Well, folks. Spring is in the air. The snow is gone. The sun is higher in the sky, it’s time for a little spring maintenance.
For those of you with solar arrays that you can change the angle on, it’s time to do that. Probably past time.
While you are up there changing the angle, you want to check your connections and inspect wiring for chafing and animal chewing. Dang pack-rats anyways.
If your solar racking is a bolt-together array, be sure to be checking for loose nuts and bolts. Besides the ones in your head.
That done, it’s time to move on to batteries. Get that battery box cover off. Visually check connections for tightness and any corrosion. Best be doing this when you are in float and not making a bunch of gas. Lay off the beans next time.
For those of you who are smart enough to buy Rolls Surrettes, pop those R caps and visually check water levels. Remember, as per Rolls battery manual, water levels should be a quarter inch below the bottom of the neck. If you’re looking a bit low, it’s time to add some distilled water. (Yes, Virginia, I said distilled, not lake water or your tap water. Thanks my friend, for that one.) Leaving it a quarter inch down will allow you some expansion room if you need to equalize.
We have come accross an ingenious way to water batteries, stay tuned for more on that. Thanks, Sep, for your inspiration.
Although it is best to equalize before adding water, if you are looking at your plates, get your batteries out of the kitchen…
(Haha this is funny, I found this once, batteries not in a sealed box, in the guy’s kitchen under the sink. Please do not do this, unless you like the smell of hydrogen gas in the morning. There are better ways to clear your sinuses.)
So anyways, back to the program here. If your water level is below the plates in your batteries, you've left it too long, and you need to at least add some water to cover the plates before you equalize.
Specific gravity check. One word. HydroVolt.
Do not check specific gravities right after adding water. All you’ve done is diluted it, and you need a few days of absorb charge to mix it all up.
The best order of operations that we have found is to top up waters, wait for a week, then check specific gravities and equalize if needed.
Check out our Facebook page for some videos about battery maintenance, this platform wouldn't load videos into the blog post for love nor money. Or you can head over to the bottom of our Resources page and see the videos there.
Here are a couple of links that you mght find helpful with maintaining your batteries:
Coming Soon, RV Solar Spring Maintenance.
Comments