Welcome Derrick!

I am cutting and pasting this from a Stealth Charger post, so if there is anything that doesn't make sense, it may be referring to something in the original post.

(Original post - http://softwashsystems.activeboard.com/t60064273/stealth-dc-only-charger-ac-inverter-set-up-please-help/)

As a general rule of thumb batteries are perishable goods so you should try to buy batteries that are no more than a month old. If that is not possible, do not go past 3 months tops, and only connect identical batteries in series or in parallel. Batteries are not always kept at a full charge in stores and they tend to drain some over time. The problem this causes is called sufation, or crystals forming on the metal plates. These crystals forming on the plates reduce the amount of surface area the electrolyte has to work and reduces the amount of amp hours or reserve capacity of the battery. Two primary maintenance issues with batteries that cause them to go bad before the end of their full service life is (1) not recharging the batteries as soon as possible after depleting them (~24 hours maximum), and (2), not keeping the proper level of electrolyte to cover the tops of the metal plates. Uncovered plates sulfate almost immediately. 85% of batteries that are replaced before the end of their service life are failing early due to these two issues. The optimum choice would be to find "dry" batteries where the store adds the electrolyte when you buy the battery, thus avoiding any issues with keeping the batteries charged until sold, but it is difficult to find a store that still does this. When you use or drain a battery it starts to form these sulfur crystals, but they are soft and when you promptly recharge it forces the crystals to dissolve back into the electrolyte. When you have batteries that have sat around for months without being properly charged (such as at the store), the crystals get harder and they will not dissolve, no matter how you try to recharge the battery. These crystals also cause a battery to read at a higher voltage than it normally would so the smart rechargers stop charging the battery too soon. When you are charging a battery and it is near fully charged you will see little bubbles rising to the surface of the electrolyte if you pull the caps off. Always wear some form of eye protection when removing the covers. I don't know how cold it gets where you are but the third issue to watch for battery maintenance is not to allow your batteries to freeze over the winter.  In the winter months I pull my batteries and put them inside the house on a soft pillow with a blanket (I'm kidding).

For others buying new batteries, not all are labeled with the obvious month and year. Some are labeled with a single letter and single number, such as C5, which would mean it was build in March, 2015. A=January, B= February, and the 5 = 2015. Using this method the letter "I" is usually skipped.

As a general statement, AGM (absorbed glass material) and maintenance free batteries are nice and can give you a little better battery life or reserve capacity, but if you keep an eye on your electrolyte level and don't let it get low, and only refill it with distilled water (never tap water), and recharge your batteries each day when the jobs are done, you'll usually get more bang for your buck with the cheaper batteries. The reason you never want to use tap water in batteries is tap water will have minerals in it that will degrade the electrolyte and weaken the battery. Also, there are tons of different types of batteries, but there are (for the most part) only three companies manufacturing batteries in the US. Deka, Johnson Controls and I forget the third, and people just put different stickers on them and sell them at different prices. I've seen two stores selling the exact same battery, one selling for $120 and the other store selling for $360, and both had the exact same warranty. The batteries weighed the same, but one appeared to have a higher reserve capacity rating because different companies use different standards for rating. Some rate based on (1) amp draw, some use the number of hours it takes to drain a battery using a 25 amp draw, some use 23 amp draws, and others tell the maximum current draw that the battery can sustain over 20 hours. Some give you a reserve capacity rating but don't tell you if they were using a 25 amp draw or 23 amp draw. Golf cart batteries may give you a 75 amp draw rating as golf carts tend to draw more amps anyway. So as you can see, it is easy for a company to manipulate the numbers to make two identical batteries look different. One item you really cannot get around with deep cycle batteries is almost 100% of the time the heavier the battery, the better the reserve capacity as you have more metal surface area to react with the electrolyte with more plates.  So if you see two batteries that look exactly the same in the same class and weight, they are likely the exact same battery.

Another general statement on deep cycle batteries is that you should buy the greatest amount of reserve capacity as you can within reason. For example, if you have a 50 amp drain during the workday and have 100 amp hour reserve, you've depleted your battery to 50% which is about as far as you want to go, although you can go as far as 80% if you absolutely have to. If you had a 50 amp drain during the workday and have 200 amp hour reserve you've only depleted your battery to 75%, and this set up will allow your batteries to last a lot longer because you're not abusing them as much. Of course having the Stealth Charger will recharge your batteries in between jobs and on the way back home or to the shop giving you a lot of wiggle room and preventing you from depleting your batteries as much so you will get more service life out of your batteries using the stealth charger, as well as longer run time on job sites.

Below is an excellent reference for all things battery related.

jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/carfaq7.htm
support.rollsbattery.com/support/solutions/articles/5964-battery-sulfation          

Troy Layman wrote:

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Welcome Derrick!

