Alternator Charging

[zeehag]

i have never had an alternator charge batteries at less than 14,6 unless there is nothing to charge. my [erkins has been charging my brand new battt3eries at anywhere from 14.2-15.6. never goes above 15.6-- that was when the brand new batteries were first installed without being charged first. aS THE CHARGE WAS ACCEPTED BY THE BATTS, THE LEVEL LOWERED, but it will charge high for A BIT. IS NOT a big deal. the batts are not charging at all unless th e number is above 13.6. have fun and goood luck.

oh yes-mine are wet cells.

i learned mine from electrical engineers... and non engineers and others who are excellent gurus for electricity. there is also an online site for this info....under battery maintenance. google it.

[OceanPlanet]

So much talk about "max safe voltage"...it is important to remember that this is a variable number!

This is why temp-regulated charging is important. I regularly saw 30+V charging GEL batteries (24V system) in cold temps on OceanPlanet. That's right...GEL. That set of Geltechs made it twice around the world and were still working after 6 years and about 75,000nm. Of course when it was hot the charging voltage was much lower!

The "dumb" regulators are fine if the operating battery temps are not too cold or too hot. For charging in the hot tropics with the batteries in the engine room, if the regulator doesn't pull back the max voltage then you WILL gas them. If it's really cold and you consistently charge at only 14.1V you may not get a truly fast/full charge and could start to sulfate the plates.