Batteries overcharging?

[jabrabu]

I have a 2018 Chateau class C with 2 house batteries. I have checked the water levels in the batteries regularly, and they always seem to need water. I've never seen vehicle batteries need so much water added, so I'm wondering if this indicates that they are being overcharged. I do stay plugged into shore power most of the time, so I'm wondering if this is typical when plugged into shore power a lot, or if there might be a problem with my converter/charger.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Sounds normal...the batteries are continually charging on and off as parasitic draws slowly pull them down. Not sure how much water and how often you are adding but mine stays plugged in and I add a few dribbles every couple of months. If you are "watering flowers" daily, you may have an issue.

[jabrabu]

Thanks.
BTW, after 2 years the batteries would no longer hold a charge, so I just replaced them yesterday with some AGM batteries.

[Bob Denman]

Good choice on the AGMs!
Which brand did you buy?

[jabrabu]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Good choice on the AGMs!
Which brand did you buy?

I got this Weize battery from Amazon. It looked like a good one for the price and almost all 5 star reviews.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The only issue was that the terminals are different than the stock batteries, so installing the cables was a little tricky, but not too bad.

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by jabrabu

I have a 2018 Chateau class C with 2 house batteries. I have checked the water levels in the batteries regularly, and they always seem to need water. I've never seen vehicle batteries need so much water added, so I'm wondering if this indicates that they are being overcharged. I do stay plugged into shore power most of the time, so I'm wondering if this is typical when plugged into shore power a lot, or if there might be a problem with my converter/charger.

You have a three stage charger. In float mode the charger will supply a 13.1 to 13.6 volt to the batteries. The voltage is dependent on the resistance of the batteries (state of charge) and the temperature of the charger. In the summer, the charger is usually much cooler than the batteries, thus supplies extra current to the batteries, slowly boiling off the water in the batteries. Better chargers have a temperature probe (thermister) attached to a battery post that regulates absorption and float voltage. PPS and PD chargers can be refitted with the temperature probes.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by jabrabu

I got this Weize battery from Amazon. It looked like a good one for the price and almost all 5 star reviews.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The only issue was that the terminals are different than the stock batteries, so installing the cables was a little tricky, but not too bad.

Congratulations! I hope that they serve you well for many, many years!

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by jabrabu

I got this Weize battery from Amazon. It looked like a good one for the price and almost all 5 star reviews.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The only issue was that the terminals are different than the stock batteries, so installing the cables was a little tricky, but not too bad.

There will be quite a few folks following to see how these work out. I installed the Trojan T105 AGM last year and they are performing as hoped and expected but at about 250 each