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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Texman 182g Mods
    Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 9:24am
Yeah, that's quite a bit of voltage drop for a light load like that. How old are your batteries? What was the approximate battery temperature? Internal resistance in batteries increases significantly when its cold, so the voltage drop going from a charge to a discharge condition increases. 

The pump should self prime once you put some more water in the fresh tank. 
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 9:35am
temp in the mid 50s.  batteries are a about 2 years old.  i need to check the acid level.  maybe i have let them get dry.  don't know.  they are dual GC6 duracell from batteries and bulbs. What is the best way to test if they are junk?  Voltmeter with no load?
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Posts: 2702 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 9:56am
You can get an inexpensive hydrometer from an auto parts store for around $20. That will tell you if the chemistry on your batteries is OK or not. 

Separate from that, maybe you should check if you have any parasitic loads.
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Posts: 6417 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 9:58am
Best way is to load test them. A quick search on Amazon for battery load testers brings up several that are good for both 6V and 12V batteries. These are a few:

Or you could take them to your local Batteries + Bulbs store or Walmart or any auto parts store and they will load test them for you for free.
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 10:08am
with the LED lights on the hall meter was showing about 80 watts when i was on batteries, which is nothing that should run batteries down.  
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 10:47am
+1 to GlueGuy, a battery hydrometer to check electrolyte specific gravity would be my suggestion as well. The issue with the battery load testers are that they are designed to test for cold cranking amps for starting batteries. Not really the right test for capacity on deep cycle batts.

For sure first check water level in the batteries, fill, and charge for a day at 13.8V or so to be sure the electrolyte is mixed and they're fully charged. Let them float unloaded for an hour and then measure the open circuit voltage and specific gravity. Should be around 12.6V and SG around 1.26.  If either of those are low then you could try whacking them with an equalize charge at around 14.4V for awhile to see if that clears sulfation on the plates. If that doesn't bring them back then they're probably toast. 
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 10:51am
i am planning to take them back to battery and bulb and have them test them and see about warranty
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Posts: 2702 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 1:31pm
Originally posted by texman

with the LED lights on the hall meter was showing about 80 watts when i was on batteries, which is nothing that should run batteries down.  
80 watts is not an insignificant load on 12V batteries. That's roughly 6.6 amps. I would consider that a high parasitic load; especially if you don't know what's causing it.
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 1:48pm
how do you find the parasitic load or loads ?
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Posts: 2702 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Feb 2019 at 1:54pm
Originally posted by texman

how do you find the parasitic load or loads ?
I have a multimeter with a current loop. I can just measure the load at the batteries by clamping it on the main lead, and then disconnect things by pulling fuses. 

I think this will get everything except the trailer brakes (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). Sometimes the trailer brakes get accidentally applied when someone pulls the emergency cable a little too enthusiastically. 
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