Forum Discussion

RJL's avatar
RJL
Explorer
Jun 01, 2017

Shore charging

I'll be storing my RV at home now, the storage facility we used is doing away with their outdoor storage. Over the years I typically would bring it home and charge it once a month for a day or so. Now that it's home I'm wondering if I can just leave it plugged into shore power 24/7 until we use it, or should I unplug and charge every other week or so?

Thanks

Bob
  • as I have said before, I just put a timer in the line and squirt a little electricity in daily.
    bumpy
  • Depends.......

    What do you have as 'charger' (Converter----Inverter) and how 'smart' is it?

    My converter is 3 stage but my inverter is 'smarter' so I use the inverter.
    My 50A 5th wheel with dual 12V batteries is always plugged in at home.

    At first I checked batteries weekly for any signs of overcharging-----specific gravity per cell, levels in each cell, signs of 'moisture' on battery tops etc.

    After several weekly checks I then went to monthly checks...then every 3 months.


    Good charger/charging system----no boiling of batteries then YES plug in and keep batteries maintained

    And don't forget to level rig so you can run fridge too.
    Nice to have COLD beverages etc in the 'man cave'
  • Impossible to give a good answer without knowing what brand and model of converter/charger that you have.....and how many and what kind of batteries.

    One alternative is to disconnect the batteries after charging them good ...maybe 3 days or so....and then plugging in and re-connecting once a month for 12 hours.

    The other alternative is to disconnect the batteries and connect an external smart automatic tender type charger and just leave it connected. A 2 amp model should be fine unless you have a LOT of battery capacity.

    If they are relatively new AGM types, charge good, disconnect and come back 3-4 months later.
  • RJL wrote:
    I'll be storing my RV at home now, the storage facility we used is doing away with their outdoor storage. Over the years I typically would bring it home and charge it once a month for a day or so. Now that it's home I'm wondering if I can just leave it plugged into shore power 24/7 until we use it, or should I unplug and charge every other week or so?

    Thanks

    Bob

    Depends on how good your charger is and so that it won't ever overcharge the batteries.
    We have ours plugged in at all times while at home in the driveway. The batteries are AGM so no water to boil out. The fridge and ac's are on as well and even though set pretty high. the ac's still run plenty enough in this heat.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Assuming you have a smart three stage charger you'll be fine 24/7.