Forum Discussion
MEXICOWANDERER
Aug 20, 2014Explorer
Meanwell with owner's IQ control. Use a wind up timer just in case you doze off in the hammock.
Camping is different than boondocking which is different than off-grid which is different than occasional Wal-Mart parking lots, races, tail gate parties, etc.
No way in hell is a "smart charger" more efficient than a MeanWell. No way in hell is a smart charger of the same amperage potential going to charge a battery as quickly as a MeanWell. All it takes is a tiny bit of intelligence to know when is enough "Honey the generator has been running eleven hours - is that enough?
Three state chargers have an appropriate time and place. Unless you have long term generator usage habits, there is no way on the face of the earth a "Smart Charger" can equal a MeanWell. Been there done that, classified, and recorded, and documented it.
Bogart Engineering has come out with a truly SMART solar controller. Why is it SMART? It is fully adjustable by the user.
But plugging into a power pedestal regularly or just zapping the batteries one or six times then returning to the driveway allows the use of a halfway decent SMART charger - up to a point.
If the OP needs a home charger than this changes things. But for dry camping I dare anyone to try and beat the efficiency of a straight switching charger, an adjustable switching charger.
Camping is different than boondocking which is different than off-grid which is different than occasional Wal-Mart parking lots, races, tail gate parties, etc.
No way in hell is a "smart charger" more efficient than a MeanWell. No way in hell is a smart charger of the same amperage potential going to charge a battery as quickly as a MeanWell. All it takes is a tiny bit of intelligence to know when is enough "Honey the generator has been running eleven hours - is that enough?
Three state chargers have an appropriate time and place. Unless you have long term generator usage habits, there is no way on the face of the earth a "Smart Charger" can equal a MeanWell. Been there done that, classified, and recorded, and documented it.
Bogart Engineering has come out with a truly SMART solar controller. Why is it SMART? It is fully adjustable by the user.
But plugging into a power pedestal regularly or just zapping the batteries one or six times then returning to the driveway allows the use of a halfway decent SMART charger - up to a point.
If the OP needs a home charger than this changes things. But for dry camping I dare anyone to try and beat the efficiency of a straight switching charger, an adjustable switching charger.
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