Trojan L16 Battery Equalization

richard5933 · July 10, 2019, 03:27:15 PM

Our house battery bank is made of four Trojan L16G six volt batteries, wired in series/parallel to provide 12v output. I've got a Trojan Hydrolink watering system installed to make watering the batteries easy.

In reading the manual for the batteries, there are a few different recommendations for equalizing, and they all boil down to doing it either on a fixed schedule (every 30 days) or when certain set points are reached with regard to specific gravity.

The Hydrolink watering system caps are not designed to be removed once installed, and the manual comes with a warning about possible damage if they are removed. This would make checking specific gravity difficult without risking damage to the Hydrolink. That left equalizing on a monthly schedule the better option, but it didn't seem right to me.

So, I called Trojan and asked what the recommendation was, and the tech said to equalize every 30 days for two hours and not worry about the specific gravity. My regular charger doesn't have an equalize setting that can push the required 16.2v, but my solar charge controller can do the equalization (obviously on a sunny day) in one-hour increments.

Thought I'd tap into the community knowledge base here to see what others thought about doing the equalization on a 30-day schedule like this. I have no specific reason to question the tech's advice, but it just feels odd to do this without checking the specific gravity as I go. Would appreciate any thoughts on this process.

(I am aware to have the batteries fully charged and topped off with water before doing the equalization, as well as to disconnect all loads from the batteries.)

bobofthenorth · July 10, 2019, 04:54:14 PM

Different battery bank but still Trojans and still a 6 volt bank wired for 12 volts. I had 8 x T105s on the boat. I never checked specific gravity but I religiously equalized every 6 months. The batteries weren't new when we bought the boat and I could detect no deterioration 7 years later when we sold her. Its one data point. Mine was an 8 hour equalization cycle from a Heart 2500.

buswarrior · July 10, 2019, 05:31:53 PM

Once a month equalization in a set of batteries in full time, hardcore use, I can maybe see.

Not for a weekend camper that stays topped up all the time.

How often, how deeply, is the battery set pulled down and replenished in a month?

As for most things... it all depends?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

chessie4905 · July 10, 2019, 05:46:48 PM

Doesn't your inverter have an equilization cycle available?

richard5933 · July 10, 2019, 05:50:38 PM

Quote from: chessie4905 on July 10, 2019, 05:46:48 PM
Doesn't your inverter have an equilization cycle available?

I have a stand-alone charger and inverter, and my charger doesn't do equalization. My solar charge controller does however, so as long as it's sunny out for a few hours I can easily get the needed 16.2v.

Sounds like I might just go with the 2-hour equalization that the Trojan tech recommended, just not as often. Maybe every 3-4 months.

Iceni John · July 10, 2019, 08:08:14 PM

Quote from: richard5933 on July 10, 2019, 03:27:15 PM
(I am aware to have the batteries fully charged and topped off with water before doing the equalization, as well as to disconnect all loads from the batteries.)

If you fill the batteries before equalization or any vigorous charging, you may lose most of the water (and acid) that you just added when it boils and spits out all over the place. Don't ask me how I know . . . I've read that FLA batteries should be topped up after charging, presumably for this reason.

John

richard5933 · July 11, 2019, 03:00:40 AM

Quote from: Iceni John on July 10, 2019, 08:08:14 PM
If you fill the batteries before equalization or any vigorous charging, you may lose most of the water (and acid) that you just added when it boils and spits out all over the place. Don't ask me how I know . . . I've read that FLA batteries should be topped up after charging, presumably for this reason.

John

Did you do the equalization with the caps off? Trojan recommends keeping the caps in place. And then to top off water after the process is complete.

sledhead · July 11, 2019, 04:31:51 AM

when I had Trojan battery bank I equalized them 2 to 3 times a year from my inverter charger and never removed the caps as I think the batteries would just blow a lot of liquid out . I never went as high in volts as my system was set up to 15.8 volts max and would take as long as it needed to do the charge . this was with a Magnum remote

http://www.magnum-dimensions.com/sites/default/files/MagArchive/64-0030-Rev-A-ME-ARC.pdf

dave

Iceni John · July 11, 2019, 08:15:04 PM

Quote from: richard5933 on July 11, 2019, 03:00:40 AM
Did you do the equalization with the caps off? Trojan recommends keeping the caps in place. And then to top off water after the process is complete.

I was told to remove caps when equalizing "to allow the hydrogen to escape". Maybe that's just bogus advice, but it was from a marine battery "expert". Don't caps have small vent holes in them anyway? I think I was told some phooie.

John