[VAC] Re: Electrical woes

["Mr. Joy H. Hansen" <joytbrew@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Bob,

Seems like  you are making a can of worms out of apple pie!  The voltages
you describe sound perfectly normal as far as I understand.  To fully charge
a lead sulfate battery, it takes about 13.8-14.4 volts.  After standing with
the charger off, the voltage of a fully charged battery will drop to about
12.4 to 12.8 volts.  When you check the voltage on the battery with the
univolt operating, you are looking at a charging voltage.

IMHO, most appliances have a wide range of operating voltage and most likely
have a zener diode (sets the output regardless of the input) in the circuit
to protect sensitive components.

You got to check apples with apples.  Was the  Toyota running when  you
checked the battery?  Was the univolt in operation when you checked the
voltage?  While on the subject of voltage, a battery can have 12.8 volts and
be useless as it can't deliver any amperes.  A decent load tester will tell
you a lot about a battery.  (See Harbor Freight.)

You might consider the surge that  you cause when you connect and disconnect
a battery under load.  Much like AC in your home, it's best to take
everything off-line before you disconnect the main and bring each appliance
on-line one at a time after the main is connected.  It's possible that a
voltage spike caused by the arc could be many times the normal voltage -
maybe high enough to damage sensitive electronics.

I suppose it's possible that the Univolt is passing high amounts of AC.
Don't think DC circuitry would like that.

Most interesting is to sit back and read the technical solutions to your
problem.  Good luck!

                                            Regards, '74 Argosy, Joy