Worthless Info From Seajay

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

It came as a rude awakening that six volt house batteries will not last forever....... Yep. they wear out just like anything else.

Case in point. Willa and I pulled into Sams Town R.V. park and gambling hall and our jacks refused to go down. We pushed the little ''on button'' and it would blink green and then go out. I said Shux......... Both she and I fuddled with the button for a while and it simply would not work. Mind you, the night before when we boon docked at Whiskey Petes and I won one hundred and fifty bucks playing blackjack, everything was working fine. After a while we said to heck with the jacks we would just roll the rooms out and maybe this would level the coach. We tried to roll the living room out. NOTHING..... We tried rolling the bedroom out.......... NOTHING.......... I said Shux again......... I started checking fuzes. One pannel and then the next............ NOTHING WRONG.... Again i said ''Shux''.......... I noticed that the terminals on the house batteries had some corruption on them so I cleaned and polished everything and still nothing worked This time I said ''heck and shux''.... After I called the people that made the inverter that changes the 110 into 12 volts for the batteries and found out it was working properly I went over to Wall Mart and spent 89 cents for a Hygrometer. This is a ''thingie'' that tells if your battery has amperage. Yep, thats the stuff that starts your motor and works your jack pump and your slide out motors ........ AMPERAGE ........... 12 volts on your volt meter dont mean spit if you dont have amperage......... I found out I had two dead cells on one battery and one dead cell in another one. How could this be,,,,,.......... the batteries are only six years old ............

The guy down at the battery place here in Vegas told me that these batteries should only last at most four years and if I had gotten six years out of my house batteries that I must be living right and putting distilled water in them when they need a drink ..... I told him one out of two aint bad .............

Lesson for all in FMCA.... GO TO WALLYWORLD AND SPEND 89 CENTS FOR A HYGROMETER TO TEST YOUR BATTERIES WITH. IT WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF HEAD BUMPING AND SAYING ''SHUX'' AND OTHER STUFF. And also remember that your house batteries will last at best about four years and they will let you down all of a sudden in the most in opportune places ..........

If you use this advise you will have to pay me ten cents the next time you see me because good advise is not cheap .... on the other hand if you use this advise and it does not work to your advantage............... I NEVER KNEW YOU ...................

Seajay the sailor man ..................

GOD BLESS THIS GREAT NATION .............

[tbutler]

Where is that darned pink bunny when you need him? Guess he was at the space station that day!

Seajay you should share with us your technique for getting the last of the tooth paste out of a tube. If you can make a set of batteries last 6 years, you can probably make an empty tooth paste tube last for at least a week!

I always enjoy your sense of humor. Thanks for the tip.

Tom

[hermanmullins]

Seajay,

From one old salt to another, how did you get 6 years out of your 6volt bats? Which of the 1 out of 2 was correct, luck or dist. water?

I always like to see your entrys anlong with Tom's.

I know your situation. Last year I replaced four 6 volts and both 12 volt chassis. This past month every time I went to start the M/H my batterys would light up the dash but would not start the coach. I would start the Gen. let it run for 15/20 min and try again. When I would try to start the coach the gen would die. As you put it SHUX. After replacing the starter ($500.00++) It started with a jump. Ilet it run for 2 hours turned it off tryed to start the coach SHUX. I removed both coach Bat.s to take to Interstate. I got my old paper work, purchased on 8-8-2008, today was 8-11-2009,SHUX. However when I got to Interstate they tested both Batteries and found both bad and exchanged them for free, super SHUX. I went and bought a load tester so I can check the batteries now.

I bought my 6 volts at Sam's Club for less then $60.00 per. They didn't carry the larger 12 volts.

Keep up the post.

[wolfe10]

Seajay,

That is such a well-told story, I hate to throw in a slight correction, but want readers to understand the use of the hydrometer.

What it measures with a HYDROMETER is not volts or amps, but SPECIFIC GRAVITY of the battery. To test, make sure batteries are FULLY CHARGED. Turn off the charger and turn on a small 12 VDC load (couple of lights) for a few minutes-- long enough to deplete the surface charge. This allows you to check the specific gravity of the battery cells fully charged, but with surface charge (anything over about 12.7 VDC is surface charge) removed.