I am cutting and pasting this from a Stealth Charger post, so if there is anything that doesn't make sense, it may be referring to something in the original post.

(Original post - http://softwashsystems.activeboard.com/t60064273/stealth-dc-only-charger-ac-inverter-set-up-please-help/)

As a general rule of thumb batteries are perishable goods so you should try to buy batteries that are no more than a month old. If that is not possible, do not go past 3 months tops, and only connect identical batteries in series or in parallel. Batteries are not always kept at a full charge in stores and they tend to drain some over time. The problem this causes is called sufation, or crystals forming on the metal plates. These crystals forming on the plates reduce the amount of surface area the electrolyte has to work and reduces the amount of amp hours or reserve capacity of the battery. Two primary maintenance issues with batteries that cause them to go bad before the end of their full service life is (1) not recharging the batteries as soon as possible after depleting them (~24 hours maximum), and (2), not keeping the proper level of electrolyte to cover the tops of the metal plates. Uncovered plates sulfate almost immediately. 85% of batteries that are replaced before the end of their service life are failing early due to these two issues. The optimum choice would be to find "dry" batteries where the store adds the electrolyte when you buy the battery, thus avoiding any issues with keeping the batteries charged until sold, but it is difficult to find a store that still does this. When you use or drain a battery it starts to form these sulfur crystals, but they are soft and when you promptly recharge it forces the crystals to dissolve back into the electrolyte. When you have batteries that have sat around for months without being properly charged (such as at the store), the crystals get harder and they will not dissolve, no matter how you try to recharge the battery. These crystals also cause a battery to read at a higher voltage than it normally would so the smart rechargers stop charging the battery too soon. When you are charging a battery and it is near fully charged you will see little bubbles rising to the surface of the electrolyte if you pull the caps off. Always wear some form of eye protection when removing the covers. I don't know how cold it gets where you are but the third issue to watch for battery maintenance is not to allow your batteries to freeze over the winter.  In the winter months I pull my batteries and put them inside the house on a soft pillow with a blanket (I'm kidding).

For others buying new batteries, not all are labeled with the obvious month and year. Some are labeled with a single letter and single number, such as C5, which would mean it was build in March, 2015. A=January, B= February, and the 5 = 2015. Using this method the letter "I" is usually skipped.

As a general statement, AGM (absorbed glass material) and maintenance free batteries are nice and can give you a little better battery life or reserve capacity, but if you keep an eye on your electrolyte level and don't let it get low, and only refill it with distilled water (never tap water), and recharge your batteries each day when the jobs are done, you'll usually get more bang for your buck with the cheaper batteries. The reason you never want to use tap water in batteries is tap water will have minerals in it that will degrade the electrolyte and weaken the battery. Also, there are tons of different types of batteries, but there are (for the most part) only three companies manufacturing batteries in the US. Deka, Johnson Controls and I forget the third, and people just put different stickers on them and sell them at different prices. I've seen two stores selling the exact same battery, one selling for $120 and the other store selling for $360, and both had the exact same warranty. The batteries weighed the same, but one appeared to have a higher reserve capacity rating because different companies use different standards for rating. Some rate based on (1) amp draw, some use the number of hours it takes to drain a battery using a 25 amp draw, some use 23 amp draws, and others tell the maximum current draw that the battery can sustain over 20 hours. Some give you a reserve capacity rating but don't tell you if they were using a 25 amp draw or 23 amp draw. Golf cart batteries may give you a 75 amp draw rating as golf carts tend to draw more amps anyway. So as you can see, it is easy for a company to manipulate the numbers to make two identical batteries look different. One item you really cannot get around with deep cycle batteries is almost 100% of the time the heavier the battery, the better the reserve capacity as you have more metal surface area to react with the electrolyte with more plates.  So if you see two batteries that look exactly the same in the same class and weight, they are likely the exact same battery.

Another general statement on deep cycle batteries is that you should buy the greatest amount of reserve capacity as you can within reason. For example, if you have a 50 amp drain during the workday and have 100 amp hour reserve, you've depleted your battery to 50% which is about as far as you want to go, although you can go as far as 80% if you absolutely have to. If you had a 50 amp drain during the workday and have 200 amp hour reserve you've only depleted your battery to 75%, and this set up will allow your batteries to last a lot longer because you're not abusing them as much. Of course having the Stealth Charger will recharge your batteries in between jobs and on the way back home or to the shop giving you a lot of wiggle room and preventing you from depleting your batteries as much so you will get more service life out of your batteries using the stealth charger, as well as longer run time on job sites.

Below is an excellent reference for all things battery related.

jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/carfaq7.htm
support.rollsbattery.com/support/solutions/articles/5964-battery-sulfation          

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 Professor.....lol

AC