I need HELP!!!: testing battery after powering refrigerator

testing battery after powering refrigerator

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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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Topic: testing battery after powering refrigerator

Posted By: Happy Tripping
Subject: testing battery after powering refrigerator
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 3:39pm

Hello.

I have a 6 cylinder Jeep Cherokee and propane doesn't work for the refrigerator so I just travelled 2 1/2 hours running the refer off the battery. After resting, my multimeter says the battery has 12.62 V, which is apparently 90% of the apparent fully charged level of 12.73 V. I say 'apparent' because I don't know nuthin' about this whole subject and I did not test the battery's voltage before I took it on the drive.

The bottom line, is it ok for me to run the refer on battery on 2 1/2 hour long trips or am I incompletely charging the battery and allowing it to run down because the Jeep's electrical system isn't up to the job??

Or, of course, did I screw the whole evaluation up and now have to do it over right?

When not in use, I keep the battery on a trickle charger and the water levels look ok.

Replies:

Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2018 at 3:46pm

I do that all the time. Appears battery is charging from TV and 12.62 is a good value. The fridge is using battery charge and TV is replenishing.

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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2018 at 9:17am

+1. The battery voltage is a variable value depending on the load. If there is zero load, the 90% value is a fair estimate. If the battery is under load (e.g. the fridge is running on battery), then you might be closer to 100%. You can't really tell the battery State of Charge (SOC) without taking it out of the circuit and letting it rest for a bit. That's typically not practical, so we watch the voltage and "guess" a little bit.

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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost