12 volt longevity and recharging??

Well we are back in Canada (kelowna) and will winterize trailer today before the last leg back to 30 below!! All has gone well. Used smart charger a few times when we could.
Driving through Palm Springs got a BIG idea seeing all those scenery destroying ugly bird killing wind generating towers.
Going to invent one for the roof of the truck!! The the Ram would really hum!

kickin a dead horse at this point...

ivbinconned: safe travels and have fun!

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Wrong. He will have a tough time getting more than 10 amps to the trailer battery bank. He will be using most of that 10 amps to run the furnace fan when it is active.

wwest wrote:


Your trucks alternator/VR system should NEVER be used to recharge a deep cycle battery with a low SOC, it will quickly BOIL the battery electrolyte off resulting in warped battery cell plates....

DEAD battery!

Wrong.

wwest wrote:

RV engine driven alternators generally have a higher output amperage capacity vs regular systems. They DO NOT detect battery SOC, they simply supply a regulated voltage level, >13.5 volts, with "infinite" current output as long as engine RPM provides enough drive.

What the heck do you mean "relay switched outlet"? It is true he can run an inverter from the chassis electrical system.

wwest wrote:
The best way to overcome this problem is to connect the engine alternator's relay switched output to an 800W inverter and then plug the shore power plug into the inverter output when underway.

Provided you have decent AC-DC converter that has a controlled, SOC sensing, battery charging output your dual 6V deep cycle batteries will be SAFELY recharged even from a full discharge state.

ivbinconned wrote:
We are heading out for a 3 week tour from Saskatchewan through Calgary then south to Phoenix. Yuma, Barrago Springs, Palm Springs, Sacramento, Chico, Kelowna then back home.

Since I have them anyhow for a Solar cattle watering system I intend to use 6- 6 volt deep cycle batteries. They are great batteries.

This is an old (90)not so warm trailer so I expect our furnace will run a lot when we park. Will my 06 Ram (diesel) truck recharge my batteries just fine or should I be looking for shore power as often as possible to get them charge right up?

Appreciate any responses.

Your trucks alternator/VR system should NEVER be used to recharge a deep cycle battery with a low SOC, it will quickly BOIL the battery electrolyte off resulting in warped battery cell plates....

DEAD battery!

RV engine driven alternators generally have a higher output amperage capacity vs regular systems. They DO NOT detect battery SOC, they simply supply a regulated voltage level, >13.5 volts, with "infinite" current output as long as engine RPM provides enough drive.

The best way to overcome this problem is to connect the engine alternator's relay switched output to an 800W inverter and then plug the shore power plug into the inverter output when underway.

Provided you have decent AC-DC converter that has a controlled, SOC sensing, battery charging output your dual 6V deep cycle batteries will be SAFELY recharged even from a full discharge state.

In Calgary. Heading south from here. Don't know how accurate the truck voltage gauge is but it stays at about 15 volts all day long.

Check your voltage in the morning. I'll bet you can get two to three days before your battery bank gets near 12v. It used to be that folks on this forum would say you can expect 1 night of furnace per battery. Note you have three batteries just split into six parts. Now something must have changed because we're telling you to only expect one night of furnace for 3 batteries.

Anyway go and have a good trip. But please tell us how the batteries worked when you get home.

ivbinconned wrote:
Will it be ok to run both the trailer converter/charger and the smart charger hooked up at the same time?

Don't know if I am smart enough to post pictures!!

Looks like we may be pulling out in a snow storm!

Two chargers won't hurt anything ... the smarter of the two will likely shut itself off when the batteries are close to being fully charged.

Will it be ok to run both the trailer converter/charger and the smart charger hooked up at the same time?

Don't know if I am smart enough to post pictures!!

Looks like we may be pulling out in a snow storm!

ivbinconned wrote:
We are about to "embark"!!
The "Battery Direct" business where I buy these deep cycle batteries tells me I should NOT fast charge these batteries.
Of course a man is i patient and would like a fast charge. However I bought a "pro-logic smart charger and trust this will get our needs met.
It can charge at 10/6 or 2 amps. It's not fast.

You're all set then. Be safe and enjoy your trip. Post pics:)

Have a good trip!

Fast charge on a bank of that size would be 100s of amps - not something to really worry about.

For example if you were running 50 amp service from twin MagnaSine inverters you'd have 250 amps of charging capacity, which might be pushing it for only six GC batts.