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The absorption charging cycle of most battery chargers requires a little bit of study and preparation to get right.  Spending time with the system and logging the charge rate during absorption will preserve the life of your batteries.  Not paying attention to this cycle will cause certain and premature battery failure.  Energy1 Batteries has added a white paper to the website.  This document outlines the absorption charge cycle and how to properly adjust based on battery type and depth of discharge.  In any case it is a must read for anyone using batteries to supply house power, which is most of us.

The links are:

White Paper – Click Here

Energy1 Battery Website – Click Here

In an email from the Puma Ocean Racing team dated March 2009, Sean wrote:
I have been meaning to touch base with you over the past couple weeks but have failed to do so. The team is currently in Boston after the completion of Leg 6 from Rio last weekend. The start of Leg 7 to Ireland is on Saturday May 16th. We have been greatly satisfied with the performance of the batteries. For the most part everything has exceeded expectations. I will give you a quick break down in terms of how we used the three sets to date. We did have an issue with our “second set” of batteries when our battery “combiner” shorted. Those batteries were replaced at the same time the combiner was so its hard to tell what their status was. But I have a feeling that we may have damaged one of the M12-210s.

Each “set” of batteries consisted of 2 x G-2200 and 4 x M12-210s

Set 1: 03/08 - 12/08 - Installed during construction of the boat - Sea trials - Initial training - Bermuda Race - Primary training - Trans-Atlantic - Leg 1 (Alicante to Capetown) - Leg 2 ( Capetown to Kochi)

Set 2: 12/08 - 03/09 - Leg 3 (Kochi to Singapore) - Leg 4 (Singapore to China) - Leg 5 (China to Rio) Set 3: 03-09 - Present - Leg 6 (Rio to Boston)

There are a couple of factors that effect fuel burn rates on these boats: power consumption, main engine vs. generator, alternators and batteries. All teams have taken different approaches to in trying to come up with the best solution. We do not know the exact numbers for all the teams but we do know that we burn a lot less fuel than all the other teams. We are certain that our Energy1 Batteries have contributed to this. This has allowed us to carry less fuel than all the other teams and has been a big advantage to us. We are a very pleased with their performance and are thrilled that you were willing to supply them to us. As we near the completion of the event I would like the ability to talk to you guys to see if there is anything else we can learn from all of this. I know that if I was involved in another syndicate I would certainly be looking to use NorthStar/Energy1 batteries again and I am sure other teams would be as well. If there is anything we can answer for you at this end please contact me. Regards, Sean PUMA Ocean Racing

I received a report of a battery failure from alleged overcharging.  The battery was swollen and disfigured from an appearant overcharge situation created by the battery charger.  In this case a simple Victron Energy Blue Power waterproof model was used and was rated at 12 volt/15 amps.  The battery was an Energy1 battery of type AGM and group 31 spec.  Attached to the system was a Nanopulser Battery Conditioner.  Initial voltage test of the system showed 14.6VDC at begining of the charge cycle.  Providing 13.3 amps of charge.  End of day check after 8 hours of charge showed 13.6 VDC and .3 amps.  At some point in the cycle the battery vented and the smell of Hydrocloric Acid was overwhelming.  The system was shutdown for safety reasons.

First received was the Bluepower charger.  This unit will be set up for testing on a known good battery.  Terminal voltages will be checked as the charger goes through the charge cycle and recorded.  Report stats wil be provided upon completion.

Once the system was connected readings were taken and battery static voltage was 12.88 VDC.  The voltage at the battery after the charger was connected was 12.87 VDC.   The check after 1 hour was the same at 12.87 VDC.   After the 4 hour check voltage output remained at 12.87 VDC.

 Next Day-Removed charger and connected the new charger to the same battery.  On connection the charge voltage went to 14.82 VDC.   The 1 hour check showed the charge voltage at 13.7 VDC.  this charger is acting in accordance with the specs at this point. At the 2 hour check the voltage output was 13.71 VDC.   5 hours into the test the charger was sitting at 13.7 VDC.   At the end of an 8 hour cycle the charge voltage was still 13.7 VDC.

The next morning the battery charger was reconnected and the results were the same as the day before.

Finally some presumptions:
The original charger had gone bad and provided no charge at all.  The replacement charger acted as it should.  When the battery was returned with the system it was totally discharged.  After many hours on a trickle charge the battery displayed a terminal voltage of 12.0 VDC.  It is believed that light sulfation had occured at this point.  When the battery was connected to a standard charge cycle the sulfation flaked off the plate and caused a dead short between the plates.  Seeing the short as a load, the charger went into absorbtion mode and consequently the battery totally failed.

The charger was returned to the customer with a new battery and no further issues have been reported.