Jump to content

Need help with gel batteries


Pyscokev

Recommended Posts

I was given three Deka Solar batteries 8G27 from work because they thought they were dead. They were powered by a solar panel that never saw sun so they were eventually discharged to 10 volts or so. I brought them home and charged them. One of them holds a charge and after resting will read 12.7 volts or so. The other two after a load has been put on them or after resting awhile read 12.3 volts. Am I doing something incorrectly or is the battery worthless? I thought a bad cell would show it around 10 volts so I'm not sure what's going on. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It sounds like they are holding a partial charge. 12.7v is nominal. 12.3v is around 70%. 10v is absolutely "0". So it sounds like they are holding a bit of a charge, but along with that is capacity. A battery "can" hold a 12.7v nominal charge, but as soon as a load is applied can drop to nothing. If each has been fully discharged for any length of time, and depending on how old they are (ie., 4-5+ years old), it might be worth taking the 12.7v battery in for load testing (generally free) just to see what kind of capacity it still has, but the 12.3v batteries I would junk.

 

A "bad cell" is relative. They aren't "dead", per se, but likely have no practical useful life left in them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much of a "load" did you put on the battery to see the 12.3V reading??? A fairly heavy load will drop the voltage from 12.7 to 12.3 on an otherwise good battery.

 

On re-reading the OP I see they are going to 12.3 after resting. They probably are "toast".

 

For a good test, I would hook up each battery to my RV and turn on 6 incandescent light bulbs for a load of about 9amps. Leave the lights on for about an hour turn off the lights and check the battery voltage. It should still be about 12.5-12.6V.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...