I’ve been running the engine for the alternator to bring new batteries up to 100% and at the same time reading the volts and amps. … a new experience for me. another one😳
But I’m not clear on why the amp reading is not closer to zero yet….
I believe it’s just these new AGM Victron supercycle 160s… I looked up the specs and it seems their numbers for charging and floating are a bit different …they but feel free to give opinions!
I’m getting tired of learning AGAIN!
Time for a walk on the Malacon, to see the Christmas car parade and from one of the amazing icecream parlours!
Sailaway Sarantium 
dont worry too much about the amount your batteries are drawing, they will always try to absorb more until they self destruct, the voltage is what really matters, and the 14.54 you showed on the metre is an excellent charge, 14.4 volts is already plenty hot, 13.75 is typical and resting state on a healthy lead acid battery is about 12.8, so keep a log of what’s going on, it’s good practice
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if you are mislead by my post yesterday, please allow me to clarify, in order for a battery to charge a higher potential (voltage ) must be introduced to the battery, but not too much, or one can cook, (overcharge) a battery, it is a good idea to check the temperature of your battery by touching it with the back of your hand, it should not feel overly warm, but noticably warmer than the surrounding ambient material temperature. When you charge the battery above it’s normal requirements it starts to boil off its electrolyte,the aqueous acid in the cells, and this fluid becomes thicker, and more viscous. Which is why one can determine the state of charge most accurately by using a hygrometer, although this means messing with very nasty battery acid, suphuric acid, so by simply hooking your digital multimeter appropriately to the terminals of your battery is by far the best answer to your question of charge status.
. The alternator on your engine should have a built in voltage regulator which directs an appropriate amount, volts(pressure) and amps(volume) through your battery selection switch to the battery in question, after being charged, the battery will slowly “settle” to a stable state, (cool down) to about 12.7 at a full charge. This is totally normal. If the battery is connected to any load, it will slowly drain through that load.untill it has lost its chemical capability. So be sure to switch the battery off when not in use, to be sure you have it available when required.
obviously I have considerable interest in this topic, and would certainly recommend getting a solar panel and charge controller hooked up to your system if you are like the rest of us who wish to be socially connected, charging phones and tablets, laptops etc. beware of GPS units which can draw amazing amounts of power without really doing all that much superficially, they are so active updating to the millisecond, they use a lot of juice. This is why logging your consumption of watts in your logbook will become relevant, and can be worked out by keeping track of your electrical budget. I digress, excuse me, any questions, ask away!
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Thank you for your thorough reply and really valuable information…
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