We were chased by rain for the last fifty-odd miles so my friend dropped me off with all my stuff and skeedaddled back to pavement. With big fat drops falling around me I got TB in the cabin, disconnected the Jeep from the Battery Minder, got it started and up to the top of the ridge to get my stuff under cover before the rain fell. Of course as soon as I did that the sun came out but oh well.
The spiders had a three-week kegger all over the main part of the cabin and there was some gruesome spider-on-spider drama in the kitchen sink. Seriously it looks like a set in an over-the-top Vincent Price movie in here and of course it’s hot and stuffy but otherwise nothing seems to be amiss – the water runs and the lights turn on though I do want to go out and have a look at my batteries because this isn’t quite right…
Those values should be about equal at this time of day, so I need to check that. But first, having swept a path through the middle of the cobwebs and finished putting my stuff away, TB and I need some lunch.
Glad to hear that your home without delay or adventure.
Time to wash the solar panels or check electrolyte levels?
The two Interstate batteries running the 12-volt system (bypassing the inverter) were shockingly low on electrolyte given that I topped everything off before I left. Four of six cells had plates out of the water. I’ll be watching them closely in the coming days. The four Trojans seem to be doing fine.
Those Interstates have had all charge, yet no drain, whilst you were gone. Of course, that shouldn’t normally be an issue because your charge controller…controls the charge. So perhaps the charge voltage is set a tad high for those batteries?
They hardly ever drain very much, seldom running more than an LED or two. Even the bedroom ceiling fan doesn’t pull enough to trouble two healthy batteries. But these clearly boiled half dry while I was gone, and the last time I saw a battery bank do that there was a dead cell or two. Which is something I’ve been waiting for these particular batteries to do.
So tomorrow, having refilled the cells and given them time to mix, I’ll drag out my ancient digital hydrometer and see what it has to say about the health of the cells.
” I’ll drag out my ancient digital hydrometer and see what it has to say about the health of the cells.” Also totally disconnect them, rest them for a few hours to disperse the surface charge, and then compare their voltages.