Solar charging maintaining help

Champ, I'm trying out a 15 watt solar battery maintainer and so far it's keeping my two T125s fully charged while the 300 watt WindyNation system sleeps under a cover.

champdog wrote:
so I was thinking Id try to set that up via small solar panel that I could set up outside the storage cover while parked.

Keeping the batteries FULLY charged is the best way to "extend" their life. If they are indeed healthy (that is don't exhibit a large self-discharge) then simply disconnecting is good enough for 3-4 months. If they are AGM, you can extend that to 6 months and beyond.

Then.....I see absolutely NO reason to buy two solar chargers. A really good one will automatically drop to "maintain" and they are made to be outside 100 precent of the time. Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.

Edit: Just re-read your original post. Since there are two batteries in parallel, and you don't know their condition, you should individually charge each one once, let them sit disconnected for about 24 hours and then check the voltage and specific gravity of each. This will tell you a lot about their general health. If they match and appear able to hold a full charge, then back to the two suggestions above.

Batteries in parallel need to be similar in size, capacity and health. Mis-matches can be problematic.

Thanks for that. I just purchased this class c. My 5th wheel had 80w on the roof. Never had to mess with or worry about it. This one has no solar at all and will be covered. Wanting to set it up in the best possible way. We boondock in heavy forest alot so thats the reason for the portable solar. My rv storage is at my inlaws property about 15 miles from me. No problem doing like you stated. I do know that a constant 3 stage charge maintainer is the best for the batteries so I was thinking Id try to set that up via small solar panel that I could set up outside the storage cover while parked.

I bought a two decimal point voltmeter from China and connected it to my positive/negative distribution points inside the camper. In the fall, I charge my batteries, park the rig, and disconnect one side of the batteries.

About once a month I go check on things, connect up the batteries, check the voltage, check storage cabinets outside. Been sitting for months now, batteries are at 12.60 still. If I have to, I will take my Honda 2K generator over to it, and run it for an hour.