Hello CF
Here is a question that has probably been answered, but I didn't find it with the search function....
I have four 120 Amp lead acid house
batteries on my
Lagoon 400. They are about 14 months old, and after a recent 1 month
cruise I am not convinced they are performing up to specs. I keep the cells topped off with distilled
water and charge them (with
generator or motors) every day. I try to have them at 100% in the evening before we go to
bed, but they are down to ~50% by 0800 (the overnight load is the
anchor light,
cabin fans,
refrigerator, and freezer)
I just purchased an Optimate6
battery charger. This
charger has an automatic 9-step testing/charging process that includes an
equalization phase if needed. The
batteries are now fully charged (on
shore power for a couple of weeks). I will check the specific gravity of each cell before/during/after using the charger, and I plan on disconnecting the
battery bank from the
boat before using the charger.
Here is my question:
Should I keep the batteries connected together while I use the Optimate6, or should I test/equalize/charge each battery separately? On one hand, it seems to make sense to equalize all the batteries at once (isn't that the point?). On the other hand equalizing one at a time may help me find out if one (or more...) of the batteries is dragging down the entire bank.
Thanks in advance for your help, I'm sure I'll learn alot from your posts.
Bill