does converter charge truck batteries
I have a supernova 6372. Does my converter charge my truck batteries when I am plugged in? My coach batteries stay charged but my truck batteries go dead and I have to recharge with a charger. Any in...
Forum Discussion
The unit I use to maintain my engine battery, plugged into one of my motorhome's 120 volt AC outlets when in storage with the unit's output cable plugged into a cab 12 volt receptacle, is this one:
http://batteryminders.com/details.php?prod=12117
My prime reason for using this maintainer is to make sure that the chassis battery does not suffer from low-voltage sulphation that results from the high intrinsic leakage discharge rate of liquid acid batteries that are sitting around not being topped up by the engine alternator. To counter this continual leakage discharge only takes a small amount of continual replacement current, and this little maintainer does that with it's small ~1.0 amp average output current driven by it's automatically varying voltage levels. This small amount of current will not result in enough voltage drop, along the output cabling the came with it or the cabling size in cab 12 volt receptacles, to in any way compromise what it's doing.
Using this unit, my engine battery has no reason to ever need heavy-current charging except immediately after an engine start - in which case the alternator does the heavy lifting - or unless I were to leave something turned ON in the chassis systems when in storage that I shouldn't have.
With a too-low engine battery the engine can always still be started by temporarily boosting the engine starting battery with the coach batteries. I have a switch for this in the cab and the after-market heavy continuous duty solenoid I installed connecting all these batteries temporarily together has silver alloy contacts so it will never fail from ambient corrosion or electrical erosion of it's contacts. This same solenoid is also automatically held engaged when the engine is up and running so that both the engine battery and coach batteries are connected all together in parallel so as to be topped up and kept topped up by the alternator when traveling.
If both battery systems should ever be flat enough to not start the engine or built-in Onan generator, we carry a small portable manually started generator that can always breath life into any of the batteries.
Note that when traveling I have both the AGM coach batteries and liquid acid engine battery all hooked together in direct parallel being charged by the 130 amp engine alternator. The two balanced-parallel connected Group 29 12 volt wheel-chair AGM coach batteries are over 7 years old and still acting like the day they were new. The non-stock big Ford engine liquid acid battery is at least 5 years old and turns over the V10 in a flash even on cold mornings. I very, very rarely add any water to it ... way less than annually.
I'm kindof at a loss as to why the BIRD would be needed. The little maintenance units like I'm using are way less expensive and seem to offer more flexibility in how one can continually optimize RV coach and engine battery maintenance ... given that one has a motorhome with it's alternator and electrical systems set up in a certain way. I don't think my Winnebago-built motorhome came stock set up in an unusual way ... not counting the special inter-connect solenoid I used to replace the one that came in it.
http://batteryminders.com/details.php?prod=12117
My prime reason for using this maintainer is to make sure that the chassis battery does not suffer from low-voltage sulphation that results from the high intrinsic leakage discharge rate of liquid acid batteries that are sitting around not being topped up by the engine alternator. To counter this continual leakage discharge only takes a small amount of continual replacement current, and this little maintainer does that with it's small ~1.0 amp average output current driven by it's automatically varying voltage levels. This small amount of current will not result in enough voltage drop, along the output cabling the came with it or the cabling size in cab 12 volt receptacles, to in any way compromise what it's doing.
Using this unit, my engine battery has no reason to ever need heavy-current charging except immediately after an engine start - in which case the alternator does the heavy lifting - or unless I were to leave something turned ON in the chassis systems when in storage that I shouldn't have.
With a too-low engine battery the engine can always still be started by temporarily boosting the engine starting battery with the coach batteries. I have a switch for this in the cab and the after-market heavy continuous duty solenoid I installed connecting all these batteries temporarily together has silver alloy contacts so it will never fail from ambient corrosion or electrical erosion of it's contacts. This same solenoid is also automatically held engaged when the engine is up and running so that both the engine battery and coach batteries are connected all together in parallel so as to be topped up and kept topped up by the alternator when traveling.
If both battery systems should ever be flat enough to not start the engine or built-in Onan generator, we carry a small portable manually started generator that can always breath life into any of the batteries.
Note that when traveling I have both the AGM coach batteries and liquid acid engine battery all hooked together in direct parallel being charged by the 130 amp engine alternator. The two balanced-parallel connected Group 29 12 volt wheel-chair AGM coach batteries are over 7 years old and still acting like the day they were new. The non-stock big Ford engine liquid acid battery is at least 5 years old and turns over the V10 in a flash even on cold mornings. I very, very rarely add any water to it ... way less than annually.
I'm kindof at a loss as to why the BIRD would be needed. The little maintenance units like I'm using are way less expensive and seem to offer more flexibility in how one can continually optimize RV coach and engine battery maintenance ... given that one has a motorhome with it's alternator and electrical systems set up in a certain way. I don't think my Winnebago-built motorhome came stock set up in an unusual way ... not counting the special inter-connect solenoid I used to replace the one that came in it.
