It all comes down to how big is your charger vs how big is your battery bank?* Without getting too technical, your charger should be capable of charging at rate of 10% of your battery capacity.* 500 AH = 50 Amps charge or 1000 AH = 100 amps chaqrge** This is not a rigid rule, but it*won't get you in trouble. That been said, equalizing on a monthly basis is a good thing.* Equalization is another word for over charging.* If done with a proper size charger will be good for your batteries.* Tempurature compensation is a good thing too, to avoid problems.* One sure way to ruin your batteries is to chronically under charge them, another way way is to chonically 'cook' them.* When you equalize, you over charge your batteries for a limited amount of time.* Too much of a good thing, isn't.* Batteries follow the universal law of nature, The faster they go, The faster they go.* This rule works for batteries, engines, and life in general.* Moderation is the key to longevity.* So back to the rule that charger capacity = 10% of battery capacity, the real number is 5 to 20%, but remember the universal law, the faster you go the faster you go.* So, all things being equal, if your charger capacity is 5% of your battery bank, you will experience far better battery life than with a 'Too Large charger.* This is assuming that there is adequate time for both to get to 'Full Charge'
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