What size converter charger should I get?
Our vintage travel trailer doesn't currently have one, but it came with a marine battery that's rated at 85 Amp/hours. The smallest converter chargers I'm seeing are 35 amp. Is this small enough?
Forum Discussion
Sam Spade wrote:mrkoje wrote:Matt_Colie wrote:
Please do not parallel 12V jars. Even if they were side by side on the assembly line, by the end of the third week, they will not like playing in parallel. If you are lucky, you end up with capacity * 1.7. It will more likely be 1.5.
Please explain ...
Please search a bit.
Gross oversimplification summary:
If the two are not perfectly matched, part of the capacity of the stronger one will be expended trying to charge the weaker one. And when charging, the weaker one will sap off more of the charge.
And if one should fail completely, disaster can occur.
The disaster is rare and I think his 1.7 estimate is closer until they get really old but 6 Volts in series really are better.
Sam,
Thanks for picking this up before I got back here. Yes, that may be a gross oversimplification, but if we explained it in more detail many eyes would glaze over. There are so many important variables, that it is difficult to get arms around, but please believe us.
I have always loved a line from the original Stargate. Colonel Jack Anderson (Richard Anderson) was listening as the tech-savey lady explained how something worked. At the end, he looked at her and said,"That was a complete waste of a perfectly good explanation."
