Oh great and all-knowing men among men, wordy, worldly and wise. Please bestow upon me your deep knowledge, your passing proficiency, sense of the common and not so much common. I humbly ask for guidance...
A friend, really my wife's manager, has a cabin, in the woods, near St. Helens. No electricity and runs the cabin off a Honda generator hooked up to 4 auto-style batteries, on a plywood shelf, connected in series. The generator, below the plywood shelf, is run through an inverter to charge the batteries - when they're full, the generator is turned off, switches are switched and the needed electric comes from the batteries.
Problem is that the batteries, on the plywood shelf, don't seem to hold a charge as they did a couple years ago when he bought the cabin, in the woods. His father-in-law, uncle, neighbor, or grocery checkout clerk told him that one battery might be dead and sucking the juice from the others.
Last summer when he loaned us the cabin, in the woods near St. Helens, I checked and filled the cells with distilled water, and cleaned and tightened all cable connections. Seemed as though we were still running the generator, under the plywood shelf, a lot - considering that practically all of the house is run off propane except for a TV/VCR and a few lights which are religiously turned off when not needed.
We're headed up there for a week and the friend asked my wife if I might know how to check the batteries on the plywood shelf. Bless her heart, she said that I would indeed, probably, know how to test the batteries on the plywood shelf. Having a digital multi-tester at the ready, I am turning to you for guidance and awaiting further instruction.
How to test for a faulty battery? What type of replacement battery would be best for this use? What winterizing steps to help ensure long battery life?
Thank you, oh wordy, worldly and wise ones.