Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobb
why are you running all the defrosters, heaters, climate controls, etc?
Yes, under a load the pouches poof up or swell. They do that too while charging. Its not a good sign, you are either over charging or over discharging them.
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I ran each component individually to determine their individual draw so that I can size a battery system appropriate to my anticipated accessory use.
My puffed up battery was due to over-discharging, and it returned to normal appearance after charging. The 4.2 Ah battery took 4.1 A to charge, which I performed at a rate of 500 mA. Hopefully it didn't sustain critical damage.
That said, I now plan to purchase a 40 Ah LiFePO4 battery and replace the lead acid. This should provide the 90 minutes of run time I would like to get. I'm waiting for a connector to the alternator to arrive so I can test my alternator disable switch before I go spending a lot of money on a battery.
If I achieved a 5% improvement in fuel economy by disabling the alternator, I would save $80/year. It's not a lot, but it could eventually cover the added cost of batteries, charger and electricity.