i have heard that if i leave the MH connected to shore power while in storage it will kill the deep cycle batteries.what i am considering doing is using the CTEK charger to keep the starter battery charged and plugging in to shore power to keep the house batteries charged.this will be for several months while in storage.thanks all

No way to respond without knowing the brand and model of converter in the MH.The CTEK will probably work okay but it will be best if the batteries are disconnected from the MH.

Depends on what kind of converter your rig has. Modern smart converter won't harm the batteries -- old fashion converter will tend to boil off the water. As far as the starter battery - consider purchasing an inexpensive Trik L Start - it will allow your house converter to maintain your starting battery. If your rig has old fashioned converter consider an upgrade - there not that expensive and easy DIY.

If your charger is designed properly and in good shape it should go into a battery tender mode...Trickle Charge. It should not fry the batteries. HoweverIf one of your batteries in a set of batteries has a problem and won't hold a charge the charger will try to keep charging it and the battery or batteries may overheat. Some chargers have circuitry to prevent this from happening.I know many RV'ers who always keep their RVs plugged in when in storage.

Check the output of you converter charger, I have an old Magnatech 950 and people on here have said it will boil the battery dry, but the output is 13.2-13.6v I don't see how that boils a battery dry. Having said that if your converter out put is 13.8v or higher just charge your batteries until they are fully charged and use your battery disconnect. If your batteries are good they will easily hold a charge for several months. I leave mine all winter or 4 months without a charger.

Give it three days and measure the voltage on the battery terminals.13.0 to 13.5 volts is fine. Up to 13.8 volts is fine if it is cold.Please tell if you have temperature compensation when you post the results.A little better location helps too.In general you have heard wrong and the RV and battery will be fine.

will mh chargers fry the batteries? | Good Sam Community

28 Replies

Gjac
Explorer III
Nov 17, 2016
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I enjoy a simpler philosophy with stored vehicles in hibernation. Cut any possibility of accidental discharge then use a temperature compensated battery maintenance float device. The fully automatic battery minder breed works good. I do mine manually. But I do have a question: How many of you have verified info of a malfunction with a battery-minder-type Gizmo?
I have verified a malfunction with my HF battery maintainer. If for some reason you lose power the maintainer somehow draws your battery down. I noticed this during a power outage several years ago. Otherwise for $4.99 it works fine.
Strabo
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
I say try it. Who knows till you do. I've left our toy hauler hooked up for over 3 years, no over charging problems.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
I enjoy a simpler philosophy with stored vehicles in hibernation. Cut any possibility of accidental discharge then use a temperature compensated battery maintenance float device. The fully automatic battery minder breed works good. I do mine manually. But I do have a question: How many of you have verified info of a malfunction with a battery-minder-type Gizmo?
anon125
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
red31 wrote:
anon125, what you've done the past 10 yrs doesn't work?

ThIs the first time when storing the mh that we have been able to plug it in.
red31
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
anon125, what you've done the past 10 yrs doesn't work?
westend
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
anon125 wrote:
so complicated!
thanks guys

it's not complicated at all. Buy a hand held meter, teach yourself how to use it, and monitor voltages with the meter.
SCVJeff
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
anon125 wrote:
so complicated!
thanks guys
Hang around, it can get way more complicated if you give it another page or two... :)
anon125
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
so complicated!
thanks guys
ksg5000
Explorer II
Nov 16, 2016
I suggest you call Parallax and ask them if your particular converter adjust power down to 13.2 when the rig isn't being used - should take the mystery out of the situation. The historical problem that many faced with the old Magnatek (now Parallax) system was that they produced a constant 13.6 volts which evaporated the battery water - that was OK if you periodically topped off the water but if you got lazy your burned up your battery.

The Parallax FAQ seems to imply they don't use "smart technology" and if so I wouldn't keep the rig plugged in unless you visit at least once a month a top off batteries.

Here's the FAQ .. http://www.parallaxpower.com/faqs
RJsfishin
Explorer
Nov 16, 2016
If I didn't need faster charging, I would have run my 7300 on a timer 1 hr a day while in storage,.. in hot weather
In my case I wanted faster charging, so disconnected it, and added a stand alone
PD9245 w pendant. Not only faster charging, but floating at 13.2, the batts seldom need water check,....maybe once a year.