Lead battery charge level increase

[Westcoast Jim]

My 2018 21C has 2 lead batteries with one solar panel. The Go Power meter has consistently read 90% on sunny days (since September when I bought the trailer). Last week it started reading 100% and I would like to know why.

Any ideas?

[RangerMan]

Originally Posted by Westcoast Jim

My 2018 21C has 2 lead batteries with one solar panel. The Go Power meter has consistently read 90% on sunny days (since September when I bought the trailer). Last week it started reading 100% and I would like to know why.

Any ideas?

I can't remember the explanation, but the GoPower manual covers it.

[Shiny]

My guess is the controller just ran what GoPower calls an "Equalization Charge".

"A value of 100% will only be displayed after a Boost or Equalize charge completes."

"Auto Equalize: The GP-PWM-30-UL has an automatic equalize feature that will charge and recondition your batteries once a month at a higher voltage to ensure that any excess sulfation is removed."

"Equalization Charge at 25°C: Applied for 2 hours every 28 days and if the battery voltage drops below 12.1 volts."

[Iowa Dave]

Nigel at Escape told me that if I could remember one thing I’d be fine with the controller he said “Remember 90% is 100% that’s all you need to know. He explained the equalization process too but knew I probably didn’t care. A few months later I saw 100 % on the readout. I’ve only seen it once and my wife has seen it a couple times I think she said. Keep water in the batteries and your connections tight. I check the water at least twice a year and the connections then too.
Iowa Dave

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

...
I check the water at least twice a year and the connections then too.
Iowa Dave

The very first time I checked my batteries on the new trailer I found the connections to be finger tight.


Fast forward to today and my wife says my screws are loose.

[Westcoast Jim]

Thank you all for your answers.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

The very first time I checked my batteries on the new trailer I found the connections to be finger tight.


Fast forward to today and my wife says my screws are loose.

LOL, made me gush my coffee this am.....

[John in Santa Cruz]

I'm upgrading my trailer electrics, and in preparation to install a larger solar panel, I replaced the GoPower PWM with a Victron Smart solar MPPT 100/30. Running it with the original "160 watt" solar panel, I'm seeing significantly more charging power. Mid winter I'm getting 80-90 watts from that panel, and the sun incident angle is like 37 degrees. When I get the 360 watt mono panel installed, it should be even better, as the new panel is 36-40 volts, the MPPT will turn 36v at 10 amps into 13.x volts at almost 30 amps.