5 replies to this topic

[Bellbear]

So...I'm going to be hunting and camping soon. I had some battery charging concerns in other threads I started.
I have two 6 volt batteries I charged and the readout in camper said 13.7
I ran my furnace in driveway for about 1/2 hour and when I looked at readout it said 10.0 with red light blinking.
Do I just need to get two new batteries before my hunting trip?
I did charge the batteries by plugging it in a few weeks ago.

Edited by Bellbear, 22 September 2018 - 04:33 PM.

[TrapperMike]

How old are the batteries and how well have they been maintained?  

My guess is that they are shot, but check the voltage reading after no load for a couple hours and see what it bounces back to.

I had a couple batteries go bad (defective) and they were still under warranty.  Furnace running would drop the voltage down to 10 volts and then furnace would kick off.

You sure don't want to have bad batteries for your hunting trip.  I've been hearing good things about Crown batteries and the next time I need new ones, I'll take a serious look at them.

[Vic Harder]

crown are good

[Bellbear]

It now says 13.8

Are batteries good?

[Old Crow]

It now says 13.8

Are batteries good?

 

The thing about voltage is it's only part of the story.  Your batteries can show a voltage that looks good but still drain way too quickly to be useful when you put a significant load (like your furnace) on them. 

 

Your testing in the driveway is a great way to put them to a real-world test.  If they don't last in your driveway, they aren't going to last in camp.

 

.

[Vic Harder]

yeah, if the batteries die super fast on your driveway, then they certainly will when out camping.