The crane is an 06 Grove GMK5165. The crane has two engines, the upper and the lower. Each engine has it's own batteries (two wired in ser...paral..wired for 24 volts) and it's own charging system. The lower carrier has it's own computer system for the functions operated from the lower cab. The upper cab has it's own computer for functions used operating the crane. The two computers communicate and and are drawing power even if one of the engines isn't running. First time I left the crane on a job sitting on the outriggers was for a week or so. The lower batteries drained since I went a week without cranking the lower engine. Seemed like an easy enough fix, run the lower engine periodically. Ended up two brand new Interstate batteries. A few days later the upper batteries are drained. Two new batteries there now. I am constantly having battery issues. Most times the batteries are not dead dead, but weak enough the voltage is under 24 volts. Low voltage is causing havoc on the computer systems. We turn the battery disconnects off every night. We also have hooked trickle chargers/tenders on each pair of batteries nightly. STILL fighting low voltage. Now for my questions. We have mobile communication radios and chargers on the crane. The radios go on the charger every night. We wired power for the radio direct to the battery posts. I wouldn't think that would be enough draw to hurt two batteries at all. Your thoughts? Is the 12 volt battery tender a good idea on two batteries hooked up as 24 volts? Any other ideas?
Ive tried using 2 tenders on a 24 volt system 1 on each battery but it didn't work unless I took the positive to negative cable between the 2 batteries off that's the only way we were able to make it work and we fried one of the tenders when we didn't unhook it the first time we tried this so check your tenders to make sure they are still putting out. we do this on a lot of the equipment now and have started getting a lot more life out of the batteries.
I'll check the tenders
Ummm, what is a tender? Is it like a trickle charger that is plugged into 110?
Yes Sir, that's exactly what it is.
Thanks Impact.
A battery tender is slightly more then just a straight up trickle charger. It's more of a smart charger, you can plug it in and just leave it. It will turn on and charge automatically when voltage is low, but will also shut off once voltage is back up. Don't have to worry about over charging and boiling a battery.
That's the whats so great about them, plug it up and forget about it, then when you need that piece the batteries are hot. works good on equipment and batteries you have on the shelf new or used
Yep, I buy the ones from Harbor Freight when they go on sale for $5.99 every other month. They work great for stored batteries, and if a battery isn't doing well, put it on one of these for a few weeks. A lot of times it'll be ok after this slooooow charge. You mentioned earlier about them not working on a 24v system while the batteries were hooked together. I have never tried it with the 110v ones, but I tried it with solar ones. It didn't work for me either, but I only tried it once, and I really thought the batteries were probably too far gone to start with. Did you try it more than once? I don't see a reason it wouldn't work, as long as you make the hookup to each battery independently.
I agree I don't know why it want work either when you can jump 24 off your pick up 1 battery at a time. must be something with the way these float chargers work. Im using orylies and harbors also and harbors seem to hold up fine and you right a lot of times a battery that want charge up by the machine will sometimes come back to life if left on one of these. I bought a snap on charger a few months ago that was on sale and its the cats nuts on a bad battery it does all the regular batteries plus different ones out there and all the different voltages plus it does the pulsate which is what brings around the sulfated batteries sometimes, ill have to get a pic of it on here tomorrow
Ive also got two 8ds in the bumper of the truck for jumping that are charged off the 271 Detroit in the Lincoln welder compressor it cranks off the truck batteries but I put a delco 24 volt alternator on it to charge my jumper batteries in back. welding leads with visegrips for clamp for ends they don't melt the springs like other jumper cable clamps just weld a bolt to the side of them and weld where the pliers are riveted together and keep them oiled if laying around in the weather, I have mine hardwired to the jumper batteries with a big heavy disconnect switch to turn them on and off
Hooking a 12 volt load to one battery in a two battery system will kill the loaded battery every time. The only way to run 12 volt items in a 24 volt system is to put in a converter. I had a fleet of 773B trucks years ago and we ran into just the problem you are talking about. Seems a couple of "smart" operators couldn't run a piece of equipment without some tunes and they figured the best way to get them was to hook a spare car radio into one of the batteries. With one battery a little low and the other one hot the alternator was always running a bunch of extra amps through both and one battery would end up overcharged and dry while the other was undercharged. After we dismantled the haywires we sent our "smart" operators on to greener pastures for tampering with the equipment.
This is the opposite issue, John. Hooking a 12v charger to each battery. Oh, unless you are responding to the original post from before me and Hatch hijacked it. :beatsme
What about a 24 volt maintainer/tender? http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/24-volt/multi-volt-input/JAC0891-34.html This is one, but that website has a whole bunch of options.
Please do put up a pic of that charger, I need to replace the big one in my shop soon.
95Z YOU THE MAN :notworthy I got to try one of these thank a lot for the info
Mitch here you go. last pics got the snap on #
I put a Deltran 24v battery tender on my excavator. Works great, don't have to hassle with disconnecting anything. Purchased from amazon.