Low Battery Charge Rate

  Hello,

 I just installed 1000ah of batteries to my system(I wanted the extend run
time).

 My panels are delivering about 25 amps total in full sun. This works out to
C40 charge rate. I don't mind the extra time for recovery if it doesn't hurt
battery life. If I need to, I can add a plug in charger to the system.

  Does slow charging shorten battery life?

Thanks
RLS

 
Slow charging is the method I prefer. Too high a charge causes battery
overheating, may warp the lead plates and shortens the life of the
battery. 6 to 8 amps for charging is what I use.

Bob

  Thanks Bob,

 I tested last weekend off sealed bank(350ah) The recovery took a couple
mostly cloudy days but, I'm not too worried about the recovery time as much
as the battery life.

 I've seen the C10 and C20 figures advised for not overcharging, I hadn't
read or heard anything about charging at lower rates and battery life.

RLS

 rls wrote:

You do face the problem where if there is not enough sun for an extended
period. This can lead to the batteries reaching a point where the solar
can not recharge your batteries enough to prevent sulphation.

IF the batteries reach, say, 50% charge you will need to put in your 25
A for 20 hours to recover. And that's without taking any thing out for
that 20 hours. At a guess you will have dead batteries in a rather short
time.

--
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How long is extended? If I know that ther won't be any sun for say 3 days I
would put the charger on for recovery.

Thanks
RLS