You are looking for both absolute reading and max variation between cells. The instructions that come with the hydrometers go over this.

And, this test is for regular wet-cell batteries, not AGM or Gel batteries.

Brett Wolfe

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

Well ''shux'' Herman got his batteries for sixty dollars at Sams Club and I paid an arm and a leg and a good hat for mine but I got them installed for free and the old ones taken to the recycle bin.

As to the ''longevity'' of the batteries. USE DISTILLED WATER AND NOTHING ELSE.... not even a drop of any kind of water but DISTILLED WATER... and KEEP THE BATTERY UP TO THE ''MARK'' with the water. I check mine every trip and I check them about every week we are on a trip. Mine are in that ''handy place'' next to the drivers door with the lid that you hold up with your head while you reach deep inside the compartment, in the dark, with your mirror and your flash lite in your mouth and try to see how much water to add after you remove the caps with a small hammer and chisel .......... One other tip is that I use a pyrex measuring cup and you can about bet if one ''cell'' holds 3/4 of a cup to fill it, the rest will do the same. I always carry a gallon of DISTILLED WATER in the compartment beside the battery place, a mirror, a flashlight, my measuring cup, a ball cap (to keep my head clean) and a pint of Jim Beam. lol....

Anyhow............ Get yourself one of them ''hygrometer'' thingies and check you batteries with it occasionally and if you need batteries GO TO SAMS CLUB IF YOU CAN FIND ONE..............

It is my guess that each of you guys owe me ten cents for this valuable information.... You can pay me the next time you see me.....

Seajay the sailor man..........

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND KEEP THEM SAFE AND BRING THEM HOME SOON

GOD BLESS OUR VETS ............

PS one other thing about the batteries ...... KEEP THE POST CLEAN .... You can pour Coke on that cruddy stuff that accumulates on the posts and it will dissolve it. then hit it with some water and then some light oil.........KEEP EVERYTHING CLEAN AND TIGHT and you should get some long life out of your batteries

(that will be another ten cents guys. I cant give all this info out for nothing) (I wish I could think of something else to charge you for but my mind is blank right now)

[Guest Wayne77590]

Brett,

Please don't try and confuse him. He'll swallow the flashlight!

Seajay,

As usuall, your stories amuse me. It is so typical of swab jockeys to do things the more complicated way.

This new technology has been around for 50 years or so, and if you search on "battery filler" without the quotes you will be amazed at the technological changes.

To keep it more simple, this is what it looks like. Batter Filler

When you are parked near me, you can use mine.

Let me say it for you. Aw! Shux!

Semper Fi!

Edited: p.s., Oil is not a good item to use on the top of a battery. It will collect dirt, dust, and any other debris and eventually will cover the entire top of the battery in a grimy substance. If you were to take a meter and touch the top of the battery near the terminals, but not the terminal itself, you would see voltage and/or current flow. This in itself could discharge the battery. Always keep the top of the battery clean.

Use the special cleaners from auto stores and the battery protective terminal coating that comes in the spray can. It really works well.

If you need clarifications on any of the above, send ten cents first.

[seajaycecil@yahoo.com]

Ok guys........ Lets beat the dead horse

Specific Gravity Readings “True†State of Charge

The specific gravity (SG) of the battery acid or electrolyte is the truest and most absolute measure of a battery’s state of charge. (ability to do work measured in Amps) The SG reading is NOT greatly or adversely affected by the load on the battery. Basically if a battery is 50% charged, it will read a specific gravity of 1.200, regardless of whether the battery is on charge, being discharge or being stored. This is not the case for voltage readings.

Specif gravity of the battery acid is the absolute measure of a battery's STATE OF CHARGE ...

STATE OF CHARGE is related to and proportional to the ability of WORK (measured in amps) a battery is capable of doing and this is measured in AMPS.

I can take eight flash light batteries and make 12 volts but you cant start your coach with it. You can burn a flash light but try as you might it will not start your coach. Wanna know the reason ... NOT ENOUGH AMPERAGE POWER.

