E-meter [RE-wrenches]

[Steve Willey, Backwoods Solar]

I agree completely with David's experience with amp hour meters and
TriMetric.

But also try to get a better idea of the actual state of charge before the
night that brings low morning voltages. Battery voltage holds very little
change from 70% to 40% charge level, and than dumps very rapidly below that.
So if your battery was actually at or below 50% charge though showing
reasonable voltage due to recent charging in the evening, it could very well
drop to 22.x overnight. That would seem indicate for sure a low state of
charge in the morning, so the question is whether it was very much better
than that the night before. I would add that a hydrometer reading, if these
are wet batteries, would be my first move to compare with those voltage
readings to confirm if the battery is actually full when you and the meter
thinks it is full.

Steve Willey   www.backwoodssolar.com
Backwoods Solar Electric Systems
From: David Palumbo, Independent Power & Light <ipl at sover.net>
John,
My best guess, if the amp hour metering is correct, is that the battery
bank has unequally charged cells
, and, or, there is sulfation on the plates. One, or both, of these maladies
would explain lack of capacity in a battery bank.
How are the hydrometer readings cell to cell? Are there desulfator devices
on these batteries?
I never have tried the E-Meter because I found the Cruising Equipment
company difficult to deal with when I used their early meters. I have been
very pleased with the TriMetric meters and the service I receive from Ralph
is excellent.

David Palumbo
IP&L



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