[A/S] Re: Battery Life ? Full Charge

[robert8956@xxxxxxxx]

Temperature, battery age and type of battery are the prime 
determinates of a battery self discharging.  A battery in "storage" 
and not connected to a "float charger", or removed and 
periodically "topped off", will self discharge below a usable level.  
A fully charged, at rest, 12 volt battery will read about 12.6 volts 
and sometimes higher.  A completely unusable 12 volt battery will 
read 11.7 volts.  As you see, you only have 1 volt of capacity...  
but "capacity" is all about the amperage the battery can deliver 
during that one volt.
Charge them up, let'em rest overnight and then put a load on them for 
15 minutes, then a rest of 1 hour and check the voltage.  If its 12.3 
or more, then you should get about 75 to 80%( amphours ) use out of 
them.  
Hope this helps.

Bob in Reno
'66 Trade Wind  F-250 puller