Good Battery Management For AGMs...

[murphylawe]

Hey All,

I have a 24v AGM battery bank made up of (8) 12v - 100ah batteries all feeding a AMPINVT 3000w inverter. The wire runs are identical length with the pairs of batteries fused. They are set up in a 2s4p configuration using 5/16" 4-point busbars.

How often should I check battery balances?

Will changing wire configurations rebalance the pack?

Can I use something similar to the Tenergy 5-n-1 to manage battery balancing by treating each battery as a separate cell?

Thanks for any input...

ML

 

[Rbertalotto]

I have two 110Ah Group31 AGM batteries in 12V configuration in my travel trailer. Charging 90% of the time via 420W solar. I never take them down below 65%. I've never "balanced" them or did anything to them other than use them. They have been in service for 5 years and are still operating perfectly.
Not sure if maybe I'm missing something here and should be doing more......??

 

[WoodsieLord]

Hello Rbertalotto,
How do you know the battery usage ? what device or information do you use to tell your battery is reaching 65% so you can shut it down ?

 

[onemorebattery]

I have a system with the identical battery configuration. I use one of these on each series pair.

Amazon.com: PowMr Battery Equalizer Voltage Balancer - for 24V 36V 48V Lead-Acid AGM Gel Flood Battery Battery Extend Battery Life 1 Year and More HA01: Automotive

Buy PowMr Battery Equalizer Voltage Balancer - for 24V 36V 48V Lead-Acid AGM Gel Flood Battery Battery Extend Battery Life 1 Year and More HA01: Energy Controllers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

It keeps each pair perfectly balanced. My batteries are well matched so most of the time it does nothing. It's mostly active when the charge current is high or when the batteries are getting below 50%.

All things considered, and to answer your question, I'd say it isn't necessary although if the balancer is continuously active you would know that a battery is failing.

Also note that you can use as few as one of those units to balance your entire battery bank.

 

[Rbertalotto]

I use the Bogart Battery Monitor.......

Link to Solar Battery Monitor