Keeping ones starting battery charged.

Our 2000 E450 based Class Co would go dead in about 3 weeks because the factory wired a number of alarms, detectors and the step monitor to the starting battery.

When on shore power, I have a small Stanley battery tender we got from WallyWorld for under $30.00 plugged into the dash power port.

No dead battery for the last 12+ months.

If your starting battery is newish, and not defective, it may stay charged enough to start the engine after a couple of weeks sitting parked despite items that continue to draw some power from it. If your rig sits parked for many weeks at a time, it may not have enough grunt to start the engine. If your house batteries are tired, after being abused by your old converter charger,and/or electrolyte levels have not been maintained properly,etc, etc., using the emergency start switch may not work. Of course if all batteries are in good condition and kept charged by frequent driving, you may have no problems and long useful life with starting battery. Trik-L-Start is similar to connecting a Battery Minder to your starting battery to keep it fully charged but not overcharged. BTW, I had to run a heavy guage wire from Trik-L-Start in coach battery compartment, under the rig and all the way up to the starting battery with a 15 amp circuit breaker. Our rig didn't have the type of solenoid to connect to as described in the instructions.

Hi,


There is some evidence that discharging by 5% is better than discharging by say 1%, but I don't think there has been a definitive study done.

Folks with solar on their battery banks tend to get ultra long life--one factor is the battery bank is pretty much returned to fully charged every day.

burlmart wrote:
Is it better to let a small load somewhat drain a battery and then charge it up every few weeks versus always holding it at top charge by disconnecting or trickling?

Is it better to let a small load somewhat drain a battery and then charge it up every few weeks versus always holding it at top charge by disconnecting or trickling?

How can keeping your starting battery charged be a problem?

Parasitical electrical drain from somewhere. Can be a real bear to track down.

If you are going to leave your MH for an extended period of time you can simply disconnect your starting battery. If it is to be parked in cold country remove the battery and store at a reasonable temp in a dry environment. A trickle charge as needed every couple of months while probably not essential, couldn't hurt. Chargers (with a trickle function), can be had for very little money, less than $20 at Harbor Freight.

The time it takes to charge any battery is a function of a number of variables. Battery age, condition, the type of charger, temperature etc., all impact the time needed and the percent of charge imparted. Most quality MH's come with converters that have smart 3 stage charging in the 45 to 55 amp range which will easily recharge a typical house bank in a couple of hours. if you have added additional batteries to the standard house bank adding a larger charger or some solar would be prudent.

If you drive more than a few hours and arrive with less than a full house bank your electrical system needs work. The high output alternators found on most MH's are quite capable of recharging a bank that is putting out very little while underway.

As I noted in a followup to my original post I had not considered all of the folks who are stuck back east with there rigs stored for the extended winter. I can see where the Trik L product might be of value to them but properly storing the battery seems simpler.

While we use our rig every month, usually more than once, typically for a week or more at a time, when I was recovering from surgery it sat for several months. I turned off the house bank and walked away and it fired right up, just like it is suppose to with no further attention. Every vehicle should be capable of doing the same. There were undoubtedly parasitic draws, the stereo, security system and perhaps even the Scan Gauge but their consumption is so minuscule as not to be an issue.
:C

Desert Captain wrote:
TreeSeeker, lighten up.... I'm sorry you have had so many electrical problems, most folks have not. If you cannot leave your RV, truck or family car sitting for two weeks without killing the starting battery you have serious electrical issues that need to be addressed, this is NOT normal.

Hmm, I didn't say that I have had many electrical problems.

My point was that many (if not most) RV's sit for more than two weeks, so they may well have a less than full charge on the starting battery. I have seen many posts from RVer's wondering why their starting battery is dead after the RV has been sitting unused for months. And many or most RVer's assume that if the RV is on shore power that all the batteries will be kept charged.

Desert Captain wrote:
Your condescension aside, I understand battery systems to include parasitic draws and yes I know that starting batteries are not deep cycles.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be condescending--many RVer's know very little about batteries and chargers. From your original post I wasn't sure how much you knew.

If you would go back and read the entire thread you would see that we have been talking about starting batteries not the house banks. I never said a few miles of driving would recharge a house bank.

I only mentioned my house battery as an example of how long it takes to recharge a battery. You did say, "Drive a few miles and you are back to square one." My point was that a discharged starting battery is not likely to be fully recharged after a few miles of driving. Further, a discharged starting battery has been permanently damaged and that can be avoided by keeping it charged.

If your vehicles electrical systems are working properly a thoroughly discharged starting battery will acquire enough of a charge to start the engine after about 15 to 20 minutes of normal driving. This is why jumper cables are so popular.

I assumed that when you said, "back to square one" that you meant it would be fully charged. I expect others thought the same.

Obviously, you have not had any battery problems, and that is great. However, others less knowledgeable about batteries, parasitic drains, and charging have had and/or will have. My intent in posting was just to clarify some of the issues for anyone reading this thread.

Bobbo wrote:
Actually, there are 2 incorrect assumptions here.

Thanks for the clarification. Their website's description isn't very clear--or rather it indicates otherwise.

TreeSeeker wrote:
Although the Trik-L-Start works, it isn't an ideal solution. From their website:

HOW DOES TRIK-L-START™ WORK? TRIK-L-START™ is a "diversion charger" - Basically, it "steals" a little bit of current from your house battery charger, diverting it to keep your engine starting battery(s) charged.

So, the Trik-L-Start only charges the chassis battery when the house battery is getting charged. This would work best when the house battery discharges at a greater rate than the chassis battery (which, granted, is probably the most common). So, when the chassis battery is run down and the house battery isn't, it could take quite some time for the chassis battery to recharge--perhaps several days.

Actually, there are 2 incorrect assumptions here.

1. The Trik-L-Start doesn't just charge the chassis battery when the house batteries are charging. As long as the converter is providing power, the Trik-L-Start will continue to charge the chassis battery, even if the house batteries are fully charged. In the unlikely event that the converter is NOT on, the Trik-L-Start will take power from the house batteries to charge the chassis battery as long as the house batteries are more fully charged than the chassis battery.

2. The Trik-L-Start isn't meant to "charge" the battery. It is meant to "keep the battery charged." It keeps the battery from discharging due to parasitic draws. If the chassis battery is already discharged, the Trik-L-Start is not the correct tool to use to recharge it.

Conversely instead of keeping my truck battery charged during the winter I simply disconnect the neutral from the battery. A fully charged battery will have no problem starting the vehicle back up after storage. I store my motorhome in a field well away from trees and electrical connections.

If you don't like disconnecting the battery physically there are many battery disconnect switches on the market.
John