Battery Question

[FiQZetecS 0]

I'm running two atomic 5000.1's with 5 C&D Batteries (93ah maxrate ones) with 0awg all over and a 280a XS Power alternator.

Now I can say straight off my power supply isnt adequate for all day booming but for short bursts (15 odd mins) its fine. Add to that I'm in the UK and our cars are tiny compared to your guys in the states so space is always an issue.

Now my question is my batteries rest at 12.4-6 which seems very low to me ?

I have a Ctek 25000 and was wondering should I give the recondition mode a try ?

Any one got any general advice as hardly anyone runs these batteries in the UK.

[Julian 641]

Typically lower quality (cheaper) batteries rest at a lower voltage, i think Xs batteries are around 13v at resting, kinetiks are also a little lower than 13v.

[slim2fattycake 85]

I think that is resting too low. I have no experience with the recondition mode on your charger so I don't know. Contact a dealer or google the manual.

[johnecon2001 82]

That sounds about right for a resting charge. Performance batteries will rest a bit higher if conditioned properly.

[audiolife 14]

You can give the recondition mode a shot. When lead acid batteries are left at a low charge state the chemicals break down and sulfur forms on the lead and eventually crystallizes. When this happens the crystals can actually crack the lead plates because they grow in the pores of the lead or stop the chemical reaction of recharging. That is why I always suggest using an intelligent charger for batteries to stop batteries from sulfating. An alternator will bulk charge a battery to 80-90% but eventually the uncharged portion can become sulfated and that 80 to 90% becomes the new 100% unless fully charged a few times with no plate damage. Most reconditioning/desulfation modes are a higher voltage very low current or pulses used to try to break up/blow off the sulfur from the battery plates. I have seen it work and not work before but sulfation is what actually kills lead acid batteries before their time, just depends on how bad it gets or is allowed to get. The faster you can recharge a battery from a low state of charge the better. I have seen and read about some VERY high dollar aviation batteries go down the tubes by improper care (forgetting to plug in to a maintainer for a couple of weeks to a month).