Trojan T-105 battery charging tips

[Graham.m]

Ok so I did a test without anything plugged in, the amps on the charger were at 6.4, I plugged in the first laptop and it went up to to 8.7. I then unplugged this and it went down to 5.7.

 

I then plugged in my send laptop and it went up to 10.

 

This all sounds correct to me? Wouldn't that indicate that the first laptop is using around 2.3 - 3 ahs and the second laptop is using around 4.3 ahs?

I'll leave this for another hour (because why the hell not eh?) then I'll check the levels in the light in the morning.

 

Will make a diary of charging a laptop with no battery charger running (how much percentage over how much time)

 

 

so 1 is using about 2.5A the other using about 4.5A. So over 3 hours in an evening the two if connected could use 21Ahs

[Loafer]

Just for comparison, (no Smartgauge) I'm still charging at 15.2V and 6.0A.

[tommyleyland]

If they were both connected at the same time for 3 hours yes, which would be around 18.67%. Nothing like the results I'm getting :/

[WotEver]

Just for comparison, (no Smartgauge) I'm still charging at 15.2V and 6.0A.

I'm only replying to give me the opportunity to say "Don't forget to check the electrolyte Tommy"

 

???

[tommyleyland]

Just for comparison, (no Smartgauge) I'm still charging at 15.2V and 6.0A.

I'm at 15.15v - 15.25v and 6.7A

I'm only replying to give me the opportunity to say "Don't forget to check the electrolyte Tommy"

 

???

Will be doing tomorrow in daylight and off charge

[Loafer]

I'm at 15.15v - 15.25v and 6.7A

 

Will be doing tomorrow in daylight and off charge

 

I'd rest them now, Tommy. Use them at will. However, before your next charge, check and adjust those fluid levels. Don't overfill! You'll quickly get used to how often they need topping up with deionised water.

 

After a week or two of this, we're going to get you to do a 'proper' desulphation charge!

 

Edit: By the way - your Trojans seem to be behaving more or less the same as mine did. They do get considerably better!

Edited December 31, 2015 by Loafer

[Graham.m]

If they were both connected at the same time for 3 hours yes, which would be around 18.67%. Nothing like the results I'm getting :/

 

Think that should be 9.3% of the 100% SoC

Edited December 31, 2015 by Graham.m

[tommyleyland]

 

I'd rest them now, Tommy. Use them at will. However, before your next charge, check and adjust those fluid levels. Don't overfill! You'll quickly get used to how often they need topping up with deionised water.

 

After a week or two of this, we're going to get you to do a 'proper' desulphation charge!

 

Edit: By the way - your Trojans seem to be behaving more or less the same as mine did. They do get considerably better!

Ok will do. Hopefully so!

 

Think that should be 9.3% of the 100% SoC

Apologies you're right. I was calculating it in a silly way.

[Graham.m]

 

Apologies you're right. I was calculating it in a silly way.

 

No problem, I put it down to old age when I do it

[Loafer]

 

Think that should be 9.3% of the 100% SoC

 

Only if they have a capacity of 225Ah, which I doubt. Not yet, anyway...

[tommyleyland]

At the moment they're acting like they have half that capacity

[Graham.m]

At the moment they're acting like they have half that capacity

 

It would seem that way

[Loafer]

At the moment they're acting like they have half that capacity

 

They might well be.

 

I seem to recall asking you what their new, unwrapped voltage was a while ago, but I can't remember if I got the question to you in time. If they were below 6.2, then they aren't quite really 'new'.

 

They could have been standing in storage for a bit too long. In that case, what you're seeing is the effect of electrolyte stratification, and almost certainly some sulphation on the plates.

 

Mine were very similar last year, but following a good 'beasting' with the charger, they grew and grew. The 15V treatment you're giving them will help stir up the electrolyte with all that bubbling, which will repair the stratification, and will reduce the sulphation, if not eradicate it completely.

 

There're plenty of interested people here, just keep posting figures.

[tommyleyland]

Ok I'll keep up the work. I'll be pissed if they've sold knackered batteries.

 

Hopefully they aren't actually nackered and just need 'waking up'

They were at 12.4 connected which would be 6.2 when I connected them meaning hopefully they weren't left discharged for too long.

[Loafer]

Ok I'll keep up the work. I'll be pissed if they've sold knackered batteries.

 

Hopefully they aren't actually nackered and just need 'waking up'

They were at 12.4 connected which would be 6.2 when I connected them meaning hopefully they weren't left discharged for too long.

 

Not too bad, not spanking new. They'll recover.

