Our motor bats are 4 years old kept up since I have had them.now there is a drain on them if I leave them unplugged for five days.Our generator will turn over very slow until it starts to click about 30 seconds, then I plug the inverter in later that day after the inverter will charge them ? One more do our cables run directly from the batteries to the gen? "that is a long run"
thanks
lenny

The short answer - "maybe/maybe not" - You could also have one battery pulling down your other batteries. There is no real way to answer this unless you test them first.

Have you checked your water level in the batteries lately? Water, or more correctly, distilled water, is added more often in hotter type of climates.

You would also need to find out if you have a draw. A "draw" is slang for a power robbing electrical load that pulls your batteries down.

How many times have you had to "Hook Up" your charger to recharge your batteries? How many times have the batteries dropped to >11 volts?

A completely discharged battery is one that has dropped below 12 volts. I know it sounds odd but a 12v battery at 50% charge is not 6 volts. A 50% charged battery is one that has dropped to 12.2v

Another thing that sounds odd - a 12v battery is actually 13.2v... or 6 cells @ 2.2v per cell.



Constantly allowing your batteries to go below 12v will considerably shorten their life.

Your friend is a trusty hydrometer that you can use to test the acid in the battery cells.

Here is a post by Bill H where he has given a response to me after I quoted the Interstate Battery Website. My initial post and his response is in this one post so it's a little easier to follow.

If you haven't been following a regular preventative maintenance schedule, then 4 years is about right for your to replace your batteries. You've heard the saying - "You can pay me a little now or a lot later." It holds true for battery maintenance as well.

Try checking the water level and add as needed - recharge you batteries and find out if you have a draw in the system. Then after completely charging do a hydrometer test on each cell.

If you batteries are two 6v batteries in a series circuit then that voltage chart doesn't apply. You could 1/2 the voltage on that chart but everything else is still the same.

This is one of Bill H's favorite topic. If he can get 9 years plus out of a set of batteries, I would follow his advice/regimen.

quote:

Originally posted by lenny and judy:
One more do our cables run directly from the batteries to the gen? "that is a long run"
thanks
lenny

Obviously I don't know for sure but..
Unless you have a specific battery for the genny it will start from its dedicated battery, house or start. This load is not that great given the small engine. Many gen-sets will output a small charging amperage while running. Again this is not very large so the voltage drop in either direction is negligible with relatively small cables.

Is it normal for the batteries to weaken without being plugged in for more than a week, for the gen not to start? All I did was pull in and left the motor home alone for that week.The engine starts without a problem.What is wrong? if anything
thanks lenny

Someone else needs to chime in here but in the tradition of "Fools rush in..." The gen may be on the house battery set so it will not start while the engine being on a different set will fire off with no problem. Most auto parts chains now will test batteries for load capacity if you take them to the store. My recommendation sans any others would be to charge the house batteries over night then disconnect them, check for voltage or as Bill posted check the specific gravity of the electrolyte. Wait a couple to a couple dozen hours and recheck. If the battery is any good at all it will not have changed. Now if you want confirmation before spending any coin go back a couple of sentences, grab the battery or batteries in question and head off to the auto parts joint of your choice. If you find a bad battery and don't know the age of the accompanying battery replace both at the supplier of your choice. Put the receipts in your manual file and make sure you have a maintenance plan for these batteries. I get about 7 years out of my batteries but in all honesty I have so many, 5, and they are seldom expected to give more than 25% of capacity. This combination means that even when they are of diminished capacity they can meet the demand.