Old Crow
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Hoo, boy, I'm not sure what to make of this.
I just bought a Victron BlueSmart 15-amp AC-to-DC charger. I tried it for the first time yesterday. I'm confused by the results.
I charged four batteries, three of them starter batteries in my vehicles and the other the house battery in my Transit. Three of the four went to float in about a half hour and the fourth went to float in 8 hours (see more detail below). Also: The app showed an incorrect vstart voltage for all of them and all went immediately to absorption phase though voltages were low enough on three of the four that the charger should have gone into bulk phase.
Note: I also have a Clore BA9 digital battery tester and I'll include some numbers from it below in case they're helpful.
Battery 1: 2014 Optima RedTop AGM-spiral starter battery. Start: Measured voltage 12.3, BA9 showed 55% SOC, 5 mΩ internal resistance. Victron Connect showed a vstart of 12.73 volts for the charger which went immediately to absorption, charged for 33 minutes at less than 1 amp before going to float. This morning, the tester shows that battery at 12.4v, 61% SOC, 5.62 mΩ. This was a poor charge.
Battery 2: 2021 Interstate 27M-EFB enhanced float deep cycle battery. Measured starting voltage 12.65 (no BA9 measurements on this one). Victron Connect showed vstart 13.6v and it charged at 14.4v/4a briefly and I saw it drop to 2a. Went to float in 30 minutes. This morning battery voltage is 12.77. This may be a reasonable charge-- a nearly-full battery topped off-- but it's hard to say.
Battery 3: 2019 Motorcraft Max conventional flooded starter battery. Measured starting voltage 12.36v, 10 mΩ internal resistance. VictronConnect showed vstart as 12.5v and went immediately to absorption. I saw 8 amps, 6, and 5.3 during the 30-minute charge. This morning the BA9 test says the battery is at 12.4v, 75% SOC, 7.79 mΩ resistance. This was a poor charge.
Battery 4: 2016 Duracell Ultra conventional flooded starter battery. Measured starting voltage 12.36v, 4.14 mΩ internal resistance. The charger went to 14.4v at 13A and as I checked from time to time I saw it going down. In fact the amperage drop was distinctive-- going down very, very slowly for a long time. It seemed like it would never end. The charger light was in absorption mode the whole time but the Connect app says it bulk-charged for 36 minutes. It also showed exactly 8 hours of absorption charge and exactly 8 hours of float charge before it went to Storage mode. This morning it tests 12.9v, 100% SOC, 3.35 mΩ. This appears to be an excellent charge.
Questions:
1. Anybody else with a Victron AC-to-DC charger seeing vstart voltages much higher than the voltage measured with a voltmeter or digital display?
2. Any idea why batteries 1 and 3 were charged so poorly? (Note: I believe I've seen this same thing happen with other chargers)
3. Any suggestions on how to trick the charger into charging better?
Edited 6/16 to add:
Another data point. Just tested batteries 1, 3, and 4 with a 130-amp load tester. All stayed well in the green with #1 and #3 at 11.0 volts and #4 at 11.8 volts on the 15-second test.
I just bought a Victron BlueSmart 15-amp AC-to-DC charger. I tried it for the first time yesterday. I'm confused by the results.
I charged four batteries, three of them starter batteries in my vehicles and the other the house battery in my Transit. Three of the four went to float in about a half hour and the fourth went to float in 8 hours (see more detail below). Also: The app showed an incorrect vstart voltage for all of them and all went immediately to absorption phase though voltages were low enough on three of the four that the charger should have gone into bulk phase.
Note: I also have a Clore BA9 digital battery tester and I'll include some numbers from it below in case they're helpful.
Battery 1: 2014 Optima RedTop AGM-spiral starter battery. Start: Measured voltage 12.3, BA9 showed 55% SOC, 5 mΩ internal resistance. Victron Connect showed a vstart of 12.73 volts for the charger which went immediately to absorption, charged for 33 minutes at less than 1 amp before going to float. This morning, the tester shows that battery at 12.4v, 61% SOC, 5.62 mΩ. This was a poor charge.
Battery 2: 2021 Interstate 27M-EFB enhanced float deep cycle battery. Measured starting voltage 12.65 (no BA9 measurements on this one). Victron Connect showed vstart 13.6v and it charged at 14.4v/4a briefly and I saw it drop to 2a. Went to float in 30 minutes. This morning battery voltage is 12.77. This may be a reasonable charge-- a nearly-full battery topped off-- but it's hard to say.
Battery 3: 2019 Motorcraft Max conventional flooded starter battery. Measured starting voltage 12.36v, 10 mΩ internal resistance. VictronConnect showed vstart as 12.5v and went immediately to absorption. I saw 8 amps, 6, and 5.3 during the 30-minute charge. This morning the BA9 test says the battery is at 12.4v, 75% SOC, 7.79 mΩ resistance. This was a poor charge.
Battery 4: 2016 Duracell Ultra conventional flooded starter battery. Measured starting voltage 12.36v, 4.14 mΩ internal resistance. The charger went to 14.4v at 13A and as I checked from time to time I saw it going down. In fact the amperage drop was distinctive-- going down very, very slowly for a long time. It seemed like it would never end. The charger light was in absorption mode the whole time but the Connect app says it bulk-charged for 36 minutes. It also showed exactly 8 hours of absorption charge and exactly 8 hours of float charge before it went to Storage mode. This morning it tests 12.9v, 100% SOC, 3.35 mΩ. This appears to be an excellent charge.
Questions:
1. Anybody else with a Victron AC-to-DC charger seeing vstart voltages much higher than the voltage measured with a voltmeter or digital display?
2. Any idea why batteries 1 and 3 were charged so poorly? (Note: I believe I've seen this same thing happen with other chargers)
3. Any suggestions on how to trick the charger into charging better?
Edited 6/16 to add:
Another data point. Just tested batteries 1, 3, and 4 with a 130-amp load tester. All stayed well in the green with #1 and #3 at 11.0 volts and #4 at 11.8 volts on the 15-second test.