 

Mine are now doing me a fine service now, at a time when I would have been considering new cheapos, later in the year!

[Loafer]

The Trojan T105 story has intrigued me for a good while. Mine were from Tayna, and arrived with about 12.45V on them as new. I understood that they should be around 12.5 when new so I wasn't overly concerned. However, in use they seemed to drop below 12.0V quite quickly within their first few weeks, and I recall being a bit disappointed with them, having read so much about Trojans over the years and how good they were.

 

My ones now are at least double the capacity they were when new, although I have no real way of producing evidence. I would love to take them way down to 10.5V or so, with the telly and fridge on, but just cannot bring myself to do it!

 

That would give me a good idea of capacity, and I think it's the only way to find out. Anyone out there actually done that?

[tommyleyland]

You give me hope. If mine turn out to be actually nackered I'll fry them and tell you

[Loafer]

You give me hope. If mine turn out to be actually nackered I'll fry them and tell you

 

I don't think they are knackered, but probably the reason they're so cheap these days is that they have been bulk purchased and stored a while.

 

Don't be in a rush to charge them every DAY, but when you DO charge them, charge them FULLY, as you have been at 15.1V.

 

As a general rule, don't go below 11.9V if you can help it, 11.5V absolute minimum, followed by a good charge.

 

Did we tell you to check the electrolyte levels?

[Graham.m]

The Trojan T105 story has intrigued me for a good while. Mine were from Tayna, and arrived with about 12.45V on them as new. I understood that they should be around 12.5 when new so I wasn't overly concerned. However, in use they seemed to drop below 12.0V quite quickly within their first few weeks, and I recall being a bit disappointed with them, having read so much about Trojans over the years and how good they were.

 

My ones now are at least double the capacity they were when new, although I have no real way of producing evidence. I would love to take them way down to 10.5V or so, with the telly and fridge on, but just cannot bring myself to do it!

 

That would give me a good idea of capacity, and I think it's the only way to find out. Anyone out there actually done that?

 

 

Why not take them down to 50% based on SG and then carefully measure the Ahs put back in allowing for all the normal errors

[Loafer]

Measuring Ahs in is done at higher power levels than Ahs out (charging voltage instead of discharge voltage), so I believe that measuring Ahs out, until flat, is a better measure of total capacity available.

I'm running out of knowledge. Where've the rest of you gone?

[WotEver]

Measuring Ahs in is done at higher power levels than Ahs out (charging voltage instead of discharge voltage), so I believe that measuring Ahs out, until flat, is a better measure of total capacity available.

 

I'm running out of knowledge. Where've the rest of you gone?

Measure Ah out to 50% using a known load. Measuring Ah in involves Peukert, charging efficiency etc and won't be accurate - it's why Ah counters don't work.

 

You don't need to flatten them, 50% will do fine.

 

Tony

[Loafer]

Measure Ah out to 50% using a known load. Measuring Ah in involves Peukert, charging efficiency etc and won't be accurate - it's why Ah counters don't work.

 

You don't need to flatten them, 50% will do fine.

 

Tony

 

Yep that's fine, but 50% of what? The 'what' is the bit I want to find out!

[MtB]

Ok so I did a test without anything plugged in, the amps on the charger were at 6.4, I plugged in the first laptop and it went up to to 8.7. I then unplugged this and it went down to 5.7.

 

I then plugged in my send laptop and it went up to 10.

 

This all sounds correct to me? Wouldn't that indicate that the first laptop is using around 2.3 - 3 ahs and the second laptop is using around 4.3 ahs?

 

 

Point of order Tommy...

 

You were doing fine at the start but then you changed from quoting Amps into quoting Amp Hours. Why would that be? (Rhetorical question, to prompt you to think about it.)

 

An Amp Hour is the quantity of electricity used when an appliance draws one Amp for one hour.

 

Your laptops draw 2.3 Amps and 4.3 Amps while they are running. If you ran each for an hour they will have used 2.3 and 4.3 Amp Hours respectively. If you ran each for two hours, they will have used 4.6 Amp Hours and 8.6 Amp Hours.

 

It's important that you grasp the difference between an Amp and an Amp Hour for you to understand what the hell is going on with your batteries!

[tommyleyland]

I CHARGED A LAPTOP FOR 1 HOUR AND IT ONLY TOOK 5%!

[ditchcrawler]

I have 4 105s and when I leave the boat they are normally as fully charged as I can get them and then I leave them connected to a couple of solar panels. When I come back to the boat after say a month or more the first 48 hrs the batteries lose voltage more for a given discharge but then buck up again after a couple of charge cycles of 4 hours.