The ''true state of charge'' of a battery is related to the work capability the battery was designed for. In effect, the larger the number of battery cells and plates in each the more ''work'' this battery is capable of performing and the longer it can perform said work. Or simply stated ... If a battery is fully charged, it is capable of doing what it was designed to do for a specific time under a specific ''work load'' (amperage drain) ...

If you specific gravity reads low then you have one of several situations.

one ........ the battery needs charging from an outside source....

two......... the battery needs enough electrolyte solution to cover the plates that actually produce the energy

three..... the cell plates are corrupted in some manner. age, deposits, lack of fluids, heat, etc etc etc

four... the capability of the cells to produce work (amps)is long since past and the battery must be replaced

All these situations result in a battery that is not FULLY CHARGED (low amperage).......... B I N G O ......... DEAD BATTERY.............

AND THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY WILL READ LOW TO NONE...........

TWO...... Oil on the posts........ Go to Wally World and look in the automotive section/battery stuff........ find two little ''felt thingies'' in a pack

One of them is green and the other one is red. They look like a small doughnut. If your battery has posts sticking out the top, this is where they go. Install them and put a ''dab'' of oil on each one and it will help to prevent most of that crud and corruption from forming on the post. Also, if you will put the RED ONE on the positive post of the battery and the Green one on the other post of the battery you can easily determine which is the + post and which is the - post should you need to hook a jump start or a separate charger if necessary.

Also,,,,, concerning the battery filler thingie. this is a single purpose item good for filling a battery with water only. consider my pyrex measuring cup.

one...... you can measure out the ingredients of a cake using it. You can get exactly half a cup of water with it if necessary. You can use a ''ratio'' to mix up stuff if you need to like four to one and read the scale easily. You can put a little water in it and a little Jim Bean and mix it up nicely and have a ''sip'' right out of the cup if it happens to be cold outside while you are working on your battery .

Baking soda and water also work well to remove the crud on the battery posts.

All this said I REALLY BELIEVE THIS HORSE IS DEAD AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT I GOT 6 YEARS OUT OF TWO 6 VOLT BATTERIES THAT WERE SUPPOSE TO LAST 3 YEARS AT BEST .........................

Seajay the sailor man ..........

I yield the podium .........

[Guest Wayne77590]

Aw! Shux! Darn!

[jkoeni01]

I found your "worthless" info to be valuable and your technical comments to be helpful. Thanks for making this lesson so enjoyable. Whenever I see you not only will I pay you the 10 cents X 4, I'll even splurge for some medicinal internal ingredients to place in your Pyrex cup. Again, thanks for helping this rookie.

JimK

Brett,

Please don't try and confuse him. He'll swallow the flashlight!

Seajay,

As usuall, your stories amuse me. It is so typical of swab jockeys to do things the more complicated way.

This new technology has been around for 50 years or so, and if you search on "battery filler" without the quotes you will be amazed at the technological changes.

To keep it more simple, this is what it looks like. Batter Filler

When you are parked near me, you can use mine.

Let me say it for you. Aw! Shux!

Semper Fi!

Edited: p.s., Oil is not a good item to use on the top of a battery. It will collect dirt, dust, and any other debris and eventually will cover the entire top of the battery in a grimy substance. If you were to take a meter and touch the top of the battery near the terminals, but not the terminal itself, you would see voltage and/or current flow. This in itself could discharge the battery. Always keep the top of the battery clean.

Use the special cleaners from auto stores and the battery protective terminal coating that comes in the spray can. It really works well.

If you need clarifications on any of the above, send ten cents first.

[Guest Wayne77590]

JimK

Seajay needs all the 10 cent pieces he can get. It's too bad he charges so much for his "worthless" information.

I miss having Seajay on this forum. I hope some day he comes back.

Seajay left Wisconsin to get away from the cold and snow. He is in Hardeeville, SC, enjoying the cold and snow!

[lmsooter]

This had some useful information for all of us Newbies and it was fun reading.

Seajay sounds so much like my father-in-law!

[mike@fleming.cc]

Seajay- best subject line I've seen in some time. Thought it was another stupid rant till I saw who the author was, then had to read it. Thanks for the yuk.