one back for a replacement.

[Lighty]

Ok well I believe I have an issue with one of my deep cycles. (105ah each side)

Both charge up to 12.6v no problem, but today I charged 7 6s5300 Gens lipos one deep cycle read after resting 12.1v and the other 11.7v.

Is one loosing its mojo?

[Slyster]

How are you charging your deep cycles? Assuming you are charging one at a time (or with a good dedicated dual deep cycle charger... and not in series)... then yes one is loosing his mojo.

[Lighty]

Individually on ichargers, ones a 306b and the other a 206.

[Slyster]

A newer photo with my PL6 and deep cycle setup

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by Slyster

A newer photo with my PL6 and deep cycle setup

That looks suspiciously like an iCharger to me

[Slyster]

The above photo? The charger hooked to the to green Pulse packs is a PL6. You might need to refresh your browser since I just used the same name on my slyster.com host.

EDIT: I changed the name.. otherwise it could cause a mix of pictures on different computers.

[SQRT(-2)]

Hay Sly, The battery charger you recommend for the deep cycles is kinda high? Why such a fancy charger?

I have been using:


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher...arger/15160135

I have had it since high school. (Label is different, but it is the same darn thing). I have been using it for my deep cycle so far. I know you have to keep an eye on it, it does not turn off. Is there a reason not to use a charger like this to charge my deep cycles? It this thing just inconvenient? or is it bad for the battery or something?

[Slyster]

It will work. Just don't keep it hooked up when not charging. It will be a bit slower too. The one I bought ($120 or so?) charges two independently and you can keep it hooked up all the time... and it does stuff to keep the deep cycles healthy.. you can read about it on their site.

[Nelvick]

This is My setup.

2 Deep Cycle Marine Batteries connected in Series 24V for the field. This provide to me 20 amps per channel in my iCHARGER 4010 Duo. (getting 43Amps from the batteries). I dont try more than 20 amps per channel because is not healty for my 2 lipos. But i will like to try with 2 parallel board and 4 lipo batteries at the time to see how much i can get.





With this batteries i was able to charge my batteries at the field 22 times and still have a lot of spare juice for more.



For charge my Deep Cycles batteries i connect the batteries in Parallel and charge with the charger in the pictures below.





This is how look like the input power by the end of the day.