[VAC] Re: Battery/converter questions

[Dan Weeks <theprofileco@xxxxxxx>]

Short version: Does not having a battery installed create problems for the
converter?

Long Version: WHen I got my rig 16 months ago, it had a good, nearly new
battery and a recently replaced ferroresonant converter. Converter worked
fine, battery worked for a few weeks, then died, presumably as a result of
being overcharged by the converter. I just let it sit and everything was
fine.

Recently I pulled it out, scraped all the battery acid deposits out of the
battery box, wet it down and tossed a bunch of baking soda in there to
neutralize the acid, cleaned it out well, and went to work on the battery.
It was completely dry, so I refilled it with water and hooked it up to a
charger. It read nearly full upon hookup, but the needle went down over the
course of a couple days until it read only 25% charged, in spite of being on
a 12 amp charger the whole time. I assume the battery is cooked.

Meanwhile, with nothing hooked up to the battery leads, all the 12v stuff in
the coach works fine. I hate to cook a battery I don't even use. Can I just
leave the thing out and will everything be OK? I'm going to be sitting right
where I'm at, plugged in to 120 for the forseeable future. Eventually I plan
to get an electronic converter, but for now, this works fine. I just want to
make sure I'm not doing any harm to anything.

Dr. J?

Dan
75 Argosy 26
Des Moines