[Elecraft] [OT] Lead-acid battery question

[Jim Wiley]

Sounds like your setup is not providing enough run time to fully 
recharge the battery.  Rather than fiddling with the existing engine 
settings, I would suggest getting a small 1-ampere or so "trickle 
charger" from a place like Wal-Mart or Sears.  You will not need 
anything larger, and the low-rate should be safe for the battery 
long-term.  Running the engine once a week seems excessive if all you 
want to do is test it tomake sure it starts. Once a month is all I used 
when I had a 15-KW diesel set, and it never failed to start in 20+ 
years.  The trickle charger of course runs from the standard commercial 
power outlet. You do not need to disconnect the existing charging 
system, just hook up the new charger in parallel.


- Jim, KL7CC


On 4/8/2013 8:15 AM, Vic K2VCO wrote:
> I know there are those on this list who can help me.
>
> I have a 5 kW generator at my house. It runs automatically once a week 
> for a half hour to charge the (sealed) battery. The first battery 
> lasted for about 10 years! The present battery is about 2 years old.
>
> Some months ago, I noticed that it wasn't running. I found the battery 
> dead. I took the battery back to Batteries Plus where I got it; they 
> charged it overnight and tested it under load. They said the battery 
> was OK. When I started the generator and checked the charging voltage, 
> it was 13.8V which I thought was marginal, so I replaced it.
>
> Yesterday the generator would not start. The battery voltage with no 
> load was 11.5V. I left it on the charger all day. Then this morning I 
> checked the voltage and it was 13.5V. The generator started up and the 
> charging voltage was 14.5V.
>
> Do I have a bad battery?
>