on a trip this summer, we are going to be without elec for 7 consecutive days. I am planning to take the 27 deep cycle battery out of the trailer and recharge using the 50 amp setting on my battery charger which I will be plugging into a generator. I read elsewhere that 10 amps is pretty slow, but will 50 amps be too much and hurt the battery? I would disconnect the battery from the trailer so I don't fry the inverter?donut

That may give you a good surface charge.Do you have an inverter or a converter? Make and model of that would help.

You'll be fine but I would bring along some distilled water in case the hard charging boils some water off.

donut,Is that 50 amp setting on your charger intended for "engine starting" (like the 50 amp setting on my 2-10-50 charger is)?If it is, your charger will shut down (to protect itself from overheating) in just a short time when you set it to 50 amps and try to leave it on that setting for too long of a time charging batteries that are trying to draw that 50 amps. I have to leave my charger on it's 10 amp setting (instead of it's 50 amp setting) when charging my RV battery for long time periods - and trying to charge an RV battery with only 10 amps being available will take a long time.If your charger is truly a charger with a 50 amp setting that is intended for use for long time periods for bulk battery charging ... then it is a very good charger, indeed and ... what brand/model is it?

pnichols, it is a schumaker and it says 50 amp engine starting like you said. 50-10-2 automatic with a slide for conventional and deep cycle.so i'm better off at 10 amps?

You cannot use the 50A setting for more than a few seconds without killing the charger. It is not for charging at all.What you have is a 10A charger.

charging rv battery on 50 amps | Good Sam Community

21 Replies

Almot
Explorer III
Feb 25, 2018
Ava wrote:
How about a solar panel or two. They can charge several amps all day.

Shh...
Ava
Explorer
Feb 24, 2018
How about a solar panel or two. They can charge several amps all day.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Feb 24, 2018
REALITY

50-amps setting cannot kill the charger

Why?

These junk chargers have an auto-reset 20-amp circuit breaker in the output. Helps to have taken these things apart and see what's inside.
Almot
Explorer III
Feb 24, 2018
donut dave wrote:
an older converter (2004 trailer) atwood mpd 35446. I read the brochure on it and I can't find a charge rate listed. it just says: low voltage power for charging.

Doesn't say "low current power", does it? ...

Like time2roll said, charging current tapers off as the battery is getting fuller. Running generator for hours, to push a few amps into single battery isn't optimal.

Still makes sense upgrading the converter, if only to keep that "low voltage" where it should be.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Feb 24, 2018
“7 consecutive days. I am planning to take the 27 deep cycle battery out of the trailer and recharge using the 50 amp setting on my battery charger which I will be plugging into a generator.“

Why do this the hard, noisy and time consuming way? Get a solar system.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Feb 24, 2018
Use the converter and add the 10 amp battery charger to the mix.
red31
Explorer
Feb 24, 2018
30A charger
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Feb 24, 2018
IF you have a generator to power the portable battery charger why not use it to power RV and let the on-board converter charge your battery?
time2roll
Nomad
Feb 24, 2018
50 amps... even 200 amps will not hurt the battery as long as it is at the proper voltage. Your 2-10-50 charger OTOH may release the magic smoke if you leave it on the boost/start setting for more than a few minutes. Use the 10 amp setting. But really just leave the battery in place and plug the main RV cord into the generator, put the charger on direct, and if your generator has an 8 amp 12v charge connection use that too.

I suspect after this trip you will get bored with all the antics and seek out a converter upgrade.

Atwood converter models seem to start with the amp rating. So 35 amps. Probably at a fixed 13.6 volts so it will go good for 30 minutes into a low battery but amps will taper quickly after that. That is when the portable will continue at 10 amps.
enblethen
Nomad
Feb 24, 2018
I would call Best Converter.
It may be best to upgrade your converter. I up graded mine to 45 amp output from the original that only had 7 amp charge output.