Ed Cesnalis Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 My new last year battery went dead twice. I keep it on a lith/ion batt tender and the volt/amp gauges are always in the green. I'm not sure what to look for or at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 26 minutes ago, Ed Cesnalis said: My new last year battery went dead twice. I keep it on a lith/ion batt tender and the volt/amp gauges are always in the green. I'm not sure what to look for or at. Do you have a lithium battery or the Odyssey PC310? If you have the PC310 your charger may be killing the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted June 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 8 minutes ago, Tom Baker said: Do you have a lithium battery or the Odyssey PC310? If you have the PC310 your charger may be killing the battery. duh, thank you Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 His SW does have the PC310 and you're right the battery charger is killing it. Wrong type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted June 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 33 minutes ago, Roger Lee said: His SW does have the PC310 and you're right the battery charger is killing it. Wrong type. right type, wrong setting, again, duh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 29, 2021 Report Share Posted June 29, 2021 PC310 is an AGM battery, you need an AGM type charger/setting. Lithium batteries have a tiny bit of voltage difference, but a very different charge/discharge curve. Can't mix the two. I recommend a float charger over standard chargers. Many standards don't reactivate until the charge is quite low, if at all, float chargers keep a small trickle on it to keep the voltage up. The best chargers are combination charge/float. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted June 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2021 Thanks Corey, I have it figured out now and my combination charger is now set and working correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 29, 2021 Report Share Posted June 29, 2021 Awesome to hear. I would also recommend paying attention to your voltmeter when you first turn on the master. If you see voltages getting below 12 volts, your charger is not keeping a reasonable float and it reduces the lifespan of the battery (N/A for lithiums, they have a different curve). Not to mention, you risk sprag clutch damage if the crank can't keep the speed up through the rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted June 30, 2021 Report Share Posted June 30, 2021 I have boiled out a battery with a popular "smart charger". This was a NOCO (Wikidly Smart")" charger. I called the NOCO factory and was told that this charger goes in to a "charge" mode if it "sees" a drain, no matter how small. On my car, there was a constant drain from the car's ECM (electronic control module) This caused my "smart" charger to see a drain and it would go in to a charge mode to charge the battery. The constant drain/charge cycle over time depleted the electolyte. NOCO tech advised me to not keep this charger on a battery that has a constand discharge. My CTSW has no electonic equipment to cause a small drain while sitting. The NOCO quit working so now I plug in my CTEK charger to my PCM310 on AGM mode when back in the hangar after flying and leave the charger on until I fly again. My battery is now 6 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTSW Bob Posted July 1, 2021 Report Share Posted July 1, 2021 I use the smallest CTEK chargers on all my toys, from planes to cars to the riding mower. They are great. I don’t use them to charge big car batteries, but to simply keep them topped off. If you follow high end cars, many of the high end vehicles (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche) use the CTEK chargers with their own badging and charge big bucks for them. I’ve seen it as high as $1500! Crazy when you can get the small ones shipped for roughly $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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