Thanks all for your replies. I think David may be right in that the
extended charging evaporated the water . I made sure the water levels were
correct and battery was fully charged prior to hooking up the float
charger. According to the instructions the charger is supposed to not
overcharge a battery so I figure it has an on/off circuit to prevent
overcharging. I may have to move up in class-$$$- to a better battery
maintainer for next winter.
Spencer

On Mon, May 10, 2021 at 10:23 AM David Boan <dboan@outlook.com> wrote:

> I wonder if the problem Spencer had with his battery is not just the
> charger but also leaving a conventional battery on a charger for an
> extended time without checking fluid levels.  I have a conventional lea
> acid as a starter battery and a sealed AGM for the accessory battery.  Like
> Alistair, I built in a ProSport charger and have it plugged in most of the
> time.  The AGM battery does not require attention (other than making sure
> it is secure and clean) but I check the fluid in the starter battery every
> two months. I think having it on a charger increases the loss of fluid
> compared to only charging with the alternator. As I understand it, charging
> increases electricity flow, which increases converting water to gas, and
> thus increases water loss.
>
> Dave B
> Boise
> '85 Westy
> ________________________________
> From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> on behalf of
> Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2021 10:50 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Subject: Re: Another battery- did float charger cook mine
>
> Spencer,
>
> I’ve been happy with my Noco genius charger. It’s gets varying reviews
> online but has worked well for me. I’d prefer a Ctek but it was more spendy.
>
> Oh, btw, it’s the 10 amp model.
>
> I have it hooked up most of the time to my old battery I removed from van
> last year. It has seemed to restore a fair bit of capacity ( I can’t
> quantify) and the battery is used as a convenient 12v supply for this and
> that. Mostly to power Chinese diesel heater I have set up on test stand and
> in which I’ve been improving with new mother board and controller and pump
> etc etc.
>
> What I’m trying to say … I have the Noco hooked up to the old battery
> pretty well all the time, and turned on about 80% of the time. It goes onto
> a bout a 13.4 - 13.5 volt float , with occasional pop up to 15.4v for a
> short time then back to float .
>
> On board the van I have a mariner pro sport hard wired in to system. Only
> 6 amp output so it’s very much undersized for my 200ahr aux battery. And I
> don’t think I like the charging profile as well as the Noco. But it works ,
> and keeps things topped up if I plug in weekly.
>
> On camping trips I have no issue with the big aux battery getting charged.
> I have two 80w solar panels and an mppt controller. And I don’t have much
> battery draw when camping ( no electric fridge). The panels plus the
> charging during driving to and from camping seems to keep the big battery
> happy.
>
> Alistair
>
> > On May 10, 2021, at 6:18 AM, Spencer Allen <soxndubs1951@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > I store my westy each fall and pull the battery. Before this past
> winter I
> > would put it on a charge every few weeks so when spring came battery was
> > ready to go. This past winter because I was heading to Florida I bought a
> > couple of Harbor Freight (I know) trickle 2A chargers that are supposed
> to
> > maintain and not over charge- one for the stored battery and one hooked
> up
> > to my Eurovan. Checked the stored battery and found two cells completely
> > dried up and two low on water. Testing says battery is dead. The E Van
> > battery seems to be ok. So question is since both vans are sitting for
> long
> > periods will moving up to a more advanced ( expensive) battery maintainer
> > not cook the cells if left on for a month or two or do batteries still
> need
> > looking after? Thanks for any replies.
> > Spencer
>