Keeping batteries charged during the winter
Last winter I kept our batteries charged with two BatteryMINDer 2012's, one on the two truck batteries and another on the two camper batteries. This arrangement did a satisfactory job. Subsequent...
Forum Discussion
One of the things a lot of folks do not appreciate is that electrical and electronic components have finite lifespans. Doesn't matter much when hours or days are involved but exposing high voltage capacitors needlessly month after month after year to working voltages can be judged two ways: The first would be if the device was doing something for a living. The second would be if the device was leaning on a shovel. Sort of like comparing the storage of something out in the elements versus inside a garage. Temperature enters the picture but when something is used for little reason when expendable substitutions are already paid for, available and waiting, makes me wonder...
This is not a genuine factor as such with solar voltaic panels, but jamming a pair of inexpensive battery maintainers up against a pricey converter is a no-brainer IMO.
24/7 180 adds up to a lot of hours. You may want to keep in mind the effort of durability of a (perhaps) 40 volt system stresses things a lot less than 120 vac. An aged several years old converter may do just fine maintaining batteries then the first time it has to go to work, it may fail. This would be like me protecting my 500 dollar toad with a 600 dollar car cover.
Again, if the maintainers were not already purchased and in place that would skew the formula. Destroying four hundred dollars worth of batteries would also have to be factored in. Well this is something to chew on anyway.
This is not a genuine factor as such with solar voltaic panels, but jamming a pair of inexpensive battery maintainers up against a pricey converter is a no-brainer IMO.
24/7 180 adds up to a lot of hours. You may want to keep in mind the effort of durability of a (perhaps) 40 volt system stresses things a lot less than 120 vac. An aged several years old converter may do just fine maintaining batteries then the first time it has to go to work, it may fail. This would be like me protecting my 500 dollar toad with a 600 dollar car cover.
Again, if the maintainers were not already purchased and in place that would skew the formula. Destroying four hundred dollars worth of batteries would also have to be factored in. Well this is something to chew on anyway.
