Oh goody… A follower of Sternwake,
Good morning. A few thoughts here:
- I am hardly a follower of Sternwake. I have taken issue with his statements several times, on forums and in blog articles.
- I see now your “surf bum” comment earler was an ad hominem attack, rather than a case of not knowing someone’s name.
- where did you meet this person?
one of the poster boys of inaccurate, bad, and dangerous advice. He regularly tells people to overcharge their batteries,
His general position is for folks to hold manufacturer’s Vabs until acceptance falls to manufacturer’s stated rate, usually C/100 - C/200, then drop to manufacturer’s Vfloat.
causing them permanent damage, and the risk of fire and/or explosions.
Manufacturer’s Vabs specs do not cause the results you give.
Every battery has specific specs, it’s not one size fits all.
Indeed, that’s why we charge to spec with configurable controllers.
With many batteries, anything over 13.8-14.0v is entering into dangerous territory.
Popular RV/Van house batteries and manufacturer’s Vabs spec:
- Trojan T-105 FLA - 14.82v
- Trojan T-105 AGM - 14.1v to 14.7v, finishing at 14.7v
- EP/Deka rebrands (duracell, etc, as found in warehouse clubs and B+) 14.4v to 14.7v
- Renogy AGM12/100 - 14.4v to 15v
- cheap Chinese Universal UB121000-45978 - 14.5v to 14.9v
Those were the first 5 that came to mind and I looked up the specs. Still can’t post links or I’d provided references.
Vehicle charging, and battery chargers are designed to charge your batteries correctly, fully, and without damaging them.
Those chargers are designed to charge starting batteries (ie, non deep-cycle) batteries. They are typically charged at mid-to-high Vfloat. That is insufficient for actual deep cycle batteries.
the garbage that he has posted is still out here, and still harming more people than it’s ever helped.
To the OP: when you are doing your homework it may be productive to discount the opinions of people who resort to name-calling and make broad, hyperbolic statements without evidence.
Thinking you know more than the battery manufacturers or charger manufacturers is just plain stupidity. People need to check the spec sheets for their specific batteries, PERIOD!!!
Agreed. The specs for my bank are:
Vabs==14.4v to 14.7v
Vfloat==13.8v to 14.1v when cycled
Max current == C/3
3mv/cell/°C from 25°C temperature compensation
I have configured my solar charge controller setpoints within those specs. I also have inlined a HVD to ensure the insolator never passes voltage > Vabs in either direction.
Real question, not being a wise guy: what are the charging specs for your bank? How are you keeping to those specs?
Not take some self proclaimed expert’s loony tune advise.
More ad hominem.
One of the biggest problems with the internet is that bad, incorrect, or inaccurate advice outnumbers factual information by at least 100:1.
Another problem is folks mistaking their biases and opinions for facts. I agree that doing the homework is critical. That homework is not made easier by people making ad hominem attacks and regarding their opinions as facts.
Nobody should follow anybody’s advice without first verifying the facts.
Agreed.
Now you are perpetuating Sternwake’s bad advice, and the cycle continues
I am following my manufacturer’s spec sheets. I assume you are doing the same.
In my case, batteries that have lasted almost 7 years, providing plenty of power, and still going strong, must be getting charged adequately, and without the need of solar.
I am pleased to hear it.
the majority of off grid full timers do exactly or similar to what I do,
I don’t think that has been true over the past several years.
Challenging the most popular and successful methods people have been using for many years shows a major misunderstanding of how this stuff actually works.
Critical examination of popular methods reveals exactly how stuff actually works, not how we think it works, claim it works, or how we want it to work.
A meter, shunt, and hydrometer tell me precisely how my bank is doing. I am not guessing or hoping. It is 9:30am and my bank is in Bulk, 14.2v, accepting 237w/6.3A from solar alone. The controller is putting out 269w. Panel Vmp is 36.2v. Bank temperature is 23c. Those empirical measurements are facts. If I were to claim “my system works awesome and you should get one like mine” that would be opinion, and misguided opinion at that.
Maybe we’re all nuts and doing everything totally wrong, but if it works for us, then nothing else matters. of the majority
Ii am not claiming anyone is nuts. I agree that if something works for someone then it works for them, at least in the short term.
The dangers of issuing opinions/“fact” based on observed success are misunderstanding causality (post hoc) or more commonly assuming that a similar setup would work for others (hasty generalization). Anecdote is useful as a datapoint but it is not “fact” or evidence.
What I disagree with is the propagation of biases and opinions as if they are facts. Opinions like “solar panels… don’t charge the batteries correctly and kill them quickly”. That can badly mislead folks doing their homework.
following the successes of the majority is usually the best choice.
Following the succeses of the majority results in average results. Understanding the outcomes the majority experiences can lead to greater success.
Not solar,
I’d wager the majority of off-grid folks are running solar nowadays.
and certainly not screwing with battery charging algorithms.
The manufacturer spec sheets for deep cycle batteries (which we both hold to be gospel) indicate Vabs and Vfloat setpoints, and sometimes terminal acceptance current. We ignore those charging stages at our bank’s peril.
